Hi there. Newly diagnosed T2D. HgA1C was 8.6 and now 7.2 with diet. Lost 12 pounds. Down to 199 pounds. My issue is that I am managing this on an hourly basis because my glucose levels will spike with even the smallest bit of complex carbs and then drop like a stone. This includes whole grain bread, brown rice, etc. It's a crazy roller coaster that I can't seem to get off. Has anybody had this experience? I'm micro-dosing carbs and eating mostly meat, vegetables, eggs, greens. I'm balancing protein, fat, carbs in what I eat. And I'm eating small portions every hour to hour and a half. It's exhausting because it's a fight right to the time I go to bed. My endo can't figure it out. He said to start Metformin and it may stabilize the highs and lows. Haven't left the house in a month. Can't work like this. Relying on my family and delivery to get groceries. Something doesn't fit here. Any ideas would be appreciated. I also have dysautonomia and am in a bit of a relapse so lots of insomnia and adrenaline surges. Not sure if that's contributing to the carb intolerance. Surely I should be able to eat a complex carb without sending my sugars into orbit and then the inevitable crash? What maintains your blood sugar when it's going low? I will say there is a bit of fear of hypoglycemia as well. Had a bad episode when this first started and it's on my mind constantly. Thanks for reading my rambling. Just a little concerned as I'd like to get back to life.
Carbs will do that to you... Complex or no, a T2 just can't handle them properly. I ate every 3 hours when I just started out, after some bad advice, and
it drove me nuts. I can only imagine how you must feel at every hour/hour and a half. I currently eat once or twice a day, which is much more relaxed...!
Why do you fear hypo's? You haven't mentioned being on insulin or (some form of or something similar to) gliclazide, so you're not likely to get them if you use neither. There is such a thing as a false hypo, which happens when you have been high for a long time and hit normal levels; it feels exactly the same as a hypo, it just doesn't have the numbers to back it up. It's just your body freaking out because it THINKS you're low. And those go away as your body gets used to normal numbers Do you know what your glucose numbers where when it happened? Any special circumstances or meds at the time?
"Surely I should be able to eat a complex carb"... Well, no... Some of us can get away with it, but I certainly can't. So I practically don't have them.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ might help some with your diet.... Because you're right, the way things are going now isn't sustainable for you, heck, it wouldn't be for anyone!
As for the dysautonomia, adrenal spikes are basically a signal to your liver to dump glucose... So that may raise your numbers, as would insomnia... I have a feeling though that if you get your blood sugars comfortably under control, without the stress of having to eat with your eye on the clock all the time, that will get a bit better too... Stress feeds stress, after all. Not saying everything'll be magically resolved, but from the sound of it the current state of things is extremely stressful for you, and that can't be helping.
Your liver maintains your blood sugars when you go low. It dumps some glucose in your system. That's why it's mainly T1's that hypo when they overshoot insulin, and it covers way more than the carbs they had. Or if you're a T2 on glic or something similar, and you start low carbing. I've had hypo's because I was misinformed by my endo ("It can't happen". Oooh yes, it can, when you're on gliclazide! And did!). My GP however was more open minded and let me try and figure this out with a diet... And I've been in the normal range for over 5 of my 5,5 years as a confirmed diabetic.
You'll be okay. Just take a breath, and go over your current diet. What do you eat and drink in a day? maybe we can help sort out the carbs and find doable replacements for you. Then you should be back to three meals or less, as you wish.
Good luck,
Jo