Diet Doctor Low Carb Challenge

I knew it was too good to be true. After going to bed at a rather startling 3.9 I woke up to an FBG of 6.1. Two hours after breakfast it was still 6.1. I prefer it in the 5s

I don't really know how low is too low. I have had hypos with Metformin and without Metformin and, at those times, I was in the 3s. Personally I don't like going in to the 3s because I just don't feel right or, a better way to put it is that everything arpund me seems wrong / out of kilter and I get anxious and irritable. I feel much better when I'm between 4 and 6 and I feel great between 4.5 and 5.5. I felt okay with last night's 3.9 but I did have my monitor on my bed side table along with some chocolate 'just in case'.

Why don't you sell your clothes on eBay? As I lost a lot of weight I came down through four dress sizes and I sold the good stuff that didn't fit any more and the money I made from them funded new clothes in my new size. I even shrunk a shoe size (but I didn't sell my shoes) I think I used to get a size 6 because my feet were too pudgy across for a 5 but now a 5 or 5.5 fits fine.

Good news about you getting some rest. Being disturbed in the night like that always increases my BG.

I'm fairly sure I haven't lost any weight this week - I've got my fingers crossed that you make it down to the next pound. I don't know what I'd have to do nowadays to lose weight - even fasting didn't work.

Hi again.

Wifi still v intermittent, but am back as and when.

Tragically lost my libre sensor after only 4 days of use (scraped off on edge of bedside table, for goodness sake! ), so am flying blind for the rest of the hol. No biggie. I am sticking to v low carb, just allowing myself unlimited quantities for a change. The problem at the moment is that the weather is so foul that we are having to carry the dogs over the doorstep for widdle trips.

Wind gusts so strong the smallest mutt can't keep on his feet. No kidding. So walks aren't happening. Which we ALL miss.

Hi @Brunneria - whereabouts are you on holiday? My dogs would love that kind of wild walk. Have a good time.

How awful about your libre sensor - what happens? I don't know much about them but from what you say I'm assuming that once its off it can't be put back on?

N ish Yorks right on the top of a high bit

Once the sensor has fallen off, that's it if it falls off through lack of gumminess, I think they replace it. But this was my fault, even if a complete accident, kind of farcical really, so just one of those things...

I remembered to weigh myself this morning and I've lost two of the pounds I out on while on Diet Doctor. Nice surprise.

I did have a bit of a slip up last evening (I've written about it on the what did you eat thread) and my FBG was 7.8 this morning. Hopefully it will go back down over the next couple of days. I think my liver must have thought 'wooppee, carbs' and filled up her stores, which was why the tests I did last night were reasonably good (considering) - but she then hit me with them this morning. I can remember being very hot during the night and throwing the duvet off.

I've got retinal screening this morning - which I hate - and my annual diabetes review on Wednesday - which I hate even more. Not a fun week.

I actually find it intensely reassuring to have everything mapped out on the Libre screen. I can see EXACTLY what is going on - how long after eating the rise starts (or if it is a liver dump, I can see that it isn't food related, and work out what the stressor was). I also get to judge the speed and steepness, and can now guesstimate with brilliant accuracy when it will peak, and how high. So I can time things with precision. Exercise. Next food. Fat bomb.

Likewise speed of drop. It is incredible to be able to head a hypo off (based just on speed of drop), before any awareness it is incoming.

When I don't have one on, I feel like I am flying blind. Prick tests are like stabbing a tail on a donkey and so frustrating that I rarely bother - and I think that frustration is what you are experiencing. A couple of Libre sensors would give you a brilliant window into what is really going on.

maglil55 said:

Are you back with us or still roaming the North Yorkshire moors?

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Still roaming the VERY soggy moors.

Amazing how many cafes have wifi though! Haha! I am awash with herb tea.

Re the Libre, i felt the same. Before it, i always had a niggling nagging worrit that i was missing something, the spike, the dip, the something. But when i got it, and saw what was really happening, it was such a relief. Yeah, i changed a few things, but some of them were for the better. A lot of them, actually. I found that gluten was a bigger issue than i imagined, and sugar less so. Portion size importance... Sorry, won't go on. I just feel so much better about the whole thing now.

maglil55 said:

OK You're the only person I know with a Libre so a number of questions.
I understand that it is a sensor and a fine wire fits under the skin. I also understand each sensor lasts 2 weeks.

1) Is it measuring your BG all the time it is attached but you cannot see the results until you 'read' the sensor?
2) Amazon have a starter pack with a meter and 2 sensors for £159. Do you need a meter or can you do just as well with the sensor and their smartphone App?
3) I spend a fair bit time in a pool. Will that sensor stay on or do you need to protect it with something?
4) I've read stories of people getting control of their BG thanks to Libre. How? My frustration is with the mornings. I know my BG increases between rising and breakfast a Libre won't show me anything different nor will it show me how to stop it.
Cost is not the issue. In fact if I was having to buy all my strips the Libre sensors would probably work out cheaper based on the heavy testing I've been doing. I'm buying some strips just now but mostly they are on prescription. If I ever get stabilised again I know I'll reduce my testing again.

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Just a few answers - they only guarantee it for up to 30 mins swimming but I think you can do more if you secure it with an opsite dressing or tape. I just buy the sensors and use my phone as a reader.

1) Is it measuring your BG all the time it is attached but you cannot see the results until you 'read' the sensor?

Other people probably know more technical detail (@bluetit and @AndBreathe ) but i think the sensor reads every few minutes and produces a number every 15 mins.
Then when you zap it with the reader, those numbers are stored in the reader. You also get a read at the moment that you zap, so you can zap just before eating, and again at any time after, and get precise numbers. Or you can just zap a few times a day, rely on the 15 min numbers and the curve on the graph. The sensor on you arm only stores 8 hours of data, then writes over its memory. So you need to zap every 8 hours or you lose data.
Each sensor seems to be consistent. But will NOT match your prick tests. Lots of reasons for this. It is measuring interstitial fluid, not blood. Interstitial fluid shows bg changes 10 mins behind blood. Each sensor will run a bit high, or a bit low, but it is the trends we T2s are interested in, not the precise numbers (that way lies insanity, as we all know). But once you know how each sensor is running you can just allow for it and focus on the rest of the brilliant info it is giving.

2) Amazon have a starter pack with a meter and 2 sensors for £159. Do you need a meter or can you do just as well with the sensor and their smartphone App?

I buy direct from FreestyleLibre. Same price, no middleman. There is an Android app that means you don't need a sensor, but since i am Apple, i know nothing about it, im afraid.

3) I spend a fair bit time in a pool. Will that sensor stay on or do you need to protect it with something?

I spend a fair amount of time in a hot tub (im a decadent hussy). I did lose a sensor once through too long a soak (they are supposed to be ok for 30 mins in water). Since then, i tape over them with Opsite tape, and they stay put perfectly no matter how long i am submerged.

4) I've read stories of people getting control of their BG thanks to Libre. How? My frustration is with the mornings. I know my BG increases between rising and breakfast a Libre won't show me anything different nor will it show me how to stop it.
Cost is not the issue. In fact if I was having to buy all my strips the Libre sensors would probably work out cheaper based on the heavy testing I've been doing. I'm buying some strips just now but mostly they are on prescription. If I ever get stabilised again I know I'll reduce my testing again.

I think everyone is going to get different lessons from the experience. For me,

- it took just 3 days for me to realise that my Dawn Phen wasnt DP at all. It was a stress morning rise that started about 20 mins before the alarm. I was able to test different routines and breakfasts and watch the reaction on the screen. I stopped showering in the morning because that always spiked me too with a knock on effect all morning. Now i shower later in the day. Problem solved.

- I found that i get a hypo/dip EVERY NIGHT at 2.30am, then do a series of hoppy skippy liverdumps for the rest of the night. The low points coincided with waking up with sweats, or bad dreams. By dropping to below 20g carbs, the dip and the bumps are much reduced.

- The hot tub drops my bg by 1.0 mmol/l forthe time i am in the tub. Like clockwork.

2 squares 70% choc don't register on the graph.
4 squares do.
If i eat 2 squares every 45 mins, i could eat choc ALL DAY, with no bg impact. If i wanted

- When i had food poisoning, xmas before last, the graph curve was like watching a bouncing ball trajectory. Fascinating. And completely reassuring, because each bounce was slightly lower, and slower, so i knew what to expect next bounce.

- Im able to test a new food, in controlled portions, and have the results recorded for ever on the software. With notes.

And on... And on... I learn something new every sensor.

maglil55 said:

Good news @Chook.
Are you giving up on Diet Doctor or like me adapting it? Thanks to MFP I know the calorie and carb content and I'm happier knowing the calorie intake is around 1200 to 1300 as well as less than 20g carbs daily.
Good luck with the retinopathy test and that's the postie just delivered my invitation for a diabetic review - got to love how you are invited - makes it sound like a party!

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I'm adapting it. What I'm taking from my DD experience (apart from quite a few of the recipes) is that I need to be a lot lower
carb than I was before - reducing from around 40-50g down to 10-20g seems to have helped - but I also need to keep an eye on calories as I gained a total of 4lb while doing DD solidly for three weeks. I've also found (with some experimentation) that my BG is better if I have a light breakfast, light lunch and medium size dinner - rather than skipping breakfast and lunch and having a big dinner. In fact the apple crumble naughtiness last night confirmed what I'd guessed: that what I eat in the evening definitely affects my FBG.

I've got my diabetic review on Wednesday. I learned from the retinopathy woman this morning that there is yet ANOTHER DN at my surgery - they really can't keep staff - fingers crossed she's not as judgmental and opinionated as the last two or three. I might not mention low carbing unless I'm cornered.

I'm at the stage in the recovery from the eye drops where my eyes feel like I've had a very late night somewhere smokey. Going by previous experience, they are just about alright by the time I go to bed. Strange because a man I worked with would be over it in a couple of hours.

I'm not sure about the Libre. Its a nice idea for someone who - like you @Brunneria - takes the information and learns from it, but I'm a worrier - I think I'd just sit there all day zapping it to find out whats going on.

I worry about the unknown.

There IS no unknown with the Libre.

But i do agree, there is absolutely no point with spendingthat money if you aren't going to actively use the info it yields.

Although i should point out there are quite a few negatives with the Libre.
- sensors sometimes get knocked off
- some sensors are faulty and get replaced
- there is a steep learning curve (positioning sensor, delaying and timing activation)
- needing to learn to NOT fixate on the numbers

Brunneria said:

Still roaming the VERY soggy moors.

Amazing how many cafes have wifi though! Haha! I am awash with herb tea.

Re the Libre, i felt the same. Before it, i always had a niggling nagging worrit that i was missing something, the spike, the dip, the something. But when i got it, and saw what was really happening, it was such a relief. Yeah, i changed a few things, but some of them were for the better. A lot of them, actually. I found that gluten was a bigger issue than i imagined, and sugar less so. Portion size importance... Sorry, won't go on. I just feel so much better about the whole thing now.

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Are you staying up near Whitby? I love the Moors up there - really desolate and kind of uplifting in a weird kind of way. In fact I love almost all Moors because I love the feeling of openness - the one near where I live is being put back to rights after years of extracting peat from it and (according to Mr C) its starting to look really wild and promising.

I actually am quite laid back in 'real life' about my BG. I test seven times a day but it doesn't freak me out if I miss one or two - or even more. Very often I can tell by the way I'm feeling whether my BG is higher than I'd like it and it was SO nice to get it back down in to the late 4s and early 5s. I'm back down to 6.1 at the moment so it should just come right before dinner. Hopefully. I can't believe I've had a whole day of feeling 'not quite right' just for the sake of a bit of apple crumble.

So, @Brunneria - you'll have to let me know where you ate the lush chips???? Hmmmmmm?????

Bit better FBG this morning - 6.4 - fingers crossed that it goes down a bit more tomorrow morning.

I'm making a point now of not eating anything after dinner and no snacks during the day. Oddly enough, I am missing fasting.