I was diagnosed with T2 in mid July 2019 (HbA1C=117) and immediately went onto low Glycaemic Index diet with greatly lowered calorie intake) and lots of exercise. I lost about 10 kilos in 3 months (9% body weight) and started monitoring my BG regularly about a month into this regime - it was fairly consistently around about 6 mmol/l which was a huge reduction from 18 at the time of diagnosis. However my first post diagnosis HbA1C results in October was a comparatively disappointing 51 (my BG app had estimated a much lower figure). I realised my diet was still fairly high in carbs though “good” ones - pulses, fruit, high fibre etc., so I decided to switch to LCHF. I’ve been doing this for just over 2 weeks ago and I am very dubious about the effect, hence this posting. I usually consume under 30 g carbs/day and always under 50 g. I am not counting calorie intake though its obvious to me these have shot up.
Now my BG HAS gone down - it was averaging about 6 mm/l / day, now its more like 5.2 and my fasting blood glucose has dropped similarly (with a reading low for me of 4.4 mmol/l 2 days ago). However I really find the effects unpleasant - the constipation is awful and I now take daily doses of lactulose to counter it. I always seem to have greasy taste in my mouth, and worse of all my weight loss has ground to a halt and may be rising, which to is not surprising as my calorie intake has jumped right up (and I usually burn 1500-2000 calories a week in exercise). I also confess I really feel uncomfortable about the effects on my cardiovascular system of this diet - both my parents and one of my brother had heart attacks (which immediately puts me as very high risk) and it seems positively dangerous to have a cube of cheese when you are desperate for a snack rather than half an apple (which is what I would have done a month ago).
What do people think? Should I just live with the constipation and possible heart disease risk? Or maybe up my carb intakes a bit? I Trouble is its over 2 months to my next HbA1C which does seem an age.
As others stated, your heart'll probably thank you for low carbing. I know two people whose heart quit because of their high carb intake combined with T2. One was a direct complication of the other. So that's hopefully one worry less. And eating more fats and less carbs normalised my cholesterol, if that's what you're worried about... No more statins for me, and it's true for quite a few others here too!
Everyone's giving great advice on the constipation thing... Now, I don't know if you're constipated or just going less, as there's less waste on a low carb diet... I'm down to once or twice a week, without cramps, IBS or other issues. But, well over a year ago I was in agony. My gut was full of bricks, I was bleeding all day, had more pain than I care to remember, and
I'm still healing. That was due to the artificial sweeteners I'd started using in my coffee, tea, and the diet cokes I was guzzling. Artificial sweeteners kill gut bacteria, and without those you either get the runs or, well, the bricks I mentioned. If you are using sweeteners, and are in pain, stay away from them for a few days, take probiotics and maybe some sauerkraut. That'll sort you out if that is the problem, and it'll give you answers pretty quick. Otherwise, the psyllium, magnesium, potassium, olive oil, increased water etc will help with the bowel movements. Don't give up just yet! And good luck!
Jo