Many diabetic have great success using a supplement called r-ala for nerve damage. It helped me with reducing my doses of insulin but I did not lose weight thou, even though I needed a third less insulin. It got rid of my numbness under my baby toe and tingling.determined45yearold said:Had an appointment with the endocrinologist and the oral glucose tolerance test went from a fasting of 9 all the way to 19 ( yes 19) before coming back down to 7.8
I am devastated as I have been put on glicizide and obviously have full blown diabetes and they are doing more tests to see if I need insulin.
Let this be a warning to everyone else to take things really slow and steady when they get diagnosed. I tried to fix it all as quickly as possible and have messed things up so badly. My eye is starting to burn, my thighs are burning, my feet are burning and my hands tingling. They started out nothing like this when I was diagnosed and low carbing and cutting out too many food items obsessing about keeping your pre and post time readings to below 7 becomes a bit compulsive.
I have probably advanced my diabetes by 10 or 20 years, what an idiot I am and the worst thing about losing the weight is that I now feel as if I have a weaker left leg and really am struggling to eat enough of any food to stop myself from wasting away any more. The muscle has mostly all gone and the sugars have nowhere to go.
How the hell do I get back to some form of normality?
@determined45yearold i read this entire thread and joined this group to reply specifically to you. I'm really sorry for what you're experiencing. On top of that it's obvious that the other members mean well but don't understand what you're experiencing.
I found this thread because I've had a similar experience on a very low carb diet to get some fast fat loss and to reign in my ha1c levels. I accomplished both goals by losing 13lbs and getting my Ha1c levels below pre-diabetic levels.
However, I've also been dealing with some nasty side effects. High anxiety levels like I'm "on" something, heart palpitations that have lead to sleepless nights and an intolerance for exercise that raises my heart rate to much (approaching anaerobic levels). Before all this recent nonsense, I've been working out hard for The past 24 years or so.
Went to the doctor and he told me something similar t what you were told about anxiety. So I get where you're at.
I've been able to reign in and reverse many of the symptoms but I'm still having issues returning to exercise. Even a 30-45 minute walk can bring on the palpitations again.
First thing I want to tell you is that low-carb, high-fat diets aren't for everyone. There are plenty of people who have ended up with reactions like ours--heart palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety, panic attacks, lightheadeness, etc. Just google low carb Keto heart palpitations and many stories come up.
I'm going to share what I did to reverse things but I also want to say that I'm not a doctor so do your due diligence and listen to your body if something doesn't feel right. I do have a degree in biology, have been in the fitness industry for over 18 years and host a podcast where I speak to medical doctors, nutritionists, etc on a regular basis. Unfortunately, medical and nutrition professionals well versed in this stuff are difficult to find as I've been actively searching.
First thing is that you gotta stop this diet. I'm hypothesizing that your magnesium and potassium levels may be too low and your sodium may be too high. That may be the cause of the high blood pressure. Tingling in your extremities is a sign of hypokalemia (low potassium). Did you have your blood and urine electrolytes checked? I would experiment with taking an electrolyte replacement supplement as that may make you feel better right away. Just watch the sodium levels as high sodium intake may make your blood pressure worse. Keep tracking your blood pressure to see how you respond. Lyteshow or salt stick would be two examples of electrolyte replacements. That would be a relatively safe option to see if it helps. If you drink plain water it will just go right through you potentially even making the problem worse
Another important thing to mention is that low carbohydrate intake can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels. That may be at work here as well. I would slowly start adding in carbs like potatoes and sweet potatoes (good sources of postassium) and focus on eating plenty of green leafy vegetables (good sources of magnesium). Even if you started eating 150-200 g carbs per day , that's still on the low side. Just start slowly.
I know that's heresy to say these days -- especially for diabetics. But the most current research suggests that diabetes is caused by overeating--and there's nothing magical about whole food carbs that causes diabetes. It's eating too many calories and behaving too much body fat.
Low carb diets are known to cause a diuretic effect I.e. increased urine production and loss of water. The effect is called the naturiesis of fasting. This can cause electrolyte imbalances like I mentioned above and dehydration. Dehydration is another factor that increases cortisol--more anxiety and feeling terrible. So when you start eating carbs again you will start to reverse this effect.
I would also make sure you're eating enough protein. You say that you're losing muscle. That's definitely not a good thing. Shooting for 0.8g per lb or 1.7g per kg every day will help stop that. Getting some Greek yogurt will help you get more potassium in naturally.
As far as managing your diabetes, which how I h you eat, I would recommend finding a doctor who specializes in treating diabetes with diet. What I can tell you to do is to is to try eating 12 calories per lb (or 26 calories per kg I believe).
Then figure out how much protein you're going to eat. Protein is 4 calories per gram and as I mentioned above, shoot for 1.7g per kg per day.
Then bump up your carbs to around 150-200g per day--which is still on the low side. Carbs are 4 calories per gram.
So after you have your protein per day and carbs per day, the remaining calories will come from fat. Getting your fat mostly from mono-unsaturated sources like avocados and olive oil as well as nuts and seeds is best. But having some naturally occurring saturated fat is ok too.
So what I've given you is a blueprint to eat a more sane and balanced diet that will help you to start reverse some of the symptoms you're feeling.
And find a doctor who understands the situation that you're in and won't resort to intellectual laziness and chalk it up to anxiety.
I hope this was helpful and I hope you feel better. I'm in reaching out to some very smart doctors and nutrition experts who may be able to shed more light. When I learn more I'll post again.
@determined45yearold i read this entire thread and joined this group to reply specifically to you. I'm really sorry for what you're experiencing. On top of that it's obvious that the other members mean well but don't understand what you're experiencing.
I found this thread because I've had a similar experience on a very low carb diet to get some fast fat loss and to reign in my ha1c levels. I accomplished both goals by losing 13lbs and getting my Ha1c levels below pre-diabetic levels.
However, I've also been dealing with some nasty side effects. High anxiety levels like I'm "on" something, heart palpitations that have lead to sleepless nights and an intolerance for exercise that raises my heart rate to much (approaching anaerobic levels). Before all this recent nonsense, I've been working out hard for The past 24 years or so.
Went to the doctor and he told me something similar t what you were told about anxiety. So I get where you're at.
I've been able to reign in and reverse many of the symptoms but I'm still having issues returning to exercise. Even a 30-45 minute walk can bring on the palpitations again.
First thing I want to tell you is that low-carb, high-fat diets aren't for everyone. There are plenty of people who have ended up with reactions like ours--heart palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety, panic attacks, lightheadeness, etc. Just google low carb Keto heart palpitations and many stories come up.
I'm going to share what I did to reverse things but I also want to say that I'm not a doctor so do your due diligence and listen to your body if something doesn't feel right. I do have a degree in biology, have been in the fitness industry for over 18 years and host a podcast where I speak to medical doctors, nutritionists, etc on a regular basis. Unfortunately, medical and nutrition professionals well versed in this stuff are difficult to find as I've been actively searching.
First thing is that you gotta stop this diet. I'm hypothesizing that your magnesium and potassium levels may be too low and your sodium may be too high. That may be the cause of the high blood pressure. Tingling in your extremities is a sign of hypokalemia (low potassium). Did you have your blood and urine electrolytes checked? I would experiment with taking an electrolyte replacement supplement as that may make you feel better right away. Just watch the sodium levels as high sodium intake may make your blood pressure worse. Keep tracking your blood pressure to see how you respond. Lyteshow or salt stick would be two examples of electrolyte replacements. That would be a relatively safe option to see if it helps. If you drink plain water it will just go right through you potentially even making the problem worse
Another important thing to mention is that low carbohydrate intake can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels. That may be at work here as well. I would slowly start adding in carbs like potatoes and sweet potatoes (good sources of postassium) and focus on eating plenty of green leafy vegetables (good sources of magnesium). Even if you started eating 150-200 g carbs per day , that's still on the low side. Just start slowly.
I know that's heresy to say these days -- especially for diabetics. But the most current research suggests that diabetes is caused by overeating--and there's nothing magical about whole food carbs that causes diabetes. It's eating too many calories and behaving too much body fat.
Low carb diets are known to cause a diuretic effect I.e. increased urine production and loss of water. The effect is called the naturiesis of fasting. This can cause electrolyte imbalances like I mentioned above and dehydration. Dehydration is another factor that increases cortisol--more anxiety and feeling terrible. So when you start eating carbs again you will start to reverse this effect.
I would also make sure you're eating enough protein. You say that you're losing muscle. That's definitely not a good thing. Shooting for 0.8g per lb or 1.7g per kg every day will help stop that. Getting some Greek yogurt will help you get more potassium in naturally.
As far as managing your diabetes, which how I h you eat, I would recommend finding a doctor who specializes in treating diabetes with diet. What I can tell you to do is to is to try eating 12 calories per lb (or 26 calories per kg I believe).
Then figure out how much protein you're going to eat. Protein is 4 calories per gram and as I mentioned above, shoot for 1.7g per kg per day.
Then bump up your carbs to around 150-200g per day--which is still on the low side. Carbs are 4 calories per gram.
So after you have your protein per day and carbs per day, the remaining calories will come from fat. Getting your fat mostly from mono-unsaturated sources like avocados and olive oil as well as nuts and seeds is best. But having some naturally occurring saturated fat is ok too.
So what I've given you is a blueprint to eat a more sane and balanced diet that will help you to start reverse some of the symptoms you're feeling.
And find a doctor who understands the situation that you're in and won't resort to intellectual laziness and chalk it up to anxiety.
I hope this was helpful and I hope you feel better. I'm in reaching out to some very smart doctors and nutrition experts who may be able to shed more light. When I learn more I'll post again.
hi littlegreycat,
I am ending up having eggs for breakfast almost every day even though I don't really want to but I can't seem to have force myself to have anything different. I have also started having weetabix first thing around 7.00 am. I am forcing myself to eat all the carb stuff to keep the calories up but I still don't think it is enough and I'm sure I'm doing myself real harm.
Today I had around 7 am 2 weetabix with green milk
Around 11
Linseed bread with chicken and low fat Mayo
Linseed bread with ham salad
Piece of melon
Low fat yogurt
5pm
2 salmon , 6 small potatoes and mixed bean salad
I am also considering having spaghetti bolognaise with some wholewheat pasta to give me more calories tonight.
What else can I make myself eat
Seems like everything fat that I eat is going on my stomach but coming off my legs. I'm definitely not eating a balanced diet but don't know what I am doing.
I really can't face eating any more fat, I'm already pretty certain I have messed up my arteries (blood pressure now above 150/90 whereas in January it was 130/80) from eating more carbs, butter and meats and nuts cheese etc to try and gain weight. I'm actually putting more fat on my stomach and losing it on the tops of my legs. I did have nice big footballers thighs but they are dissolving into skinny things that are getting weaker all the time. I will get to the gym tomorrow and start with the resistance training as suggested and hopefully get a grip of what's happening to me.Do you mean if you eat fat you gain weight, but still your legs are getting thinner?
What are your bloods doing when you're eating your increased carbs? Are you tracking those?
If you can eat fat, and protein, that is an ideal way to stabilise weight, because there are loads of calories in cheese or butter. Switching you low fat mayo for the full version would also help if you can tolerate the fat.
I really can't face eating any more fat, I'm already pretty certain I have messed up my arteries (blood pressure now above 150/90 whereas in January it was 130/80) from eating more carbs, butter and meats and nuts cheese etc to try and gain weight. I'm actually putting more fat on my stomach and losing it on the tops of my legs. I did have nice big footballers thighs but they are dissolving into skinny things that are getting weaker all the time. I will get to the gym tomorrow and start with the resistance training as suggested and hopefully get a grip of what's happening to me.
Hi, I would suggest seeing a dietician - not a nutritionist. They can take blood test, advise on weight & a healthy diet, for you as an individual who has diabetes. I know that drinking too much water can make electrolytes etc and kidney & liver not function correctly. Hope you get the help you need & feel better soon xHi all,
Sorry i've not introduced myself in the newly diagnosed section but I've been browsing the forums for the last few months and feel part of the community although this is actually my first post.
I was diagnosed on 20th December 2016 as a Type 2 diabetic with a hba1c of 58 and was 92kg (14.5 stone)to start with. I started reading the forums and watching a few videos and everything seemed to make sense regarding consumption of carbs and the effect it had on your body continually wanting to eat them. The first doctor i seen said i had to go on tablets straight away but i asked for 1 month to try and make some changes. My cholesterol was 6.4 and trigs were very high .I had about 2 to 2.5 stone that i could do with losing but still felt pretty healthy and strong although i had been running on empty for many years and always seemed to have problems with sleep.
I started off so well by cutting out virtually all bread, cereals, rice, chips, potatoes etc and started walking at least 4 miles every day although i was already doing a fair bit of walking anyway but had a really sedentary job and 2 hours of commuting each day. I was having bacon, sausage, egg, beans, tomato for breakfast almost every day or some slight variation of it and then having full fat yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, and a few strawberries at morning break followed by a salad and chicken dish at lunchtime. I would then have a salad with steak and mushrooms or other meat dish for tea and would have peanut butter or single fat cream at other times to satisfy my hunger if needed although i was rarely hungry.
I managed to get my hba1c down to 44 by the end of January ( yes within about 5 weeks) and had got down to 84kg with cholesterol going down to 5.7 and trigs and liver function back to normal. I was actually feeling better than i had done in many years and had fantastic energy. I had been checking my blood sugar and had seen my fasting blood sugar come own from 7.1 to low 5's which was superb.
I continued along the same path and then got down to about 78kg by the end of february of this year but started feeling a bit rough and had lost muscle along with fat. I didn't really notice it until i took a few photos and seen how thin i had got and noticed i had lost an inch of muscle from my thighs, going from 23" to 22". I still have a BMI of 25 but feel that going any lower than this would make me look far too thin. I must have been consuming far too few calories on my initial diet and this incorporated with the walking and 3 times a week swimming led to such fast weight loss.
I took myself back to the doctors although i actually also went to A and E first as i felt as if i was going to have a heart attack during march. I started going lightheaded and a bit dizzy while i was out doing my walking and also at other various times. Also started feeling a bit weak on the left side of my body and going dizzy when standing up if i knelt down. My blood pressure was around 140/80. The hospital and the doctors didn't take me seriously and just think that i had health anxiety which of course i have got a bit of but I really don't understand what is happening to me at the moment. When the doctor got another hba1c done it had gone down to 39 which he was very happy with but why am I feeling so bad. The blood test did show that i was dehydrated but i have been drinking over 3 litres of water every day so would have thought that would have made some difference by now. I have tried to start re-introducing carbs into my diet as the weight loss is too much but everytime i tend to eat it is as if someone has given my amphetamine or something similiar. I seem to be on an emotional roller coaster every single day and although i am eating enough to keep weight on it is such a chore.
Have i messed up my body in such a small space of time by trying to go low carb? and why am i having such adverse affects everytime i eat. I have been back the doctor to try and get on metformin or whatever but he can't give me it as my Hba1c is so low. whenever i eat anything with a smallish amount of carbs my bloodsugar goes up but as soon as it goes over 7mmol i start to feel so awful. Once it gets back down to 5 to 6 i feel OK This has been going on for six weeks or so now. Have i damaged my metabolism or have i become totally carb intolerant? I know my blood sugar is up again but i can't believe how bad a reaction i'm having to the food i am trying to eat as i really don't think i'm having that many carbs. Has anyone else experienced this?
I think muscle building will help but be careful it doesn't get done fanatical too. Slowly slowly does it. Good luck!I really can't face eating any more fat, I'm already pretty certain I have messed up my arteries (blood pressure now above 150/90 whereas in January it was 130/80) from eating more carbs, butter and meats and nuts cheese etc to try and gain weight. I'm actually putting more fat on my stomach and losing it on the tops of my legs. I did have nice big footballers thighs but they are dissolving into skinny things that are getting weaker all the time. I will get to the gym tomorrow and start with the resistance training as suggested and hopefully get a grip of what's happening to me.
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