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Feeling very disheartened

J

juebaloo

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello, I had gestational diabetes 13 years ago when I had my son and it sadly returned. I have managed to get my levels to a normal level twice by following an extremely strict low carb keto diet. However every time it has appeared ok to still be low carb just not as strict my levels go all over the place. I'm now training twice a week and feel I need some carbs not just protein to have a balanced diet The drs were surprised my levels have gone up and now I'm on a statin for cholesterol despite being the fittest I've ever been.I was gutted. I've been given a monitor which is showing me the levels are all over the place if I eat anything. Feeling very despondent. Do I really have to eat eggs and courgettes forever?!
Any advice appreciated. I'm on metformin a statin and another drug to make me wee out some sugar and help kidneys.
 
bulkbiker said:
Which can raise your blood sugars.. any particular reason why they put you on them?
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I didn't used to take any meds I just used really strict Keto, but we are talking extremely low carbs. Since being on Keto my cholesterol has risen, again I never had problems with any of this before. They left it for a while but now its pretty high so hence the statins.
 
Should say I eat a diet of mainly chicken and lots of green veg and salad with the occasional low carb. I feel I need more substantial offerings now I'm training more
 
Can you give us an idea of what you eat over the course of a day, what your blood sugar levels are, and when you take your readings please.

The timing of your testing can be important. What was your last hba1c and when was it done?

Hopefully some of us can come up with some ideas to help. What is the name and dose of your diabetic meds?
 
juebaloo said:
Should say I eat a diet of mainly chicken and lots of green veg and salad with the occasional low carb. I feel I need more substantial offerings now I'm training more
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I am going to challenge the assumption that ;you need carbs to train! I am a PT, train a lot and I am not fuelled by carbs but it took a while to adjust during which time I cut back lowly and made sure I was eating plenty of eggs, cheese, meat of all kinds with veg on the side to ensure I didn't feel hungry. I know that there is no nutritional need for carbs.
It is possible you could succeed on a low fat/high carb vegan diet (lots of wholegrains, veg) but this will compromise your health as you can't get enough complete protein no fat soluble vitamins so you'd be supplementing.
Not surprised ;you are feeling disheartened and it may just be that now you have a sensor you are simply more aware of blood sugars. For example some people get a temporary spike in bgs during exercise.
If you are taking both metformin and a .......geflozin (to help your kidneys pee out glucose) but still not getting good sugars then I'd suggest you are going to have to look out for carb creep justified by training. Your pregnancy gave you a useful hint that you don't tolerate carbs so well whatever type they are. But it sounds as if you feel quite upset about the prospect of giving up those type foods and aren't feeling good on whatever you are doing now?
I think that you should not be concerned about LDL as some people who go to low carb can see a response which then settles down but even if it didn't it is your high bgs that are causing damage to your arteries not the fat you are eating or need to eat to feel full on a low carb diet. T I would discuss your triglycerides and HDL level for example which may be a far better indictor of your heart health. Ask the GP how many more days you will live if ;you take this statin for the rest of your life? Or the number of patient like you that would need to take this treatment in order to prevent a heart attack?
Finally I'd say that whatever you settle on you do have to eat this way for the rest of your life so its going to have to be a step by sttep process perhaps rather than 20g a day .....
 
Your monitor is your friend. Keep notes of what you eat and when, and your monitor will show you if that food was the right kind of food for you.
It's probably going up when you eat carbs, but note rises may be delayed by alcohol or fats, pizza is notoriously slow to spike.
Once you've seen for yourself what certain foods do, it's much easier to cut right back in them, for life. For people with diabetes eating low carb (not necessarily keto) has to become a way of life, not just a short term diet that can be dropped once completed.

Search Google for fasted marathon and read of the doctor, and others, who did back to back marathons , not just without carbs, but without food at all. There's more and more research showing we don't need carbs, but we do need protein, fats and micronutrients.

You will get there, and it can even a good way of life.
 
juebaloo said:
I didn't used to take any meds I just used really strict Keto, but we are talking extremely low carbs. Since being on Keto my cholesterol has risen, again I never had problems with any of this before. They left it for a while but now its pretty high so hence the statins.
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How long had you fasted before the blood was taken for the cholesterol test?
 
Hi. Note that you can have both fats and proteins and not just the latter. Fats don't necessarily raise your cholesterol despite the medics saying otherwise. You don't 'need' carbs but the fibre is important. The body can metabolise the glucose you need from fats and proteins. It is not essential as part of a balanced diet as you may have already found. Can you give us some idea of your BMI as I wonder whether you might be late onset T1 (LADA). If you are slim then consider that
 
@juebaloo how long have you been taking the statins? My hba1c rose from 48 to 54 when I started taking them but dropped to normal levels once I came off them.
 
@juebaloo Gestational Diabetes can be a precursor to both type 1 and type 2. If things aren't making sense, it's possible you could be a type 1 instead. Medications and lifestyle changes can work at first because when you get type 1 as an adult it is a slower process to lose the ability to make insulin. 35% of us are misdiagnosed as a type 2 at first. If you continue to have a problem or your sugars just won't behave, you might ask for an antibody test. If positive it's a sign of being a type 1. Some type 1's don't make the antibodies and they don't know why. Also a C-Peptide test, if low or low normal it's a sign of being a type 1 because you are lacking insulin production, high or high normal are a sign of being a type 2 because you are insulin resistant and making more insulin to make up for it. I'm not saying you are, I just want you to keep it in mind if things don't make sense.


@NicoleC1971 You can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet. It's a myth you are missing complete proteins. Plenty of athletes are vegan nowadays in all sorts of sports. I have been a vegan for the last 37 years and I used to lift weights. I maxed out the machines on my legs and arms at the chain gym and switched to GOLD's Gym, a very famous weight lifting gym....as a 10 year vegan at the time. I am not short any nutrients or have any health issues other than a bad back, which is from a car accident and a fall down stairs. And now I get on an exercise bike for 10 miles every day and snorkel in sometimes strong ocean currents for 2-3 hours at a time about once a week.( And a vegetarian for 54 years ).
 
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Marie 2 said:
@juebaloo Gestational Diabetes can be a precursor to both type 1 and type 2. If things aren't making sense, it's possible you could be a type 1 instead. Medications and lifestyle changes can work at first because when you get type 1 as an adult it is a slower process to lose the ability to make insulin. 35% of us are misdiagnosed as a type 2 at first. If you continue to have a problem or your sugars just won't behave, you might ask for an antibody test. If positive it's a sign of being a type 1. Some type 1's don't make the antibodies and they don't know why. Also a C-Peptide test, if low or low normal it's a sign of being a type 1 because you are lacking insulin production, high or high normal are a sign of being a type 2 because you are insulin resistant and making more insulin to make up for it. I'm not saying you are, I just want you to keep it in mind if things don't make sense.


@NicoleC1971 You can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet. It's a myth you are missing complete proteins. Plenty of athletes are vegan nowadays in all sorts of sports. I have been a vegan for the last 37 years and I used to lift weights. I maxed out the machines on my legs and arms at the chain gym and switched to GOLD's Gym, a very famous weight lifting gym....as a 10 year vegan at the time. I am not short any nutrients or have any health issues other than a bad back, which is from a car accident and a fall down stairs. And now I get on an exercise bike for 10 miles every day and snorkel in sometimes strong ocean currents for 2-3 hours at a time about once a week.
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Your dietary advice round veganism is helpful if someone is type 1. If the op turns out to be type 2, the helped needed involves carb reduction.
 
lucylocket61 said:
Your dietary advice round veganism is helpful if someone is type 1. If the op turns out to be type 2, the helped needed involves carb reduction.
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It was in response to this statement.
NicoleC1971 said:
It is possible you could succeed on a low fat/high carb vegan diet (lots of wholegrains, veg) but this will compromise your health as you can't get enough complete protein no fat soluble vitamins so you'd be supplementing.
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But my hubby was/is a type 2 and he swims an hour 5 days a week and walks and while he is a vegetarian, we don't have any other food than vegan in the house. He does enjoy getting a cheese pizza off and on, but he rarely eats anything other than vegan. He does just fine. He does not low carb. . But he uses walking and swimming to help control his BG levels. He's never had a problem getting enough protein either. There are other choices that can work other than low carb. You have to pick what works for you.
 
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