"First" appointment update

[callieuk]

Had my second appointment with the PN today, she went through my food diary and warned me about potatoes (one scoop mash/less than five new potatoes) warned me off melon, queried my choice in yoghurt. Showed concern about my egg consumption (earned myself a cholesterol check with that one) and that was it. Prescribed one x metformin for three weeks then a likely increase to two after she checks me out.

I asked about the benefit of testing - they don't recommend it as I can't make changes (!) to adjust. Trust me I'm a pincushion at the moment by self testing. Doesn't advocate a low carb diet (no evidence apparently). I also queried bread - had a breakfast toasted muffin at work this morning which spiked a 15.3 reading (eeeeek) and was told they contain a lot of sugar as they are processed (likely true but c'mon it's a muffin! )

I'm using mysugr at the moment and it's a true eyeopener, in three months I've had one good reading and only a handful of amber ones - the red runs true here at the moment and I am determined to get it all green as soon as possible.

I'm deferring my dissertation until September and have a new boss who seems to get it all in her stride so fingers crossed the stress, combination of monitoring/metformin/LCHF will see me right in no time at all (although I'm giving myself until at least autumn to start feeling the effects. Didn't get this way in 5 minutes - won't fix it in 5 either!

 

[eggs11]

Keep going @callieuk - your strategy of monitoring/metformin/LCHF is a powerful one - if you keep notes of the foods that aren't spiking you and stick to them you should start to see improvements. There's lots of evidence that low carb does work (this forum's success stories for starters!), so just keep adjusting/lowering your carb intake until you see what works for you.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hi and best of luck with your Summer project! Re those eggs, your PN should know that according to the official 2015 US dietary advice 'cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern' . It is important to know that you can eat eggs happily because they may well be a mainstay of a LCHF diet. Cholesterol is made by our bodies and the less we eat the more we make. Eggs contain fat but your 'good' cholesterol (HDL) should go up on the LCHF too whilst your triglycerdes (a proxy for how much carb you are eating) should decline and that is your best indicator of risk.

 

[Resurgam]

How many potatoes??!!!!
She obviously has no idea of how high such foods send the BG of the average type two - nor of the changes which can be made by changing the diet.

 

[Rachox]

Well done Callie on sticking to your guns. Keep at it and prove your nurse wrong!
Low carb self monitoring and Metformin have done the trick for me

 

[callieuk]

Well done Callie on sticking to your guns. Keep at it and prove your nurse wrong!
Low carb self monitoring and Metformin have done the trick for me

You and others are my inspiration! I do not intend to roll over and play nice when all the evidence points the other way (academic logic brain here).

I don't understand why testing is so frowned upon - if lack of knowledge about food is increasing dependency upon drugs, stop treating the symptoms, treat the cause! Don't get me wrong, I consider myself food savvy but it's not until you see the numbers (I use MyFitnessPal) and the result on the bgm (contour and mysugr) that you realise how many carbs you eat!!!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hopefully with all the testing you are doing your Mysugr app will start to show a lot of nice green readings.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Showed concern about my egg consumption

Eating eggs will not affect cholesterol levels, even Ancel Key, the American physiologist who studied the influence of diet on health, hypothesizing that dietary saturated fat causes cardiovascular heart disease and should be avoided, stated that ingested cholesterol does not "add" to your cholesterol levels. That was back in the 1950s/60s.

I asked about the benefit of testing - they don't recommend it as I can't make changes (!) to adjust. Trust me I'm a pincushion at the moment by self testing. Doesn't advocate a low carb diet (no evidence apparently).

She's well behind the times. You can obviously make changes, that's why people talk about eating to the meter. How else can you spot the effects of dietary changes or even the effectiveness of the drugs. Does she want you to wait until SHE does an HbA1c. Ludicrous.

Doesn't advocate a low carb diet (no evidence apparently). I also queried bread - had a breakfast toasted muffin at work this morning which spiked a 15.3 reading (eeeeek) and was told they contain a lot of sugar as they are processed (likely true but c'mon it's a muffin! )

Only been used as a way of reducing blood sugar since the 1800s (See William Banting). Sugar isn't the only baddy, carbs convert to . . . . . guess what?

Sounds like you're doing the right things, lowering carbs, do keep monitoring, I feel sure you'll notice differences much sooner than 6 months away, depends on your carb intake. I gave up potato/rice/pasta/bread and reduced carbs to 40gms per day. Enough to throw away Gliclazide and Januvia and Atorvastatin.