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First day Low Carb Dieting. . . already had a hypo!

S

ShelleyHarris1981

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Location
Wolverhampton
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Racism,ignorance,nastiness,selfishness
Ok Im type 1 and had a baby 3 months ago and want to lose baby weight so though would try low carbing (I was diagnosed type 1 in pregnancy at 20 weeks)

For breakfast I had 2 rashers of bacon (grilled) and a boiled egg. I injected 2 units of insulin.

One hr later I felt quite poorly and checked my BS and I was 3.3.

Obviously I had to treat the hypo with carbs! So how can I maintain a low carb diet if Im going to keep hypoing.

For dinner I was going to have steak with salad. Im worried I will hypo again though.

In day I am home alone with my son so cant risk going too low and anything happening.

Help please?!?!x
 
You need to work out how many units of Quick acting you need per 10 carbs. I too would have been hypo with what you gave yourself.

A good starting point is 1 unit per 10 carbs.

My ratios is higher on weakening and I need 3 units for 10 carbs, then the rest of the day it's 1:1.

I'm follow a low carb diet and also do intermittent fasting. Good luck


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I had the same thing when I started low carbing. Finally arrivred at 1 unit for 10g in morning and 1 unit for 15g rest of day

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Ok thank you. Will keep at it. When i injected 2 units that seemed so low as it was but will try same brekkie tomorrow and inject 1 unit. Im determined to get hang of this!
 
ShelleyHarris1981 said:
Ok thank you. Will keep at it. When i injected 2 units that seemed so low as it was but will try same brekkie tomorrow and inject 1 unit. Im determined to get hang of this!
Click to expand...


Definitely try the 1 unit and see how it goes, if it works make a record of it for future reference as you should for all your meals. As you are already on low doses of insulin to cover your food you might find a pen that delivers half units useful, I use the NovoPen Echo which delivers half units and also has a timer function, it also tells you how many units you injected at your last meal and is a great little pen :thumbup:
 
Hi Shelley,
I'm a T1 and low carb. The beauty of low carbing means that the smaller doses of insulin means smaller mistakes, both high and low.

It took me a while to become clued up with dosage and what I could eat, but low carbing has become revelatory for me. I've gone from having a high nearly every day and a few hypos per week to having a few of each per month.

Stick to it, it will work wonders. If you've not bought it already buy Richard Bernstein's Diabetes Diet book.
 

Thank you for your reply. Will definately look into this pen
 

Hi there,

thank you for your reply and your encouragement. Will definately buy that book.

Tried same breakfast again today but added one crackerbread (im hoping these are ok) and injected one unit. Tested before my lunch and was 4.6 so really pleased.

I just want to feel as fit and healthy as possible and keep at it!
 
Your gp will be able to prescribe the NovoPen Echo or your DSN might have some freebies if you ask Shelley, I just got mine 8 weeks ago from my gp and find the memory function and the choice to dose in half units extremely helpful.
 
When I have egg and bacon breakfast, I usually don't take any bolus insulin. Exceptions are when I wake with a high BG (8 or more), then I have 1 unit and make sure to have a coffee with milk in it sometime a hour so later.

This seems to keep me in the zone!
 
I feel like its definately a learning curve to see what works!

What do you guys have for lunch most days? I seem to have no inspiration here at all. Im so used to just doing a sandwiche etc but want to leave bread well alone if i can
 
I have problems with lunches too. Mainly cos it involves prep!

Salad seems to be the key. Chicken, cheese ham etc with tomatoes, mushrooms, lettuce, cucumber etc.

Alternatives are tinned mackerel on Ryvita. Or sometimes (this isn't healthy or well balanced but is easy!) I have a tin of curry. Tesco, morrisons etc all have a few where the carbs can be under 10g for the tin.
 
I did a salad today as just couldnt think of anything else! I think will buy some ryvitas, i got crackerbreads this morning but its like eating air :? I just dont want to get bored and give up.
 
Perhaps I should have elaborated earlier on the book recommendation, Shelly...maybe I was in a rush! Bernstein is an 80-odd year old doctor who also has T1. He has low-carbed for a long time and this book describes its advantages. It's also full of recipes. He prescribes carbs of 6, 12 and 12 g for breakfast, lunch and dinner, respectively. I find this a bit too restrictive so just avoid bread, pasta, rice etc and this works great for me.

Also consider buying Karen Barnaby's Low Carb Gourmet. It's full of great recipes.

Here are my usual lunch options: salad, soup, omelette. I have a recipe for low carb bread under "Perfect Low Carb Bread Recipe", you'll need a bread-maker for it though. You can also have cured meats, cheese, coleslaw, cottage cheese, tuna. I've found that since LCing that the variety of food that I'm eating has increased considerably. I also eat a lot more veg than I used to.

I get a free lunch where I work right now, so I either go to the salad bar and have a salad, or have the main course with no carbs but a double dose of veggies.

Oh and thanks Noblehead for the echo pen idea, I was going to start a post enquiring about this as I'd forgotten it's name. :thumbup:
 
noblehead said:
Your gp will be able to prescribe the NovoPen Echo or your DSN might have some freebies if you ask Shelley, I just got mine 8 weeks ago from my gp and find the memory function and the choice to dose in half units extremely helpful.
Click to expand...

I pick up my novopen echo tomorrow after some great advice. It only took a quick call to my DSN and she spoke to my GP and told them I had to have it as my doses are so low. I didn't know it came with additional features so that's a bonus!
 
Hi Sam,that book sounds really useful. And I never thought about an omelette for lunch but thats a great idea and will keep me full up until dinner which is a bonus! I love cooking so will look out for some recipe books over the weekend. Im feeling more confident with it all now, thanks evwryone.
 
Bottomless quiche too. Either buy one and don't eat the crust or make one yourself, it's pretty east.
 
Just a little update. First week and already feel energetic and better. Bloods all been between 4 to 5 :-D had 2 hypos but one was completely my fault as did a 40 minute cardio workout and bloods were 4.1 when I started. I was under impression my bloods would rise but had dropped to 2.7 15 mins after stopping.lesson learned of course!
 
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