Hello again !

[susieq67]

It's been some time since I was last here - I had been cruising along quite nicely with my Type 2 until the end of November last year when I had a nasty fall and fractured a couple of vertebrae I subsequently spent the best part of the following month in bed in a great deal of pain. As a result of being so inactive and not being able to walk "normally" since I now have issues with hip/knee pain which travels down through my shin to my ankle to boot. Due to swollen ankles and the leg pain Physio asked for blood tests for heart failure and Myeloma to be included in my next blood panel - happy to say that both of those have proved negative.

I had a diabetes review at the beginning of this year and my Hba1C levels were higher than previously so my Diabetes Nurse included 40gr Gliclazide twice a day to my meds (that's as well as Metformin 1000mg twice a day and Dipaglifozin 10mg once a day) with another review to follow end of May. The latest lot of blood tests show my blood glucose levels at the highest they have ever been since I was diagnosed back in 2014 - over 70 so nurse has upped my Gliclazide to 80mg before breakfast with 40mg before my evening meal.

I'm trying to adjust my food intake to fewer carbs (already good about anything containing sugars) but it's proving difficult for a number of reasons. I also get regular flare ups of Colitis and diet for that is counter productive to both my diabetes and my heart health (I had a quadruple heart by pass back in 2015). Diabetes and heart call for a diet high in fibre / fruit & veg whereas the diet for Colitis requires low fibre - i.e. white bread, white rice and low levels of fruit & veg. So I find myself in a catch 22 situation - controlling one condition aggravates another ! Plus if I don't have any carbs I can get acid indigestion So where do I go from here to keep all parts of me working ?

Despite the Gliclazide my numbers are still too high. I'm still in a lot of pain from the fall and I'm pretty sure that the pain, taken with the steroids that my GP prescribed for my latest Colitis flare up has contributed to my high numbers.

So does anyone have any suggestions please ?

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @susieq67 It's new to me that a diet for Diabetes management requires a high fibre diet!
Certainly I was eating much more fibre before I was diagnosed (low fat, whole grains, plus exceeding 5 day fruit and veg) than I am now - low carb, very little fruit (occasional berries).
I had a 3x bypass in 2016, but since the so called heart healthy diet was bad for my diabetes I started doubting the whole Cholesterol hypothesis and found that the alternative inflammation caused by high insulin (amongst other things) seemed to match what was actually happening in my body. For example the more fat I ate, the more weight I lost and the higher my HDL and the lower my triglycerides !

 

[susieq67]

Fibre helps to satisfy and control hunger and is recommended for heart health as part of a balanced diet - it's not just found in wholegrains - i.e. bread, rice etc but also in a number of veggies and fruit (especially if consuming the skins) but these (along with nuts and seeds) are precluded/limited with Colitis as they aggravate the condition. which is a b*gger as I'm a semi-vegetarian. I'm aware of the sugars in fruit and mainly consume various berries with the occasional apple and/or apricot. My favourites of bananas, grapes and pears have long been consigned to the "not allowed" category !

When I was first diagnosed I did try the LCHF way of eating but found it made little difference to me. For the last few years I've managed my diabetes, heart health and colitis well - it's just that since my fall (and the subsequent issues) I am finding it difficult to control my blood glucose levels. My weight is stable - neither gaining or loosing and my cholesterol levels are (according to my diabetes nurse "perfect").

So as I said originally - where do I go from here ?

 

[Antje77]

taken with the steroids

Steroids are often a nightmare with diabetes, and they can cause high numbers even in people who eat a keto type diet.
Wish you all the best, and I hope you'll find a good balance between the different needs for your different conditions and medications!