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How long does it take for the numbers to come down?

PoppyPetal

Well-Known Member
Messages
78
Location
Spain
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Finally after got back to lchf. Also now on metformin 2x 500. How long before the numbers change?
 
You should start seeing small changes daily if you are low carb enough. As far as metformin no clue because I have never been on it but I have heard weeks. You'll probably see much faster results with low carb

How low carb are you ?
 
LCHF worked pretty fast for me...within days. And things stabilize within a couple of weeks. No medication, insulin or exercise.

 
Hi Kristin,
Highest day has been 60gms, lowest day 30 but most days between 40 & 50. Suffered terrible leg cramps at night the day I managed with just the 30gms. Don't know if that could be connected.
 
Hi kokhongw,

My numbers now are generally between 6.1 and 8.1 except for the day I ate a little white rice which then went to 9.5! They are stable when I eat low carb but I would like them to be lower the sooner the better.
 
Its taken me nearly10 weeks as a type 2 with insulin and low carbing to get consistent number under 6.
It does happen but it can be slow for some of us.
You just have to be patient.
 
Took me 2/3 months to get numbers from 16/17 down to the 7's. And that was with intermittent fasting. No insulin.
 
Oh well I will do my best to stay as low carb as I can but if there's no change in another few weeks I will look into the fasting aspect. I really don't fancy the idea of going without food for any length of time as I have a job where I have to be fully focused all the time. I somehow don't think I would be if I was hungry....
 
It will probably be slower second time around, if you went off the rails a bit.
Don't worry.
You will get there, and the fact you now know what you are doing may well speed it up.

Well done for climbing back on the wagon!
 
How high were your carbs before you reduced them ? The lower you lower them I would imagine would give you faster results. In other words if yiu were high carb like 200 and dropped to 50 then I would expect faster results. It does take time to empty glycogen stores.

I'm not big on fasting anymore either but it's more because I love my food haha
 
PoppyPetal said:
Hi kokhongw,

My numbers now are generally between 6.1 and 8.1 except for the day I ate a little white rice which then went to 9.5! They are stable when I eat low carb but I would like them to be lower the sooner the better.
Click to expand...

If you are averaging 6-8 mmol that is already very well controlled. And it is normal to spike to 9.5 when T2D consume a little white rice...inspite of what everyone says about low glycemic index etc, for many of us when we test 1hr/2hr/3hr we can see the surge. I would love to get a Freestyle Libre just to graph this out

I find that the real challenge is not the post meal numbers, but the fasting level. It stayed high above 7mmol for a month or so...until I started intermittent fasting for 2 days in a row. So with a couple of weekly or fortnightly IF, fasting level stabilize around 5.5 mmol.

I believe if I add high intensity exercise to improve muscle mass, then it would be possible to reach fasting level of 5mmol. That's the goal. For now I am only able to reach below 5 mmol either with fasting or drinking the correct raw puer tea.

I find it amazing that carbs reduction shows almost immediate improvement as I had tried many kinds of chinese herbs before and my family had struggled for years to improve my dad's without much success...
 
Thanks for the comments everyone just had a great pre lunch result of 5.4 today. Lowest figure since I started testing. Mm Kristin I like my food too and could easily have been in the 200gm or more before the lchf. I lived on crisps, sandwiches and all things loaded with carbs for more or less every meal. I am adopting Martin Lewis's money mantra " do I really need it, can I afford it and is it worth it'. So whenever anyone puts a slice of birthday cake or a box of chocolates in front of me that goes through my head! Working so far but a ver long way to go
 
As you see the numbers continue to decline it gives us great incentive. Then when we cheat or eat a little too much diabetes reminds us there is no breaks. I love your mantra. I have learned more often than not it just isn't worth it. Always a penalty to be payed
Congrats on your success. As you continue you will most likely enjoy fresh wholesome foods even more. The thought of bread does nothing for me anymore though I remember I liked it. Lettuce wraps hold my sandwich fillings now and so much better. I even crumble a nice rare burger on a big piece of romaine and drizzle with mustard and mayo. One of my favorite meals and diabetes approved haha. It is quite a change and not as convenient but a little creativity goes a long way
 
with carb reduction and metformin (2x500mg) I was seeing the numbers start to come down pretty much immediately - but not dramatic drops just a nice fairly steady progression,.... from 16.9 day after diagnosis to 10`s and 11`s the first week, 8`s and 9`s the second week by the end of week 3 I was seeing 6`s and 7`s - halfway through week 4 ... I`m seeing consistent mid 5`s to mid 6`s during the day .... although still dreadfully annoyed with the whole dawn phenomenon liver dump early morning 7`s and 8`s ... hoping that starts dropping soon - I`ve got my first blood work check up in 2 weeks

All that said, everyone is a little different

Incentive wise, I`ve always been food knowledgeable and a very good amateur cook and baker - so I`m trying hard to focus on the `this just a new creative challenge for me`, and `lets find the things we can eat, and find ways to make those treats we used to love, without being detrimental to our health`.. rather than the depressive `things I cannot eat anymore thing` (I`m currently working on a puff pastry experiment)
 
Kristin, I have not thought of your burger idea, sounds delicious. Will try that soon.
Oceans edge, my readings were nowhere as high as yours to start with but I seem to be getting mid 5's prior to lunch on last two days. Having said that I have included a coffee with cream mid morning on these two days so perhaps that is the reason. But at least it is going in the right direction. Like you I seem to suffer with higher early morning readings but will stay with my plan for the moment and maybe re-evaluate in another couple of weeks. Keep us all updated on your new blood work.
 
Poppy, you said you ADDED coffee and cream with BF or replaced it?
Fat will slow a spike and tend to make the rise a bit less but on the other hand it also can cause insulin resistance. I find I do need fat with all meals but normal moderate amounts and I do better with plant fats such as avocado nuts olive olive oil rather than saturated fats. They tend to have a larger ride and doesn't come back down but YMMV. Lots of people do well with saturated fat, I'm just not one of them.

When I was T2 having a very small fat snack between meals was enough to elicit a small insulin response and sop up some of the BS enough to lower me a bit. Just a few nuts or maybe your cream in your coffee.
 
When I make burgers for dinner, my husband and kids have them in rolls and I have one with mushrooms and aubergine. I grill or bake two portbello mushrooms and 2 slices of aubergine, then make a stack of mushroom, aubergine, burger (with mustard and mayo), auergine and mushroom. It's delicious, better than a roll I think. And really filling.
 
Kristin, how does fat cause insulin resistance? Everything I've read states that high blood glucose triggering an overabundance of insulin in your bloodstream is what causes insulin resistance. This fat causes IR is news to me. Where did you read that?


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