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how many carbs is too few?

miss miss

Well-Known Member
Messages
52
Location
Hobart Tasmania Australia
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
insulin
I just came out of intensive care unit for diabetic ketoacidosis [apparently I died] and they put me on insulin which I politely took for a few weeks, but this is not for me - it hurts and the bruises hurt for days on end.

so I have reduced my carbs to just under 10 grams a day and that means I dont have to inject insulin because my blood glucose is 6.2 constantly

yesterday the only veggies I ate was 4 mushrooms

so I want to know if that is long term sustainable because taking insulin injections is not long term sustainble for me

so any ideas what professional I can go to for good Keto advice? anyone here know a lot about strict Keto?

if anyone is wondering what blood glucose I had to be taken to hospital it was 25
 
In theory, carbs are not an essential macro, so you don’t need any. I cut all carbs when I first found out, added back green leafs veggies after my BG levels were getting in range . Might be a bit drastic for some though.
 
LaoDan said:
In theory, carbs are not an essential macro, so you don’t need any. I cut all carbs when I first found out, added back green leafs veggies after my BG levels were getting in range . Might be a bit drastic for some though.
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thank you for that info
 


good idea. I MUST be producing some insulin because on 10 grams of carbs I get glucose readings of 6.2 without injecting any insulin and that gives me hope

thank you for your suggestion
 
If you go carnivore, you'd be at 0 carbs a day... And that would still work, long-term. Only issue being, we don't know what type you are, and you really do need to know. If you're a T2, keto, carnivore, low carb should work for you. but if you're a T1 in one of its many guises, you could still be in the honeymoon phase... And then it isn't sustainable for the long haul, as after a while your pancreas will quit. So if you don't know your type yet, get GAD and C-peptide testing done so you know for sure. And just so you know, you could get on a pump rather than injections, if that suits you better.

Good luck,
Jo
 
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i was diagnosed as type 2 seven years ago so could i suddenly be in honeymoon period?
 
miss miss said:
i was diagnosed as type 2 seven years ago so could i suddenly be in honeymoon period?
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we have members here on the forum who have been diagnosed T2 and continue for years under that assumption, only to discover that they were T1 all along.

7 years of misdiagnosis is not unheard of.

So I agree with the others, getting a clear diagnosis (one way or the other) is a very good idea - especially if you end up being T1/LADA where insulin is a necessity if you want to stay alive.

If the tests reveal that you are indeed T2, and how much insulin you are still producing, then you will Have a good indication of whether a strict low carb regime will keep your blood glucose down low enough to avoid escalating medication, possibly leading to insulin.

best wishes, and I hope you can get clarity on this.
 
There doesn't appear to be any minimum requirement, so people are largely free to choose whatever intake works best for them. Personally I reckon I average less than 5g per day.
 
Jim Lahey said:
There doesn't appear to be any minimum requirement, so people are largely free to choose whatever intake works best for them. Personally I reckon I average less than 5g per day.
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good to know -what do you do about any nutrient deficiencies?
 
miss miss said:
what do you do about any nutrient deficiencies?
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I don't have any that I'm aware of. I eat nose-to-tail carnivore with heaps of organ meat - the most nutritionally dense superfood on the planet.
 
miss miss said:
i was diagnosed as type 2 seven years ago so could i suddenly be in honeymoon period?
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Honestly? With diabetes, just about anything's possible. But your numbers are looking better than they were, so that's good. It's just, T2's don't often get DKA without something triggering it. (Like steroids taken for another condition). It can happen, but it's rare, from what I understand. So between that and your avatar/profile not mentioning type, that's why I asked what type you are.
 
The issue here seems to be finding out what caused your DKA.
Why did it happen? What did the doctors say?
 



thank you for sharing this story and I am happy to hear you pulled through and found the best way for you. This give me great tips and is very helpful.
 
miss miss said:
and I thought the thread was about carbs and how many is too few
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The thing is... There's no such thing as too few carbs. Zero's fine, which has been established. The ketoacidosis on the other hand can kill you quick, again, and if you don't know what caused it, it could well happen again. It could also be an indicator that you were misdiagnosed, (happens a lot) which can also turn ugly, as a T1 or similar, needs very different treatment than a T2. It's no more than concern for your well-being, not morbid curiosity. Also, if you go for a very low carb diet, like 20 grams or under, you'd be producing ketones... And if a steroid for instance is keeping your blood glucose high in spite of that, ketoacidosis could occur again. (As it happens when both ketones and blood sugars are high). So in that sense, it is actually relevant to your query...
 


I know what caused and it will not happen again - thank you so much for your concern, I am really chuffed
so what exactly are steroids and how do they fit into the scheme of things?

also if low carb is supposed to produce constipation why have I gone the opposite
 
Steroids are used as an anti-inflammatory. Just so happens the body also makes them for other purposes, and that they trigger a response from the liver: It'll dump glucose. When our bodies have enough, the demand stops naturally... But when a steroid is ingested or injected, there's no off switch for a while, and the liver will keep on dumping for as long as the steroid's active. It can't distinguish between naturally produced steroids and the kind we take. Which can be quite inconvenient.

If your BM's are loose, it is most likely metformin or sweeteners causing the problem. For me, metformin had me locked in the loo for weeks, until the nurse took me off them. (It's a side effect that should abate after 2 weeks. If it doesn't, it's not going to.). And artificial sweeteners are toxic to gut bacteria, which can cause the same. As can sugar alcohols. So it's a matter of finding out which is the culprit.
 
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