Incessant Hunger - Polyphagia

[SarahPlum]

Good morning!

I’m recently off gliclazide and was really looking forward to also getting rid of the constant hunger I attributed to the glic.

If the last 4 days are anything to go off, turns out the glic wasn’t the issue - I’m just constantly hungry!

So it must be because my hba1c is 106 and continues to rise. What a viscous circle hey.

How does everyone else cope with not binging when the urge to binge is unbearably extreme?

 

[Goonergal]

How does everyone else cope with not binging when the urge to binge is unbearably extreme?

Eat something that will be satiating and won’t cause BG to rise. Try something naturally high in protein and fat like a lamb chop or other fatty cut of meat. Or bacon and eggs. These sorts of foods will fill you up and keep you fuller for longer, which helps to avoid eating ‘snacks’ or other things that are easily over-eaten.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

What advice has your doctor given you about your very high blood glucose levels? What type of diabetes were you diagnosed with?

 

[lucylocket61]

Good morning!

I’m recently off gliclazide and was really looking forward to also getting rid of the constant hunger I attributed to the glic.

If the last 4 days are anything to go off, turns out the glic wasn’t the issue - I’m just constantly hungry!

So it must be because my hba1c is 106 and continues to rise. What a viscous circle hey.

How does everyone else cope with not binging when the urge to binge is unbearably extreme?

It can take time for your body to rebalance.
What type of diabetes do you have?
What meds are you on?
Can you give us an idea of your daily food and drink?

This, plus filling in your profile, will help us help you. Thanks

 

[Dr Snoddy]

Hi, I have just found another thread in which you have given lots of helpful background and to which other posters have suggested being tested for LADA. It would be really helpful if you did a short summary on your profile.

 

[SarahPlum]

Hia

I’m definitely not LADA. They’ve tested me twice. I’m type 2 and diagnosed since 2018.

Currently on metformin and Sitagliptin. I’ve got a referral back to hospital as GP nurse doesn’t know what to do with me.

Breakfast every day is low carb & low sugar bread with half an avocado, smoked salmon and 2 poached eggs.

Lunch is usually tuna salad or chicken salad wraps.

Dinner can be chicken and veg, or bolognese without pasta, fajitas without rice/wraps etc.

Snacks are protein yoghurt with berries, cheese and ham.

Drinks are one coffee with sweetener and lactose free milk, one Pepsi max, and water.

 

[SarahPlum]

plus filling in your profile, will help us help you. Thanks

It won’t let me fill in a profile so ‍

 

[Antje77]

I’m definitely not LADA. They’ve tested me twice.

What tests did you have and how long ago? Tests can be used to rule in LADA but ruling it out is often much harder.

 

[SarahPlum]

What tests did you have and how long ago? Tests can be used to rule in LADA but ruling it out is often much harder.

Anti GAD and all the others. Twice lol. They’ve said it’s definitely not LADA. Last ones were done 2020

 

[Antje77]

Anti GAD and all the others. Twice lol. They’ve said it’s definitely not LADA. Last ones were done 2020

Positive antibodies plus diabetes are diagnostic for LADA. But the absence of antibodies doesn't rule out LADA.
You could ask for a C-peptide test to see how much insulin you are producing.
There are other types as well, so even if you don't have the antibodies, it's possible you don't produce enough of your own insulin.

 

[SarahPlum]

You could ask for a C-peptide test to see how much insulin you are producing.

I’ve already had it. It’s not LADA.

 

[AloeSvea]

Yes - up your foods that will fill you up more, which is healthy fats and protein - as Goonergal said - lamb chops and bacon and so on. Roast meats can go a long way. Snack on nuts and veg with low-carb high-healthy fat dips. Lots of dairy if you are dairy-tolerant? Make sure you drinking enough? Sometimes thirst can feel like hunger, weirdly. And if you have a pot of tea or a long glass of water you realise it must've been thirst... (which can be keen too, with high blood glucose.)

Are you sure you are OTT-hungry? It didn't look like you were eating heaps in your post up there. Pretty normal! It might be that you feel hunger keenly? But you don't end up eating much more than one might expect? (That is the case for me, normally. I thought I ate a lot more than I do because I feel hunger keenly, but when I did a count-up of the calories I realise I wasn't really.)

 

[Wilber123]

Get GP to check your Leptin hormones. It’s the hunger hormone.

 

[Aishia]

HI there all. Yes I have exactly the same problem, just can't stop eating.I think it because the starved cells need the nutrien t which really they don't get enough of really. Hope the hunger eventually goes when the diabetes is cured.

 

[lucylocket61]

HI there all. Yes I have exactly the same problem, just can't stop eating.I think it because the starved cells need the nutrien t which really they don't get enough of really. Hope the hunger eventually goes when the diabetes is cured.

You should be able to have enough nourishment and not be starving while dealing with your Diabetes. Are you on any diabetes medication? What sort of things do you eat daily?

 

[Oldvatr]

There is s medication named Acarbose which may help. Ask your GP.

Are you tracking your sugar levels daily? Looking at when they peak may help identify any problem meals. What is your BMI? If you are T2D then you may have severe Insulin Resistance, and weight loss is very good at reducing it. The low carb should be doing that, but maybe you could look at the Newcastle Diet or the Fast Blood 800 diet instead. (mind you they will not help the food cravings at all)

 

[Solaire]

At the moment my husband is the same ... but it used to be the other way round. Metformin turned him into almost a walking skeleton. Always 6feet tall and slim, never even
went over 12.5 stone, but once on metformin it took all the muscle off him so I can see how it is now used for obesity. He had no appetite at all. Then couple or so weeks back his blood sugars were very high plus he had infections and was rushed into hospital (he is 79) ...there they tried insulin to get the bloods down a bit better, he is also a steroid dependant so that doesn't help blood sugars ...now he is home and still on with meds plus just 2 units of insulin in the mornings and I can't seem to fill him. Always hungry, which is much better than barely eating, so I am happy with that and he has just demolished a fillet steak quick fried in butter, mixed mushrooms, and lettuce salad sprinkled with grated cheese and said it was delicious ... his last A1c was 104, will have to wait couple weeks for those bloods again. Hopefully it will put a bit of weight back on because it is tricky trying to get insulin into just skin. Is it the insulin which has given him this appetite ??

 

[lessci]

This might seem an odd question, but is it stomach hunger or brain hunger? I struggle with "brain hunger" My stomach is full, but my brain says eat, it's tough to ignore and sometimes I do just give in

 

[lovinglife]

This might seem an odd question, but is it stomach hunger or brain hunger? I struggle with "brain hunger" My stomach is full, but my brain says eat, it's tough to ignore and sometimes I do just give in

I have the same but I call it “mouth hunger” it’s something I’ve had since my late teens and I’m 61 now, I had a lot of food issues when I was younger including eating disorder, for me it’s all part and parcel of that. I manage quite well on the whole but some days I have to take it as little as a minute at a time. I can g for weeks sometimes months with no problem then boom! It reads its ugly head, no real trigger it just likes to remind me is still there grrrr

 

[ianf0ster]

Whenever I have faced severe psychological 'hunger' I've been able to manage it by eating no/very low carb. So I may over-eat, but it doesn't hurt my BG.
Is this very strong will-power, or just luck? - I don't know.
Will I always be able to do this? - I don't know, but I will always try to prevent any chance of getting into the Sugar high then sugar low followed by hunger, then sugar high and start again cycle.