Keto hypos

[GerryBolger]

Hi just started keto last couple of days and I’m tethering on 1.5-3mmols most of the time even after eating. What snacks can you recommend I’m not a huge fan of cheese but will eat cheese

 

[bulkbiker]

Are your test strips still within their use by date?
Taking any medication?

 

[KK123]

Hi just started keto last couple of days and I’m tethering on 1.5-3mmols most of the time even after eating. What snacks can you recommend I’m not a huge fan of cheese but will eat cheese

Well I see you are 'pre diabetic'? Are you saying your glucose levels are between 1.5 & 3 most of the time? I agree with Bulkbiker, make sure the strips aren't faulty because 1.5 is extremely low and of dangerous levels I believe.

 

[GerryBolger]

I should have said I’m dx T2 a few weeks ago (will update) and using Libre CGM ans it’s accurate.

 

[bulkbiker]

HbA1c when diagnosed?
Any medication?
Have you cross checked your Libre with finger prick tests.
Sorry for all the Q's but context is v important as those are pretty low readings.

 

[Rokaab]

I should have said I’m dx T2 a few weeks ago (will update) and using Libre CGM ans it’s accurate.

Personally I've found the libre incredible inaccurate when below 4 or 5, even when it was pretty accurate most of the rest of the time, Abbott do suggest backing up with blood test when it shows below 5

 

[GerryBolger]

HbA1c when diagnosed?
Any medication?
Have you cross checked your Libre with finger prick tests.
Sorry for all the Q's but context is v important as those are pretty low readings.

I don’t normally check as have needle phobia. I’d also say it feels like I’ve a hypo I’m useless in the afternoons.

But can I bring this back to my original question which is what snacks can people recommend.

 

[Rokaab]

I don’t normally check as have needle phobia. I’d also say it feels like I’ve a hypo I’m useless in the afternoons.

But can I bring this back to my original question which is what snacks can people recommend.

Unfortunately unless you check with an actual blood test you don't know whether its an actual hypo or a false hypo - these can happen when you're lower than you're used to being but not actually in the hypo range, at which point you probably would not want the same solution.

At 1.5 many would not be conscious and isn't very likely unless taking insulin or maybe RH.

 

[MrsA2]

Nuts, olives, full fat yoghurt, dark chocolate. Home made granola bars

 

[GerryBolger]

Unfortunately unless you check with an actual blood test you don't know whether its an actual hypo or a false hypo - these can happen when you're lower than you're used to being but not actually in the hypo range, at which point you probably would not want the same solution.

At 1.5 many would not be conscious and isn't very likely unless taking insulin or maybe RH.

I know it’s a true hypo! I can feel it

 

[Resurgam]

Unfortunately if you are used to high blood glucose, then quite modest drops in your numbers can feel like a hypo.
As a type two, unless you are on medication then you are unlikely to have a hypo - those numbers are strange - though there is the possibility of you having reactive hypoglycaemia.
Soon after going back to low carb eating I did feel a bit wobbly a few times, but a warm drink and a couple of grapes sorted it - my brain was just having a bit of a tantrum about the loss of the warm sugary bath it had been in when I was eating high carb.

 

[EllieM]

Nuts, olives, full fat yoghurt, dark chocolate. Home made granola bars

Don't you need carbs if you're actually hypo? (Genuine question, as I'm T1 and I have to treat insulin induced hypos with sugar. I realise it's probably different for those not on insulin).

But I too find those readings too low to be believable unless backed by a glucometer, libres are useless at low bglevels.

 

[GerryBolger]

Turns out doing research that Keto and my slightly raised cholesterol isn’t a good match. So I’m giving up that said I’m looking to get a low carb diet in.

I found this in an interesting article:

The simplest, most accessible way to figure out if the keto diet may not be ideal for you is if your total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio is above 4 and/or your LDL-P (not your LDL-C) remain high or increase after starting the keto diet. If this is the case for you, then it may indicate that your particular condition requires you to make adjustments to your keto diet (i.e., following a Mediterranean keto diet as we’ll learn about later) or to follow a different dietary approach altogether.

In: https://www.ruled.me/the-ketogenic-diet-and-heart-disease/

It recommends a Mediterranean keto less restrictive carbs and lower fat and higher olive oil. Maybe if interest

 

[GerryBolger]

Unfortunately if you are used to high blood glucose, then quite modest drops in your numbers can feel like a hypo.
As a type two, unless you are on medication then you are unlikely to have a hypo - those numbers are strange - though there is the possibility of you having reactive hypoglycaemia.
Soon after going back to low carb eating I did feel a bit wobbly a few times, but a warm drink and a couple of grapes sorted it - my brain was just having a bit of a tantrum about the loss of the warm sugary bath it had been in when I was eating high carb.

More than wobbly had to go to bed.

I’ve stopped the keto and today had a moderate brunch. First time my bg above 100 / 5.3 mmol

 

[HSSS]

Turns out doing research that Keto and my slightly raised cholesterol isn’t a good match. So I’m giving up that said I’m looking to get a low carb diet in.

I found this in an interesting article:

The simplest, most accessible way to figure out if the keto diet may not be ideal for you is if your total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio is above 4 and/or your LDL-P (not your LDL-C) remain high or increase after starting the keto diet. If this is the case for you, then it may indicate that your particular condition requires you to make adjustments to your keto diet (i.e., following a Mediterranean keto diet as we’ll learn about later) or to follow a different dietary approach altogether.

In: https://www.ruled.me/the-ketogenic-diet-and-heart-disease/

It recommends a Mediterranean keto less restrictive carbs and lower fat and higher olive oil. Maybe if interest

Oh dear. This is based on myth that saturated fats causes heart disease and raised cholesterol. It’s usually in fact the carbs and the inflammation they cause, part in diabetic people. Keto usually raises hdl which improves that ratio as well. Ldl is almost always c not p in the U.K. and particle size testing rarely done. (And keto produces protective large ldl rather than potentially damaging small dense ldl). There’s an enormous thread by @bulkbiker about cholesterol that has more links than you’ll ever get through on the subject and from far better sources than ruledme.

 

[HSSS]

And I can only echo what’s been said about checking the libre at these levels. A real and a false hypo feel much the same. And if it does look like you are going hypo without medication (you still haven’t clarified that) then look into reactive hypoglycaemia particularly if these episodes occur after eating some carbs. If you are on diabetic or any other meds that can induce hypoglycaemia then I strongly recommend you reconsider those before giving up keto/low carb if you otherwise are happy eating that way.

 

[Robbity]

As a low carbing T2, I found for the occasional false hypos I had early on, and for what it's worth many years previously, and well before diabetic diagnosis, for the few genuine and rather scary migraine induced hypos I had then (as I wasn't aware then of such things) the only thing my body craved - and in the case of the more serious migraine ones actually insisted on - was immediate access to sugar.

Regarding the Libre sensor levels, mine always and consistently read 1-1.5 lower than my finger pricks, and I also had to let them sit and acclimatise for about 48 hours rather than the usual 12, or they'd claim during some of that initial period - particularly overnight if I lay on that arm - that I was more or less dead :

 

[GerryBolger]

And I can only echo what’s been said about checking the libre at these levels. A real and a false hypo feel much the same. And if it does look like you are going hypo without medication (you still haven’t clarified that) then look into reactive hypoglycaemia particularly if these episodes occur after eating some carbs. If you are on diabetic or any other meds that can induce hypoglycaemia then I strongly recommend you reconsider those before giving up keto/low carb if you otherwise are happy eating that way.

Sorry missed the meds bit - currently diet controlled.

 

[GerryBolger]

As a low carbing T2, I found for the occasional false hypos I had early on, and for what it's worth many years previously, and well before diabetic diagnosis, for the few genuine and rather scary migraine induced hypos I had then (as I wasn't aware then of such things) the only thing my body craved - and in the case of the more serious migraine ones actually insisted on - was immediate access to sugar.

Regarding the Libre sensor levels, mine always and consistently read 1-1.5 lower than my finger pricks, and I also had to let them sit and acclimatise for about 48 hours rather than the usual 12, or they'd claim during some of that initial period - particularly overnight if I lay on that arm - that I was more or less dead :

View attachment 47619

Interestingly my sensor has come to an end and wonder is that what’s affected it.