lack of sleep

[wobblybill]

Just diagnosed recently with type 2. Work 12 hour night shifts sometimes 3 nights in a row. Don't get much sleep during day. usually about 4 hours. BS about 140 - 150 mg/dl prior to metformin. Does lack of sleep affect BS ?About 50 pounds overweight. Trying low carb diet. Any advice?

 

[Guzzler]

Yes it can. Lack of sleep or sleep disturbance can raise blood glucose levels in T2s.
As to advice on lowering your carb intake, if you are just starting out then do it gradually to avoid 'Carb flu' which is quite unpleasant. Remember that as you cut carbs from your diet you must fill the gap with fats and protein. The fat level and type is a personal choice. Personally, I choose animal fats i.e fatty cuts of meat, dairy and eggs. Others choose avocado, olives, olive oil etc. Fats and protein will stop you becoming hungry but the transition from a carb rich diet to a carb restricted diet may take a few weeks or even months.
There is a sub forum here under the heading 'Low Carb Diet'. There you can ask questions, see recipes and discuss any hiccups you might be facing. Good luck.

 

[ickihun]

Just diagnosed recently with type 2. Work 12 hour night shifts sometimes 3 nights in a row. Don't get much sleep during day. usually about 4 hours. BS about 140 - 150 mg/dl prior to metformin. Does lack of sleep affect BS ?About 50 pounds overweight. Trying low carb diet. Any advice?

Yes. For sure.

Now you know your sleep pattern isn't right. What help are you going to seek out? Lavender or herbal drinks.
Your difficulty is the shift work. Your body is all over the place.
Any chance you can do one steady shift, instead of different ones?

I'm sure I'm an insomniac after shift work and baby night feeds or cuddles. Hoping my psychologist is going to give some pointers in preparation for bariatric surgery.

 

[Grateful]

Just diagnosed recently with type 2. Work 12 hour night shifts sometimes 3 nights in a row. Don't get much sleep during day. usually about 4 hours. BS about 140 - 150 mg/dl prior to metformin. Does lack of sleep affect BS ?About 50 pounds overweight. Trying low carb diet. Any advice?

I worked night shifts for a number of years. They were eight-hour shifts, not twelve (so my system may not work for you). What I did was shift my entire life. I got up at 10 p.m., had breakfast, went to work at midnight, took a break at 4 a.m. and had lunch at the company canteen, went home at 8 a.m., had dinner around 11 a.m. (steak, beer, etc., in the local diner but I was in New York City where nobody cared) and then went to bed at 2 p.m. for eight hours of sleep. Rinse and repeat. For one year I even did "night school," taking Arabic lessons at a nearby university at 9 a.m.

At weekends, I went home on the first day, went to bed at 2 p.m., slept for four hours then got up at 6 p.m. then behaved as a "normal person" for the rest of the weekend. At the end of the weekend, I went to bed at 6 p.m., slept for four hours then went to work as usual.

This of course made me extremely anti-social during the week when I could never go out with friends in the evening. The weekends were fine, though. It worked well for me, and indeed I was a lot more alert at work than my colleagues and felt that my performance benefited.

Having said all of that: I was young, unmarried, and carefree. I cannot imagine trying to do the same thing now!!!

(Edited to correct some time details, it was a long time ago....)