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LCHF diet and type1

Louise M

Well-Known Member
Messages
81
Location
Ireland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The misinformation out there about diabetes and misunderstanding of difference between Type1 and 2 .
Hi , Im thinking of going on the lchf diet. I have sent off for book recommend ed on another thread. I have a few questions as a lit of times the posts seem to be by type2.
1. Have you been on diet and how did you find it ?
2. My DNS recommends keeping ketones under .6 , how high do they go on lchf ?
3. Have you discussed it with diabetes team and what reaction did you get ?
4. Anything else i should know ?

Thanks so much
Louise
 
Hi Louise, it completely transformed my control. Before, the best hba1c I could manage was in the 7s and plenty of hypos to show for it. I've been low carbing for about 3 or 4 years and ever since my hba1c has been in the 6s and I have a much reduced hypo frequency and severity. Also, my background retinopathy has disappeared.

It won't necessarily raise your ketones, but diabetic ketoacidosis and having elevated ketones from a low carb diet are completely different things. One is dangerous and one isn't. Plenty of posts on here explain the different.

Don't expect much support from your DSN. Most are firmly in the carb counting, eat normal brigade. Despite the fact that it doesn't work for most people.

The best way to persuade your DSN is by showing them the difference it has made to your hba1c.

Try it, you definitely won't regret it!
 
Ya that was my plan and tell them after the fact. By low carb , how low should you go , i ask cos crisps are my downfall / pick me / treat
 
Ok read in another post you need to bolus for protein ? I tjought protein didnt need insulin ?
 
Protein requires some insulin when you eat it unaccompanied by carbs. Usually about 50% of the amount required for the same weight of carbs, but you'll need to work it out a bit by trial and error.
 
Thanks Tim and Sam
 
I guess low carbing is loosely-defined. It basically means avoiding startchy carbs, so things like bread, rice, pasta, potato are pretty much off the menu. As ever, things in moderation is fine, so a pack of crisps every now and then isn't going to kill you!

Generally, I hover around 50g per day, sometimes lower, but not very often higher.
 
3. Have you discussed it with diabetes team and what reaction did you get ?

Hiya.
I discussed my Lchf diet plan with my dn. She was very supportive and said that if I need any support from the team then ring any time!! She was brilliant. Mind you I was so worked up and excited about the appointment that my bp was high and she told me to sit back and stop talking so she could take it again...Woops ( it was fine then!)
All the best with the plan
 
Louise M said:
Ya that was my plan and tell them after the fact. By low carb , how low should you go , i ask cos crisps are my downfall / pick me / treat
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Personally, I like to stick to 50g of carbs per day which means I won't go into ketosis. I also try not to exaggerate on saturated fats and stick to olive oil, nuts, etc. This helps me keep my LDL cholesterol under control.
 
Hi I do the lchf. I gave ketones ranging between 0.5 upto 3 ish with normal blood sugars with no problems.
The only times I hit a blood sugar of 10 is when I miscalculate doing a HIIT session.
My lows maybe high 3s so safe to sort out. Wouldn't class it as a hypo. My highs if I miscalculate the effect of protein are in the 8s.
Protein is the funny one. I find Lean chicken and tuna takes roughly an hour to show up. Fattier meat longer. Beef tends to show up about 3-4 hours later, normally when I'm in bed.
Typeonegrit on Facebook do lchp as its mainly aimed at type 1 kids but some pretty good information that I use as well.
Highs are lower, lows are higher. You get off that roller coaster. My hba1cs are in the 5s now.
Good luck.
 
I've properly dropped back onto LCMPMF (low carb, moderate protein, moderate fat) this week. My "high" has been 7.3 and my "low" 3.9. My Libre lines have been joyously flat.

It's great!
 
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1 Year on LCHF/Bernstein/low carb, for the first time since I got T1 37 years ago I'm in control. I feel much better!
2. Never check ketones, but as long as your blood sugar is OK you do not need to worry.
3. Ignorance, your LDL is to high, you need statins, the diet is bad and will increase your risk of heart issues, and this when I reduced my Hba1c from 7.9 to 6.5 in 3 months!!!!
4. Keep it up, it have taken me 1 year to learn/relearn, but my Hba1c have always been in the 7.5 - 8.0 range, no matter how much I have tried to do good. My three tests since I started low carb is 6.5, 5.6 and last 5.4. My low are much easier to control, the urge to eat is much less. I'm much clearer and feel much better. I don't have very high highs, my really bad highs are 10 normally I'm below 8 all the time, before they where 15 or even 20.
My basal insulin is about the same, my bolus is less than 50% of before. (you do need insulin for protein, but I hear that some honeymoon T1s can do without bolus injections.
 

Fantastic results!
 


StefanS - please may I ask what brand/make/name of Basal and Bolus insulins you use, e.g. Humalin-S or Humalog etc?
Thank you.
ZCB
 
Having a half-unit pen has made a massive difference to my control. Any meal post-exercise, 1 unit up front would send my dropping rapidly but 1/2 unit seems to be fitting the bill perfectly!
 
teacher123 said:
Having a half-unit pen has made a massive difference to my control. Any meal post-exercise, 1 unit up front would send my dropping rapidly but 1/2 unit seems to be fitting the bill perfectly!
Click to expand...

I would find it extremely difficult not having half units. I sure wish my basal pens came in 1/2 units. 1/2 units are great for slight corrections or small meal/snacks.

I have to bolus for protein but I don't eat many carbs (under 20).
for me I take 1/2 unit per 10g protein but miles vary of course. Fattier protein may require a little more later
 

1/2 unit pens should are available for lantus and levimir...what basal are you on??
 
Lantus and not available here. I just asked again last month. Pity
 
ZCB said:
StefanS - please may I ask what brand/make/name of Basal and Bolus insulins you use, e.g. Humalin-S or Humalog etc?
Thank you.
ZCB
Click to expand...
Hi ZCB.
Im on Apidra/Solostar and I was on Lantus, but I have changed to Levimir recently.
 
I don't need half unit for basal, I take 7 basal in the morning and 10 at night, 1 more or less does not matter much.
But I really do need it for bolus, my bolus is 2.5 to 4, there is one pen with half doses that have just been available where I live but I have not managed to get it yet.
What I did after asking for help from DN and Doctor and pharmacy and getting no help was to get 'normal' insulin syringes and use them to 'suck' out the bolus doses for my apidra pen. Now I can give half units and even a bit less. I use this method at home only and Im stuck with full units when Im out. But since I eat more dinners at home and all breakfasts I can adjust most doses like this, and it helps a lot!

I also uses much less insulin since I don't need to 'prime' the pen, and the 2 (or 3) wasted doses per injection is a lot when you take 3 units for a normal dose and adjust once with maybe 1 units, that is 4(3+1) units used instead of 10(3+3 +3+1).
 
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