• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Low carb and ridiculous number of hypos!

C

char87

Active Member
Messages
39
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi

I have started low carbing recently to try and lose some weight and am eating around 60g of carbs a day. I am using the DAFNE ratios decided on by my diabetes team when eating the carbs but have started having a lot of hypos. Is there any reason why i would need to reduce my background as well when eating less carbs? i always thought it would just be the short acting that i would need to drop to match what I am eating. Last night for example I was 10 when i went to bed (went slightly higher as i maybe should have injected 1 unit with tea) but i didnt correct before bed and still dropped to 2.4 in the night. I overate a bit for the hypo and woke up at 9, injected my usual dose for 20g of brnaflakes (2:1 ratio so 4 units) and then it dropped to 2.2 within an hour of breakfast!

This obviously isnt helping my dieting and am keen to get it sorted but just a bit lost at what to do- i dont think it is the ratios as i only did dafne in novemebr and they were tested then.

Thanks
Charlotte
 
Try altering the carb ratio fist before adjuxting basal. The weather temp will also influence bg levels and its now getting warmer with spring coming

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
could it be that the cornflakes, not being high in fibre or a long acting /slow sugar release have been worked on by your insulin which is continuing to work 1-2 hours after you've eaten, with no food left so you just go lower and lower? have you tried a different breakfast, eg porridge breakfast/something with more fibre in to see if you get the same results so that you can eliminate whether it's the type of food and the effect of your insulin on that food, then you can look at changing carb:insulin ratios or as above, look to your basal after you've tried this?
 
My basal was around 18-20'ish on normal carbs, but it's 12-14 on low carb. Not sure why. If you feel your BGs are always dropping - especially overnight - then it's more likely basal.
 
Hi
Agree with robert, if you are going hypo in the night then its more likely due to too much basal and you need to reduce but test during the night to find out if the reduction is enough. Easier said than done, but try not to over treat the hypo. Probably 10g carb or jellybabies, lucozade is all that is needed unlike during the day

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Don't forget also if your losing weight your basal needs will decrease.
 
I tried low carbing, I felt ill, as I am not overweight and always on the go I was hypo'ing all day, I had no energy, oI went back to 'moderate carbs' about 180g per day. that suits me fine now, although I look on those low carbers with envy!
 
susieg said:
I tried low carbing, I felt ill, as I am not overweight and always on the go I was hypo'ing all day, I had no energy, oI went back to 'moderate carbs' about 180g per day. that suits me fine now, although I look on those low carbers with envy!
Click to expand...

Sounds like you had 'low-carb flu' which are flu-like symptoms whilst your body adapts to burning ketones. Usually lasts a few weeks. I got it the first couple of times I tried low-carb, but then I managed to circumvent it by reducing carbs gradually.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I dont think it is the branflakes causing the hypos as I still get them in the evening etc (at alonst every meal) which makes me think it is the basal. The low carb is working really well for me in terms of energy levels and weight loss but am now at least a hypo a day which is really frustrating, If I could get rid of these hypos my control would be great! I will try reducing my basal again- have already gone down by a couple of units so just concerned that I only seem to be needing lower doses now but interesting to hear that others on low carb have experenced a refuced need too.
 
If you afe lowering your carb intake and therefore your bolus amounts it goes hand in hand that your basal will also need to be lowered... If you look at your previous doses of basal to bolus ratio... And you look at your current bolus to basal ratio you will probably find that they are out of sync.
Lower carbs will not only affect your bolus's....


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
If you afe lowering your carb intake and therefore your bolus amounts it goes hand in hand that your basal will also need to be lowered... If you look at your previous doses of basal to bolus ratio... And you look at your current bolus to basal ratio you will probably find that they are out of sync.
Lower carbs will not only affect your bolus's....


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
On my carb counting course, we were told that over night you should aim for around a 2-3 drop in BM, from a BM taken at least 4 hours after eating/taking your last dose of bolus insulin, to your fasting reading in the morning. If you drop more than this over night then your basal needs adjusting. Adjust by 2 units, then leave for 2 nights before adjusting again. If you go hypo, so a big drop, adjust by 4 units.

For example, if you have your evening meal and bolus insulin at 6pm, check your bloods at 10pm before bed. You should be aiming to go to bed with a reading of 7-9. If you eat later/go to bed earlier, take into consideration that your bolus will still be working, as it continues to lower bloods for about 4 hours. If you test just 2 hours after your evening meal, your reading should be around 8-10. As long as you went to bed with a good reading, When you wake up in the morning, a good fasting reading should be about 4-6.

Once you get your basal right, everything else will fall into place. It may take some effort, but will be worth it. Hope this all made sense, and helped. Good luck x


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Back
Top