Can I please ask for anyone using low carb as a way to treat type 2, how long did you have to follow this type of eating before it had a positive effect on your blood sugar levels?
Low carb and sugar levels question
- Thread starter Cls2022
- Start Date
- Messages
- 20,880
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Insulin
If you test before and after meals, you'll likely find your blood glucose will be much higher after a high carb meal than after a low carb meal.
So you'd see a positive effect with the first low carb meal.
Because I dropped most carbs on the day after my diagnosis I saw a fall in my HbA1c very early.
I sorted out how many carbs I could safely eat by testing before and 2 hours after every meal at first.
I sorted out how many carbs I could safely eat by testing before and 2 hours after every meal at first.
bulkbiker
BANNED
- Messages
- 19,569
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
MrsA2
Expert
- Messages
- 6,763
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Lobsang Tsultim
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 526
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
At the end of April I was diagnosed with type 2. I found this website, read the advice, asked some questions and reduced my carbs to below 30g a day. At the beginning of August, the 3 month follow up test from the doctor showed my levels are now non-diabetic (just). That’s my experience but you’ll find quite a few more in the “success stories” section.
- Messages
- 13,461
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I didn’t have a meter for a few months after diagnosis so don’t have data for that period.
However, I went ‘cold turkey’ with carbs and dropped to less than 20g a day from the start. My starting A1C was 108, which roughly equates to average blood sugars of 16. Just looked up my monthly average (about 7 tests a day) for the first full month of testing, which was about 3 months after diagnosis and the average was 7, so it had dropped dramatically.
However, I went ‘cold turkey’ with carbs and dropped to less than 20g a day from the start. My starting A1C was 108, which roughly equates to average blood sugars of 16. Just looked up my monthly average (about 7 tests a day) for the first full month of testing, which was about 3 months after diagnosis and the average was 7, so it had dropped dramatically.
I went cold turkey too, and saw very good results within a short timescale on meter checking, though Nursie was scornful ("we don't take any notice of that") until I had my second 3-month blood test, the first having included my hospital stay when food was high carb (and would have been high sugar had I eaten those parts of it). By the second 3-month test, I was in the pre-diabetic range, and I hope to improve on that by the time of my next test at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct.
For me, progress was/is not linear, and I met with a series of plateaus, though have been totally strict with my keto diet. Currently, because (I suspect) of extreme heat, I am in the 6s though previously was in mostly 5s and sometimes 4s. It will be interesting to see what happens when the heatwave finishes. We are dynamic beings, and survival does depend on reacting to circumstances, not just mentally but physically too.
For me, progress was/is not linear, and I met with a series of plateaus, though have been totally strict with my keto diet. Currently, because (I suspect) of extreme heat, I am in the 6s though previously was in mostly 5s and sometimes 4s. It will be interesting to see what happens when the heatwave finishes. We are dynamic beings, and survival does depend on reacting to circumstances, not just mentally but physically too.
catinahat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,446
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Reality tv
I'm struggling to find an answer that can be of any help to you, we are all unique. How long it has taken for me to see improvements and how low my carb intake has to be, will be totally different to you because, well, you're not me.
We have members who manage to get into remission within a few weeks, others who can never quite get there no matter how hard they try.
Some can see vast improvements by limiting their carbs to 150g a day, others would need to be 50g a day, or lower to see the levels they want.
However we do all have a couple of things in common
When digested carbs will be converted to glucose, and the more you eat the higher your blood sugar will be
You can get good results right away by really limiting carbs to one or two servings per meal. (A serving is 15 grams of net carbs, like 1/3 cup of cooked rice, a *small* slice of bread, 1/8 cup dried fruit, 1/2 cup raw berries, 1/2 grapefruit, it's really only a half portion of oatmeal when made with the package directions.) But that's only if your liver decides to not send a bunch of blood sugar into the system. You can't really control that as easily, but the more you consistently limit your carbs, do a bit of walking or other physical activity every day, you'll find good resuts build on other good results. And if you are prescribed Metformin, then really limit the actual sugars and carbs to a consistent low level to avoid cramps and loose stools, but not too low, either.
bulkbiker
BANNED
- Messages
- 19,569
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I wasn't aware of meters and testing when I was diagnosed asT2 with Hb1cs of 60-61 at the end of November 2013. I was told to cut down on sugar, which a little research (thank you Google!) told me should actually be all carbs. At my first review in Feb 2014, my HbA1c had reduced to a pre-diabetic 47, without me particularly knowing what I was doing as I didn't find our forum with all all its help and advice until later ... though I believe I was feeling the benefits of reduced carbs more or less immediately.
sue512
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 233
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Rude people
I made a few mistakes in first few weeks and would spike to 9’s and 10’s by not calculating carb content accurately. My bg meter was really helpful testing before and 2 hours after a meal. Once I’d got the hang of it blood sugars came down nicely and HBa1c dropped from 71 to 49 in 8 weeks. My carbs are around 50 unless I’m having a bad day!!!
I find the comments about going cold turkey interesting.
With Type 1, the advice is not to drop levels too fast as it can damage small blood cells such as those in the eyes causing retinopathy and neuropathy. Whilst these may be reversible, they are not pleasant.
Is this risk not the same for someone with type 2 lowering their levels fast?
With Type 1, the advice is not to drop levels too fast as it can damage small blood cells such as those in the eyes causing retinopathy and neuropathy. Whilst these may be reversible, they are not pleasant.
Is this risk not the same for someone with type 2 lowering their levels fast?
- Messages
- 13,461
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I’ve often seen that mentioned but have never seen an concrete/compelling evidence. Would be interested to see any papers etc.
For me, as someone with addictive tendencies it was far more helpful to go ‘cold turkey’ and meant I got results that may otherwise have been beyond me.
It was uncomfortable - more than that as the ‘keto flu’ originally made my chronic migraines worse, but boy it was wor5 it and very reversible.
Suspect it‘s one of those individual things - my sugar levels were so high and had likely been so for so long that dropping them swiftly was going to do a whole lot more good than tinkering about for a bit.
