I'm considering moving to a very low carb diet but am unsure about how I should combine this with my insulin pump and I would appreciate any advice from pump users who already have experience of a low carb diet. I do a lot of running, including fairly regular half marathon distances, for which I still rely on the accepted wisdom of pre-race carb loading with carb gels during races and temporary reduced basal rates but when not running or training I try to maintain a moderately low carb diet of between 90 & 120 grams cho daily but having read a lot about LCHF diets, and followed threads on sites like this for a while now, I think I should be trying to avoid carbs even further even when undertaking endurance exercise.
I have not yet raised the issue with my specialist diabetic medics as I know from previous experience that they are unlikely to be sympathetic, or helpful and indeed may not have the experience to advise me objectively. I will need to do so at some point but I'd like to be prepared for any arguements they might throw at me.
At the moment I have one basic question but depending on any responses I might get I may, probably will, have others! The question is, when on a really low carb diet - Dr Bernstein levels - is there still the need for a pre-meal bolus even with the inevitably small amounts of bolus insulin that the carb content of a meal will generate via the pump or is it a case of relying on basal rates only and adjusting these on a trial and error basis when adjusting to the new diet?
I have not yet raised the issue with my specialist diabetic medics as I know from previous experience that they are unlikely to be sympathetic, or helpful and indeed may not have the experience to advise me objectively. I will need to do so at some point but I'd like to be prepared for any arguements they might throw at me.
At the moment I have one basic question but depending on any responses I might get I may, probably will, have others! The question is, when on a really low carb diet - Dr Bernstein levels - is there still the need for a pre-meal bolus even with the inevitably small amounts of bolus insulin that the carb content of a meal will generate via the pump or is it a case of relying on basal rates only and adjusting these on a trial and error basis when adjusting to the new diet?
