Low low to no carb....lots of lantus low dose novo....please help

[megan]

So sorry you had a hypo. :-(

In this situation I would ask myself

- was the 11 mmol/L high reading contaminated?
- was 2u too much for just eggs (it would be for me)?
- is my correction ratio changing (needing less)?

I agree 20 min is very fast for that drop, so I would suspect that the high test was contaminated.

Oh im going to need to look up more on this..great responses guys but id thought that the Atkins version I was doing was low carb high fat and protein...how do u make it the LCHF you are talking about? Silly question maybe but I think at this stage I need it spelt out to me

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Yes that amount of insulin would normally be too much for 2 eggs but the rules have changed since dropping the carbs. ...I had to take an educated guesstimate on the dose based on whats been happening last few days....
My hands were washed before test so no contamination. ...my guess is that my body is adjusting to being without carbs and slowly changing how it responds....could I have become far more insulin sensitive pre meal for that injection? Have remained at constant 11 now and just had lunch. Having taken insulin pre meal. ....lets see what happens now...but no addition of metformin as starting on 1 tablet a day. Maybe I should take it at dinner and not breakfast with the smallest amount of food in the day and the confusion as to what is and isnt happening over night and there will be nothing consumed over night...??

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

Think I will try it. Thanks

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Spiker]

Changing the timing of the metformin sounds like a good idea. Or possibly dropping it until you have stabilised on low carb? The last thing you need right now is extra insulin sensitivity. But I don't know much about metformin.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

I do agree with you spiker thanks but im going to try the 1 tablet a day for now as if it is what made me more sensitive this morning then it can prove just what I need....and ive been on low/no carb for 18 days now and had hoped my insulin need would have dropped far more...but I can see the little changes. ..and as its changing every day I cant guess when im going to get more insulin sensitive. ..if I hypo again I may change my mind. ...but years back after I had clarythtomycin and I had to adjust my insulin down a third in 7 days....I hope I can cope with this

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Spiker]

Good luck Megan, we are here to help.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

Thank you

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

Ok I still dont quite get what I need to do for a LCHF diet v a LCHP diet??.... I have been doing this 3 weeks now and not lost 1lb, dont feel any better, clothes are not any loser or more comfortable......so ive had enough...I need some way to lose the weight as im struggling here....to get my energy levels up despite the CFS and fibro ****.....so what now. Im looking T myfitnesspal thingy......ive been onto the thyroid web page and found a forum and got a link to any alternative endo.....need to look into it, will prob fall down at the cost bit......ive wasted years being lectured and not helped by thems that should know or if they dont then refer you on to someone who does! So my gp cant change me to another thyroxine and the specialist has passed on a message via a nurse that there is practically no evidence that it helps so no I cant go on to T3 or NDT.....so that gatex closed........so where next and what??

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[jack412]

I wouldn't go high protein, crook kidneys and diabetes can happen.
I sat on 110kg for 2 months, 108 now.
read up on met, as well as insulin resistance it delays digestion

 

[megan]

I thought doing the atkins I was doing LCHF then someone here made a comment I didnt quite understand hence why ive asked......

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[jack412]

it would be a good idea to check intake, here is a protein calc, lean weight is without counting fat, but if you put in your recommended weight that should be close enough, around 60g of protein is common
http://www.bodyscience.com.au/customer-service/protein-calculator

 

[Spiker]

I thought doing the atkins I was doing LCHF then someone here made a comment I didnt quite understand hence why ive asked......

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Sorry that was my comment I think. I said that Atkins was sometimes accused of being dangerously high protein. (Personally I don't think there is any evidence for any danger.) Does the literature for the Atkins diet you are doing say what its target %, or target g, is for carbs vs fat vs protein ? Or can you figure that out from the meal plans?

I do think generally that LCHF is better than LCHP, for other reasons than the fear of kidney damage. But I have no idea if your Atkins diet is LCHF or LCHP. I'm sorry I confused you (if it was me).

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Spiker]

Doh. It was my comment, I gave Atkins as an example of LCHP. Sorry. From your food lists it sounds relatively higher in protein, typical for Atkins, but I wouldn't worry about it now. The diet you are on (judging by the foods) is a good one and should work.

With low carbing they say you should set one goal and focus on it. Is your goal to reduce and normalise blood sugars, or is it to lose weight? Trying for both at once is probably too ambitious and too complicated. You are on day 21. I know it's discouraging not to have lost weight, when Atkins sets high expectations of rapid weight loss. However those expectations don't really apply to T1 diabetics. And as long as you are seeing high blood sugars, you will not go into ketosis, which is how Atkins weigh loss works. Until your blood sugars come down to normal levels consistently, in effect you still haven't made it to Day 3 of Atkins. :-(

So I would strongly suggest you first focus on normalising blood sugars with this diet, and try not to worry about any weight loss until that is done.

I've reviewed the whole thread and finally gone through your first ten days log data. I suspect that your correction dose is actually too high at 1u:1 mmol/L, and this explains the morning hypos you sometimes had after bed time corrections. I think your correction ratio may be nearer 1u:2mmol/L. Your basal looks roughly right, as far as it's possible to tell with the frequent high readings. It's impossible to assess if your insulin:carb ratio of 1u:10gch is right without first sorting out the basal rate and correction ratio and seeing some carb counts and preferably protein counts. Could you post the next 10 days of log data, including the switch back to bolusing, and whatever carb counting and protein counting you did? If you estimate protein as 20% of the raw package weight of any meat, that's close enough for a fair approximation.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

thanks for the responses, I have read and re read and I'm finding it confusing.
I was following the atkins and I understand now from these explanations why it has not worked....so as I can keep my bloods down the atkins is not going to work for me at the moment and frankly its not a balanced diet and so who knows how long its not going to work for me???? and I m not going to stay on a non balanced unhealthy diet for ages...since my dr's have only ever worked on the basis that you count carbs to know your boluses...who decides when you come off the big groups of carbs and what carbs are in proteins fats etc and what you bolus because I've never heard of this.....until I was on here. my dr's were always quite strict that I bolus for carbs and nothing else end of....as I 've already mentioned to the point of if theres no carbs then you don't take the bolus???

ok so we've got passed that one....so if I still have to count carbs but the ones hidden in these fats and proteins that s hard to work out....why not go back to having some carbs but not the biggies....still no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.......but have yoghurt, fruit, carrots, sweetcorn, pulses, have something to count the carb on and hopefully that carb bolus will cover the meal??

and BTW, I have not stopped the novo rapid at any point, I have taken correctional doses mostly but boluses for what I could only guestinmate I needed based on the meal time, how I felt, what happened the day before, and decide if I can take that bolus before the meal when my sugar is not too low....etc etc
so many thing s to take into account and so difficult
so I have gone on to myfitnesspal...and started to fil that in to see what shows up, it tells me whats in my food, and I will bolus for the protein if theres no carb and bolus for the carb when its present??
actually I'd like to retire from all this ****, i';ve had enough, I'm tired, and there doesn't appear to be a dr who 'gets' any of this? how can they help me if they don't understand it??

 

[megan]

ok I've had enough!...sorry ...been off here a few days, I'm so utterly fed up with this....its very hard to maintain and im not getting much in the way of help from the medics...they won't pay any attention to the thyroid theories I have put forward again...my gp has given me a script for metformin and I've started that but I've fallen off my own wagon regarding the food.....I decided that having the atkins diet and not the benefits wasn't for me as theres more fat in the diet than I would like and it was only meant to be short term to kick start the weight loss....it never occurred to me that it wouldn't work!!! I am so disappointed .....I am so uncomfortable and struggle daily...now the weather is hotter I am struggling more......so I've had a few bum days and an underlying virus of some sort that is making me feel worse......I have felt sick in the morning again now ive had a bit of carb......so back to keeping the bigger carbs out and put fruit back in and see how I go......thank you all for your help and support...I only wish the drs' and nurses were that way or at least if they can't help then let me go to someone who can

 

[Spiker]

why not go back to having some carbs but not the biggies....still no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.......but have yoghurt, fruit, carrots, sweetcorn, pulses, have something to count the carb on and hopefully that carb bolus will cover the meal??

That sounds like a good idea in your situation. Sorry you didn't get a reply earlier.

 

[Spiker]

So sorry you are having a hard time Megan. Please don't give up, but do whatever makes it easier on yourself to keep going.
Could you get your diabetic specialist health care team's dietician to help you with low carb dieting and insulin? Unfortunately dieting just is more complicated for Type 1s.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

I should feel lucky for what I do have and not what I don't, but with sugars up and down, weight so uncomfortable and embarrassing.....I could have done with more helpful dr's, but no I have to tow the line and wait an age for my appointment only to come away with no further answers and a heavy dash of patronizing!....same old same old......

 

[Spiker]

Do you think you could do a calorie restricted diet instead of a carb restricted diet ? Takes more willpower but maybe less fiddling with insulin doses.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Spiker]

TBH probably the most important thing Megan is to figure out how to stabilise your blood sugars to acceptable levels before starting a diet. Trying to do both at the same time is much more than twice as hard.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[megan]

yes I agree...but unfortunately that's been the problem....I have tried for so long to get better blood sugar results and tried all sorts that eventually I was going for the direct approach on the weight loss as just general healthy eating and portion control was not working for keeping good bloods or losing weight.
so I've tried both ways and have been pulling my hair out....I feel something else is affecting it but that would require a dr to help me out on that level....maybe look into changing thyroxine to the NDT have some t3 bla bla bla......my t 4 being a vessel and floating around in my blood stream lovely just right to show up on a blood test...but possibly not actually doing me a lot of good??
doors closed on that theory at the moment so I am looking back in to saving for a visit to a highly recommended kinesiologist...........unfortunately based in northern Ireland so if anyone knows of a very good one based down the south of uk I would appreciate.....desperate times call for desperate... measures!

prevention is better than the cure and I sure intend on getting my bloods healthier to avoid the obvious..........

yesterday when I was trying to sleep, I kept jolting myself upright as I seemed to be uptight in my rest...and had held my breath......this was enough to send my sugars sky high..

little things have always been able to do this....I talk to a friend I haven't heard from for a while...my sugars go up.....I get nervous about something...my sugars go up....etc etc etc...
boring but true and very hard to balance