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Nearly died at the A & E

I appreciate this very much Mike, thank you.

Please tell me, how do you overcome muscle weakness on insulin?

Since I’ve been put on insulin I’ve felt tired and have lost energy.

Please advice.
 
My dear friend, you just don't know how much I appreciate your help, support and for your kind words of wisdom.

I suffered so much during these last 7 weeks - my worst nightmare - from nearly dying at the hospital here in London, England to completely being left alone and in darkness until I accidentally discovered this website.

To be honest, I nearly committed suicide but I thought about my poor old mother and the good life and years we had.

Then I realised I have to do something quick about this and try to turn things around the next day after hospitalisation.

I was so scared of eating and decided to have a "very extreme low-carb diet" (a small tomato, 2-3 lettuce and a boiled egg) for 5-6 weeks - an extreme starvation diet. There were 1-2 days I did not eat at all.

I nearly died 2-3x from almost a heart attack, heavy breathing / breathlessness, severe nausea, muscle weakness.

To be honest, I was very weak and already saying goodbye to my poor old mother.

I didn't know what to eat, where to seek for help and what to do next. I also resigned from my job.

About 6 weeks later I received a call from the Diabetic Nurse for an appointment. She was horrified to see that I could hardly stand or even walk a few steps. I have lost so much energy and yet she didnt do anything.

Anyway she took a blood sample which came to BG 12 and ketones 1.5 which are both very high.

The good thing she did was to speak with the Diabetic Specialist and put me on 14 units insulin glargine straightaway.

After just "one week" my readings are as follows:

Before breakfast: between 5.8 - 6.8

Before Dinner: 6.5 - 7.4

Before Bed: 6.8 - 7.5

I will be seeing the DN again this week and was told the doctor's plan is to add 500mg Metformin increasing to 1G but to slowly titrate/wean down the insulin.

Please let me know your thoughts, thank you.

Andrew
 
My dear friend, you just don't know how much I appreciate your help, support and for your kind words of wisdom.

I suffered so much during these last 7 weeks - my worst nightmare - from nearly dying at the hospital here in London, England to completely being left alone and in darkness until I accidentally discovered this website.

To be honest, I nearly committed suicide but I thought about my poor old mother and the good life and years we had.

Then I realised I have to do something quick about this and try to turn things around the next day after hospitalisation.

I was so scared of eating and decided to have a "very extreme low-carb diet" (a small tomato, 2-3 lettuce and a boiled egg) for 5-6 weeks - an extreme starvation diet. There were 1-2 days I did not eat at all.

I nearly died 2-3x from almost a heart attack, heavy breathing / breathlessness, severe nausea, muscle weakness.

To be honest, I was very weak and already saying goodbye to my poor old mother.

I didn't know what to eat, where to seek for help and what to do next. I also resigned from my job.

About 6 weeks later I received a call from the Diabetic Nurse for an appointment. She was horrified to see that I could hardly stand or even walk a few steps. I have lost so much energy and yet she didnt do anything.

Anyway she took a blood sample which came to BG 12 and ketones 1.5 which are both very high.

The good thing she did was to speak with the Diabetic Specialist and put me on 14 units insulin glargine straightaway.

After just "one week" my readings are as follows:

Before breakfast: between 5.8 - 6.8

Before Dinner: 6.5 - 7.4

Before Bed: 6.8 - 7.5

I will be seeing the DN again this week and was told the doctor's plan is to add 500mg Metformin increasing to 1G but to slowly titrate/wean down the insulin.

Please let me know your thoughts, thank you.

Andrew
 
You're strong and you can do this! These numbers actually don't seem too bad to me. I would imagine that they'll continue to drop with medication and low (but not too low) carb diet (just my opinion). If you go on Metformin, be sure to continue monitoring your bg levels so that you don't go too low. I always check my bedtime and morning levels to make sure of my insulin dose. Here's a link to what bg levels to strive for: https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/what-is-a-normal-blood-sugar-level/
 
Thank you for this, much appreciated.

What do you eat?

Can you please share a sample of your day to day breakfast, lunch, dinner?

How about snacks?
 
Usually I have the following:
Breakfast (usually brunch
): smoothie with some water, a handful of spinach, half an avocado, a few blueberries, a tbsp or so of almond or peanut butter (make sure it's natural with no added sugar or other ingredients), a heaping tbsp of cocoa, some cinnamon, and a few ice cubes (I usually get a big bag of spinach at Costco and freeze it)
Lunch: Eggs and bacon with some non-starchy veggies (usually bacon every other day, sometimes a bit of other meat) .I got pretty sick of eggs at one point and found a variety of ways to make scrambled eggs/omelets. I really like eggs scrambled in a bit of butter with about a tbsp of cream cheese. Here's a few variations: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kit...=yummly&utm_source=yummly&utm_campaign=yummly
Supper: Big salad with about a tbsp of sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese and some tuna or shrimp or grilled chicken mixed in (canned tuna in water, not oil). A few tbsps of either avocado or olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Maybe some garlic.
Snacks: I love a handful of mixed nuts, maybe with a square of unsweetened bakers chocolate. Sometime an ounce of cheese. If you like eggs, you can also keep some hard boiled ones on hand for a snack. I've also grown to love some homemade ginger tea with lemon in the evening. It's supposed to be good for blood sugar. I also have coffee with cream or almond milk in the morning.
I always make sure that any dairy product is full fat. The low fat stuff usually has stuff in it that raises my bg.
This isn't every single day, but most days. I am trying to mix it up a bit, trying to find new recipes so I don't get bored. Grilled fish is another good one for lunch or dinner. One I'm going to try is steamed cauliflower mashed with cream or almond milk and garlic. It's supposed to be a great substitute for mashed potatoes. I'm getting better at modifying some recipes - you will too.
 
And I'm sorry that you had to go through that alone. Please remember that there is absolutely no shame in getting help from a mental health professional if you feel you need it. I think feelings of depression can be quite common in these kinds of situations (myself included). There has been severe depression in my family, and I know that the right professionals can make such a difference. But I know that realizing I wasn't alone made a difference too.
 
 
NewTD2 said:
I appreciate this very much Mike, thank you.

Please tell me, how do you overcome muscle weakness on insulin?

Since I’ve been put on insulin I’ve felt tired and have lost energy.

Please advice.
Click to expand...
If you are feeling tired and weak because of low carb, you must increase your fats. Your body needs something to run on and if its not carbs (which is good) it must be fats and proteins. Forget about the low calories, with all that is going on with your body at the moment you are stressing it too much.
 
Your meals sounds delicious...thank you!

Im going to try eating more spinach too.

Tested my blood sugar this morning before waking up and it read 4.9 but I am still on 14 units of Insulin Glargine. My DN said they will slowly add Metformin 500mg before breakfast and dinner and at the same time wean down Insulin from this week.

After 5-6 weeks of starvation, I started to eat from last week -

For breakfast I have raspberries/blueberries or strawberries (because they grow abundantly here in England) with plain soya yogurt, stevia (sweetener) and a few walnuts with a dash of cinnamon. Sometimes I have poached eggs with Keto bread. My mother makes her own low-carb bread made with low-carb almond flour. Recipes are on YouTube. Or sometimes I just have a pear.

For lunch, I have meat (chicken, fish or beef), mixed vegetables, steamed or stir fried with very little oil (usually pressed cold rapeseed oil or avocado oil). Mixed salad and tuna/salmon. Sometimes just vegetables soup.

Dinner: Similar to lunch

Snacks before going to bed: A slice of Keto bread, a small piece of smoked salmon (very cheap in England) or pomegranate seeds and walnuts, almonds, pecan nuts.

Question for you - isn't that we shouldn't be eating cheese and creams because they have casein and that turns into sugar and raises BG ?
 
Please advice which fats I should be eating Mike?
 
I was in tears everyday for the last 6 weeks or so but there's nothing I can do but to turn things around in a positive way for a better future and healthier self.

You might find this useful -

https://diabetesmealplans.com/6573/
 
That sounds like a awful experience. Hope you are more stable now. Good luck
 
It was horrific and I am still feeling weak up to now but thank God Im still alive.
 
I just read this article -

How do you lower a1c?
You lower your a1c the same as you lower your blood glucose.

  1. Cut back on the carbohydrate foods by focusing on eating the right type of carbohydrates!
  2. Exercise regularly
  3. Live a healthy lifestyle
Yes, I know, you probably get sick and tired of hearing that stuff but this is not rocket science, it comes down to commitment, determination, and work (yes work). Eating well does take a little bit of focus but is well worth the effort for the great results you can achieve.
 
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