NEED HELP

Hi, im nervous to suggest low carbing as i know nothing of insulin use and low carbing but i know other folks here taking insulin low carb and i know its an awesome way of losing weight for me and many others, if you havent tried it i would definatly have a look through the forum about it, best of luck

which is a good thing because it means you can reduce your insulin (or fat carrying hormone) accordingly so you dont hypo, it seems a bit counter productive to take meds to lower your blodd glucose then eat more carbs to raise it, well that is how it seems to me, but again im hoping someone with some insulin knowledge passes by as im in the dark regarding those meds

happy new year to you too

No reason to low carb if you wish to. just make sure you reduce insulin doses. Ensuring your basal is correct would be paramount to this so that your body is getting enough required insulin for a 24hr period. You may find if you do low carb, you would need to reduce basal. Do you carb count for your 3 qa doses as if you were to have lower,reduced,zero carb meals you would need to also reduce those doses. If you fail to get the basal right you would hypo.
If you start test record and adjust insulin as required.

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I agree with Andy. You need to set yourself a lower daily carb limit and reduce your insulin to avoid hypos. I suggest you reduce your carbs over a week or so and the insulin gradually in parallel so you can use the meter to avoid hypos. Taking 8 units of NovoRapid at each of three meals suggests to me that you are having similar carbs at each meal. Try reducing the breakfast to have minimal carbs and the next biggest meal perhaps somewhere between. It's not for me to suggest what you eat, but I think there is an opportunity to reduce carbs and hence weight? Good luck with the weight reduction for the wedding.

Hi, welcome to the forum. No easy way to lose weight, you just need to eat less calories than you burn off. As for going low carb resulting in hypo's, you need to reduce insulin accordingly as others have mentioned also. Diabetes is a condition that raises blood sugar levels, it doesn't cause hypo's. These are caused by us not managing our medication. Maybe you could introduce some mild exercise into your life as well ? Even walking helps. Good luck and keep us updated.
Mo

Hi S J
I am a nosey sod , and I just looked up your profile. I hope you dont mind me saying, I was sorry to read about your son, well done for picking yourself up and looking forward, it could not be easy.

Losing weight is difficult at the best of times, but given the diabetes it makes it that much harder, but you have a lovely event to look forward to, and to focus on, (I know it is a way off you but you must post some pics of the day)

Keep going lass, I know, you know you can and will do it

Hi SJ,

Happy New year to you too.

Welcome to the site, there is so much here to learn and everyone is so willing to share their journey and advice. My story weight wise is the same as yours and I am now back at the place I started from 3 years ago. For me, going to Weightwatchers worked. I had been there before about 36 years ago and although I lost some weight I couldn't stick to it. I was told it was all different this time and so it was. I lost weight (for me, not quick enough) it came off at about 2lbs a week, but it kept coming off, I lost 48lbs in 18 months with me doing NO exercise at all. Best of all, I lowered my Insulin from 104 units twice a day to about 28 in the day. As soon as my weight started moving downwards, I started reducing my insulin 2 units at a time, my diabetic clinic told me to keep in touch with them if I wasn't sure how much to lower it by, its only a phone call, they were excellent when I needed them.

I see you are a vet, so you must be on the go all the time, it would be quicker for you. I got to choose what foods I wanted to eat, but following the guidelines I now realise I was eating a lot fewer carbs than I had been before hand. Again I slipped, after the 18 months the weight loss stopped, I was told I needed to exercise and that isn't really feasible, then I slowly started to regain my lost weight and here we are today, back to using 150units of insulin in the day. You talk about insanity, I definitely joined that club.

I am going back to WW today, but this time I am going armed with the need to lower carbs even further (I never knew there was a link between carbs and weightgain / glucose control) and now I know with the resources I have in this web site, and a whole new resolve that 2014 is my year.

I hope you find what you need here, and that your wedding, when it comes is wonderful.
Take care
Chris

Hi, adding to my previous post I wonder whether your daily Levemir is enough? I weigh 9.5 stone and take 9 units. Your weight is much higher and I would expect the Levemir to be higher as it relates to body weight. Have you checked your morning fasting reading? My DN told me to aim for 5-7mmol. If your reading is higher you might want to gradually increase the Levemir but do it one unit at a time allowing a few days between each change. Watch out for hypos as usual and you may need to reduce the Rapid slightly.

Daibell said:

Hi, adding to my previous post I wonder whether your daily Levemir is enough? I weigh 9.5 stone and take 9 units. Your weight is much higher and I would expect the Levemir to be higher as it relates to body weight. Have you checked your morning fasting reading? My DN told me to aim for 5-7mmol. If your reading is higher you might want to gradually increase the Levemir but do it one unit at a time allowing a few days between each change. Watch out for hypos as usual and you may need to reduce the Rapid slightly.

Click to expand...

The poster is T2 diabetic so insulin is a supportive role to insulin being produced, so ratio's etc will be slightly different than with a T1...

SJ

You're in a catch 22 situation sadly..

Due to your insulin resistance and you're also using insulin does make things harder, not impossible.

Personally I would see your doctor and diabetic team, get them to rule out an under-active thyroid etc... Also ask them about help with learning to adjust your insulin to your carb intake.

As it's sounds very much like, even though at the moment you need the support of injected insulin, you are having slightly too much of it which is giving you hypo's if you have a 2 or 3 a day, then you're adding on around 30-45g's or more (depending how you're treating them) on a day.

Brett is correct, first port of call is sorting out your background insulin, this the kingpin of all control, as calculations all come of this one thing, if this is wrong then all calculations made will be wrong as well..

Once you've got your insulin sorted then you can look at how to reduce your carb count, and adapt your eating habits in a safely.

This seems a bit wrong what your team told you. Waking up at 6.1 seems ok whilst trying to get consistency without hypos. of course, would depend on pre bed level and if any qa was still working pre bed.
You really need to reduce your qa if your reducing carbs at meals.

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Even more reason to reduce your qa if they told you to increase your levemi (background)

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Hi SJ. We have quite a few similarities.
I'm 33, type 2, also getting married this year, and also looking to start a family as soon as possible after.
I have found low-carbing helped with the weightloss (but I'm not on insulin), but also lots of cardio exercise. I started out being 19st 13, and I'm currently 16st... still another load to lose, but for whatever reason this works for me.

Welcome to the forum - it's full of lots of helpful information!

Hi SJ

Just wanted to wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.

I low carb - although not to loose weight, but rather to control my blood sugar levels - and I have found it really does help. I am however a type 1. I did find that I had to reduce the amount of insulin I am taking a great deal and it took a while to get it right, which is at times frustrating, but it is worth it when you get it correct and feel better and happy with the results.

Good luck!


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The issue here, is not whether to alter the carbs that you intake, but to be able to balance your insulin to the qty of carbs you eat. Have you dafne or Desmond courses? Have you ever been given good instructions how to balance your carbs eaten to the insulin you take?

Waking up to levels of 5-6.9 would be great for anybody, so these are absolutely great. Would it be possible to give a days worth of exact foods eaten, exact times, and exact blood levels with the insulin that you are currently taking. This way, you will get better advice on whether it is your basal or bolus that needs to be amended and we can see what ratio's your food to your insulin is working out at.

Hi,

I agree with others that you should avoid going too low all the time by using too much insulin... way too low is far more dangerous than a bit too high! In terms of exercise, your muscles can absorb sugar without insulin, so resistance weight training (ask your local gym...) can be very productive both in terms of losing weight and controlling blood glucose and insulin 'requirements'... also, 'tho, an approach that you find works for you and is sustainable over the long term is more important than throwing lots of effort in for a short time.

Sounds like you have had a very rough time all around, well done on powering through and have a great time at your wedding!