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New diagnosis- just can’t get blood sugars down even eating low carb.

E

Emi0205

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone,
Just diagnosed with type 2, 2 weeks ago.
43 years old, lots of weight to loose! Self confessed Chocoholic!

Sorry, this is long, but I’m just lost as to what’s going on! Any help or advice would really help.

I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and have been eating low carb ever since.
I’m on 1400 calories per day, no more than 130g of carbs.
I’ve not been prescribed any meds as yet, just diet and exercise.
My HbA1C was 53 at diagnosis

Looking for advice about something that’s been happening since changing my diet.

So, I had gestational diabetes 5 years ago and was on metformin & insulin. Once I was diagnosed I really strict with my diet, I actually lost 4 stone in my pregnancy (don’t worry, I could afford to loose it and more)
I was initially put on metformin but as the pregnancy went in we had to introduce insulin as my numbers just couldn’t stabilise and my fasting numbers were bad, so insulin stabilised and I had a relatively happy and good pregnancy.

I’ve had Hba1c’s annually since pregnancy and numbers creeping up, to now having unfortunately been diagnosed.

So the recommendation from my diabetic nurse was low carb, 1400 calories per day , not exceeding 130g of carbs & exercise.

I’m knowledgeable in the way of low carb eating and have been successful in the past as mentioned above when I had gestational diabetes.

The week of my recent type 2 diagnosis I was averaging 1500 calories per day and 130g of carbs, just trying to get back on track and find my way with it all again.
I was feeling a little rubbish on the off day feeling like I had high blood sugars (mainly brought on by fruit- a pink lady apple, a banana, but also wholewheat pasta) but I didn’t feel unwell/unsteady/ no vision issues or that excessive sweating that sugar highs can bring, so was generally feeling good. I lost no weight the first week, but wasn’t too bothered - thought it’ll come.

This week I’ve stuck to the 1300 calories & averaged around 110g of carbs and I’ve been constantly feeling unwell, sugar highs and sugar lows, feeling faint, weak, hot , cold, it’s been horrendous. I’ve bern dominated by my blood sugars all week, mainly being too high and today has been really bad.
Had berry’s and yogurt for breakfast but felt sick so didn’t eat it, spent all morning going what felt like from high to low blood sugar constantly, had tingling in fingers and feet, headache, really woozy.

Got to lunch and had 2 slices of no added sugar Wholemeal bread, 100g of fresh Turkey breast, 20g of luxury coleslaw (the lowest sugar one) and a nectarine.
I track food on an app and I’d had 40g of carbs at lunch so not bad at all.

Luckily my blood monitor is purchased finally arrived today and I was at 16.4 for over an hour and this reduced after 2 hours to 12.7.
I would have exercised to walk it off if I’d not felt so unsteady and my vision so blurred, luckily I was at home, so just did some running up the stairs and dancing about as well as I could which I think helped bring it down, but was obviously still high even after that.

4 hours after lunch I had a real low, felt blood sugars drop dramatically, went icy cold, really light headed and headache, and I tested and was 3.4, so I had a handful of nuts, which didn’t help, so I had a single little square of 70% dark chocolate which I felt then pushed me way too high, I didn’t test, I could just feel it’d pushed me up above where I should be.

Dinner this evening I’d started to feel quite trembly, really couldn’t concentrate and felt starving hungry, so prior to meal I was 5.3 - for dinner I had 2 x baked chicken thighs, 4 x little steamed new potato’s ) Asparagus, Green beans, 2 x baby corn and a baked field mushroom. Carbs this meal was 38.3

Even as I was eating I could feel my blood sugar going too high, had the tingling in my finger tips, felt sweaty and weak.
After dinner my vison started going blurry and again i didn’t feel I had the capacity to take exercise as felt so unwell.

Tested and was at 14.7. tested 2 hours after and I’m at 9.8.

This week I have managed to loose 4lb.
The only difference this week to last week is this week I’m on my period, I’m late stages of peri menopause so they are hell ! - sorry tmi but I needed to state this incase menstrual state has a big impact, haven’t really researched this and thought I’d it did affect I may find some knowledge here how I work through that issue.

But mainly, what the hell does everyone feel may be happening!

I’m now sat feeling really cold and light headed, headaches again and feel I’m probably getting really low blood sugar again but don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

I know I need to eat carbs, but it seems I’m not managing any right now! What can I do?

Thanks so much for any snippets of advice, support, knowledge it’s all very welcomed! X
 
Thanks Penny thankfully I do have an appointment booked but it’s not for 10 days and just so sick of feeling unwell, thought there maybe something obvious I’m doing wrong but I’m just missing it in the midst of all the changes.
 
Emi0205 said:
Hi everyone,
Just diagnosed with type 2, 2 weeks ago.
43 years old, lots of weight to loose! Self confessed Chocoholic!

Sorry, this is long, but I’m just lost as to what’s going on! Any help or advice would really help.

I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and have been eating low carb ever since.
I’m on 1400 calories per day, no more than 130g of carbs.
I’ve not been prescribed any meds as yet, just diet and exercise.
My HbA1C was 53 at diagnosis

Looking for advice about something that’s been happening since changing my diet.

So, I had gestational diabetes 5 years ago and was on metformin & insulin. Once I was diagnosed I really strict with my diet, I actually lost 4 stone in my pregnancy (don’t worry, I could afford to loose it and more)
I was initially put on metformin but as the pregnancy went in we had to introduce insulin as my numbers just couldn’t stabilise and my fasting numbers were bad, so insulin stabilised and I had a relatively happy and good pregnancy.

I’ve had Hba1c’s annually since pregnancy and numbers creeping up, to now having unfortunately been diagnosed.

So the recommendation from my diabetic nurse was low carb, 1400 calories per day , not exceeding 130g of carbs & exercise.

I’m knowledgeable in the way of low carb eating and have been successful in the past as mentioned above when I had gestational diabetes.

The week of my recent type 2 diagnosis I was averaging 1500 calories per day and 130g of carbs, just trying to get back on track and find my way with it all again.
I was feeling a little rubbish on the off day feeling like I had high blood sugars (mainly brought on by fruit- a pink lady apple, a banana, but also wholewheat pasta) but I didn’t feel unwell/unsteady/ no vision issues or that excessive sweating that sugar highs can bring, so was generally feeling good. I lost no weight the first week, but wasn’t too bothered - thought it’ll come.

This week I’ve stuck to the 1300 calories & averaged around 110g of carbs and I’ve been constantly feeling unwell, sugar highs and sugar lows, feeling faint, weak, hot , cold, it’s been horrendous. I’ve bern dominated by my blood sugars all week, mainly being too high and today has been really bad.
Had berry’s and yogurt for breakfast but felt sick so didn’t eat it, spent all morning going what felt like from high to low blood sugar constantly, had tingling in fingers and feet, headache, really woozy.

Got to lunch and had 2 slices of no added sugar Wholemeal bread, 100g of fresh Turkey breast, 20g of luxury coleslaw (the lowest sugar one) and a nectarine.
I track food on an app and I’d had 40g of carbs at lunch so not bad at all.

Luckily my blood monitor is purchased finally arrived today and I was at 16.4 for over an hour and this reduced after 2 hours to 12.7.
I would have exercised to walk it off if I’d not felt so unsteady and my vision so blurred, luckily I was at home, so just did some running up the stairs and dancing about as well as I could which I think helped bring it down, but was obviously still high even after that.

4 hours after lunch I had a real low, felt blood sugars drop dramatically, went icy cold, really light headed and headache, and I tested and was 3.4, so I had a handful of nuts, which didn’t help, so I had a single little square of 70% dark chocolate which I felt then pushed me way too high, I didn’t test, I could just feel it’d pushed me up above where I should be.

Dinner this evening I’d started to feel quite trembly, really couldn’t concentrate and felt starving hungry, so prior to meal I was 5.3 - for dinner I had 2 x baked chicken thighs, 4 x little steamed new potato’s ) Asparagus, Green beans, 2 x baby corn and a baked field mushroom. Carbs this meal was 38.3

Even as I was eating I could feel my blood sugar going too high, had the tingling in my finger tips, felt sweaty and weak.
After dinner my vison started going blurry and again i didn’t feel I had the capacity to take exercise as felt so unwell.

Tested and was at 14.7. tested 2 hours after and I’m at 9.8.

This week I have managed to loose 4lb.
The only difference this week to last week is this week I’m on my period, I’m late stages of peri menopause so they are hell ! - sorry tmi but I needed to state this incase menstrual state has a big impact, haven’t really researched this and thought I’d it did affect I may find some knowledge here how I work through that issue.

But mainly, what the hell does everyone feel may be happening!

I’m now sat feeling really cold and light headed, headaches again and feel I’m probably getting really low blood sugar again but don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

I know I need to eat carbs, but it seems I’m not managing any right now! What can I do?

Thanks so much for any snippets of advice, support, knowledge it’s all very welcomed! X
Click to expand...
Hi @Emi0205 and welcome to the forum.
You do need to speak to your GP, because of those readings you are still on a rollercoaster ride of spikes and lower b g levels which in all honesty not good for you.
However, your doctor was right to start you on a reduction of carbs and until your do your readings around meals, you will not know which carbs are the foods that are spiking you too high. It is your intolerance to carbs and maybe fruit as well, that maybe is causing this. My advice is to gradually lower your carbs even more, gain knowledge through testing your carbs and finally get to a level of carb intake that won't spike you that high to cause the symptoms, the weight will come off, if you do lower carb. I lost six stone, when I stsrted.
And until your doctor gets you the tests necessary for what is causing the diabetes, you won't stop getting the symptoms, health issues, the BG rollercoaster ride.
It will take time and you may find that going low carb will be healthier than you thought you could be, and you don't need meds if the dietary changes work for you.

Best wishes
 
Ok. First thing I’d say is forget calories. At least for now. Trying to do low calorie and low carb means hunger and not enough fuel or energy. Adapt to fewer carbs first, then see what’s happening. Almost all of us find the weight loss happens once the carbs are under control regardless of calories (assuming it’s not crazy high). It is the unprocessed carbs that make us fat as type 2 not the protein or fat which our bodies can deal with.

Second 130g isn’t really that low for carbs. Yes it’s what the nhs often say but really most of us find it’s still way too many, although a lucky few find it works.

Third are you checking what your levels are when you feel rubbish , high or low? There’s a thing called false hypos which feel identical but are the result of having levels noticeably below that you are used to rather than actually being truly too low. It’s common when you first try to drop the amount you eat. Best bet is to ride it out and your body will learn the new better normal. If it’s too awful try a tiny nudge of carbs just to take the edge off. Also you can get hypo symptoms from dropping fast rather than low. This is where eating more fat and protein helps too as it slows everything down a little, both the rise and the fall. Yo yoing up and down feels horrible.

What did you eat before the 16.2 reading? (Assuming you had clean hands?) Obviously something that doesn’t agree with you as a hba1c of 53 as a type 2 shouldn’t be seeing that sort of number really. You mention no added sugar bread. All carbs become glucose not just sugar. Bread is 2/3 carbs so 2/3 glucose. Bananas are another high carb item. As were the new potatoes. Skip them and you’ll see much lower levels after those meals.

Electrolytes matter a lot as you reduce carbs. So drink plenty of water and make sure youre eating foods rich in potassium, magnesium and sodium. Add them to meals (lo salt?) or take a supplement for now if you aren’t eating them. It can make you feel much better really fast if they were lacking.

Lastly, you do not NEED to eat any carbs at all. None. You’ll probably choose to eat a few but they are not essential. Eating a very low carb diet is known as keto as it puts you into a state of nutritional ketosis (not the same at all as DKA) where we burn ketone to make fuel rather than glucose. The body makes the little glucose it needs from fats and proteins rather than eaten glucose.
 
Emi0205 said:
I’d had 40g of carbs at lunch so not bad at all.
Click to expand...
Sugar is just another form of carbohydrate, one teaspoon is 4 grams of carbs, so 40g in one meal is roughly equivalent to 10 teaspoons of sugar.
130g for the day would be over 32 spoonfuls,
As mentioned before some people can have that many carbs without any issues, but it seems from your levels, that like many of us you need to reduce your carbs further.
I find the spoons of sugar comparison useful, just divide the carbs by 4, then decide if I really want to eat that much sugar.
The Warburton no added sugar wholemeal for example is 17g a slice, so if I was considering your turkey breast sandwich, my thoughts would be, why would I want 8 spoons of sugar on my lunch. Just have more turkey and a decent sized salad instead.
 
Emi0205 said:
Hi everyone,
Just diagnosed with type 2, 2 weeks ago.
43 years old, lots of weight to loose! Self confessed Chocoholic!

Sorry, this is long, but I’m just lost as to what’s going on! Any help or advice would really help.

I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and have been eating low carb ever since.
I’m on 1400 calories per day, no more than 130g of carbs.
I’ve not been prescribed any meds as yet, just diet and exercise.
My HbA1C was 53 at diagnosis

Looking for advice about something that’s been happening since changing my diet.

So, I had gestational diabetes 5 years ago and was on metformin & insulin. Once I was diagnosed I really strict with my diet, I actually lost 4 stone in my pregnancy (don’t worry, I could afford to loose it and more)
I was initially put on metformin but as the pregnancy went in we had to introduce insulin as my numbers just couldn’t stabilise and my fasting numbers were bad, so insulin stabilised and I had a relatively happy and good pregnancy.

I’ve had Hba1c’s annually since pregnancy and numbers creeping up, to now having unfortunately been diagnosed.

So the recommendation from my diabetic nurse was low carb, 1400 calories per day , not exceeding 130g of carbs & exercise.

I’m knowledgeable in the way of low carb eating and have been successful in the past as mentioned above when I had gestational diabetes.

The week of my recent type 2 diagnosis I was averaging 1500 calories per day and 130g of carbs, just trying to get back on track and find my way with it all again.
I was feeling a little rubbish on the off day feeling like I had high blood sugars (mainly brought on by fruit- a pink lady apple, a banana, but also wholewheat pasta) but I didn’t feel unwell/unsteady/ no vision issues or that excessive sweating that sugar highs can bring, so was generally feeling good. I lost no weight the first week, but wasn’t too bothered - thought it’ll come.

This week I’ve stuck to the 1300 calories & averaged around 110g of carbs and I’ve been constantly feeling unwell, sugar highs and sugar lows, feeling faint, weak, hot , cold, it’s been horrendous. I’ve bern dominated by my blood sugars all week, mainly being too high and today has been really bad.
Had berry’s and yogurt for breakfast but felt sick so didn’t eat it, spent all morning going what felt like from high to low blood sugar constantly, had tingling in fingers and feet, headache, really woozy.

Got to lunch and had 2 slices of no added sugar Wholemeal bread, 100g of fresh Turkey breast, 20g of luxury coleslaw (the lowest sugar one) and a nectarine.
I track food on an app and I’d had 40g of carbs at lunch so not bad at all.

Luckily my blood monitor is purchased finally arrived today and I was at 16.4 for over an hour and this reduced after 2 hours to 12.7.
I would have exercised to walk it off if I’d not felt so unsteady and my vision so blurred, luckily I was at home, so just did some running up the stairs and dancing about as well as I could which I think helped bring it down, but was obviously still high even after that.

4 hours after lunch I had a real low, felt blood sugars drop dramatically, went icy cold, really light headed and headache, and I tested and was 3.4, so I had a handful of nuts, which didn’t help, so I had a single little square of 70% dark chocolate which I felt then pushed me way too high, I didn’t test, I could just feel it’d pushed me up above where I should be.

Dinner this evening I’d started to feel quite trembly, really couldn’t concentrate and felt starving hungry, so prior to meal I was 5.3 - for dinner I had 2 x baked chicken thighs, 4 x little steamed new potato’s ) Asparagus, Green beans, 2 x baby corn and a baked field mushroom. Carbs this meal was 38.3

Even as I was eating I could feel my blood sugar going too high, had the tingling in my finger tips, felt sweaty and weak.
After dinner my vison started going blurry and again i didn’t feel I had the capacity to take exercise as felt so unwell.

Tested and was at 14.7. tested 2 hours after and I’m at 9.8.

This week I have managed to loose 4lb.
The only difference this week to last week is this week I’m on my period, I’m late stages of peri menopause so they are hell ! - sorry tmi but I needed to state this incase menstrual state has a big impact, haven’t really researched this and thought I’d it did affect I may find some knowledge here how I work through that issue.

But mainly, what the hell does everyone feel may be happening!

I’m now sat feeling really cold and light headed, headaches again and feel I’m probably getting really low blood sugar again but don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

I know I need to eat carbs, but it seems I’m not managing any right now! What can I do?

Thanks so much for any snippets of advice, support, knowledge it’s all very welcomed! X
Click to expand...
Why do you think you "need" carbs? Plenty of people on a carnivore diet consume zero carbs a day, so... You're quite welcome to reduce further until you feel better. I know I couldn't process 130 grams, I'm usually okay between 20 and 40 grams, myself. And did carnivore for almosy a year I think, which was indeed, zero. Thing is, we're all different. What works for one, doesn't work at all for the other. Your meter'll tell you what works for you. And forget about the calories for now, just focus on getting the carbs down. No fruit save for berries, (I have a feeling your calculator may be a bit off... You could be having more than you think!), no bread, no pasta, rice, etc, etc. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some. It'll also let you know how to test effectively when trying to find your own balance, what's right for you.

Hang in there. No-one'll have a cut-and-dry answer for you, but you can find your own!
Hugs,
Jo
 
I agree about forgetting calorie counting - just stick with carb counting and testing before and 2 hours after meals to discover which foods spike your BS and how many carbs you can eat.
I was lucky in that I managed to drop into the normal range most of the time on 90g of carbs a day but no more than 30g per meal/snack. Although I did then drop to 85g or less for a few weeks to get rid of the morning rise (dawn phenomenon). Now I'm in remission I tried increasing slowly to 120g then 130g.
I know some need to go much lower than this, and you can only find out by testing and cutting carbs until you get good results.
 
Chocoholic issues, oh yes. I had to think carefully about my favourite foods and swaps. I changed from milk to dark (2 squares of 85% at night or 90% for cooking).
Try a couple of squares of good quality dark chocolate melted, then warm double cream stirred in to make a choc dessert - it goes a lot further in satisfying craving even though it's the same amount of chocolate.
 
TriciaWs said:
Chocoholic issues, oh yes. I had to think carefully about my favourite foods and swaps. I changed from milk to dark (2 squares of 85% at night or 90% for cooking).
Try a couple of squares of good quality dark chocolate melted, then warm double cream stirred in to make a choc dessert - it goes a lot further in satisfying craving even though it's the same amount of chocolate.
Click to expand...
hi, i tried this last night and your so right. i used cold double cream and 2 squares of 85% dark choc. i couldn't believe how it instantly whipped the cream once i stirred it into the microwaved melted chocolate , tasted to me a lot like those expensive gui desserts .and maybe i can mix up flavors with vanilla seeds etc. stopped my sugar cravings in its deadly tracks . thank you
 
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