Newly Diagnosed and Confused

IBEX82 · Aug 29, 2019

Bluetit1802 said:
You sound like me. My FBG has always been low, even on diagnosis - but since rigorous testing and wearing a Libre I discovered I am what is known as a "foot on the floor" person as regards this. My liver starts dumping glucose after I have been out of bed and pottering about for a while. I tried skipping breakfast for ages and had an 18 hour fast until lunch time, then evening meal 6 hours after that. I then tried a decaff coffee with double cream first thing, and that worked better. I now have one soft boiled egg first thing, followed by my obligatory cuppa. This works much better.

I also detest creamy tea. I drink several mugs of tea a day with a dash of skimmed milk (people will recoil in horror about this, but the difference in carbs is negligible)

Coffee also gives me palpitations, so I drink it rarely and only decaff.

This sound familiar, although I don’t do my fasting BG until I’m up, and dressed. I know people advocate doing it in bed as soon as you wake but I had no difference doing that or doing it 30-40 mins after waking.

Then I have breakfast and have found like you an egg seems my best option - sometimes with bacon, or full fat yogurt with a few raspberries or strawberries.

And yes! I’m several mugs with a tiny amount of skimmed.. I like builders tea and don’t find the carbs mount up to much as I do track everything to be sure.

It’s weird but it does vary so much individual to individual. I bet the Libre has been invaluable. Did you self fund?

Bluetit1802 · Aug 29, 2019

IBEX82 said:
This sound familiar, although I don’t do my fasting BG until I’m up, and dressed. I know people advocate doing it in bed as soon as you wake but I had no difference doing that or doing it 30-40 mins after waking.

Then I have breakfast and have found like you an egg seems my best option - sometimes with bacon, or full fat yogurt with a few raspberries or strawberries.

And yes! I’m several mugs with a tiny amount of skimmed.. I like builders tea and don’t find the carbs mount up to much as I do track everything to be sure.

It’s weird but it does vary so much individual to individual. I bet the Libre has been invaluable. Did you self fund?

Yes, I find fat and protein best for breakfast, but I save fry ups for lunch times 2 or 3 times a week, so just one soft egg at breakfast.

It is not in doubt that the Libre teaches us a lot about what happens 24 hours a day and how and when our bodies react. I do self fund, as do the majority of us. Only T1s can have them prescribed, and even then it is difficult. I am 5 and a half years down the line now and find very little changes, so I just wear a Libre occasionally these days.

IBEX82 · Aug 29, 2019

Bluetit1802 said:
Yes, I find fat and protein best for breakfast, but I save fry ups for lunch times 2 or 3 times a week, so just one soft egg at breakfast.

It is not in doubt that the Libre teaches us a lot about what happens 24 hours a day and how and when our bodies react. I do self fund, as do the majority of us. Only T1s can have them prescribed, and even then it is difficult. I am 5 and a half years down the line now and find very little changes, so I just wear a Libre occasionally these days.

I love the idea of it as I’m sure it’s the only way to get a very accurate and true picture of your BG. However, as my BG appear (at least for now) quite good, I’m not sure I’d get a benefit from it vs cost.

I imagine it to be very expensive. Did you find so?

ianf0ster · Aug 29, 2019

IBEX82 said:
I have introduced daily intermittent fasting but I’m building up to 16:8 - I have to have tea with milk.. I can’t be doing with cream in tea and too much coffee gives me palpitations so I end up breaking my fast too early.. I managed 14 hours from teatime yesterday - it’s a start

Have you tried Lady Grey or Earl Grey tea without milk? I used to drink those, but currently drink neat Green Tea - just teabag and water. I find green tea isn't too strong to drink that way.

IBEX82 · Aug 29, 2019

ianf0ster said:
Have you tried Lady Grey or Earl Grey tea without milk? I used to drink those, but currently drink neat Green Tea - just teabag and water. I find green tea isn't too strong to drink that way.

I do love an Earl Grey. It’s just first thing I struggle without my morning cuppa. I didn’t consider green tea but maybe with some lemon it would be quite refreshing - thank you for the idea

Bluetit1802 · Aug 29, 2019

IBEX82 said:
I love the idea of it as I’m sure it’s the only way to get a very accurate and true picture of your BG. However, as my BG appear (at least for now) quite good, I’m not sure I’d get a benefit from it vs cost.

I imagine it to be very expensive. Did you find so?

They aren't cheap, but being diabetic means you don't pay the VAT so that brings the price down quite a bit. You can save more money by not buying the reader if you have a compatible phone. Personally, I use the reader as I am a dinosaur when it comes to phones.

Your levels are good when you test, but what about the long periods in between testing? I was quite surprised what can increase my levels that are nothing to do with food - even a full bladder affects mine! You could try a couple and see for yourself. Have a read about them. You also save a bit of money by not testing other than the odd cross check to see if your Libre is reading low or high.

Caeseji · Aug 30, 2019

IBEX82 said:
Hi all,

Just thought I’d check in. Still going without any meds for diabetes and finding I’m not having to check my sugars so frequently now. I tend to stick to the same foods that I’ve tested with multiple times as I know they work for me and I keep within around 40g carbs per day.

Over the last two weeks my highest blood glucose has been 6.2 with an average of 4.8 according to my app. It would seem I’m managing okay. Only disappointment has been weight loss and my DN has been supportive (finally) but she has said that I need to concentrate on BG being good and not throw in the towel as weight loss is not occurring.

I wonder if the lack of weight loss is steroid related or perhaps I’m eating too much fat - although I know it’s LCHF but I wonder how much is too much?

I haven’t gained any weight though so I guess that’s something and I have had a couple of ‘blips’ where I’ve gone over my self imposed carb limit. It’s not easy but it’s working.

No plans to retest my HbA1c yet - they’re waiting until my steroids are at the lowest dose as this can impact the result apparently. Originally it was 55, though pre steroids it was 36. My specialist remains confident this is steroid induced diabetes, my GP thinks it’s type 2 - who knows?

My specialist has said that they want to start immunosuppressives long term and I’ll come off the steroids completely, she feels once we make that transition a simple fasting glucose blood test will identify whether I am genuinely diabetic and a follow up HbA1c three months later will confirm it.

I guess if it is steroid induced then I must be predisposed to type 2 diabetes and I carry on with my LCHF lifestyle to prevent any further complications down the line.

Hey hey and thanks for checking in there! This is all a good start there despite the steroids being part of your life. Weight loss will follow once you have the BG levels put together again. Trust me on that I only started losing a good amount of weight once I had it all under control, once your hormonal balance is back to normal then the rest will follow. I'm so glad that it is working out though, keep on going and keep on posting!

IBEX82 · Aug 31, 2019

Bluetit1802 said:
They aren't cheap, but being diabetic means you don't pay the VAT so that brings the price down quite a bit. You can save more money by not buying the reader if you have a compatible phone. Personally, I use the reader as I am a dinosaur when it comes to phones.

Your levels are good when you test, but what about the long periods in between testing? I was quite surprised what can increase my levels that are nothing to do with food - even a full bladder affects mine! You could try a couple and see for yourself. Have a read about them. You also save a bit of money by not testing other than the odd cross check to see if your Libre is reading low or high.

Thanks for this, it’s so helpful to me as it’s something I was toying with.

I didn’t realise you could read with a smartphone so that could save a little and as you say maybe try a couple to see how it’s going over a longer period of time.

IBEX82 · Aug 31, 2019

Caeseji said:
Hey hey and thanks for checking in there! This is all a good start there despite the steroids being part of your life. Weight loss will follow once you have the BG levels put together again. Trust me on that I only started losing a good amount of weight once I had it all under control, once your hormonal balance is back to normal then the rest will follow. I'm so glad that it is working out though, keep on going and keep on posting!

Thank you! It’s hard as ultimately I need to lose weight but the focusing on the BG and the rest will follow seems to be my mantra lately. To be honest, I should be thankful and glad I haven’t gained any weight while on high dose steroids as I know so many do.

I’ll keep keeping on though.. home made low carb veg soup and home made bunless steak burgers are on the menu today

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