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questions about what to do

J

jlm

Member
I have not been following all of the diabetes advice for about 15 years. I have been on Gliclazide and Metformin consistently for about 2 years. 8 weeks ago I changed my diet and eliminated all carbs and fruits. My HbA1c was over 100. After 6 weeks I got it down to 57. I started using a glucose home monitor. My average the first week was 12 or so. Now it is 6.5. I stopped taking Gliclazide as I need to lose weight, about 12 kg. My morning readings have gone up to 8.3 from about 7 but my afternoon and evening readings are in the 6 - 7 range. This has happened for the last 3 days.
How do I keep my readings all below 7?
How do I know how much insulin I am producing? Has anyone had the C-peptide test?
In the last 2 weeks I have slowly introduced some low GI carbs like chick peas, quinoa and brown rice, about 30 -50 g/day.
My cholesterol was high, 8.5. I stopped eating almost all animal protein. (no meat, eggs, cheese, dairy; only sardines and mackerel from cans). Is it correct to lower cholesterol below 4 or 5 according NHS guidelines or is higher cholesterol better for you according to some internet doctors and Japanese etc. What is the story with cholesterol as it is so confusing about what to do?
I started an exercise programme 10 days ago of brisk walking for 30 minutes a day.

Thank you for any support or guidance.
 
Good morning
I have read your post and feel I am not knowledgeable enough to give you any advice.
However I can say welcome.
Welcome
Somebody in the know will be along soon of that I am sure.

Good luck

Tony
 
Hello. A couple of pointers
Don't go looking for advice from internet doctors. I found one that was promoting a diet that required a special kind of water and only he had the dehydrated powder you needed to make the water - yes - all you had to do was send dollars and he would send the powder. You just had to add water. Over 100,000 customers - good luck to him.

Cholesterol - there are two types. The reading is based on the ratio of good to bad and not on the actual amounts you eat. Oily fish is good. Eating it will address the imbalance. Other oily foods are good too. A low cholesterol reading is preferred but it can be done by increasing the good stuff and reducing the bad - it looks like you have tried to cut out all animal fats.

The exercise programme - excellent - I can praise walking enough. I hardly ever miss a day and try to aim for twice a day.

You are amongst friends - there is lots of support here.

Sean, T2, Oct 15, met time release, diet, and a shed load of exercise. Winning.....mostly.
 
It does take some time to get your HbA1C down as it measures the average blood glucose for the last 3 months. Mine dropped from 99 to 59 and then to 44 after eating a LCHF diet. If you eat low carb it should gradually come down to non diabetic levels. Avoid fruit juice as that raises blood sugar. First thing in the morning blood glucose is generally higher due to the dawn phenomenon (liver dump). Some people do eat some fatty food before going to bed as a "liver block" to reduce the glucose rise first thing.

Intermittent fasting is a good way to reduce blood sugar levels and to lose weight. See videos by Jason Fung (e.g. the one in my forum signature). Skipping breakfast can help. Eating in a 8 hour window during the day (16:8 fasting e.g. 1200-2000) can help. Don't worry about cholesterol too much. Sort your blood sugars out first. People who have heart attacks in the UK and USA have lower cholesterol than average, not higher. The risk of CVD depends on inflammation which causes plaque to form in the arteries and that is raised by certain foods e.g. grains, but not from dietary fat.
 
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Two books I found very help, the first is an easyer read if you don't remember your sciance A levels. But you should be able to understand the 2nd book once you have read the first.

Living Low Carb: Controlled-Carbohydrate Eating for Long-Term Weight Loss
Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living

Personly I would advoid the low GI carbs until your BG have been well into the normal range for some time, or maybe have them on 1 or 2 days a week. I would also eat all animal protein, eggs are one of the best foods for us.

I got my cholesterol down from "of the scale, too high to measure" to "normal" by not eating carbs and eating more fat then I was before.
 
Thank you for the advice. The last 3 days I have stopped Gliclazide and my blood readings are reading higher, between 7 and 9 instead of below 7. I have also started eating some low GI carbs. I do not want to go backwards. Thanks. Jeff
 
Mike D said:
You can't (read up on liver dumps) and that's a severely restrictive diet despite the fact fish is good for anyonet. What other meds are you on?
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice. The last 3 days I have stopped Gliclazide and my blood readings are reading higher, between 7 and 9 instead of below 7. I have also started eating some low GI carbs. I do not want to go backwards. Thanks. Jeff
 
Mike D said:
You can't (read up on liver dumps) and that's a severely restrictive diet despite the fact fish is good for anyonet. What other meds are you on?
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice. The last 3 days I have stopped Gliclazide and my blood readings are reading higher, between 7 and 9 instead of below 7. I have also started eating some low GI carbs. I do not want to go backwards. Thanks. Jeff Metformin 1 g
 
Thank you so much for your advice and kind words. I am really struggling with diet, exercise, I fell today and scraped my hands an knee and hip but that's life. Maybe I should cut out all carbs again while I am transitioning to not taking the glicl. take care. jeff
 

To be honest, I strongly advocate changing one thing at a time. Changing two things - meds and adding back some carbs are two separate, fairly major changes. Two changes at once makes it very difficult to ascertain exactly what is driving any given change to the results you are seeing; irrespective of whether the results change is welcome or not.

Either of your current amendments could lead to a creeping upwards of your blood sugar levels, so you could be seeing the impact of reducing your meds, or upping the carbs, or even the impacts of both.
 
Google the words:

youtube THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOODPRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL dr John Bergman

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
"Yes!" about Slowly not quickly reducing meds.

Meds program our body to be a certain way, to which the body then adapts. Thus pulling the rug from underneath the body by reducing the meds too quickly can easily cause other systems in the body to be not ready to compensate for less meds.

It's like kicking out employees in a biz without first hiring new ones.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
I'd like eat/drinkto say - take medical advice before going low carb or no carb but my understanding is that the medical profession thinks less of low/no carbing than the actual people who benefit from it.

Keep reading on this site and see what others actually do.

I have my six monthly checkup next week. I know there will be an awkward discussion between me and my nurse. She thinks I eat too much and all the wrong things - but I have absolute concrete proof that what I do works for me. (I also have diverticulitis, kidney problems, gout, high blood pressure and high cholesterol - but it doesn't stop me from training for strong man competitions

For what it's worth - here's my diet and why I eat/drink the way I do (please don't follow my diet I just want to show you why every item you do eat is important for your health

5.a.m black coffee - wake up call and in the gym for 30-40 mins treadmill/bike
6a.m. 3-4 egg whites and one yolk omelette with a hand ful of fried tomatoes, half a bag of spinach. (egg white - protein for muscle growth/repair, yolk - energy, tomatoes - colon cancer is a family illness - tomatoes help reduce the risk. spinach - iron, and other minerals - I need to optimise the haemoglobin in the blood to max the oxygen uptake, also roughage.

8 a.m. - two oat bars

12a.m. omelette, tomatoes and spinach - exactly as above - lunch time protein fix - (muscle growth/repair is 24/7

3-4 p.m - as above (protein every 3-4 hours

6 p.m. - depending on how I feel - low GI fruit, yoghurt and black coffee - energy boost pre work out

8-9 p.m. strong man training - not as strong as the guys you see on telly but I am in my 50's but I can bury kids half my age

9.30 - kafir - live bacteria yoghurty protein drink with protein powder and cinnamon - (blood pressure)


Through the day - a lot of water with 3-4 lemons a day - vit c and keeping the kidneys flushed. and a few more black coffees.

No vitamins etc - except when I get the occasional cold sore - then extra vit c. I also take creatine (this is legal - but I am definitely not advising anyone to take this - there is a purpose and unless your purpose is to dead lift cars, there's no need.

Deviations - week ends - bacon with my breakfast omeletes and I swap out a meal for a couple of tins of sardines - (cholesterol). Sometimes instead of bacon I might have a pork chop. (meat has no GI)
Sunday lunch - roast beef - no veg, no potatoes, just roast beef as an extra meal - needed after my two week end gym sessions.

If I need extra energy, I have a mixture of chick peas (low GI and high fibre) with tomatoes, baked beans!! and kidney beans and butter beans - it works - bit only used every now and then. (There's the point - I USE food to)help me - this is what lies behind a successful diet.

Eggs work for me - so I stick with them, convenient, crammed with extra minerals and clean (easy to manage the amount of yolks.

It looks boring - I suppose it is, but I have diabetes every day. I exercise every day (4-5 heavy sessions per week). To me it make sense to eat the same every day. I get through a lot of eggs, tomatoes and spinach. If I get bored _ I switch to hard boiled eggs and avocados with some feta cheese instead of an omelette.

(Diverticulitis massively reduces what I can and can not eat)

As I sad, this is not to be followed but I hope you can see how it is possible to eat (rather than starve) and deal with the diabetes by making everything you eat work for you.

You just need to find what works for you - trust me - my diet took a while - even with my very limited choices.. Keeping a notebook will help

Good luck.

Sean
 
Thank you Sean so much for sharing your routine and thoughts and personal info. You have obviously a great deal of knowledge and experience and I am just beginning. I decided today to keep off the Gliclazide and stay off all carbs and see if I can get my bs readings back down below 7. Today they were 8.9; 8.7; 7.3. I'll see how they are tomorrow. I bought a blood pressure machine 2 weeks ago and it seems ok so no statins for me. I am bouncing back and forth between various ohs staff and am learning more so feel more able to not follow what they say though I am polite and I listen and they provide my blood tests and some equipment. I'll keep posting my progress. Thank you again. jeff
 

Hi @Contralto

Mostly egg whites. I used to be a competitive body builder in my late teens and early 20's - so I was on a low fat moderate carb moderate protein diet. I got used to the tastes. If I have too many egg yolks, the calorie intake will be too high and I wouldn't like the taste - it would be too rich. Also, now, whilst some fats are useful, eating twelve egg yolks a day would cause a problem. I also have diverticulitis - I walk a tight rope when it comes to food. I'm not sure how my gut would react to such a big increase in fat.

The protein powder is very low carb (2 grams per 30 gram serving.)

Yes - we make our own Kefir.

Oat bars - I have ones with specks of dark chocolate. They are admittedly an energy boost as well - after my morning work out as there are virtually no carbs in my breakfast. You could try making your own oat bars - I'm sure I've seen recipes for low carb on this site.

I would love to eat mushrooms - nutritionally amazing but my diet is incredibly limited.

Nice talking to you.

Sean
 

Hi @Contralto I've a feeling I'm going to regret this.


Dear @Contralto

Please don't tell me how to deal with my diverticulitis. Thank you.

I will answer one question - the ingredients in my protein powder - that would be (sssh - don't tell anybody): a wide range of amino acids in varying concentrations.

Hi Moderators - Trust me - I censored the living daylights out of this. Who is this guy?

Sean


 
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