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Reality check: unintended weight loss, how much is worrysome?

Glink

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I hope everyone's been hanging in there over the holidays, which I know can be difficult for those of us watching our diets due to diabetes.

I'll be the first to admit I've been looser with my diet than usual over the past few weeks. Had way more carbs than usual (still low compared with a "typical" healthy diet, but definitely over 100g many days this past month. It's been delicious, and I haven't had many symptoms.

But, it seems I have lost a bit of weight through this. I used to be totally opposed to weighing myself, thinking it just made me neurotic, but since I entered this weird diabetes world and have been told I'm at high risk of LADA I acquired one and check from time to time to make sure there haven't been changes. I checked a couple times this week (and then at the gym to make sure it wasn't just my scale going funky) and I seem to have lost about 5-7 lbs in the past week or two. Whilst also being hungry all the time.

My weight usually doesn't change at all and is very consistent. The exception was when all the diabetic stuff started and I rapidly gained then lost about 30-35 lbs in the same year. So I'm a little concerned, but it's only 5 lbs and I'd need to lose another ~5 to be classified as underweight, so not too worried. Just...starting to wonder, in case this keeps up--how much is too much weight to lose (at which point I'd have to consult a doctor, which unfortunately I still haven't quite figured out since I moved to the USA a few months ago!) I'm thin but literally big boned and fairly muscular, so I usually weigh more than I look. I don't want my body to be eating up my muscles...but maybe I'm just letting my mind wander to extremes here? All the diabetes literature is so dramatic, but not necessarily useful for more subtle situations like this!

All to say, insight or BTDT experiences regarding when to ignore this as a blip and not let it stress me out, versus when to take it seriously and try to get into a doctor, would be helpful. Thanks!
 
I haven't been testing on a daily basis lately, due to limited strips (see aforementioned haven't-found-a-doctor yet situation!) and also lots of testing making me a little anxious about every bite of everything, just sporadically, and when I travel for help with managing time changes. I have been seeing higher fasting levels and random levels on average when I test, although not super high (always below 10).
 
In general I seem to have a lot of measures (blood glucose, c-peptide, lowish thyroid...) that fall in the "not normal but not scary" zone! It's hard to know when to worry and when to just try not to let it stress me out.
 
Please either see doctor get more strips. Preferably the former.
 
Okay. Working on it. I'll make more calls tomorrow, hoping offices are open on New Year's Eve. This USA health care business is rot. Do not recommend! I had to wait 3 mos for it to kick in, chase down my card for another month, and now am having trouble finding recommended practitioners covered by my insurance plan who are taking new patients!
 
Just buy some strips. Going low carb the weight fell off of me, I lost around 20kg in 3 months. Yes KG that's 40lb. My waist has gone from a 38 to a 28 (at a push).

Low carb is great, kicks in a caveman response that burns into the fat around your organs instead of just your muscle reserves.

If your hungry I would suggest your bg is all over the place and that's making you hungry. Normally I don't get hungry nowadays. If you are hungry you are not eating enough fat.
 
If I lost that kind of weight I would literally be dead. I'm just trying to keep tabs on my weight in case there are changes that should sound the alarm, but this episode makes me realise I don't know how much change is too much.

FWIW, I've been on a LC diet for 3 years now. I went very LC a few years ago when I was first diagnosed pre-D and it helped my sugars immensely, but that's been less and less effective over time (we keep upping the metformin but eventually that will max out I suppose). About a year ago now I increased from very LC to just LC because my regular bike commute was tiring me and I was too hungry. At the time that bit of carb increase (from <50 to ~75/day) seemed to help and not have ill effects on my sugars, but now I'm feeling hungry all the time again. HbA1c was still good 6 mo ago when I last had testing. Something weird is going on with my case, and I accept that--it just makes it hard to know when weird is just weird and when it's an actual problem.
 
Carbs will make you hungry. Are you eating enough protein and fats? Can you try upping both of these? More meat and fish, more good fatrs, more dairy, avocado, and especially more eggs.
 
But eating more carbs shouldn't be making me lose weight. That's my concern. (Unless it's just a blip in which case I'm just being a worrywort.) Hunger is just an annoyance if it's just a feeling and not doing me any harm.
 
Are you eating more carbs at the expense of fat. When I listed the amount of fat I'm eating to stabilise my weight loss to my Dad you could almost watch him go green.

He is a weightwatchers devotee and wont hear a good word about fat.

If you have fallen back on your fat the extra bit of carbs may not be enough, just burning up (poof) gone on your commute, esp if you have adjusted to a fat heavy diet, (that sounds SO wrong, thank the stars for context).

Might/most probably wrong but its possible.
 
Glink said:
But eating more carbs shouldn't be making me lose weight. That's my concern. (Unless it's just a blip in which case I'm just being a worrywort.) Hunger is just an annoyance if it's just a feeling and not doing me any harm.
Click to expand...
If you're an undiagnosed T1 then high BG will cause you to lose weight. I dropped a lot prior to diagnosis in my 40s. Put it down to an active life and the thirst down to hot weather. Hba1c was 147 by the time I got to the doctor.
 
Yes, as @Circuspony says, if you are running on too high blood glucose, then your body will try and dump it via your kidneys, in urine.
Have you been thirstier than usual? Dinking more? Peeing more?

I strongly urge you to start checking your blood glucose again.
Unexpected unintended weight loss is a red flag for high blood glucose.
Your own home testing can help you to know what is going on, and whether you need to get to the docs, or not.
Though
I would say that you should make a doc appt if you have any concerns at all.
 
@Glink oh honey... welcome to the US healthcare system.

I hope you find a good PCP who hasn’t burned out from all the paperwork yet.
You can buy every part of BG test system at any pharmacy and maybe any large grocery chain. When the one my dr prescribed cost $117 even on Medicare, I balked and bought the $7.99 version. Lancets are cheap, strips not so much.
Do have fun learning where on the road to put your bike! (And car if you are driving anywhere)...
I hope you can get to the bottom of this weight loss thing ; I really sympathise with your “if it’s just weird it’s ok but if it’s pathological weird it’s scary” views.
 
Well, I haven't lost any more this week so I'm less worried now. I'll just continue to keep an eye on things, I guess.

I did get an appointment with my new PCP, but they're scheduling for late August now! O_O

I'll definitely go and buy myself a new metre & strips at a drugstore before then. I should get a new metre anyway; one that will give the US numbers so I don't have to try to convert the #s in my head when talking to anyone about diabetes here.
 
@Glink that’s heartening, that you haven’t lost weight this week. You must live in one of the marketplace-healthcare plan deserts if you can’t get an appointment before August!

I have an app that does real-time simultaneous BG and HbA1c conversions- eery to watch the numbers calculate with no pause.
 
PS I’m pretty sure that urgent care facilities allow you to choose them as PCPs. Mine does. So you walk in, and you are seen that same day, and only charged for whatever copay you may have for PCP. Worth a try! Unless of course they don’t accept your insurance....
If you ever have to visit an ER, ***ask every provider who walks into your room if they take your insurance!!!!*** I got burned once. Front desk: of course we take Optima. Bill, months later, from one dr’s parent company: well Dr X doesn’t, and you owe us $600.00. Steam out my ears on that one.
 
I live in the us too and it is really complicated to get some good doctor with great knowledge
 
Glink said:
But eating more carbs shouldn't be making me lose weight.
Click to expand...

Even though it sounds counterintuitive, potentially this might be exactly what could happen depending on your current pancreas function. Without insulin, de novo lipogenesis is not possible. Your body would have no mechanism by which it could convert glucose to fat. Your cells would struggle to utilise glucose, and you’d have no choice but to begin oxidising stored fat. You’d lose weight, glucose would rise, ketones would rise. Potential DKA.

As others have said, unexpected weight loss is a shot across the bow. Please don’t procrastinate when it comes to diabetic health management. The risks are extreme.
 
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