Still Worried & Symptoms

I posted before about my stumbling into low carb and starvation diet and failing OGTT. For the past week, I was eating more, my food consists of chicken, vegetables such as cabbage, radish, brocolli, I cooked salmon yesterday with lots of mushrooms and also use some coconut milk.

Diet is still lowish carb, but I am eating more. However, it is the same story: I eat my meal and will go to 6.5-7.0 after 1.5 hour or so, as for example, now, 6.1. The meal was: chicken (around 40g of protein), 1 tablespoon of coconut milk, brocolli, radish, mushrooms, etc.

Around 45 mins after meal, I start feeling drowsy and get slight headache, and a bit anxious. Measure my BG and it is above 6, this usually where I feel very off. Then it lasts for 2-3 hours after meal to come down 5.x something.

I have gone to an endo who specialises in type 1 DB and he seems to have ruled it out. He sends me to dietician in 2 days to figure out a meal plan. I am honestly afraid of eating carbs because if protein sends me that high, what will happen with carbs? He thinks I do not have diabetes but some insulin resistance and yet my blood glucose makes me tired after meals for 1.5 months already. It is possible this is physiological insulin resistance but then, I am not eating much carbs and people on keto diets do not have spikes to 6.x or even 7. And don't feel horrible.

With a suggestion of another doctor, she said to tread carefully and not eat **** carbs ever again such as grains, pancakes or crisps. Even fruit. It is not quite clear what it is I have. I trust my endo and told him about going to 7.0 after low carb meals but he thinks all is fine.

What are the other avenues to explore this for certain? I am troubled that low carb meals send me that high and make me feel ******.

lucylocket61 said:

Sorry, what is your question?

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What else to do, I guess. I keep eating this diet, that I personally really like these days. However, my BGs should not be going to 6.x if I am eating few carbs. They not only go there but stay for an hour at least.

EllieM said:

I'm guessing you've lost a lot of weight on this diet? Can I ask what your BMI is? Are you excreting ketones? Be aware that if you've slipped into an eating disorder (very easy to do if you go on a restrictive diet and lose too much weight) then your thinking about food may/will not be rational or trustworthy.
If you enjoy the diet and it's keeping your weight at normal levels then I don't see the problem of a 6.x blood sugar, as that's in normal ranges.
Also, if you eat more carbohydrate and your blood sugar does start to go higher, you'll have some evidence for your endocrinologists as to something that gives you an abnormal blood sugar.

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BMI around 21. My weight seems to be stable. But I am feeling that eating carbs again is rather risky endeavour. If protein send me to 6.x, then carbs would do more harm. But, it could also be that the body is now less adapted to process carbs efficiently due to the diet. But then we go back to an excuse of physiological insulin resistance and am not sure this is the case.

therower said:

What allowances/ considerations have you made for gluconeogenesis?

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I am a bit ignorant on this, could you elaborate? But from a limited knowledge I have, I think it means BGs can be running higher when on less carbs and stay higher longer after eating. But having browsed tons of resources online, I find that people do not feel bad even with higher BG and also come down to something normal like low 5s sooner than me.

Guzzler said:

Your bg is normal. What would you like it to be? A lowered carb diet is used by T2s who are not taking meds to lower their bg to as close to normal levels as can be acheived, it is not supposed to lower the bg level so much that one would feel '******' or to lower them to dangerous levels (this would be impossible anyway).

As far as I can tell, the advice that you have been given on this forum and by your HCPs is sound.

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1.5 years ago I had a similar episode and indeed had ketones and other stuff going on. I did eat carbs and it resolved but I also had a glucose meter and my BG was never going above 6 even after a meal with carbs. I also did not feel anxious, lethargic and tired after such meals. And BG meter confirmed it by showing something like 5.4 and then going back to 4.x after 2 hours.

My endo does not think it is diabetes but I clearly have an issue if protein and fats can get me to 7.0. I also do not come back down from that in 2 hours, it can take 3 hours+ to be around 5.5. This is a lot worse than 1.5 years ago.

wiflib said:

They are still normal blood sugars.

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I feel like **** after eating. Chicken (fats, proteins), cabbage, radish, mushrooms. All of this make me feel lethargic, headache, pressure in eyes, anxious. My BG goes to 6.x usually. And I feel really ****** at this level. I am not supposed to have such blood glucose on low carb. This makes no sense to me. My endo seem to think all is fine but those low carb meals literally keep me in bad glucose zone. For 2-3 hours.

wiflib said:

I think you are linking your post food distress with BS numbers when it is possible that it’s something entirely different.
I hold an HbA1c in the fours and I see sixes and 7’s occasionally, it’s normal.

The fact remains that they are very normal levels. Try only one food group rather than mixing them, see what happens.

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1 hour after eating this low carb meal it is now 6.7. Just feeling unwell. Not sure what to do because it seems every week it gets worse with my BG.