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The speed at which you can lower BG

L

Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
In case anyone is wondering how quickly blood glucose (as measured on a monitor) can fall, on July 20 before going to bed, I was at 13.0. Nine days later, just now, 8.1. I have had less than 30g of carbohydrates every day since. So blood glucose can be lowered quite quickly. I previously didn't like using the BG monitor, but I now realise you can't manage diabetes without checking it every day. I think 7.0 is considered the diabetes level, so I want to see if I can get this below 7 over the next week. I also track fasting blood glucose when I wake up, but those figures are not compatible with my shock reading of 13.0, because I got that before going to bed. I've finally weaned myself onto black coffee, which was a wrench.
 
Personally I'm concluding that the reverse is true. Once you're over your initial fall-off in bgl, at that point it seems to be a waiting game. Eat as few carbs as you can humanly get away with, get to the point where food actually reduces your levels, plunge deep into ketosis (to the point where you worry your GP), fast regularly and watch... absolutely nothing happen. For months.

My numbers are now so constant, predictable and generally unchanging that frankly the meter is s waste of time, energy and money.

Maybe the numbers will start to fall one day before the doctor loses patience and prescribes stronger medication. Most likely not though.

All depends on the individual.
 
@Languagelearner congratulations on your impressive improvements.
Take care when lowering your levels. You can lower them too quickly and cause damage to the parts of your body that have become used to the higher levels such as your eyes.
We are all keen to get better as soon as possible once we find out the cause of our symptoms but managing diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint.
 
Blood glucose changes in minutes. It responds to food, exercise, sleep, stress, illness, temperature etc. A single reading on any given day will be effected by all these things and is limited in what it tells you depending on how many of the variables are…varied. What will be happening is that the average levels and the peaks of the highs will be falling due to the great changes you are making. Fasting readings are often the highest of the day once you are settled into low carb eating and the last to reach the point you aim for. The rest of the day if you are rising less than 2mmol between pre meal and 2hr post meal readings then you are eating foods that work with you and your diabetes and not adding too many carbs. The actual numbers come down over time. Keep records (there are apps that can help, spreadsheets or simple pen and paper) and you’ll see the trend going downwards. Below 7mmol is the fasting level considered non diabetic. What had you eaten in the hours before the 13?

why black coffee? The milk has a few carbs but cream has less. Obviously if you’ve adapted now you’ve saved those few carbs but you could have them as a treat occasionally.
 
I thought this uncommon effect of actual damage was pretty much caused by rapid lowering with insulin as opposed to diet and in the majority of cases reversible and temporary. A fair warning but not one in this case to get terrified about.

A little blurring as levels readjust isn’t unusual when they are lowered by any method and as the eye adjusts to being bathed in less sugary liquids and focussing needs to adjust. It goes away in a few weeks and people should avoid expensive new glasses in this time as they rapidly become useless.

Obviously any concerns check with a dr or optician but make it clear you are lowering glucose and how as that’s relevant to the advice they will offer.
 
I reduced to 50gm of carbs as that was my Atkins CCLL - critical carb level for losing.
When I got down to 8mmol/l after eating I continued eating the same way and saw the levels reduce down to under 7 as things normalized.
In 6 months I had a normal Hba1c.
It was not any effort - I lost 50lb at least (I had given up weighing myself) and I must be one of the few people who has not gained weight in lockdown - if anything my waist has reduced.
 
jjne said:
My numbers are now so constant, predictable and generally unchanging that frankly the meter is s waste of time, energy and money.
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Oh right. What are your numbers? I’m stuck around 6s and 7s.
 
Estragon said:
Oh right. What are your numbers? I’m stuck around 6s and 7s.
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9s and 10s. Bit higher in morning, lower last thing at night. I'd be very happy with 6s and 7s, at least it would be evidence of progress. There is a part of me saying to heck with it, because I was at 11 or so when eating far more carbs. But I am sticking with keto because it works for others.
 
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@jjne

Here’s my reducing graph. It took time, is a bumpy ride.


 
Estragon said:
And that reduction has taken you how long?
Click to expand...

It was almost instant. A week or so from 16s to 10.5. Then virtually flat. There has been no appreciable change in almost two months, six weeks of which have been in full keto with high ketone levels (3-4).

The liver just keeps on pumping glucose in first thing, the numbers go down very slowly over the course of the day, then return to the previous level the following day. Groundhog day in other words.
 
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WOW! I wish I had your confidence Resurgam, but I'm such a dizzy person with no real belief in myself. But you are incredible!
 
Here's my graph for the last three weeks, a similar length of time to yours.

Ah well. I tried.
 
jjne said:
Ah well. I tried.
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Mine was over 2 months with 2mg of Metformin per day. Yours is over only 3 weeks, if you're anything like me, it's going to take time.
 
Estragon said:
Mine was over 2 months with 2mg of Metformin per day. Yours is over only 3 weeks, if you're anything like me, it's going to take time.
Click to expand...

That's only the last three weeks. The previous three were the same, I just couldn't get the graph to display it all at once without glitching!

Fact is, my numbers have done precisely nothing for the best part of two months, after the initial major fall, irrespective of how hard-core I've been with the diet.

Yes it's going to take time. A long time. That's what I was trying to warn the OP, not to expect too much. It will be miraculous if they continue to go down at the rate they have.

In any case, your graph above isn't over two months. It's 17 days, unless the dates are wrong.
 
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Yep, I'm on the same discovery, although this is possibly my fourth time around and each time it's taken longer for day-to-day numbers to come down - it plateaus a lot around 8-9 for me for weeks. I can't go on meds, because I'm genetically averse to metformin and wary of going on stronger ones. But... lower numbers do come, slowly but surely. I'm about on my third month of keto, with some blips for special events (a Banoffee Pie scared me with a reading above 20 - highest I've ever had!). And I'm now averaging 7. Lowest in last week has been 5.8. Mornings have varied from 9 to 6.5.

I started (toast, cake, biscuits included) with an HBA1c of 88 so all of the above is a win for me. I know what to do... but sometimes don't do it.
 
jjne said:
In any case, your graph above isn't over two months. It's 17 days, unless the dates are wrong.
Click to expand...
My mistake! The dates are correct, I just saw Sept and Oct and didn’t read the actual Day Date. But do you also see the “swing”, it was like a Roller Coaster, and truly strung me out.
 
coby said:
WOW! I wish I had your confidence Resurgam, but I'm such a dizzy person with no real belief in myself. But you are incredible!
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Not really - I'm a scientist and engineer, by nature and nurture - I have an ability to see how things work which doesn't make me many friends. I'm the annoying person who looks at the thing not working and then asks 'should that be like that?' whilst pointing to the broken widget.
My dad could do the same thing - though he was quite popular when there was a war on and a plane engine would not start.
 


Phew I’m glad I read this, I was a bit freaked after reading the eye message in the earlier post! Thank you
 
Languagelearner said:
n July 20 before going to bed, I was at 13.0. Nine days later, just now, 8.1.
Click to expand...
On my lab drawn test at diagnosis my FBG was 7.5, 3 weeks later for the confirmation bloods I was down to 5.1 by just copping on with low carb & exercise.
Come to think of it I was right on the borderline for diagnosis as A1c fell from 52 to 48 in the same period.
Another day, another doctor & I might not of had this label for life.
 
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