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Too low on diet

HelenHak

Well-Known Member
Messages
562
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Is it possible to lower your blood glucose too far by adopting the LCHF diet? I am T2 and on one 500mg Metformin a day. Last time it was checked, three months ago, my Hba1c was 41. I have had a couple of dizzy spells in the last few days and am wondering if that is the cause.
 
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Do you check your BG levels as it would be the only way to know if you are too low or not.
Otherwise it's just a guessing game.
 
True...just wondering if others had the same. Am reluctant to get meter as I am easily obsessed!
 
I think caring for oneself is a good obsession
 
This is a time when a little bit of obsession would not go amiss. Most people here self test it is the only way to know what your diabetes is doing on a day to day basis or what foods you can eat and those you can't this would help you control your condition and you would not be left uncertain as to what is going on.

Edit to add as to your question yes there have been times when I have been a little too low and when that happened I took corrective measures had some extra carbs.. But can't stress enough I only knew because I test.
 
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I never have hypoes anymore, maybe if I drank a lot of alcohol like when I was young , there I did get hypoes, but my HbA1c is around 36 now I am never too low , not even after 5.5 hours of fitness...
maybe you´ll get too low it is quite individual how easy one get too low, but type 2 that are not on insuline or insuline affecting medications do usually not become too low..
 
It is very unusual for someone on Metformin only to go too low.

Please reconsider buying a meter. It is the only way to find out.
 
I would say that the only way to lower your blood glucose 'too far' on lchf is by combining it with unnecessary medication - but that is only something you could determine by testing, and with the input of your health team.
 
@HelenHak a HBA1C of 41 is good and means that if you were testing you would average at 5.9. This is still higher than most non diabetics but can take time to get used to if you are used to higher levels.

I would suggest a visit to the doctors for the dizzy spells.

I find self monitoring my levels helpful to keep me on track and this forum is a great support for anyone who wants to start.
 
If you are new to LCHF it may be that your body is not used to "normal" blood sugar readings so is having a slight wobble..like everyone else I would also recommend self testing.
 
I agree with the above but as it seems to have been hinted against I want to point out that type 2s can still go hypo! I have had type twos in my family who have done so and friends. Medication in levels that are too high or like any other diabetic, too much activity can trigger a hypo. Just because others have not experienced the same doesn't mean it can't happen. If you do get a meter and find you are dropping then go to your GP and demand some sort of prescription for strips. Good luck.


Or in general,...well it is debated on here and in the world but many argue that humans do need a form of carbohydrate. We are creatures who survived at the dawn of time stalking other prey and outlasting them so needed slow releasing carbohydrates in order to hunt down our protein sources. If you have switched to a LCHF diet your body may be struggling. Also, far is harder for the body to break down in general and not, on its own, good for you. A combination could be making you feel unwell. That is only what I've learned in my education though. Do your own to make your own way
 
Though I did not make it plain before I am a T2 taking the lowest dose of metformin 500 mg/day in the last 12 months I have been what I regard as hypo 3 to 4 times so though uncommon it is by no means impossible for a T2 on metformin only to have a hypo.
 

Very well debated and pretty well proven by many here that the fallacy of carbohydrate "requirement" is exactly that a fallacy. I am currently on less than 10g per day from milk and cream only and of course am fine...
 
HelenHak said:
I now have a meter and have started testing. All ok so far. Must stop blaming everything on diabetes!
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Maybe you have cuts your carbs a bit to much we all have different levels of carb intake that we tolerate some need to go lower than others Try increasing them a bit and see how you feel then
 
bulkbiker said:
Very well debated and pretty well proven by many here that the fallacy of carbohydrate "requirement" is exactly that a fallacy. I am currently on less than 10g per day from milk and cream only and of course am fine...
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This forum is not any way to judge any sorts of results as we are too unique a grouping. The way we undertake our care is the way of the minority and not comparable to others so nothing here proves anything either way at any time. We're too small a subject group. Yet...you still take in carbs. So...again that hardly disproves anything I said and I must take you back to where I said each person should find their own way.

The carbs you take in could be argued to be even more unnatural. Humans, in theory, should not be drinking milk past the stage where we are capable of consuming solid foods just like other mammals. We are the oddity who continue to consume milk and at that we do that from other mammals. Often our bodies are intolerant. Most studies seem to suggest we are all intolerant to some extent it just depends how severe. Cream is not natural at all. Yet as humans we foraged from the start of time on fruits and vegetables with higher carb counts than what low carbers intake now. You may be able to live on 10g of carbs a day or less. I cannot. Many people cannot. There is no need to call that a fallacy.
 
Just thought I would mention that fruits and veggies that our ancestors foraged for did not in any way resemble what you buy in the grocery store today. They were very small and very low carb. Think berries. Wild apples look like rose hips because they are from the rose family. Man has altered and bred fruits and veggies to be larger and sweeter.
 
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