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Type 2 low carb struggling

L

Ljjordan

Member
Messages
9
Hi I’ve been type 2 for 9 years & on insulin for 7 years lantus & novorapid. Bmi 18 & always been stable.
Ive gone low carb since June & hba1c improved from 6.5 to 5.8 off insulin but since coming off fargixa 2 weeks ago my fasting bloods are 9.7 -11 despite low carb all day & not eating since 7pm.
starting the day so high it’s an effort to get bloods down to 7 & then they go back up again in the morning.
I’ve become disheartened & started novorapid with breakfast to get it down first thing. I’m exercising 4 x week & do 18000 steps a day so Feel I can’t do much more to help.
Does anyone have any advise please ?
 
Sounds like the Dawn Phenomenon, and then a struggle to get your BG's down again. Talk to your GP they're the best ones to advise on your med's
 
You were being treated as a type 1 diabetic, with insulin, even though you're classified as type 2. With your low BMI at 18 and rapid deterioration onto insulin 2 years after diagnosis, you should be asking for a referral to a specialist. I hope you get to the bottom of what's happening soon. As low carb isn't working, it's likely that you're not producing very much insulin, and a c-peptide could help see if this is the case.
 
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lessci said:
Sounds like the Dawn Phenomenon, and then a struggle to get your BG's down again. Talk to your GP they're the best ones to advise on your med's
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Thanks yes I’m waiting to speak to g.p just wanted advice whilst I await an appointment.
 
Really good advice thanks I’ll ask for a c peptide test when nurse gets back to me
 
What are you having for breakfast?
 
Keep your chin up, you've done great. Your BMI is really low, but you might be skinny fat. If you can try to get some body composition measures, especially visceral fat, bone density and muscle mass (i can recommend cheap Tanita scales circa £40, my experience shows they match the bigger versions in most gyms).

In your shoes I would get specialist help from Trudy Deakin, Zoe Hascombe, David Unwin, Aseem Malhortra, Rangan Chatterjee or Ivor Cummins (I have assumed you are British, so this is Anglo/Irish potential support of the highest order).

With the amount of exercise you are doing, results are not being fair, so you appear a specialist case, who might need the guidance and expertise of any of the above, who can pull on experience and contacts after maybe assessing past, your bloods and lifestyle.
 
Thanks I’ve been on gym scales & im working on weights to improve muscle mass. It’s really disheartening as I’m trying so hard but guess I may need some medication just wanted to give it a good go as read so much about type 2’s going into remission
 
Ljjordan said:
Hi usually porridge for breakfast then no snack lunch salad & meat/fish no snack tea meat /fish & veg. Dessert 1x day berries & Greek yoghurt usually at lunch
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Hi @Ljjordan Although it seems most likely that you are a Type 1 rather than Type 2, I think it need mentioning that a breakfast of porridge (when most are less tolerant to carbs isn't a good start to the day unless you need it to cover your Insulin injection.
I realise that most GPs and nurses say that whole grains such as the Oats in porridge (assuming made from scratch with rolled oats) is healthy, I found they spiked my BG and so I had to switch to a zero carb breakfast. And few people manage to eat Porridge without either milk or sugar (and milk contains lactose which is a sugar).

I tried both boiled eggs and cheese. I found that both of them would actually reduce my fasting BG if it was abnormally high in a morning , for example reduce it from 7.8 or 8.0 down to something just under 7.0.
 
I would have paid 5k to feel normal, as my initial diabetes was literally painful.

I think you could exhaust standard tests for Type1 / LADA, such as c-peptide. Push your Doctor to see an Endocrinologist as well. If you are not resolved I would get private consultancy and tests that could be life changing for you - beg borrow (but do not steal) from family and friends.
 
Thanks I’ll try that to see if it helps
 
Thanks I’ll ask for those tests
 
Fasting 10.7 today so trying the eggs & avacodo salad for breakfast this helps.
If it is the dawn phenomenon how do you stop it ?as other than the porridge I’m not eating carbs other than in veg/salad
 
Unfortunately there is little you can do to stop Dawn Phenomenon. Though Metformin can help if you can tolerate it because its main action is to cut the amount of Glucose produced by your liver.by a little.

Otherwise you just need to be patient. It works like this: Your body is accustomed to quite high levels of Glucose in your blood and now this feels normal. So your liver is fighting to keep those levels high. Once your body starts to adjust to the fact that lower levels are not dangerous, your liver allows the BG levels to slowly drop. It can take years, but the good thing is that all that by cutting carbs all that time you are reducing the blood Glucose spikes which are thought to be actually worse ( or at least as bad) than a fairly constant raised level is.
 
Thanks for reply that’s very clear & informative Makes me more motivated to continue with low carb diet.
 
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