Ulcerative colitis, nafld and t2 diabetes diet. Any advice please? Thankyou in advance.

[JoKalsbeek]

I know that some of the more stringent LCHF groups I started with would faint and clutch their pearls if I mentioned bananas or a couple of pieces of apricot but certainly the first time around with using Libre to measure spikes it was not particularly heavy for me than, say, grapes or pineapple. Everyone is different and I appeared to tolerate a small ‘nana with my afternoon coffee, so it will be fascinating to see what has changed, and what is spiking now, outside of the infection itself which could also be at play.

I have a job where you are glued to your seat for hours on end and lunch/dinner depending on shift times are not always at regular times, so I would find that a banana would help stop me flagging.

Going to hunt for flax seeds and I am pretty sure I saw someone back in the day say that chia seeds could be used for puddings. Or maybe I imagined that!

Well, pineapple would have me clutching my pearls too, haha. But hey, this has to be something YOU do, so it has to fit you, your life, your over-all health etc... After all, it's a long term thing and no-one can follow your diet for you. So it may be a bit of a puzzle, but worth it to find out what you can cope with. Since things seem to have changed suddenly, just for my own curiosity.... Was it after a C19 infection? Seems like a lot of people's diabetes went haywire, or even started, since going through a bout of it. Might explain things some. No idea though, anything could be going on.... Maybe things just got progressively worse, maybe some other med changed (different brand or something) and drove things up, or just dealing with inflammation and/or pain, which can turn diabetes on its head rather a lot too.

I hope you'll get some answers that'll work for you from the dietician. Fingers crossed!
Jo

 

[RFSMarch]

Well, pineapple would have me clutching my pearls too, haha. But hey, this has to be something YOU do, so it has to fit you, your life, your over-all health etc... After all, it's a long term thing and no-one can follow your diet for you. So it may be a bit of a puzzle, but worth it to find out what you can cope with. Since things seem to have changed suddenly, just for my own curiosity.... Was it after a C19 infection? Seems like a lot of people's diabetes went haywire, or even started, since going through a bout of it. Might explain things some. No idea though, anything could be going on.... Maybe things just got progressively worse, maybe some other med changed (different brand or something) and drove things up, or just dealing with inflammation and/or pain, which can turn diabetes on its head rather a lot too.

I hope you'll get some answers that'll work for you from the dietician. Fingers crossed!
Jo

It has been a long while since I have had anything that could have been C19.. the changes in bowel movement started in Feb towards the end of a golfing holiday and things have been probably closer to IBS for those months… and then bizarrely last month when I was cooking from fresh a lot, it was like my entire system was in a go-slow but the weight was just dropping off hugely.

I really hope we get some answers. I am trying to think of bland things to cook, like just plain grilled chicken and steamed veg, little sauce, grilled salmon etc … anyway the most important thing is that the dietician knows we have to reconcile two conditions.
Chia pudding with frozen mixed berries is in the menu for tomorrow! The worst thing is having no appetite come dinner time, which is not helping much. A lot of sleep. It is not helping productivity at all - which is a problem when you are self-employed!

 

[Hopeful34]

I seem to remember @Antje77 saying she used yoghurt to get tablets down.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

It has been a long while since I have had anything that could have been C19.. the changes in bowel movement started in Feb towards the end of a golfing holiday and things have been probably closer to IBS for those months… and then bizarrely last month when I was cooking from fresh a lot, it was like my entire system was in a go-slow but the weight was just dropping off hugely.

I really hope we get some answers. I am trying to think of bland things to cook, like just plain grilled chicken and steamed veg, little sauce, grilled salmon etc … anyway the most important thing is that the dietician knows we have to reconcile two conditions.
Chia pudding with frozen mixed berries is in the menu for tomorrow! The worst thing is having no appetite come dinner time, which is not helping much. A lot of sleep. It is not helping productivity at all - which is a problem when you are self-employed!

I am kind of "blind" when it comes to numbers, so it took me a while to look at your HbA1c string under your posts. I know bowel issues can make absorbing nutrients hard, but usually when someone's numbers are high, their weight goes up too. You're not even hungry. You're high and losing. That did happen to me, as a T2, but as it turned out, that was rare and going against the grain. And since things changed rather suddenly for you...

Before we just blindly focus on the whole diet thing (and it doesn't have to be bland.... Dill, mayo, lemon and salt with a salmon is just fine, maybe leave off pepper? If spices can't be done, herbs can be quite wonderful!), but... Has anyone tested you for a T1 variant since this happened? With the weightloss and the HbA1c's bouncing around, you could've been experiencing your honeymoon period, which is when someone's pancreas is putting out some insulin, but not consistently, until it just quits all together. Maybe time to get checked how much insulin you still make? Because T2 is usually assumed until proven to be T1/Mody/Lada etc, -the tests are expensive- and you don't get checked for that unless something odd happens. And this does seem odd. Better rule it out before you make drastic dietary changes?

In any case, I do hope you get to the bottom of this. And please, request a C-peptide and a GAD test to see where you're at? Just to be safe?
Good luck,
Jo

 

[RFSMarch]

I am kind of "blind" when it comes to numbers, so it took me a while to look at your HbA1c string under your posts. I know bowel issues can make absorbing nutrients hard, but usually when someone's numbers are high, their weight goes up too. You're not even hungry. You're high and losing. That did happen to me, as a T2, but as it turned out, that was rare and going against the grain. And since things changed rather suddenly for you...

Before we just blindly focus on the whole diet thing (and it doesn't have to be bland.... Dill, mayo, lemon and salt with a salmon is just fine, maybe leave off pepper? If spices can't be done, herbs can be quite wonderful!), but... Has anyone tested you for a T1 variant since this happened? With the weightloss and the HbA1c's bouncing around, you could've been experiencing your honeymoon period, which is when someone's pancreas is putting out some insulin, but not consistently, until it just quits all together. Maybe time to get checked how much insulin you still make? Because T2 is usually assumed until proven to be T1/Mody/Lada etc, -the tests are expensive- and you don't get checked for that unless something odd happens. And this does seem odd. Better rule it out before you make drastic dietary changes?

In any case, I do hope you get to the bottom of this. And please, request a C-peptide and a GAD test to see where you're at? Just to be safe?
Good luck,
Jo

It is funny you should say that - my GP said that if the sitagliptin doesn't work (because in his words I am not his typical Type 2) he is probably going to do the tests for Type 1.5. I think you are right - it is an expensive test and they would prefer to throw barrels of tablets at you first. If I can't get my bloods below 90 in the next two months, I will be referred to an endocrinologist.

Luckily for me - I must be the only member of my Mauritian family who HATES spicy food. I think I was at Uni before I step foot in a curry house and it took a while to graduate from a korma to the dizzy spicy heights of ... a chicken tikka masala! I much prefer the Creole side of Mauritian quisine where everything has a tomato, onion, ginger, garlic base and you just lob things into that. If I cook with red meat it is mainly mince for a spag bol or a chilli con carne out of jars. If I ever have a steak it is usually as a restaurant treat. BUT - for the first time in the last few months I do feel less miserable! So thank you for that!

By the way thank you @Hopeful34 - yoghurt helped the tablets go down and I don't have that horrible feeling where you think tablets are stuck!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

It is funny you should say that - my GP said that if the sitagliptin doesn't work (because in his words I am not his typical Type 2) he is probably going to do the tests for Type 1.5. I think you are right - it is an expensive test and they would prefer to throw barrels of tablets at you first. If I can't get my bloods below 90 in the next two months, I will be referred to an endocrinologist.

Luckily for me - I must be the only member of my Mauritian family who HATES spicy food. I think I was at Uni before I step foot in a curry house and it took a while to graduate from a korma to the dizzy spicy heights of ... a chicken tikka masala! I much prefer the Creole side of Mauritian quisine where everything has a tomato, onion, ginger, garlic base and you just lob things into that. If I cook with red meat it is mainly mince for a spag bol or a chilli con carne out of jars. If I ever have a steak it is usually as a restaurant treat. BUT - for the first time in the last few months I do feel less miserable! So thank you for that!

By the way thank you @Hopeful34 - yoghurt helped the tablets go down and I don't have that horrible feeling where you think tablets are stuck!

Two months might be a tad long, but if you want to adhere to that time limit, do yourself a favour and make sure you're able to test for ketones. They're fine when you're following a keto diet and your blood sugars are low. If they're high while your blood sugars are high though, you could end up with keto-acidosis. Which is a life-threathening emergency. So if you're ever feeling unwell, dizzy, sick or confused, test, and if both ketones are present and glucose is high, you call for help immediately. Let them know there is a suspicion from your doc that you may be a T1 if you do make the call. Not to make this scary or anything, but as long as your blood sugars aren't under control and you don't feel like eating, it's a good thing to keep an eye on.

Don't let this go. There's something a little weird here, and it would be good to take it seriously. Better safe than sorry.
Jo

 

[RFSMarch]

Two months might be a tad long, but if you want to adhere to that time limit, do yourself a favour and make sure you're able to test for ketones. They're fine when you're following a keto diet and your blood sugars are low. If they're high while your blood sugars are high though, you could end up with keto-acidosis. Which is a life-threathening emergency. So if you're ever feeling unwell, dizzy, sick or confused, test, and if both ketones are present and glucose is high, you call for help immediately. Let them know there is a suspicion from your doc that you may be a T1 if you do make the call. Not to make this scary or anything, but as long as your blood sugars aren't under control and you don't feel like eating, it's a good thing to keep an eye on.

Don't let this go. There's something a little weird here, and it would be good to take it seriously. Better safe than sorry.
Jo

That is solid advice… I will see if I can get a ketone testing kit from the pharmacy on Monday. On slightly more positive news, I was pleasantly surprised with my first attempt at chia seed pudding … I might have gone a little overboard with the almond milk so less next time, and I have optimistically taken out a chicken breast to try and magic something for dinner. I am thinking chinese chicken and broccoli with a 1/4 cup of brown rice .
I need to do some soup making today while I have fresh veggies so I may as well make my Ninja mini foodi earn its keep with a little batch-cooking and I think soup on the days I am at home will also be handy given how hard it has been to muster up enthusiasm to eat.
Also will try a quinoia and bulgar where salad with finely chopped courgette, pepper and a little red onion and a mixed bean salad … it is light enough to have a few nibbles of here and there.

Sensor will go on tonight so that I can start a week afresh with all the new meds. Keeping fingers, toes, eyes and perhaps legs crossed…..

 

[Peanut234]

A few food suggestions that may be of help to some:
Courgette can be peeled and/or seeds scraped out, and I am doing surprisingly OK with frozen capsicum (though may be too high carb/ or skin issues for some. Aubergine has been ok too - peeled.
Feta crumbled over plain veg has been a win recently
Using clear liquid stock of any variety to simmer veg or protein, reduces to a lovely 'sauce' you can add a bit of butter to make it glossy, and/or can thicken with cornflour if that many carbs are ok.

For those looking at fodmaps - firm tofu is much lower in them than silken apparently

For fruit - I find blueberries much easier to tolerate than any other berries (frozen in winter...)
Tinned peaches don't spike me much and are much kinder on the gut than other fruit.

I too am struggling with food options, and was recommended rice protein powder ,which seems to be OK in a keto baking thing I tried. Not quite brave enough yet to try it in a smoothie. I used to put bananas in smoothies. I'm a bit stumped with them now...

I have had the odd shrimp cocktail recently too - defrost pre cooked shrimp, lettuce if we have some, with the thousand Is dressing, which does not spike me thankfuly.

I am eating a lot of greek yoghurt, which is not ideal, but better than a chocolate bar.
The stupid thing is that if it wasnt for the blood sugars, my body seems to prefer (not react to) the junk food.

I have also recently found that mayonaise is quite nice on mince ( beef/pork, have not tried with lamb)

I've been surprised how much the low carb has helped my gut. There is no way I could have previously tolerated the amount of dairy I am now having.

Apologies for barging into your conversation. I was looking for more food options for tricky tummies...

 

[Peanut234]

Sorry - forgot to add that the clear liquid stock (in a box) , eg chicken, can be a nice warming mug of something if you are not up to anything else.