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What am I doing wrong?

M

MikeyU

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hi,

3 months ago I have been diagnosed with T2, actually been pre-diabetic for couple of years, on Metmorfin 2x500mg, my HbA1c steady 6.3 - 6.8. Besides taking Metmorfin, I did nothing about it, living in denial, eating c**p, unfit etc etc. at 180cm, I was 92kg/BMI 28.2. Just after Christmas I tested my blood sugar (friend of mine is diabetic and has a meter) and the result was off the scale (fair enough, this was right after drinking and eating at the party). Nevertheless, the result spooked me so I went to see my GP, got HbA1c done again and it was 6.8. I decided to act. Immediately cut the carbs (I am not on a strict keto nor VLCD since I do eat small amounts of carbs occasionally), started exercising, first walking every day to work, roughly 1.5 hrs/5-8 miles a day, then added some cardio, 45min-1hr on Elliptical, 3 x a week, some cycling, recently started doing some HIIT, running etc. In 3 months I lost 12kg, I am now 80kg exactly, BMI 24.7, I am as fit as I can be, my RHR went down to 57 (from 70-80), BP 110/70. Initially my blood sugar dropped like a stone, FBS in range 4.8 - 5.5, postprandial 2hrs 5.5 - 6.5 max.

So far so good..

Recently, last couple of weeks, my blood sugar started rising, slowly, day by day it goes up and up. This morning was the highest reading in 2 months, 6.8 :-( It does not matter what I do or eat now, I have breakfast (no carbs, protein and fat), walk to work and my BS is slowly climbing up and up to 7.5, even 8. It seems to slowly come down after eating lunch (low carbs), dinners are mostly ok, 2 hrs postprandial I can see 5.5 etc. Then in the morning the cycle begins again.

Now, I have no idea what am I doing wrong here. It seems that the harder I try, the worse it gets. I began cutting carbs more and more, taking all kinds of supplements, ACV, cinnamon, chromium, magnesium, lemon juice, you name it. Drinking mint tea, green tea. The rise seems to correlate somehow with me starting taking the supplements but also with increase of exercise and further reduction of carbs.

I'm still taking Metmorfin. Will get my next HbA1c test next Tuesday. Based on the readings I'm getting, I expect anything in range 5.4-5.8 max but I'm afraid that with recent development the result may be higher..

I am totally frustrated and confused... I have a perfect weight now, I'm on LCD, very fit (and I mean really really fit) and my BS is on the rise.... any ideas?

Cheers,
Mike

Post edited for language by moderator
 
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Is there anything else going on in your life at the moment?
Our BG is affected by many things. Food and exercise are the two things you have mentioned but there is also drugs and illness and stress and time of the year and ... yes, our bodies are fickle.
Regarding food, you say you are reducing carbs. Some of us with type 1 find when we eat less carbs, our BG starts to react to protein, especially if we eat no carbs in our meal.
Alternatively, it could be something in the supplements you have started to take. Perhaps you could reduce these a little and see what the affect is on your BG to try to isolate the cause.

You mention concern about your hbA1C results. These are an average over the last 3 months so if your change has only happened in the last few weeks, the impact should be less.

Above all, try not to stress too much.
 
Thanks for your reply! Well, I guess I have moderate amount of stress, work related but this is nothing new really. I also have a mild infection, but only last few days, rise in BG started happening couple of weeks before any symptoms. That's what my thought was, regarding carbs. It seems that since I cut down on my breakfast carbs (I used to eat a slice or two of home baked, sour dough rye/spelt bread with smoked salmon, avocado etc.) which seemed not to affect my BG much (2 hrs postprandial often 5.5-6.0). This morning I had a portion of cottage cheese with some radishes, hard boiled eggs and smoked salmon, my FBG was 6.8, now 2 hrs postprandial is 8.0 (just checked). And I did a 4km walk to work this morning... This is an absolute record (for breakfast), worst reading in months.
BTW, last nigh I had an evening snack, small piece of hard cheese and a handful of nuts (walnuts, almonds etc.).
 
Hi Mickey
Exactly the same as you 5 month in
And I think it was Ecces of protein in my diet that made my sugars rise even though it was in 4S at the beginning of strict low carb diet and exercise(gym,running,cycling)I was on diet only
3 month later my sugars were like 6.8 between the meals although I had no more than 40g of carbs a day
So 4 weeks ago I have added some carbs around 120g plus 1 × 500 metformin. After any carbs I am going for a walk or run so no spikes even after 2 bananas and so far it's working well dropped to 5.4 fasting 5.6 between meals and trying to not get any more than 7 at any time after food.My pick is around 45 min after carbs
So just keep trying to juggle the diet and hopefully it will all work out
I'm 37 diagnosed 5 month ago with a1c 8% and fbg18.Lost 15kg since BMI now 26.Last a1c 4.9%
 
Can you tell us what breakfast looks like? There is a school of thought that says the heavier carb meal should be in the morning rather than the evening. It seems to work for some people. Excercise itself can, again in some people, promote liver dumps. Seems you may have to do some tweaking and find what works better for you.
As has been said, do not stress too much as stress can raise bg levels and become a vicious circle. You are not doing anything wrong.
 
MikeyU said:
Thanks for your reply! Well, I guess I have moderate amount of stress, work related but this is nothing new really. I also have a mild infection, but only last few days, rise in BG started happening couple of weeks before any symptoms. That's what my thought was, regarding carbs. It seems that since I cut down on my breakfast carbs (I used to eat a slice or two of home baked, sour dough rye/spelt bread with smoked salmon, avocado etc.) which seemed not to affect my BG much (2 hrs postprandial often 5.5-6.0). This morning I had a portion of cottage cheese with some radishes, hard boiled eggs and smoked salmon, my FBG was 6.8, now 2 hrs postprandial is 8.0 (just checked). This is an absolute record (for breakfast), worst reading in months.
BTW, last nigh I had an evening snack, small piece of hard cheese and a handful of nuts (walnuts, almonds etc.).
Click to expand...
Not seeing much fat there? Cottage cheese over 4g of carbs per 100g and easy to eat lots? Smoked salmon may have a sweet cure? Just a couple of ideas..Maybe try a couple of avocados for breakfast (or alternatively just skip it entirely) and see what happens.
 
Hi. Your HBA1C could be better but still not too bad. Have you lost weight recently unexpectedly? There is always a background possibility that you are a late onset T1 (LADA) in the honeymoon period but it's far too early to tell. If your HBA1C and/or your own tests show your BS still rising, but your weight isn't then do suggest the possibility of being T1 to the GP who can do some tests. At the moment I think it's a case of monitoring and low-carbing as you are doing.
 
I got to the stage when I measure/weigh exactly what I eat, this morning I had 200 grams of cottage cheese with hard boiled egg and salmon mixed in. Not more than 8g of carbs... Definitely less that 1 or 2 slices of whole meal rye bread I used to have (which I estimate at 20-30g of carbs) which did not cause the spike but with tone of proteins instead. I start to believe that it is an excess of protein and reduction of carbs that's causing this. In general I do eat a lot of eggs and meat etc. Fats too, avocados, olives, olive oil, you name it. It seems that the less carbs and more protein I eat, the higher the BG.
 
MikeyU said:
It seems that the less carbs and more protein I eat, the higher the BG.
Click to expand...
Hence my suggestion to try avocados only.. less protein and more fat.. or a coffee with double cream. Again less protein and more fat.
 
bulkbiker said:
Hence my suggestion to try avocados only.. less protein and more fat.. or a coffee with double cream. Again less protein and more fat.
Click to expand...

Tried coffee with double cream, tried no breakfast at all, tried eggs and bacon, all to no avail... It seems that in the mornings the BG slowly rises until peak around noon, after lunch it'll slowly fall down, with a bottom at 6pm, around 5.5. This started happening after a dramatic reduction in carbs (I think), this is the only correlation I see...
 
lucas12 said:
Hi Mickey
Exactly the same as you 5 month in
And I think it was Ecces of protein in my diet that made my sugars rise even though it was in 4S at the beginning of strict low carb diet and exercise(gym,running,cycling)I was on diet only
3 month later my sugars were like 6.8 between the meals although I had no more than 40g of carbs a day
So 4 weeks ago I have added some carbs around 120g plus 1 × 500 metformin. After any carbs I am going for a walk or run so no spikes even after 2 bananas and so far it's working well dropped to 5.4 fasting 5.6 between meals and trying to not get any more than 7 at any time after food.My pick is around 45 min after carbs
So just keep trying to juggle the diet and hopefully it will all work out
I'm 37 diagnosed 5 month ago with a1c 8% and fbg18.Lost 15kg since BMI now 26.Last a1c 4.9%
Click to expand...
I begin to think that this ultra low carb diet combined with high protein intake does not work well for people that are not (yet) fully blown diabetic and have a lot of physical activity, especially ones who are not overweight/obese anymore. Body tries to adjust by converting protein/fat to sugar in response to a higher energy demand and does this very efficiently which coupled with (somewhat) increased insulin resistance causes rebounds.

BTW, I read somewhere that for the pre-diabetics, once the optimal weight and sugar levels are reached, continued taking of Metmorfin may actually be counter-productive, apparently it increases insulin resistance. Not sure what to think about that though....
 
Firstly well done on steps taken to date as you don't know what would have happened had you done what most do on diagnosis i.e take the tablets and carry on as they were.
Definitely worth checking if you have antibodies to inslin (GAD test I think). It could be that you have a falling level of beta cells which your dietary choices and loss of fat have slowed down.
I am type 1 and edging towards keto for different reasons but have definitely notice that my BG is more reactive to protein than when I ate carbs too (have to bolus half what I would for carbs though). Fat is totally neutral in my experience but there again there are very few foods which are just fat! I also exercise a lot and my liver is fab at gluconeogenesis! One of the hardest thing to do from a weight conscious point of view was to eat more fat so am with BulkbIker on that (sorry no idea how to link people into threads and should learn).
Stress/fatigue/illness do have an effect on insulin resistance but I hope you get some answers and can keep the low carb faith a little longer!
 
My BG was always high in the morning. Recently I stopped having an evening meal and a slightly later lunch as I had no idea what else to try. After a couple of days I had a BG in the 5s and since then have actually had a couple in the mid 4s; unheard of for me to have anything lower than the upper 6s and higher. I still low carb and no fruit (I used to have a grapefruit every morning before breakfast).
 
How are you sleeping? Are you having disturbed nights? Poor sleep can result in your liver dumping more than usual?
 
Rachox said:
How are you sleeping? Are you having disturbed nights? Poor sleep can result in your liver dumping more than usual?
Click to expand...
I remember being always tired, especially after lunch. Now, when I lost kgs and started exercising and my bg levels came down, I have so much more energy. On average I get 6-7 hrs of sleep, even on the weekends. It seems that I just don't need more, I am not tired, I have energy during the day. I wake up early and don't feel like sleeping anymore.
 
MikeyU said:
Tried coffee with double cream, tried no breakfast at all, tried eggs and bacon, all to no avail... It seems that in the mornings the BG slowly rises until peak around noon, after lunch it'll slowly fall down, with a bottom at 6pm, around 5.5. This started happening after a dramatic reduction in carbs (I think), this is the only correlation I see...
Click to expand...
Hmm sounds like an interesting case..ever thought of fasting? I get my lowest numbers after a couple of days of not eating? Might be an interesting self experiment and could "reset" your dawn phenomenon perhaps. Again just a thought.
 
bulkbiker said:
Hmm sounds like an interesting case..ever thought of fasting? I get my lowest numbers after a couple of days of not eating? Might be an interesting self experiment and could "reset" your dawn phenomenon perhaps. Again just a thought.
Click to expand...
I thought about it, hence me occasionally skipping brekkie. I got scared though, my bg just keeps going up on empty stomach. Mind you, I burn more than 3000 kcal a day these days, my metabolic rate is on steroids and I weight slightly less than 80kg now, body fat at 17%. I need to eat to keep up with the energy demands of my body. I guess I could try fasting for a day or so but no sport on that day though.... Without any food I could collapse like a sack of potatoes :)
 
One more thing I wanted to add, carbs do not spike me so much lately, last night I had 75 grams of white rice (in addition to laksa fish curry) and my 2 hr reading was 6.3, not too bad. Pasta does not spike me, last time I tried, couple of weeks ago, decent portion of penne, highest reading was 6.8, stable for 4-5 hours, so it stays elevated but not spiking. Also bread, whole meal rye, no significant spike. It's just this slow, consistent overall rise.....
 
I got my HbA1c results this morning, made me very very happy! 5.3% (34.4 mmol/m)!!. My up and downs have stabilised when I increased the carbs a bit, just to approx. 100g a day. I get consistent low 5 's in the mornings and see even below 5 (yesterday 4.3) before dinner. Very very happy.
 
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