Why is my strategy not working as well?

[Rosie9876]

Over some months, I'd improved long-standing type 2 diabetes with a low carb diet and mostly 16/8 intermittent fasting, accepting some lapses. I found I could tolerate small amounts of carbs and even reduced my medication a little.

But recently I've had some extreme spikes which I don't understand. For example, today after a dinner of cauliflower cheese and tomato, my glucose went well over 13 on my Libre 2+, so likely higher.

I'm about to be tested for A1c. I expect it to be worse than my last reading of 52, and for my doctor to ask me to return to my full medication. She'd even at one stage suggested I go onto insulin. But I want to persevere with reducing medication.

Why is my strategy not working as well? Of course stress or poor sleep can also spike glucose, but that doesn't explain the change. Any thoughts? TIA

 

[Melgar]

Hi @Rosie9876 , your blood sugar must have been high for your Dr to have thought about putting you on insulin. Reading between the lines, your last HbA1c of 52, means your blood sugars came down considerably, as 52 is definitely in the diabetic range, but not hugely so.

As for food, I have coeliac disease so I'm not able to tolerate any gluten. I'm always looking for gluten (wheat, barley and rye) in ingredients. From what I remember, cheese sauce is usually thickened with wheat flour, unless you made it yourself and you used corn flour, which is still very carby. It was likely the cheese sauce that pushed up your blood sugars. I'm sure you know this already, but there are carbs in many things and the carb numbers, which convert to sugar, can add up .

As diabetics, we are always diabetic. We are unable tolerate carbohydrates at any time, even when our HbA1c numbers are great year after year. Whatever caused our carb 'intolerance' remains.

 

[MissMuffett]

Hi @Rosie9876 snap! I was having a similar conversation only yesterday with my daughter. 2 years ago I lost a stone relatively easily on keto and brought my hba1c down too, but trying the same now I’ve lost and gained 1 pound over the last 3 weeks! I’m so disheartened.

 

[Rosie9876]

Sorry to hear that. Especially sorry that you are disheartened. I get it, but I'm trying hard not to be. In my case, I'm not trying to lose weight, just lower my A1c. Or at least keep it steady. I just can't understand why something that worked well no longer seems to. Is it possible that reducing carbs makes us even less tolerant to carbs?

 

[Rosie9876]

Hi @Rosie9876 , your blood sugar must have been high for your Dr to have thought about putting you on insulin. Reading between the lines, your last HbA1c of 52, means your blood sugars came down considerably, as 52 is definitely in the diabetic range, but not hugely so.

As for food, I have coeliac disease so I'm not able to tolerate any gluten. I'm always looking for gluten (wheat, barley and rye) in ingredients. From what I remember, cheese sauce is usually thickened with wheat flour, unless you made it yourself and you used corn flour, which is still very carby. It was likely the cheese sauce that pushed up your blood sugars. I'm sure you know this already, but there are carbs in many things and the carb numbers, which convert to sugar, can add up .

As diabetics, we are always diabetic. We are unable tolerate carbohydrates at any time, even when our HbA1c numbers are great year after year. Whatever caused our carb 'intolerance' remains.

Thanks for your reply. My A1c was 88 when my doctor suggested insulin. At that time, I didn't understand diabetes, just blindly followed advice on medication, but then I knew I didn't want to take insulin if I could avoid it.

You are right - cheese sauce has carbs, also in milk. But I had been tolerating these small amounts of carb, and more, while reducing my A1c on a low - not no - carb regime. What baffles me is what's changed.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Over some months, I'd improved long-standing type 2 diabetes with a low carb diet and mostly 16/8 intermittent fasting, accepting some lapses. I found I could tolerate small amounts of carbs and even reduced my medication a little.

But recently I've had some extreme spikes which I don't understand. For example, today after a dinner of cauliflower cheese and tomato, my glucose went well over 13 on my Libre 2+, so likely higher.

I'm about to be tested for A1c. I expect it to be worse than my last reading of 52, and for my doctor to ask me to return to my full medication. She'd even at one stage suggested I go onto insulin. But I want to persevere with reducing medication.

Why is my strategy not working as well? Of course stress or poor sleep can also spike glucose, but that doesn't explain the change. Any thoughts? TIA

I wish I knew. For me, I'm currently doing everything right. Yet I can't shed weight and my HbA1c is a struggle. My CGM keeps telling me it's not the food I eat, after the food-spike it drops off to nicer 5-ish numbers for a few hours straight... It's my nights that are high (6 to 7) and dawn phenomenon sees me creeping up in the morning up to 10 or thereabouts, while fasting. My thyroid meds have been upped, which made no difference so far, I am menopausal and have PCOS, so that's the hormones all over the place... I eat like I'm supposed to, but I'm still 93,5 kilo's. I think I should've dropped at least 10 by now, having gone back, mainly, to dirty carnivore since the start of the year. Nothing. Still running a low grade fever for over half a year now, I think, which is currently being blamed on my plethora of kidney stones.... You'd assume that'd burn off calories as well, but nope.

I keep thinking, some stuff changed, since Covid... And I keep hearing other people floating that theory as well. That it's been harder to manage bloods and weight, while low carbing, IF and such, worked previously, and worked well. Still, I have my first appointment with a nurse in over 9 years this Monday, and she'll probably tell me to stop binge-eating and quit the candy. (What bingeing? What candy?) Probably push bread on me, too. I don't know. I'm actually quite scared to go now. At least the CGM someone here kindly -brilliantly- gifted me for my birthday can prove my numbers are up at night and in the morning, when I don't actually eat. I don't know. I'll probably get told off for using a CGM in the first place.

I don't know, all in all. I wish I did. But I do hope the above makes clear you're not alone in this. I do fear, however, that answers will be long in the coming.
Hugs,
Jo