Clinical trial, insulin needs, and realization

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#1

I ended the monthly infusions from the abatacept study I was in with Trialnet in February. I stayed on the grain free, dairy free, legume free diet (paleo diet) since January 2009. Since February to this day my insulin to carb ratio has been 1:50 and I was taking only 2-3 units of lantus a day. I actually stopped taking Lantus 2 weeks ago and my blood sugars are normal (70-120mg/dL). I usually do not take humalog with meals because I eat less than 50g of carb per meal.

Sounds pretty crazy but I just thought I’d share. My nurse practitioner was amazed by the diet but the doctor from the clinical trial seems quite skeptical. The nurse from the study told me that no one from their study reduced their insulin needs as much as me. And trialnet still wants to see me every 3 months. I’m happy about that.

Other news is that I had my one year anniversary a couple of months ago! Yippee! I also volunteered for a JDRF black tie event in May. The theme of the event was 1920’s because that was the decade they discovered insulin. And then I realized that I would have NEVER been born if insulin weren’t discovered because my type 1 diabetic grandpa would have died due to diabetes before he would have had my father!!

Thanks for reading!

Michelle

PS- I consume about 70-90g of carbs/day and do about 30-40 minutes of lower impact exercise most days (walking, biking, yoga, tennis).

#2

congratulations on your accomplishments. I was diagnosed in 2002 and did insulin for 9 months, lantus and humalog. Through diet and excercise I managed to stay off the insulin. I kept my last insulin container to remind me of insulin and stay motivated. I managed to stay off any meds or insulin for about 2 years after that. Then I stopped the routines that kept me off the meds and insulin and started unhealthy practices and I was right back to meds. Its a long road so stay motivated and keep up with the good practices

good luck and congrats

#3

Like you, I just realized how recently insulin was discovered - and what a miracle it has been for many of us. My maternal grandmother was T1, my mother was T1, and I was diagnosed T1 at age 15 (though we later discovered I was T2) - so my daughter is a three generation miracle! :slight_smile:

#4

Michelle - did you leave the study early, or did you complete your series of infusions?

#5

Wil- Thank you very much! I appreciate it.

Melissa- That is very interesting! Thank goodness for that insulin!

Andrew- I left way early. I think I had about 7 IV infusions and the last one was in January 09. So I basically did only 6 months out of the two years it was supposed to be. Dr. Rodriguez is still blinded about whether or not I got the drug.

So how are you doing? How’s the study coming along for you? Your A1c is amazing by the way!!!

#6

Hey, Michelle - I’m doing well, although my cholesterol could be a little better. I admire your tenacity with the paleo diet. I don’t think I could give up cheese. Or cake. (My mom makes some killer cakes.) I’m managing really aggressively with data from my Dexcom and fine-tuned basal/bolus schedules on the insulin pump.

On a grain free diet, how do you make up 70-90g of carbohydrates?

#7

It’s really easy making up 70-90g of carbs with fruits and vegetables. I do eat a lot of them! For example here’s my lunch:

blood glucose- 87
zero insulin

tuna salad ~3g carb
(1 cup chopped celery, tuna, onion, mayonaise, half hard boiled egg)
fruit salad
¼ cup sliced almonds ~3g carb
1 cup watermelon ~12g carb
1 cup strawberries ~12g carb
Total is ~30g carb

If I don’t have that much fruit per meal I’ll cook lots of veggies. I can also have dried fruit and honey (on occasion) which has tons of carbs. I thought I would miss the cheese, breads, and grains but I don’t. I feel incredibly better! There’s also tons of recipes for breads, muffins, crackers, and cakes with nut flours too!

#8

That sounds right on target, and like you’re doing it the smart way; too many people go overboard on protein, which (if you’re getting it from animals) tends to carry a lot of fats.

#9

Thanks! Yea I don’t go too overboard with the protein because it’s usually just wasted by the body! I probably have about 50-60g of protein per day. I eat lots of fat, more from nuts, seeds, and oils than from animal sources. How is your cholesterol by the way?

#10

Wow, this is inspiring, Michelle! I just started low-carb/high-fat last week and am closely monitoring my sugars to avoid lows, as I’ve been on a much higher dose of lantus/novolog for many years now…trying to make it a gradual change so that I don’t pass out but I am very inspired by your story!

#11

Michelle,could you message me and share your diet with me? I’d love to know things you eat.Remember,we talked because i also eat gluten and dairy free :slight_smile: please,keep in touch!