Daytime sleepiness and diabetes?

ILow Carb High Fat diet can be similar to Paleo, or Atkins, and is well described in Dr. Bernstein’s books.

I eat tons of milk fat (which I LUCKILYcan tolerate RIGHT NOW) and protein as my main carbs.

When the body does not have access to sugar or breads/starches, it can convert some amount of the protein eaten into carbs.

I read about this in Gary Scheiners book, “Think Like A Pancreas”.

Others have also recommended an older reference type book with tables about carb equivalents. Can anyone provide us with that reference again?

Breakfast
2-3 eggs
2 sausage links (no sugar)
4 oz coffee
4 oz half and half

Lunch
Beef bologna, salami or turkey breast with 2 slices cheese

2nd lunch
1/2 c egg salad or tuna salad
(Mayo with NO SUGAR)
On tettuce or just plain

Dinner
Chicken, fish or beef
Broccoli with butter
Sautéed cauliflower

Maybe another coffee with half and half for desert

Or a four ounce glass of half and half straight, if I am a little low

Other snacks:
Unsweetened but salted peanut butter
Olives!
String Cheese
Cream cheese
Rondele cheese
Even sour cream

No yogurt as there are natural sugars in it
I take acidophilus daily instead

Told you I liked the milk fat :slight_smile:

How does everyone else eat?

Kate, a meter is absolutely necessary to understand how to manage T2 diabetes! Without one, you don’t have any way, on a daily basis, to see the effects of diet, exercise, and medication on your BG levels. My doctor didn’t prescribe a meter either, but when I found out I needed one I called him back. He asked why I wanted a meter, I told him my plan (3x a day, fasting plus bracketing a meal a day), and he wrote the scrip without any questions at all. I’ve had no issues (except my copay on strips is pretty damn high) since then, and a lot of doctors don’t write scrips for testing for T2 because they assume we won’t actually test.

As for low-carb, I’ve had success with that as well. I exercise a lot, and I don’t follow a strict “under 30 grams” kind of plan or diet. I usually eat between 30 and 45 g net carbs a day on “rest” days, and 45g-60g net carbs on workout days. I also use a carby (15-20g) snack if I’m biking or hiking, which will otherwise crash my BG. My current favorite is the Costco equivalent of a low-carb protein bar: it has 21g of carbs, mostly soluble fiber, which is very slowly digested and doesn’t spike me hardly at all if I’m hiking/biking. Plus the protein is helpful, for other reasons (not losing muscle mass, which is easy to do as a diabetic).

The combination of serious exercise (7 days a week, 3 strength training, 4 endurance), low-carb, and metformin has gotten my long-term BG numbers down to 88 avg and my last a1c to 5.1. Not sure how long this will last, but I’m enjoying the good numbers while I can!

I also eat low-carb, and my staples are eggs, broccoli, and chicken breast. Really, eggs. Like, lots and lots and lots and lots of eggs. The fat to protein ratio is beautiful, and I just like eating them (probably 6-10 a day, on average).

My diet today (if it goes to plan):

Bulletproof Coffee (28g butter/26g coconut oil; 30 g whey protein)
Omega-3 Fish Oil

Tuna or Salmon Salad (not sure which yet)
4-egg omelette with broccoli, cheddar, and bacon

2 oz. Peanut/Almond/Cashew/Macadamia Nut/Sunflower Kernel blend
Kirkland Protein Bar if I’m feeling lowish after exercise

6-8 oz. chicken breast sauteed with 100g broccoli and 150g brussel sprouts, soy sauce, sesame oil

Nuts or So-delicious Coconut Ice Cream for dessert, depending on where I am at carbs for the day (I will aim for below 75g gross/45g net today).

That’s with biking an hour plus calisthenic/gymnastic strength training for one and a half hours. And feeding the baby. And changing about 23 diapers.

…you know, the worst part of managing diabetes and my life right now isn’t carbs, or exercise, it’s trying to figure out how I’m supposed to actually get any work done and whether my employers are going to fire me.

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Oh yes: my favorite bar
NuGoSlim chocolate or peanut butter
17 G protein
5 g carb
2-3 g sugar

Just enough to not spike me right now.

We will see how long this will be true.

I think that describes it well- Lunch coma. In my case I think I would just plain out call it a food coma cause I switch off like a light

When I noticed it in myself I tried to find some information. I found no good research, and as for the opinions of individual doctors as relayed on the Web, some hold that it’s a simple fact that hyperglycemia causes sleepiness, and some hold that there’s no such thing.

I very much doubt that it applies to you, but just for the record, aside from the possibility of sleep apnea, when I started Lyrica not so long ago I was warned that it could make me sleepy, and it certainly does. But amitriptyline taken for the same purpose, even at 10mg/night (!), was even worse.

Good luck.
M.

Since posting this I talked to my doctor and they sent me for a sleep study and it turns out I have sleep apnea. Maybe you should be evaluated because I believe this goes unchecked very often.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea some years ago and felt much better after treatment.

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Love your answer. I keep very low carb/no carb and very glad I did, too. I also keep to around 30 grams a day. I test when I get the sleepies. It absolutely happens. Since we are all different, for some of us its a low and some a high but yep, your sugar is the culprit. Its why I always test before I drive, just to be sure.

I’m a T2 and what do I eat?-- its about what I don’t eat. I don’t eat /stay away from pasta, rice, bread, white potatoes. I avoid white. I avoid junk and cookies. I do eat lean mean, veggies, veggies, veggies, limit my fruit, and carefully add other foods. (it doesn’t go in my mouth unless I know the carbs) If I do want any of the “whites” I measure and make sure I walk and match. I also make a great Italian vegetable soup. :slight_smile:

You are doing a great job – Yeah!
The same approach keeps me at A1C 6.4 and going strong.
Good luck with the sleepies!

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Im glad to hear that I am a lil apprehensive about a cpap and such. However from what I hear my sleeping has not been a picnic for those around me for a while lol

You can adjust to the CPAP. It may seem to be intrusive but you quickly adapt. And when you are asleep you don’t even notice it.

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At this point I think I will welcome actually sleeping and not being tired. My bf will enjoy not being beaten in his sleep. When I was in the drs office I said well I sleep relatively quiet but am tired in the morning and my bf inputs when I sleep the he and the dog fear for their lives and the squirrels jump out of the trees in fear. That was the first I heard my sleeping was not as silent lol. Bring on the cpap

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I just had my cpap titration and it was wonderful! I slept better than I have in years. I slept so well I popped up at 6am before she even came in to wake me and I been up all day so far full of energy. I left wanting one immediately but now I have to wait a week to see the Dr again for a prescription. Hopefully this wakefulness last a week lol

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