Hi, all! I'm new here. I was diagnosed with T2 seven weeks ago. I had a fasting blood sugar of 450 and A1C of 14 and many symptoms of neuropathy. My doctor held off on meds until after I went to see an endocrinologist.
While awaiting a referral to an endocrinologist, I started testing four times a day. I saw that wheat products were causing large spikes. I started eliminating these things. After three weeks I gave up all wheat products and continued to eat low carb. In seven weeks I've lost nearly 20 pounds, many inches, and my blood sugar is testing between 96 and 110 this week. I'm scheduled to redo the A1C in May. My doctor had me cancel my endocrinologist appointment. I haven't felt this good in years. Most of my symptoms have abated.
Has anyone else had experience with going wheat-free?
You also probably greatly decreased your carb intake when you stopped eating "wheat products" which probably had a lot more to do with the decrease in your blood sugar as well as your weight loss.
Unfortunately there is a difference between controlling diabetes and "reversing" it. If you went back to eating a lot of carbs, your blood sugar would most likely go high again.
But with those provisions, you still are on the right track, so keep up the good work!
Hi, Zoe. Not really. I tried low carbs for three weeks and didn't see much movement. It was only after I stopped all wheat that I really saw my numbers dip. You're right, I'm not sure about permanency of reversal. However, I have no plans of ever eating wheat products again, so it's probably going to be pretty permanent.
I'd rather give up cupcakes and bread than be an insulin-dependent diabetic for the rest of my life.
It's nice to know that I might be on the right track. Thanks. :-)
Many call what you are doing "eat to your meter" The foods that give T2's a problem are various types of starches in addition to sugars. Through testing various meals over time you can figure out a custom diet that deals with your diabetes. For instance some can tolerate sweet potatoes in limited quantities while others like myself cannot. To find out more about the details of implementing this system over the long term I would recommend the bloodsugar101 website.
A recent book "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis argues that wheat causes lots of health problems. A recent thread here on tuD generated strong opinions on both sides.
Interestingly, both my daughter and sister find they feel better when they eliminate wheat from their diet. I have no way to test this on myself as wheat is an absolute disaster for my blood sugar. I have had none in 2.75 years.
Hi Kathleen. Perhaps a test for Celiac Disease or a sensitivity to wheat is in order? However, if you stay off gluten very long, the test will be negative whether or not you actually have the disease. There are some differences between voluntarily cutting back on wheat and needing to stop gluten (also found in barley, rye and some oats) for the health of your digestive system.
I have Celiac Disease and have been avoiding gluten for nearly 20 years, since about the time I got Type 1 Diabetes. Celiac and Diabetes are both autoimmune diseases While the two often go together, you don't have to have Type 1 to get Celiac, or to have a sensitivity to wheat.
certainly possible badmoon, that wheat directly causes her issues. I still wouldnt mind knowing what carbs she was eating prior.
I must admit, i had a chuckle you suggested the bloodsugar website. Very much like the diabetes forum where bernstein is a demigod and 90% of the flock live and breathe hflc. Its working for you guys which is great, but that forum is seriously biased and ruled by an ironfist in shanny with a bug up her ■■■ if you disagree with the flock. Its very hard to be a member of that forum when you eat carbs.
What you're probably seeing is more the elimination of carbs from your diet, which is causing less stress on your pancreas and the need for less insulin. And, yes, that will make you lose weight. Just make sure that the endocrinologist tests your c-peptide/insulin levels and checks you for antibodies. This will help differentiate if you're a type 1 or type 2. If you're a type 1, only insulin will help in the long-run.
Do you eat a lot of fruit and do your blood glucose levels stay low when you eat fruit or drink milk or are wheat products the only thing that elevates your blood sugar? That may be something to take into consideration. As for giving up "cupcakes and bread" and no longer being insulin dependent, I don't eat much of either but can't escape the insulin as a Type 1.
Hi, Timmy. When the doctor sent me forth from her office seven weeks ago to await an appointment with an endocrinologist, she told me to eat 1200 calories a day and "low carb." So I started looking up carb counts on everything and immediately stopped eating bread. I switched to a 100-calorie, 17-carb tortilla wrap to make sandwiches for lunch. I also was eating more salads and nuts, eggs, meats. I started selecting low-carb dressings with one to five carbs.
A big issue I found was that about two hours after my tortilla wrap lunch, I was starving. Painfully hungry. After three weeks and giving up that one wrap per day -- which was my only wheat product left -- my numbers immediately went from the mid-200s to the mid-100s. And I no longer experienced hunger pains in the afternoon. The only thing that changed was losing the wrap.
Hi, BadMoon. Thanks for the link to the thread here. I read most of it (it got tedious after a while.) I do know about the book. I read it about three weeks ago. My personal experiences were certainly validated by Dr. Davis' findings.
Being new to all this, I guess eating to your meter is a good idea. That is what I was doing. It only seemed to make sense. I loved, loved, loved all wheat products and I'm a terrific baker -- sent my oldest son off to the Culinary Institute of America and he's a professional chef -- but I'm still not attached to something as insignificant as wheat if it's going to destroy my health.
In my case, I think I was just addicted to wheat and baked goods. I wasn't having those classic Celiac digestive issues. Since eliminating all wheat products a month ago, I'm just not craving them any longer. I feel much better now.
I come from a very long line of T2 diabetics -- my mother's whole family. My doctor is pretty positive it's T2. A change in diet worked "miracles" for my blood sugar levels and neuropathy.
Hi, Kim. No, not a lot of fruit. Never really did. I carefully monitored what I was eating. An apple or a banana did raise my levels to a degree (about 20 points), but not to the degree that my tortilla wrap was or a small bread roll (about 50+). I can have a piece of dark chocolate without effect.
I also do low carb but little by little decided that wheat was my big problem. I gave it up about 2 years ago and haven't looked back. I am still able to bake with alternative flours but anytime I have any type of bread, cracker or breading I spike like crazy for days. Have you read Dr William Davis's Wheat Belly book. He also has a blog which is really good. He is a cardiologist who believes lots of diseases especially heart disease is caused by wheat.
Hi, Jeannie. That's right. The wheat not only messed up my blood sugar for that day but it also messed it up for the next. I found that really odd because a banana only raised it for a couple of hours.
Yes, I've read his book. It validated what I was already personally discovering about my sugar levels. I've been using alternative flours also. My girlfriend makes me almond flour in her Vitamix at less than half the cost of buying it in the store.
I think there are many of us who find that wheat is a source of problems. Yes, it could just be that the carbs from wheat drive up your blood sugar. But it could be a bigger problem. As BadMoon pointed out, there is a lot of thinking now that wheat (as opposed to other grains) can have a huge negative impact on our health and glycemic control.
But do heed Trudy's advice. If you have Celiac's or have a gluten intolerance, these things can also drive your blood sugar way up. And although your regular doctor may consider you "cured," you are more likely "controlled." Whatever was wrong causing you to have high blood sugars is still wrong. It would actually be best to get a referral to the appropriate specialists, like an endo, and actually figure out what is going on. There are tests for Celiacs and there are also tests for diabetes (like the glucose tolerance test) which can go a long way towards diagnosing your actual condition.
You have done a great job! Continue eating to your meter. I think some people are just more sensitive to certain foods. And you really might want to make sure you don't have celiacs. It can have a whole mess of complications so you want to rule it out.
Thanks, Whirlygig. I've lost a total of 18 pounds in the last 7 weeks and haven't felt this well in a long, long time. I did have my eyes checked out yesterday and I do not have any diabetic complications. Dodged that bullet. I will ask my doctor about the Celiac test.
I just read that 70% of people with wheat sensitivities do not show the normal digestive issues and don't even know they have it. I'm guessing I'm probably in that number.
