Everyone here is so nice but I still feel on the outside. I can’t do a low carb diet it puts me in the hospital. In fact my A1C was 9.3 on a low carb 3 months ago now it is 8.5 and coming down all with simple carbs and all the stuff we are "not " suppose to eat. I can cover cereal, potatoes, bananas and even OJ better then Brown rice and a 4oz steak or chicken. Notice I am saying it does not work for me I am happy whatever someone does with there diabetes that gives them good control low carb included. My fasting BG is now under 200 down from above 250 when I was eating more protein oriented foods even though they were low in fat. I eat tons of fruits and veggies the one thing that has not changed. SO I am getting closer to my BG short term goals with the long term goal now in sight. But I kinda feel like I am the only one.
There is no safe way regardless of diet that the doc’s or I have of dealing with my 2 hour post eating spike. We have tried and taking my insulin 20 or 30 minutes early only puts me into sever hypo’s even if I eat something like cereal. However my 3 and 4 hour post are now falling into a normal range something that never would happen on the other diet. An example of what happens when I take my insulin early looks like this. All the numbers are averages of about 16 months of data
75 carbs all simple = 5 units for me starting at my agreed BG goal of 140 (yep it’s high but there are reasons for now)
Taken 15 minutes early then eat
1 hour 198 seems ok
11/2 hour symptoms and a yucky 62
2 hours 55 I eat a banana
2 15 minutes still symptomatic 52
This will go on for almost 4-5 hours.
Insulin when I eat same carbs same starting sugar
1 hour post 198
2 hour post 258
3 hour post 205
4 hour post 175
5 hour post 132
With the low carb diets my BG looks like this 140 start
1 hour post 155 seems good
2 hour 211
3 hour 224
4 hour 237
5 hour 230
I have tried square bolus, temp basal and all that my BG will sit above 200 for almost 7 hours I have no
slowing in the digestive track. In fact the test they have done shows I might digest to fast. So I need to have simple carbs to get within a range of good BG numbers.
Anyway is there anyone else who has problems with the low carb diet’s or am I really alone?
I measure my foods, count calories as well as carbs, fat and protein since all seem to have some effect on my BG.
I promise I am not being a cry baby it would be a bit nice to not fell on the outside all the time is all is all. So let me know if you have your own way too.
I am sorry that you are still feeling outsider; I hope that’ll change:) I have never experienced any issue’s with low carb diet. Diabetes is a complicated disease, I have been living with it for about 4.5 years and everyday is different. I understand where you are coming from. When I started insulin it took me about 2 months or so to get everything under control; it hasn’t been easy.
I’ve had to change my basal and insulin to carb ratio. I am still having problems with dinner meals but I did find that what works for me is bolusing 30 min before I eat. Just because we have Diabetes our bodies still work differently. Have you talked to your Doc about this? just curious to see what he said.
Take care and don’t give up
.6 9pm to 4am
A temp basal 4am to 10am depending on fasting sugar
.55 10am to 3pm
.7 3pm to 9pm
Yes my sugar stays perfectly stable at whatever the number is if I don’t eat. With the exception of night sugars. I drop pretty heavy between 12am and 4am but sadly that is a but strange also since it changes. For instance my before bed target number is 150 that is because most of the time I will drop 50 or so points. But there is a rub to this the higher my bedtime BG the more I drop at night it makes no sense.
In the day however I have metered by BG every hour for 24 hours at random days. With two meters. I stay where I am if I don’t eat so food is really my issue. Everytime we have tired to increase my bolus it meant 21/2 to 4 hour post lows. I have tried to run temp basal and things also. I am way better then on shots though. 4 different kinds of insulin and many shots and I was 15 pounds lighter and barely survived so I am good. I just feel kind of like an alien if you will.
I know I can get my A1C down to 7.8 but in 10 years of trying not much better then that cause my post is to high and the alternative is much worse when I try to eat more complex things that are easier on most diabetics BG. My A1C will go up because then my sugars just don’t come down to anywhere near normal.
There is a good side My total cholesterol is only 162 with my good stuff being 90 so I have that.
I do control how much I eat at once sitting I eat 75 carbs, 5 protien (all I can eat at one sitting) and usually fat related to the food at less then 9% or total calories more then that I will get into trouble. I still need to increase my calories but I would like to find a way to use more high calorie foods without taking away the 3rd and 4th hour better BG…
I know you have your own issues Karen so thanks for trying to help. I am not giving up just trying to find some commonality with someone cause they may have some answers.
Also you should know 1 unit of insulin with the exception of female hormones on a fasting high sugar drops me anywhere from 70 to 100 points usually all at once in the second hour. I use Humalog. Tried Novolog and that was awful for me. When I drop I drop fast so I am used to it. Just like when I go up I go up fast. My poor CGM is gonna explode one day:)
Yes I have and I am so blessed with a great team of docs. But I have to say they look at the data even put me in the hospital to recreate the scenarios I showed them. Bless there hearts you they all got this really confused look
We are talking about giving me something to slow my digestion a bit however that is going to be more if all else fails because that will further make it hard to eat meats and fats. That could mean I start losing weight again. I just don’t understand why increasing my bolus by just .5 or something is such and issue on my BG. Do you or anyone other you know have an amount of insulin that no matter what they take or there BG it will cause a low?
Maybe you or Karen or anyone know of some low carb high calorie snacks I could eat in small bits? I am thinking maybe if I eat something like right before my regular calories they might slow my to happy digestion.
Don’t get me wrong no one here has made me fell outside I just am cause of my situation and trying to take some of what you all do and see if it can help me. I just am having a hard time searching through everything and not finding others with problems doing low carb. But I don’t want any to have problems.
Are you sure you have a fast metabolism. I am wondering if you have a slow metabolism (side effect of diabetes as well) and your carbs are being digested way later when your insulin has left making you go high hours later??
I have done the Gastroparesis study and am fine. I don’t have full use of digestive enzymes from the pancreas its is impaired on that side of function as well which is why proteins and fats are so hard on me.
Maybe a simple way would be like this. Insulin on my fasting sugars has a massive abnormal effect.
If I eat a serving of grape nuts very fast carbs it will start hitting my BG in 7 or so minutes. My BG will spike its highest in 2 hours and start its decline which will be as fast as the rise in BG. However if I take my insulin 15 minutes before the grape nuts it is almost like I am fasting and go low. Its is confusing.
If i eat a larger amount of protein then 5 grams and high or medium fat my sugar goes up and stays up. So I am wondering if protein and fat add more to my BG then it does for most others. I know the average for protein is about 8% of a gram and 5.5 % of a fat gram.
Since I don’t store like normal people sometimes I think my body treat everything like it is the last meal I am gonna have and breaks it all down. I know these things
I can not live without the simple carbs I know they are a no no for most and for good reason but my digestion will just shut down completely and that is no fun.
I can eat small amounts of protein it is easiest from dairy sources. This has been this way since birth.
I can cover the simple carbs better then the complex ones and protein and fat because at least I come down within 4 hours instead of never.
So I am thinking if sadly I am really the exception then maybe you all who do use diet to help control have little things that I might be able to add to a simple carb meal to slow it down so my 1 and 2 hour post are not so high. That way I might be able to get my A1C into the low 7’s which would be awesome. Without have the lows that caused my brain damage. wink I was so smart before
You know what I just thought of …I know I will seem silly but I have been sick for the past few months I wonder as I get better maybe I eat my simple carbs like i need to and then maybe I could start walking a bit. I am not allowed yet but has that help any of you when you have 1 and 2 hour spikes in bg?
Well then maybe that is my answer I see my internist next week I will ask her when I can start.
Wouldn’t that be cool if I could keep my tummy friendly ways and bring down my spikes without going low 3 to 4 hrs post? yeppers it would
Hi Laura,
Fellow CFRD’er here. You are definitely not the only one here! ((Hugs!!)) Dealing with all that we have to is very frustrating. A low A1C is possible, but it takes a lot of hard work.
I am a little confused about what is going on with you, but I would really love to help you. Is your carb to insulin ratio 1 to 15? What is your correction factor? Do you eat nutritiously or do you eat a lot of junk (maybe I shouldn’t ask that here since a lot of others wouldn’t understand our needs)…
For being so high for so long I totally understand why your pre-meal BG goal is 140. That makes sense until you get better control. Has your doctor talked to you about our sluggish insulin production? That may be part of the issue in controlling things. Are you on Prednisone or other steroids?
One main thing that helped me gain control is eliminating high fructose corn syrup. HFCS gives me a nasty spike at 2 hours then causes a deep low an hour or two after that. HFCS acts really funny in a lot of people. Eliminating it has helped get me to where I am now (it was not easy). My endo (very familiar with CFRD) is trying to put me on a heart healthy diet, and when I do stick to it, I feel awesome (but it is difficult to do). I try not to eat a lot of saturated fats and eat more healthy fats from fish and nuts. Snacking on nuts helped me gain about 7 pounds earlier this year (darned cold took it all away recently though, poo!).
It is really cool to meet you here. I love it when I see others like me on tudiabetes. This site is awesome for all of us!
I am excited I meant you honestly! I am also very thankful for everyone here who is trying to help me.
So let me break it down is the CFRD speak you will understand.
Before my 165 total cholesterol, 6 phosphorus and 10.6 iron (still getting that up) my phosphorus was low at 5, my total Chol was only 145 and iron 6 that means starving despite my best efforts. I stopped taking pancreas a few years ago because of increased risk of bowel obstruction. So I am trying hard to get my nutrients through food.
I am blessed my lungs are marginally affected but my digestive track is a mess always has been. I can try the nuts but as you might know the risk of my digestive track shutting down is pretty high when I add fats and proteins. I will try them however.
No the really confusing part for everyone else. They want me to eat junk junk junk. Cheesburger, chedder, bacon all that stuff I love salad, yogurt and cereal hahaha! So I have been doing 1 junk meal everyday. As many awful calories as I can manage without …um rejecting it. I hate it but I do it.
Since I am so immuno compromised now I am trying not to take prednisone or other steroids which my doc team is half for and half against. I am just coming off antibiotic therapy and feeling ok but I already know I am going to have to go back to it I can feel it in my chest. My biggest issue is trying to stay well i.e. no infections or viruses so I can figure out what my real sugars are since all these things affect them. I can’t even get my stupid nasal polyps removed right now (again) to risky.
Do this make sense to you?
Who is your endo I may take a trip to see her…no joke I have an awesome team but they are fragmented.
Internist
Endo
CF doc
Cardiologist
GI
rheumatoidologist
hematologist
as well as my ER family Who do there best to keep me out of the hospital.
Some know about CF some don’t so it is a bit like connecting the dots all the time.
So since your 10 years younger then me you need to know my plan it to be the oldest living person with both. Since i have 10 years on you that leaves it open for you to beat me later
“So since your 10 years younger then me you need to know my plan it to be the oldest living person with both. Since i have 10 years on you that leaves it open for you to beat me later :)”
Haha! You are on for that challenge!
(By the way, I am on Pancrease (brand name), had 3 bowel obstructions, yet I HAVE to take it to stay alive. Miralax is my savior).
for many people, every day is unpredicitble. you are not alone. Lots of people talk about all of their successes…and that is great because we all deserve to be cheered on from time to time…but everyone has crappy days… even those of us with A1C’s at 6.0 hit a bs of 400 from time to time.
This is what works for me…i found a breakfast ritual that works for me…i literally eat the exact same thing every day…at the same time…and take the same amount of insulin. I am lucky, i geneally wake up btw 80 and 130. So up until lunch time, my day is smooth sailing…at lunch, all hell can break loose.
Someone may have typed this already…but have you tried a CGM - you may see trends in your bs that will shed some light on what is going on with you.
For me, i up my basal by 50% if i eat a high fat meal for 4 hours…some people need 8 hours—sometimes i need only 4 sometimes i need 8. I take my insulin 20-30 mins b4 i eat—and sometimes bottom out b4 my food comes—its a risk i have to take to stay under 200 post meal. for the last 4 hours i have been sitting at about 160, this is all post lunch…so your post meal 1 - 5 hours is not surprising that it stays steady. In the last 30 minutes i have droppped to 130—a slow steady drop. I feel successful today…but still could bottom out b4 dinner. There is really no telling.
Thanks Mollie
I might try some more temp basal stuff. Its hard though since I have no insulin sensitivity and have had so many lows that I now have to really work to type and other things I am scared now. But I don’t want high sugars either. Plus because of Cystic Fibrosis half of all my 2300-2600 calories have to come from carbs for me to get anywhere near enough nutrition. I think I am going to opt to go back on some meds I quit a while ago that will help with that. I am hoping I will be able to reduce my calories a bit.
I do use CGM I just have some problems finding sensor sites because I am too skinny so I often have to take breaks and wait for the 1 of 2 areas I can use to heal enough to use them again. I am working on gaining so I have more places.
For me just to break under 8 on my A1c would be awesome. If i can do it without anymore paramedics bringing me back that would just be a miracle. I am really happy and I don’t say it lightly that people can find a way that works well for them. I think it is awesome and no advice giving to me is ignored all is considered.
it would be a bit nice to not fell on the outside all the time is all is all. So let me know if you have your own way too.