Ecarbose for Type 1

what are your thoughts on ecarbose to block carb absorption in order to decrease blood glucose spikes? A general medical md suggested this. My endocrinologist has never mentioned it.

Do you mean Acarbose (Precose)?

As far as I can tell, “ecarbose” doesn’t exist…

Yes, acarbose! Sorry I misspelled it!!

omg is this really a thing that would let me eat frigging rice?

It supposedly slows down the enzyme that turns carbs into glucose/blocks carb absorption–>smaller rise in blood glucose! But, I don’t know any T1Ds who have used it.

can you just buy it at the shops or is it prescription?

Acarbose is an old medication. It is a prescription medication and is what I consider a “stupid” medication. As has been suggested, it blocks the absorption of carbs. So let me go through the logic.

  1. You must eat and absorb carbs. You die without carbs
  2. Carbs raise blood sugar
  3. Let’s take a medication that blocks the absorption of carbs
  4. You must absorb carbs or you die.

Anyone else see the gap in logic here? This is a stupid medication. Perhaps a better strategy would be to just not eat a box of donuts?

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what are you talking about, you die without carbs?

You need a prescription. Be sure to let your endo no if your MD prescribes Acarbose for you. It is not usually prescribed for Type 1 diabetes.

I can eat a box of donuts just fine using insulin. But it’s not the best choice. Also, the less pharmaceuticals we can do without, the healthier our bodies will be. Food is necessary, insulin is necessary for Type 1. And everyone else for that matter, we simply have to inject ours.

my interest is just curiosity. i would not consider using this or even asking my doctor for a prescription. i have not eaten donuts and dont plan to.

You should visit a nutritionist.

Acarbose was suggested to me for those rare Splurging moments. I spike really really easily (on Thanksgiving, literally 2 slices of apples from inside of a “no sugar added” slice of apple pie sent my numbers thru the roof!!) i just wanted to see if anyone has ever tried it!

you can make carbs out of protein.

[quote=“pancreaswanted, post:13, topic:57722, full:true”]
you can make carbs out of protein.
[/quote]Well this is not even true. Some people find that protein will cause the bg to rise at some point, but it does not turn into carbs. There are many carb foods that also have a significant protein macronutrient. Do consider a nutritionist, or at least look at resources that don’t offer bunk and misinformation.

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maybe i am misunderstanding something here that you guys know much more about. doesnt this say that gluscose cant be made from protein? dont people who eat low carb and in a ketogenic state have their bodies doing this?

Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a metabolic process of making glucose, a necessary body fuel, from non-carbohydrate sources such as protein (amino acids), lactate from the muscles and the glycerol component of fatty acids.

gluconeogenesis [gloo″ko-ne″o-jen´ĕ-sis]
the synthesis of glucose from noncarbohydrate sources, such as amino acids and glycerol. It occurs primarily in the liver and kidneys whenever the supply of carbohydrates is insufficient to meet the body’s energy needs. Gluconeogenesis is stimulated by cortisol and other glucocorticoids and by the thyroid hormone thyroxine. Formerly called glyconeogenesis.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

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is webmd, in your opinion, a resource that doesnt offer bunk information?
this is from webmd.

These nutrients are digested into simpler compounds. Carbohydrates are used for energy (glucose). Fats are used for energy after they are broken into fatty acids. Protein can also be used for energy, but the first job is to help with making hormones, muscle, and other proteins.

i was under the impression that there are essential fats and essential amino acids, which can be made into energy through gluconeogenesis. i was also under the impression that there are no essential carbohydrates. am i wrong? can you give me a link to a reputable site that says if i dont eat carbs i will simply DIE?

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I’m no biochemist, but my understanding is that glucose is a carbohydrate. So, if protein causes blood glucose to rise, it implies that it must have been broken down into glucose at some point…?

is the institute of medicine a reputable agency, or should i not trust their info either!? i just really believed in gluconeogenesis. is gluconeogenesis just bunk?

Unlike protein and fat, carbohydrates supply none of the elements necessary to build or repair tissue in the body, and provide no essential component. As the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states year-after-year in their Dietary Reference Intake Manual:

“The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.” IOM (2002)
Although our brain requires 120g of glucose per day, it’s inaccurate to think this can only be obtained from dietary carbohydrates. Because of the importance of brain fuel, our body is quite capable of creating it’s own glucose, by breaking down fat. In fact, if one can reach their alternative fuel source the size of the non-carb fuel tank is significantly larger.

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i, like you, know nutritionists have very little to offer diabetics.

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This was prescribed to me when I first started to have issues with post meal blood sugar rises in 2010. I had a lot of gastrointestinal side effects, so it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

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