I am seeing higher blood sugar readings the last several months that do not come down with my “normal” amounts of Novolog. I know this could be other issues, like stress, but I am wondering if it could be caused by the slower movement of foods through my digestive system.
I would much appreciate hearing about your expeirence with GP and your blood sugars.
I use a Dexcom G6 and also the new InPen for Novolog plus Lantus 2x per day for my basal needs. Thanks
Gastroparesia effects on Blood Sugar in Type 1
I’m defining gastroparesis as the inability of or partial inability of the stomach to contract. For me GP has two main effects. The first is hypos can take a long time to treat. I now use glucose disolved in water at high concentration. The second is delayed emptying. I generally dont get rises in blood sugar now as I dont ever eat enough carbs to raise my BG. There is only one main way to fix gastroparesis and that is to normalise your bloodsugars, although apparently the right stereo isomer of alpha lipoic acid can accelerate growth of the vagus nerve. There are several things you can do to aide GP. Chewing gum can peompt your stomach to empty. Doing stomach contractions (kind of like cpr for the stomach) has the effect of contracting your stomach using all the muscles in and around it. There are several medicines to either fluah the stomach or contract it, things like metoclopramide (flush it) or domperidone (to contract it). There are other things alao but I cant remember them off the top of my head.
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Edward, thanks for your experience. I have been taking ALA, but not just the R-Fraction. What is the dose that is recommended so that I may order some. I have been taking 100mg a day of the mixed fraction.
Have you been diagnosed with GP?
This could also result from slowly increasing overall insulin resistance. When it happened to me, I had gained about 20 pounds of body weight over 10 years. I remembering giving myself an insulin correction and my blood sugar not coming down, at all.
Insulin resistance is a hallmark of T2D. As a T1D, I thought it didn’t apply to me. But it does. Once I limited carbs in my diet, the normal interaction of food, insulin, and glucose levels returned.
I don’t know if this applies to you but your description of high glucose highs that do not respond to correction matches what I experienced. During the period of my slow weight gain, my total daily dose of insulin rose from 40 to 80 units/day. My current total daily dose is often under 30 units and my glucose management is far superior.
Thanks Edward and Terry!
Edward, I think that I will purchase the R-Fraction ALA with biotin and take 1 capsule in morning and evening.
I remember once also taking evening primrose oil and I will look for that.
The cautions in the text are new to me about cancer and low blood sugars so I will keep the dose at only 2 for now.
Terry, because of stress in my life over the last year (very sick daughter and heavy work load) I think that I am eating more carbs just for the “pick me up”. Right now my wife has a broken right arm meaning I am doing most of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, on top of normal home tasks. SMILE. My wife is a very good cook and salad maker so I am missing her help.
I think lowering carbs has to be my main goal in maintaining normal BG. I must always remember the logic of Dr. Berstein’s "Law of small numbers"and keep my carbs lower.
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No I have not been diagnosed. I believe I am in early stages of it. I have no upset digestion or irritation.
I have been taking ALA for years and have an avg. HgA1c of 5.9.
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Do you have access to health care? If so, you may want to consider submitting to a stomach emptying test to check your belief. No sense wasting time with an illness you may not in fact have, especially if you don’t have any gastric distress. It’s a relatively easy test to do.
I believe the cancer risk is only if you already have it and that all antioxidants can accelerate growth in certain stages of cancer. And yes your right about Bernstein, if you keep your bg low and even then your body can heal most things.