[Overcomer]

I started the Atkins diet induction phase Saturday and I took my 100 units of lantus before bed Saturday night. At about 4 am Sunday morning I woke up in a sweat because my blood sugar was 54. How do you think I should proceed with the Atkins diet. I need to lose 60 lbs but I don't know if the combination of low carbs and my meds agree with the diet. what do you guys suggest?

[xMenace]

I have no issues with the diet. Go for it! Losing 60lbs is IMO the most importan thing to do.

Your Lantus is probably too high. Most users have gaps in their coverage which is hidden by their meals and bolus insulin. Basically their whole regimine is managed but not single parts. Now that you've removed carbs and bolus insulin, the imbalance is showing. Cut back until your fasting numbers are fine and you don't hypo. You may need to increase your bolus insulin some to compensate.

Be aware that low carbing will affect your basal needs. You may very well need to cut back even more on the Lantus after a week or two. Then when you start losing weight and becoming less insulin resistant, you'll cut back even more.

Good luck!

edit: I see take no bolus insulin, but if you did, ...

[Overcomer]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm new at this and I need all the help I can get. When I was diagnosed borderline in 2006 I did not even attempt to manage the disease. Now I am a full blown diabetic and I have no choice but to manage it and my diet is just one way.

[cyberus]

Originally Posted by Overcomer

I started the Atkins diet induction phase Saturday and I took my 100 units of lantus before bed Saturday night. At about 4 am Sunday morning I woke up in a sweat because my blood sugar was 54. How do you think I should proceed with the Atkins diet. I need to lose 60 lbs but I don't know if the combination of low carbs and my meds agree with the diet. what do you guys suggest?

I'm low carb and it working for me, 70lbs and decent BG control, but I don't know that Atkins itself is the answer, I never went thru "induction" and if you are on insulin the type 1/1.5 crowd will have to chime on on that. Personally forcing your body into ketosis as a diabetic doesn't seem all that great an idea YMMV.

Have you taken the time to test and log various foods to see how they affect you? Atkins "friendly" or not some foods will do things to your BGL that it won't for others, sugar alcohols for instance, something used widely in Atkins foods.

And speaking of Atkins "friendly", just because something has a sticker on it doesn't alleviate your responsibility to READ THE LABELS.
Since Atkins death the "Atkins Friendly" label seems to be for sale and the "Net carbs" listed on the front doesn't match whats on the label since they've started to use voodoo math using carbs, Glycemic Index and sugar alcohols in sneaky ways to reduce their "Atkins Net Carb" number, ya gotta read the USDA label to get the facts.

[jillrapp]

Hey Overcomer,

Congratulations on taking full control of your life and diabetes! A lot of us here do low carb and not necessarily Atkins.. meaning we count every carb we eat and try to keep the daily number low. Low for most looks to mean around 60 and below. When I first started low carb I gave myself 90grams of carbohydrates/day - and immediately needed to lower my meds. Now I do under 60/day, and take about 1/2 the meds I used to.

Low carb is the way to go, lowered my cholesterol, med needs, etc. You just might need to decrease your lantus (ask your doctor by how much) and test, test, test!

Good luck!

[Julietta]

Low carb rocks, Overcomer! Welcome to the club!

Originally Posted by cyberus

I'm low carb and it working for me, 70lbs and decent BG control, but I don't know that Atkins itself is the answer, I never went thru "induction" and if you are on insulin the type 1/1.5 crowd will have to chime on on that. Personally forcing your body into ketosis as a diabetic doesn't seem all that great an idea YMMV.

Have you taken the time to test and log various foods to see how they affect you? Atkins "friendly" or not some foods will do things to your BGL that it won't for others, sugar alcohols for instance, something used widely in Atkins foods.

And speaking of Atkins "friendly", just because something has a sticker on it doesn't alleviate your responsibility to READ THE LABELS.
Since Atkins death the "Atkins Friendly" label seems to be for sale and the "Net carbs" listed on the front doesn't match whats on the label since they've started to use voodoo math using carbs, Glycemic Index and sugar alcohols in sneaky ways to reduce their "Atkins Net Carb" number, ya gotta read the USDA label to get the facts.

Cyberus makes some good points.

To be blunt I eat fewer carbs than even Atkins Induction allows, but that's a personal choice based on what my meter tells me about the foods I eat. Not all Atkins-friendly foods are necessarily BG-friendly; for instance, before I started taking Metformin I couldn't even tolerate green beans!

My best advice is to stay away from the so-called "frankenfoods" - processed foods that have low-carb labels. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store; that's where you'll find the fresh vegetables, meats and dairy. Do that for two weeks and you won't even want the processed junk anymore, "Atkins-approved" or not.

You probably don't need to be afraid of ketosis, though; it isn't the same as ketoacidosis, which is what we fear with diabetes. Do some reading on that both in the Atkins books and through your own research if you want to be reassured (and you should - your kidneys are a big deal. )

Good luck!

[dhender02]

Good job Overcomer... I was able to get off my Meds completely (1000mg Metformin) by going to a low carb lifestyle. I usually try to stay around 30-50....

Keep your doctor inform as to what is happening with you...