mommaterra
01-07-2007, 10:11 AM
I have been lurking as a guest, and finally joined today. Dxed in 1997 with an A1c of 7.2, I diligently followed Dr. Bernstein's plan (before his first book was ever in print). I counted everything, and was consistently at or below 5.0 with A1cs, often in the mid-4s. A couple of years ago I really started into menopause which skewed my BGs every which way upward, and made the choice to not obsess -- every fasting >120 (fBGs had always been highest) sent me into a frenzy, which would only bump the numbers up further. Except for an occasional, increasingly rare, fBG, I stopped testing, but continued to exercise four times weekly at least 30 minutes each time.
On a lark, really, I changed docs and had an HbA1c done, December 8, 2006. My fBG was 240 and my A1c was 9.4.
It's not like I don't know what to do, or what the consequences are if I don't get numbers down FAST. I began exercising in both aerobic and resistance modes, averaging over two hours a day, and diligently counting all carbs. Today, a month after re-beginning strict low-carbing, meaning Bernstein's 6-12-12 plan, my fBG was 108. (Whew!)
Averages have come down to the 130-range overall; post-prandials at 1 hour (highest) are often about ten points above fBG now, so I suspect I have lost some serious insulin function. If I cannot keep BGs below 110 always, I will consider metformin, or even insulin (preferably, hopefully, short-term) to get there.
As a lifelong student of eating and weight (aka: a fat activist), I have no desire to lose. But I know that my body will do what it needs to (and I've already shed some weight -- ugh, I love my clothes!). The luxury with low-carb eating is that I can eat to satiety; I don't have to self-starve to find health. As food-fat provides satiety, I can consume 2500+ calories, about 70% from fat, and expect to see my cholesterol, triglycerides especially, plummet.
I've always figured that diabetes is scary enough, and dangerous enough, we don't need to add semi-starvation, and all its mind-beding discomforts, to the mix. I have also said many times that diabetes is a sort of luxury diease, in that we can do something about it, work within our bodies to achieve levels of health that the 'normals' may miss, given our weird Western focus on sweet, starchy foods, and phobic views of fat.
Thrilled to be here! --diana
On a lark, really, I changed docs and had an HbA1c done, December 8, 2006. My fBG was 240 and my A1c was 9.4.
It's not like I don't know what to do, or what the consequences are if I don't get numbers down FAST. I began exercising in both aerobic and resistance modes, averaging over two hours a day, and diligently counting all carbs. Today, a month after re-beginning strict low-carbing, meaning Bernstein's 6-12-12 plan, my fBG was 108. (Whew!)
Averages have come down to the 130-range overall; post-prandials at 1 hour (highest) are often about ten points above fBG now, so I suspect I have lost some serious insulin function. If I cannot keep BGs below 110 always, I will consider metformin, or even insulin (preferably, hopefully, short-term) to get there.
As a lifelong student of eating and weight (aka: a fat activist), I have no desire to lose. But I know that my body will do what it needs to (and I've already shed some weight -- ugh, I love my clothes!). The luxury with low-carb eating is that I can eat to satiety; I don't have to self-starve to find health. As food-fat provides satiety, I can consume 2500+ calories, about 70% from fat, and expect to see my cholesterol, triglycerides especially, plummet.
I've always figured that diabetes is scary enough, and dangerous enough, we don't need to add semi-starvation, and all its mind-beding discomforts, to the mix. I have also said many times that diabetes is a sort of luxury diease, in that we can do something about it, work within our bodies to achieve levels of health that the 'normals' may miss, given our weird Western focus on sweet, starchy foods, and phobic views of fat.
Thrilled to be here! --diana