[Rekarb]

My endo is pretty convinced that IR isn't an issue here. He considers me to be an athlete. My BMI points away from that as well. Like I've said before, all my tests show that I'm in the peak of health except for that little blood sugar problem. They don't call this "Atypical Diabetes" for nothing!

I went at the carbs with a vengeance. If it spiked my bg - it was gone. I quickly got down below 40 carbs a day and sometimes wouldn't go passed 20. At this time, the meds had yet to work so exercise and diet was all I had.

I was hungry then but not overly tired even though I had dropped close to ten pounds. It was after the meds kicked in and my bgs began to drop that I started running out of gas. I figured this was due to false hypos but it didn't stop. One minute -fine, the next - exhausted. I started adding back in carbs about a week ago and it has started to let up. Slowly, I'm getting my energy back and it correlated with me increasing my carbs. I'm not spiking either so I'm seeing that I have to have at least 60 carbs a day or I feel lousy.

So we are going to see how it goes.

Mike

[foxl]

Mike, what about Actos ... ? Could it be causing the fatigue?

[Rekarb]

Linda

The fatigue didn't start until the Actos kicked in so it certainly is playing a part. But you have to figure that anything that lowers blood glucose has to be something of a drain. I really wonder about how this drug works. I know what the literature says but frankly a shot of whiskey seems to lower my bg faster and with less side effects then this stuff.
Right now I'm in the situation of taking in more carbs to offset the fatigue. I am more ready than ever to go on insulin and drop this drug.

Mike

[HuskerMychal]

Mike,
I know Linda touched on it earlier but has your endo checked your T levels? There is a couple threads on DF about low testosterone and D.

[foxl]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

Linda

The fatigue didn't start until the Actos kicked in so it certainly is playing a part. But you have to figure that anything that lowers blood glucose has to be something of a drain. I really wonder about how this drug works. I know what the literature says but frankly a shot of whiskey seems to lower my bg faster and with less side effects then this stuff.
Right now I'm in the situation of taking in more carbs to offset the fatigue. I am more ready than ever to go on insulin and drop this drug.

Mike

Mike, I would get call your MD and get off it, ask for something else, your choice. It did not affect me that way, in fact I had no obvious side effects, but I am just as glad to be rid of it.

I think there is more to it than lower blood sugar -- I actually feel BETTER, lower, and more energetic.

[tealas]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

Linda

The fatigue didn't start until the Actos kicked in so it certainly is playing a part. But you have to figure that anything that lowers blood glucose has to be something of a drain. I really wonder about how this drug works. I know what the literature says but frankly a shot of whiskey seems to lower my bg faster and with less side effects then this stuff.
Right now I'm in the situation of taking in more carbs to offset the fatigue. I am more ready than ever to go on insulin and drop this drug.

Mike

Why are you taking Actos if the Endo doesn't think you have IR?

I would bail on Actos and try only Metformin for awhile before you head towards insulin. You seemed to have good experience with Met previously right?

And sorrry when I responded the other day, I wasn't aware you had started medications! Last we were talking you were just doing diet and exercise....

[tealas]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

Thanks Teala

You know exactly what I'm talking about but do I have to feel like this for months? And why should that be the case for sooo long?

I've been feeling better now that I'm boosting my carbs and I read what you've been writing about the green smoothies but frankly it sounds really terrible. I've changed my diet considerably over the last few months and my taste buds and stomach are in slight rebellion. Where's the Udon noodles, pasta and that delicious syrup they lavish on pancakes up the street? They are not happy campers and a green smoothie might make them storm castle.

Uneasily wearing the crown
Mike

All I can say Mike is that I feel so much better when I drink green smoothies, so much more balanced, and have less cravings that I don't care how green they look or how yucky they "sound". S'ok, you don't need to try the green smoothies... leaves more fresh greens available for me to consume

My first 2 months were the worst, and were before I discovered how to make green smoothies. But when I started them, they really helped even out the low-blood sugar "flu" type & spacey symptoms! And I felt that way just bringing my HbA1c down from 6.1 to 5.8 - and you were up there in the 9's.

It really isn't unreasonable to expect a few months or even a year of transition when we may have had high blood sugars going on for 5 years, 10 years or longer!? I don't know how I walked around with my blood sugars spiking up around 160-200mg/dl after lunch and dinner for years. Now that I am coming down below 120 most of the time, when it goes back up that high I feel awful!

[Rekarb]

Okay, you broke me down and I actually made one. It was very good! I'm a convert. It spiked my bg way up though. I'll have to do some experimentation to get it to work better but I don't see that as a problem.

Met didn't work for me until I was given the Actos with it. My endo believes that, given time, I won't feel tired then the whole question will be how it's working over time. I'm still doing the 120 to 150 thing even with low carbs. Of course, my exercise has fallen off due to the lack of energy. As my energy returns though I'm going back to being my active self. Once again, I'll wait and see.

Mike

[tealas]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

Okay, you broke me down and I actually made one. It was very good! I'm a convert. It spiked my bg way up though. I'll have to do some experimentation to get it to work better but I don't see that as a problem.

Met didn't work for me until I was given the Actos with it. My endo believes that, given time, I won't feel tired then the whole question will be how it's working over time. I'm still doing the 120 to 150 thing even with low carbs. Of course, my exercise has fallen off due to the lack of energy. As my energy returns though I'm going back to being my active self. Once again, I'll wait and see.

Mike

Mike,

I'm so glad you gave it a try! And thanks for letting me (us) know. I hope they help you in your efforts, but we all must experiement with what works for our own bodies.

When I first started the green smoothies, if I had a lot of high glycemic index fruit in them, and I ate them later in the day (my personal worst time of day for blood sugar control), I did see a couple of spikes. But after several months now, I really haven't seen anything much over 120. I watch the ratio of fruits to greens and also try different fruits that will hit a little slower. For a long time I just did spinach (2-3 cups packed spinach leaves) with 2 cups water, one medium size apple and about 1/2 banana. The other thing I use frequently in the smoothies is chia seeds. This makes it more of a "pudding", but the soluable fiber in chia is very good for the digestive track and moderating absorption of the fruit sugar. The other factor is that the quality of blender may effect how well the greens get broken up.

I really recommend Victoria Boutenkos book "Green for Life" - there is so much good information in there and it fills in many reasons why green smoothies can help support our health!

Cheers,
Teala