[genie86333]

Hi, everyone.

I'm starting to get really frustrated. When I was first dx'd, I went on a low carb (<30g/day) diet that my old doc had advised was good for weight loss several years ago.

Well, I just couldn't stick to such a low carb diet...I'm still eating reasonably - for instance yesterday I had a salad for breakfast (lettuce, spinach, some baby carrots, some snow peas, a little bacon & dressing - which was 0 carbs) 2 cheeseburgers for lunch (no buns, about a tablespoon of ketchup & some onion & garlic mixed in) along with a Jello sugar-free pudding. Then, 8 hours after lunch, my BSI was 192. If it had been in the 150-160 range, I would probably have had a serving of rice with my chicken last night, but didn't since it was that high already. I'm just getting so frustrated with the fact that my sugars are still staying high even though I'm really watching what I eat. The *lowest* I've ever gone was a 102 & I'm not sure quite why because I actually had eaten a protein bar (which as we all know still has quite a few carbs - I think it had 27 g) just a few hours before. Other than that one time, "low" for me is around 150.

My doc said when I come back this month, she'll probably raise my glucotrol dose too (she already raised the glucophage last visit) if my #s are still high, so I hope that will help, but in the meantime, I'm just frustrated & needed to vent a bit to others who will understand.

Hope everyone else is having a better day than I am!

[mzteacher]

genie,
sorry you are having a tough time with the numbers....you are not alone....that is one of the wonderul things about this forum...knowing as we deal with this disease life has dealt us...we are not alone...i am one year in to it and still there are times i just don't understand the numbers....continue to put forth the effort it will pay off....sounds like you are working hard to improve your health and working with your dr. is a really good thing...so as i often need to remind myself...be kind to yourself....
i hope tomorrow is better for us all!!!
susan

[CookD]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, I empathize with you. I seem to be having the same sort of problems. I don't know why I go high (140 - 190) some days and very low (50 - 60) on others. I try to eat the same amount of carbs each day, 30g per meal, at the same time. No white flour, potatoes, rice, sugar... very few processed foods. 5 to 7 veggies a day.

After one year I am more frustrated than ever and ready to stop testing so often and wait for my A1c in August. I feel like the stress may be adding to the wild #s.

[jacobsam622]

I would love to help but I need more information. One thing you need to remember when you eat a low carb diet your brain can not use fat, or protein for energy it can only process glucose. In oder for any of us to really help we need to know what kind of meds you are taking so forth and so on.

This is how I deal with diabetes .


I take 4mgs Amaryl in the morning 100 mgs of Januvia, at noon and 2 mgs of Amaryl before bed
I also take cinnamon pills twice a day, chromium pills once a day, super B complex once a day and saw palmetto 2 times a day.

I exercise at a half hour every day. .
• ½ hour on the stationary bike
• ½ little Gazelle
• Long walk
• Hide and seek with the boys does the trick.


If I eat something that makes my blood glucose go up high I exercise, as long as the bg reading is below 275

I Test: Mornings and before driving, 2 hours after meals and before bed.

My bg goals
Morning below 130 -----------------------ideal around 95 - 110
2 hours after meals below 140 ---------ideal below 120
Before bed below 140--------------------ideal 120 to 130
I Never go to bed with bg below a 100 when I wake up my bg will be =>130.
As I gain more control the numbers should get tighter.

To determine carbs I subtract fiber from the total carbs. I also subtract artificial sweeteners.

Some Fats are good we need them for healthy cholesterol. Mono and poly are good.
Trans fat and saturated fat are bad.

I do not eat Low fat foods they are not good for type 2 diabetes because they replace fat with sugars which makes them high carb.

I eat as little sugar as I can because it has no nutritional value.

I don’t eat candy

Foods I can eat;

Meat = Beef, chicken, fish broiled or baked, eggs, hot-dogs(all beef), Hamburgers, and Lamb,

Nuts - most nuts are low in carbs, peanuts, walnuts, and almonds any that have total carbs of less then 10g. I eat cashews at bed time. If I eat a meal that I would have in the past eaten fries or chips with I substitute peanuts.

Spreads I buy no sugar added jelly or I buy one of several reduced sugar brands, no sugar added Peanut butter – good for cholesterol

vegetables = Small kernel corn on the cob 1 ear per meal. I eat lots of Green beans it raises good cholesterol. I can eat squash, zucchini, celery, Tomatoes Green peppers, pickles (half sours),
cucumbers

I eat Sugar free ice cream or no sugar added if I go to Brusters., Sugar free jell-o

Chocolate that has a cocoa % >= 60% or low carb chocolate

Breads = I eat whole grain or low carb whole grain breads. I try to find bread that has less then 7 grams of carbs per slice. Pepperidge farms have several brands in the 5g per slice range.

Pasta = I eat whole grain: “Dreamfields”, Another good brand I like more is “Barilla Plus” whole grain pasta the penne pasta is pretty good.

Reward for sticking to life style:
I eat pizza at least twice a month
I eat at five guys burgers at least twice a month.
I eat popcorn at the theater and since I have twin three year old boys I don’t get there much.


Rice = I eat brown rice, or wild rice

sodas = I drink diet only

I Drink lots of Water dehydration and diabetes don’t go well together.

* Avoid high carb food any anything with a lot of refined sugar or white flour

* Fruit = I Limit the amount of fruit I eat because they all have a lots of sugar and I have acid reflux brought on by the high sugar content in the stomach due to 9 months of bgs over 500
I eat apples (granny smiths), tomatoes

Books about diabetes that I have read are:

Sugar-buster’s
Glycemic Revolution
DIABETES CARBOHYDRATE & CALORIE COUNTER
Diabetes for dummies
About 7 ADA books – take with grain of salt
1001 tips for diabetes has some good info.
The ADA books that I have read cover type 2 in such a way that it seems like it was only included at the last minute by the editor.

[jillrapp]

Hey Genie,
I hope you don't really mean <30 carbohydrates/day. If so, you're starving your body, and you could be rebounding - meaning your body sees no fuel, thinks it's starving and your liver pumps out glucose in order to compensate. I would suggest speaking to a nutritionist that specializes with diabetics to find the right amount of carbohydrates for you each day. My sweet spot seems to be between 150-180 carbohydrates spread out throughout the day. Yours might and probably will be different. Good luck and keep fighting knowing there are thousands of us out here that just can't get it under the control we want - but keep trying knowing it's for the best!

[mortis505]

What age were you diagnosed at. If its as an adult, the general tendency is to classify you as a type 2 because doctors dont think that an adult can develop T1. You may want to ask your Dr for additional tests to confirm your diagnosis.

[KarenBC]

Thank you jacobsam - I found your post incredibly helpful (the others are great too the detail you've given is awesome. And things that I didn't know, like the green beans being helpful for raising the good cholestrol.

Couple of questions - what is a little gazelle?

What doesn't exercise and a count of over 275 go together?

Vitamin B is one of the things that I react oddly to, it makes my heart race and blood pressure go up. I take my bp twice a day right now, so have a pretty good handle on what affects it.

[davef]

Genie,

How long have you been taking the Glucophage (Metformin)? It takes about 4 weeks to really start working. <30g carbs a day does seem really low, I'm watching my carbs and eating low carb but don't reckon I could stick less than 30g a day. I aim for <30g per meal.

My advise is that you need to find new habits that you can adopt rather than going on harsh diets. I'm losing weight, but I'm not "on a diet", I've been there, got several T-Shirts and the weight gain to prove it. The "problem" as I see it with diets is that many tend to try a provide a quick-fix. If you are like me (and many people) you did not put weight on overnight, so why expect to lose it overnight? Aim for a steady weight loss, 1-2lbs a week is about average. The wisdom is "Eat less, move more", I know that sounds simple but I also know that it does not mean it's easy.

Surprisingly, something many people don't realise is that it's possible to eat too little to lose weight and by eating a little more you can in fact lose weight.

I know that the balance between eating for good BG control and eating for weight loss can be hard to strike, for example I know that cheese/nuts are a great snack for my BG but they are also high fat and so not great for weight loss.

Take a deep breath, relax a little, give yourself some time and space, you will get there. For me, testing was the key to finding foods that work and giving me the freedom to eat realtively normally. Perhaps you used to eat salad for breakfast but the thought of it would turn my stomach. Try find things you like to eat and that work for your BG, then watch your carb intake but don't go mad on it. Drink lots of water, in my experience I lose more weight when I drink water and I believe it helps give you a full feeling and keeps your metabolism working. Finally, exercise, I'm not a fan of it but there is no escaping that it works, try walking a bit more, it helps with both your BG control and weight loss.

You can do it, coming here to vent is great, I know I would not be where I am with my BG control if it wasn't for these forums.

[Jill-O]

I've been so happy with the control and moderate carbs on insulin and byetta. I had good control on insulin and metformin but started having problems and had to quit metformin... It was way out of wack for a bit but now with the byetta -- amazing (like 80 or so post meal numbers). I cannot do low carb like less than 30grams a day long term and be happy. This seems to be a good balance for me, carb aware and counting but not low, exercise, insulin and byetta.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by KarenBC

Couple of questions - what is a little gazelle?

It's a Tony Little Gazelle. See it here.

[genie86333]

I hope you don't really mean <30 carbohydrates/day. If so, you're starving your body, and you could be rebounding - meaning your body sees no fuel, thinks it's starving and your liver pumps out glucose in order to compensate....My sweet spot seems to be between 150-180 carbohydrates spread out throughout the day. Yours might and probably will be different.

Yes, that is what the book my doctor recommended years ago (I don't remember the name, but I sure remember how strict it was) said for my weight/height/bone structure. As I've said, I just can't do that anyway for a long time, so I'm not being that strict anyways anymore.

What age were you diagnosed at. If its as an adult, the general tendency is to classify you as a type 2 because doctors dont think that an adult can develop T1. You may want to ask your Dr for additional tests to confirm your diagnosis.

I was diagnosed at 35, and I've been wondering about that as well, because my mom was T1.

How long have you been taking the Glucophage (Metformin)? It takes about 4 weeks to really start working. <30g carbs a day does seem really low, I'm watching my carbs and eating low carb but don't reckon I could stick less than 30g a day. I aim for <30g per meal.
< s n i p>
You can do it, coming here to vent is great, I know I would not be where I am with my BG control if it wasn't for these forums.

I've been on the metformin since January (and on an increased dosage since March) & did definitely see a difference after a few weeks initially, but not so much when she increased it.

Thanks everyone for all the advice & for letting me vent...not sure why, but I *really, really, really* needed to do that last night!

[Scratch]

You might want to consider asking your doctor about getting tested for c-peptide and GAD antibodies -- if the GAD is positive then you've got the autoimmune attack going on and you'd be a type 1.5/LADA, which is much like type 1 but tends to occur in adults and is much slower in how the beta cell destruction progresses.