[foxl]

Angela, if you have DP, not eating anything can make your blood sugar go up.

Other than that, keep it up on the diet!

[fgummett]

Originally Posted by musique913

...I went out last night and had steak and broccoli..lol..so yeah, it's easier when you are eating steak...

it sure is You might even get away with an "all dressed" baked potato... just don't eat the potato (or much of it anyway)... try the cheese, sour cream, bacon bits and maybe even the potato skin (the best bit in my view)... you'll need to test, of course, but with a little imagination you can have a feast AND an healthy BG

[Subby]

Originally Posted by musique913

I'm getting better about the no carbs, in fact I went out last night and had steak and broccoli..lol..so yeah, it's easier when you are eating steak?

Problem: I woke up with a 142 blood sugar again. Had a headache when I woke at 4:30 this morning, so I took some tylenol and went back to sleep. Can that cause my BS to go up?

Like I said before, my blood sugars go down as soon as I'm up and moving and get my metformin in. I'm not sure on the metformin xr, my endo didn't seem to want to do that when I asked. Any suggestions?

I take my a 500mg metformin and my 58 units of Lantus at night as they told me to do. BS is good the rest of the day except first thing in the morning!

RAR...it's so irritating.

Sticking out like a red sore thumb for me in all this, is the issue of insulin dosage for you. If your body can't keep up with basal (biological) needs, it's a possibility that nothing you do with your diet is going to fix it. You could hit your head against diet for years and still the answer may be you simply need more basal insulin.

The problem intensifies when you need more basal overnight (or early morning) than the rest of day. That's a whole lot of fun, yes. But the answers might well be in more insulin solutions.

[musique913]

So is there a kind of insulin that will take me through the night better? I take my lantus around 10pm each night, so I would think it would work..especially since my bloods before taking it are usually between 95 and 100.

I'm confused by all of this.

[Tribbles]

Originally Posted by musique913

So is there a kind of insulin that will take me through the night better? I take my lantus around 10pm each night, so I would think it would work..especially since my bloods before taking it are usually between 95 and 100.

I'm confused by all of this.

The problem (and advantage) of Lantus is that it has a very flat profile. While this has the huge advantage of predictablity it also, as Subby was saying, doesn't match our basal glucose output. Most people have a spike in the early morning where their body is getting ready for the day ahead (the comment someone made about "finding breakfast or avoiding being breakfast" tickled me) and the Lantus stays flat so your levels rise.

Really the only way to fix this is with a pump so you can customise the profile to fit your basal output but Type 2s don't get those until they have very little beta cell function left. I have seen discussions on using NPH to try and spike at the same time but that is risky in my view unless you *really* know what you are doing.

[ShottleBop]

I'm on the train, on my way up to L.A. for the evening. I just listened to Jimmy Moore's (Livin' La Vida Low Carb) Episode no. 303, with Dr. Helen Hilts. She has had a family practice in Scottsdale, AZ, for the past 23 years. 5 years ago, she developed Type 2 diabetes. After reading the literature, she decided that Dr. Bernstein had things right, and started low-carbing. She maintains (on diet alone) an A1c of 4.9; her goal is to keep her BGs under 120 at all times. (At 120, glucose molecules start attaching themselves to other molecules--like hemoglobin--and affecting their function; at 160, glucose molecules starts gluing other molecules together (crosslinking)--actually creating plastics, of a sort.)

For reasons described in more detail in the interview,* she does not subscribe to the ADA's 45-grams-of-carbs-per-meal-then-medicate-to-keep-BGs-in-check approach. It's a 30-minute podcast, and worth listening to.


____________________
* Short form: food labels are only required to be accurate within 20%, and there are many factors can affect the speed of digestion and other processes that affect BG and insulin production; these make it very difficult to control BGs with any precision if carb intake is high (i.e., the Law of Small Numbers).

[musique913]

Doc changed my Lantus dose today, to see if it helps my morning number. She put it up a few units and told me to not change it. She doesn't think it will have much of an effect on my A1C. Hmph.

We'll see.. I just don't like the high numbers in the morning, especially when my numbers are between normal levels as soon as I eat and get moving.

[bunbury]

Hi Musique913,

This chart below shows the 7-day rolling average of my BG readings from my first 30 days of low-carbing (June/July 08). My entry point was an allegedly ‘healthy’ low-fat diet and I switched overnight to about 30 grams carbs a day (I was not taking meds, but the principal would be the same). The results appeared quickly and since then my control has got better and better.

Are you familiar with the Rule of Small Numbers? If not, see Bernstein. IMO: I think it’s a very powerful argument in favour of almost all T2s, whether on meds, exercise or whatever, going low-carb for at least a few months. There are some medical exemptions.

It works like this: If you are on 150 grams carbs every day - or 120 grams one day, 200 the next, then 150 and so on - it’s very hard to understand how small incremental increases in meds, a bit more exercise, a slice of bread etc etc are affecting your BGs. There are so many big variations meal-to-meal and day-to-day. Look through this forum for threads where higher-carb eaters are trying to adjust their doses – it can be tough.

But if you cut back the carbs and go low for a while, all that changes. Chose your own targets, but say breakfast is consistently 5 grams carbs, lunch is 10 and dinner is 20, then it is the small changes, no longer lost in big spikes and variations, that show on your meter and you can fine tune your diet, meds and lifestyle. You can see the impact of half an apple, a slice of bread, an extra unit, or going for a brisk walk. For most people, this diet also brings weight, blood pressure and lipids into line.

Once you’ve got control and you understand how it all works, you can start to work out the balance you want in your life, such as more carbs + more insulin. You’ll know exactly what you can add to your diet and to what effect in +/- BG. You’ll also know what impact your changes are having on weight, BP, lipid profile etc. In short, you’ll find a balance that suits you. I’ve now increased my carb intake 50% or so – and I’m very comfortable with my life and what I’m achieving.

The Rule of Small Numbers: It’s worth the effort and you’ll be in control. YMMV, and this is all IMO.

[CarrieOakey]

Originally Posted by musique913

I've been doing 30 grams of carbs for each meal for a couple of weeks now at the suggestion of my doctor and diabetic nutritionists, and ****ed if I don't want every carb under the sun.

I find carbs to be addictive. The more I eat, the more I want. I guess it's like when you stop smoking. At first all you think of is having a smoke...!! It will get better. Apparently a craving only lasts 2 minutes. What works for me is getting really busy during cravings.

[NewdestinyX]

Originally Posted by CarrieOakey

I find carbs to be addictive. The more I eat, the more I want.

Though I understand the intent and concern in this statement I have to say - you 'want' them more because your body's "requesting" more. A craving is often perceived as ONLY a mental thing - but it's physiological. And it's a 'good thing'. Our bodies need energy. Glucose (from carbs) creates energy. Protein creates strength. And fats provide the lubrication for all body systems and storage for future energy.

When we lower carb intake the body will naturally react and even eventually adjust but it requires the body to look to other sources for energy. When we're over weight it can burn fat for energy and even proteins can be converted to glucose in the liver - but when we lo carb we're sort of doing something 'unnatural' to the body's system. Super Lo carbers force their bodies into a pretty difficult situation and the 'reaction' (Craving) is very normal and in my opinion shouldn't be completely ignored or made out to be a bad inconvenient thing. Over time if you ignore the body's requests long enough it will stop asking'. I'm not convinced this is always a good thing.

Now -- having said all that -- the 'type of carbs' we take in makes all the difference in the world. Complex carbs over simple ones will slow Blood glucose level rises. That's good. But processed carbs are not great (though enjoyable) and they can create an addictive feeling merely based on the chemicals in the food. That's bad.

But 'craving' is the body saying 'I have a natural NEED'.

[fgummett]

The simple view of the body's need expressed above, does not account for indigenous communities who only eat what is locally available in season... think of the traditional diet of the Inuit, Massai or N. American Plains Indians. Nor does it offer any explanation for why the "carb carvings" go away when carb is no longer a major part of the diet... based on the above, one would expect the cravings to get stronger.

Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition?

The currently established human essential nutrients are water, energy, amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine), essential fatty acids (linoleic and {alpha}-linolenic acids), vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, and vitamin B-12), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron), trace minerals (zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, selenium, molybdenum, and chromium), electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride), and ultratrace minerals (4). (Note the absence of specific carbohydrates from this list.)

and if I may quote myself from another thread...

Originally Posted by fgummett

You will find web sites that... claim we only burn fat when starving... in my view this is incorrect. We are adapted to burn fat and/or glucose... much like a hybrid car that uses its electric motor for stop/start traffic around town but switches to the gasoline engine for longer trips. The trouble is that so few of us spend anything more than a couple of hours between refined/concentrated carb-laden meals/snacks, that burning fat and producing ketones seems out of the ordinary. Some tissues, like brain cells, do seem to prefer burning Glucose but even on a zero-carb diet plenty of Glucose can be provided by the Liver converting Amino Acids (Protein building blocks) into Glucose by a process named Gluconeogenesis. Beyond that, in true starvation mode, even the brain can adapt to burning ketone bodies... ... So far as I am aware, there is no metabolic pathway to convert fat to Glucose, nor is there any need for it to do so.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

But processed carbs are not great (though enjoyable) and they can create an addictive feeling merely based on the chemicals in the food. That's bad.

But 'craving' is the body saying 'I have a natural NEED'.

I don't see how "addictive feelings" caused by refined foods are not cravings, which seems to be what you are suggesting here.

[ShottleBop]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

. . .
But 'craving' is the body saying 'I have a natural NEED'.

When you're breaking an addiction to nicotine (or heroin, or alcohol), your cravings for it are natural, too.

Go to Livin' La Vida Low Carb, and listen to the interview with Dr. Helen Hilts.
(Her rule: "No roots, no fruits, no grain, and no milk."*) Listen to her explanation of carb cravings. Her recommendation for going low-carb: do it all at once, but eat whenever you feel hungry (protein and fat, BEFORE the hunger becomes unmanageable)--even if that means you're eating 10 times a day.







________
That's just "no milk," not "no dairy."

[bunbury]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

A craving is often perceived as ONLY a mental thing - but it's physiological. And it's a 'good thing'.

.....

(Craving) is very normal

.....

processed carbs .... can create an addictive feeling

.....

But 'craving' is the body saying 'I have a natural NEED'.

Addicts (bad?) don't have cravings (good?)?

How do you classify caffeine and opium? Physiological craving or addictive feeling?

[NewdestinyX]

Originally Posted by ShottleBop

When you're breaking an addiction to nicotine (or heroin, or alcohol), your cravings for it are natural, too.

Go to Livin' La Vida Low Carb, and listen to the interview with Dr. Helen Hilts.
(Her rule: "No roots, no fruits, no grain, and no milk."*) Listen to her explanation of carb cravings. Her recommendation for going low-carb: do it all at once, but eat whenever you feel hungry (protein and fat, BEFORE the hunger becomes unmanageable)--even if that means you're eating 10 times a day. ________
That's just "no milk," not "no dairy."

With respect Shottle for the amazing success you're personally experiencing, if we were to follow every new fad nutrition mantra out there we would live hopelessly confused lives. Any time we 'starve' (or severely limit) our bodies of certain basic food types we're asking for trouble somewhere down the line. "Moderation" is the name of the game IMHO. But do your thing, my friend!! Glad it's working for ya!