THE LOW CARB DIABETIC

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THE LOW CARB DIABETIC

Promoting a low carb high fat lifestyle for the safe control of diabetes. Eat whole fresh food, more drugs are not the answer.


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    Post by Dillinger Wed Feb 25 2015, 11:47

    Here’s the thing; there’s no such thing as complete control of diabetes.

    There is always something waiting to knock you off course. The solution is not to give up but to play the odds; try and improve your control whilst accepting that you won’t be able to ever fully and finally master it.

    I’ve been thinking about how to improve my control recently in little but manageable ways and for me the following tweaks seem sensible;

    1.  Keep a record – previously I didn’t log and analyse my blood sugar results and my insulin levels (other than as stored in my meter). I couldn’t really see the point; no one ever looked at these things (certainly I’ve not had a single medical professional ask to see my meter in the last 20 years). But now I realise that the point is that the recording of the information in and off itself helps you to keep on the straight and narrow. I use an iphone app called ‘Diabetes Connect’ which is free and about the best one I could find. It provides statistical analysis of blood sugars with highest and lowest readings displayed plus average blood sugar reading over 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks, an estimate of HbA1c and a graph showing the distribution of your blood sugar readings.

    Each time I enter a blood sugar reading it means I’m thinking about not messing up my control and my bloods; this makes it easier to say ‘No, I won’t eat my children’s left over fish finger because I know it will show up when I test in an hour or two and I’ve had a perfect score all day.’ I find that little bit of self-imposed big brother is watching/your meter is watching really helps push me over the line into virtuous behaviour. I can also see that last thing at night I have a clear pattern of stable bloods; even if I go to bed with a 5.2 I know I’ll wake up with something pretty close to that. That means I cannot kid myself that I need a carby snack to get through the night. Night time hypoglaecemia is a real problem and worry for a Type 1 but if the facts are there and your basal is right then you don’t need to self-sabotage to address a fiction (that you will go hypo).

    2.  Exercise – everyday This is bad news as I’m lazy. But if I want steady flat blood sugars I need to do a short amount of anaerobic sprint type exercise every morning. I do some stretching, a minute and a half of plank (heading for 2 minutes and up), and then sets of 20 second bursts of exercise whether sit ups, press ups, burpees or whatever; just so that your muscles get a shock and you get out of breath.

    3.  Don’t have a lie in without taking morning insulin – this is bad news as well. I love a lie in at the weekend but if I do this my liver kicks in and by 9:00 or so my blood sugars are rising. If I take morning basal and a small bolus at 7:00 am all is well.

    4.  Don’t think that any food will be ‘free’ in terms of insulin; your liver will always release glucagon when you eat; even if you are just eating whipped cream. So there has to be some insulin to deal with that.

    5.  Don’t drink beer – I hate this, I like beer but every time I try and have a couple of pints it just totally throws my blood sugars; big highs, random drops; it’s a nightmare. My record keeping has confirmed that for me when I’ve tried to do this a couple of times of late. I might as well be drinking pints of coke and randomly injecting insulin. That’s the same effect it has.

    Reading those back that’s a bit depressing (albeit not very; none of this is really too tough and far better than dealing with those fun complications Mr. Diabetes has lined up for us) but as Eddie said it may not be easy but it’s worth it. Die with your boots on.

    How about you lot? I know most are Type 2 but do you have any little tweaks that you use to help your control? Tweaks that is; I really don’t want to know about Eddie and twerks… affraid

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    Dillinger
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    Post by Eddie Wed Feb 25 2015, 12:54

    “Here’s the thing; there’s no such thing as complete control of diabetes.

    There is always something waiting to knock you off course. The solution is not to give up but to play the odds; try and improve your control whilst accepting that you won’t be able to ever fully and finally master it."

    A great post Dillinger and I agree 100%, 24/7 total control is impossible for any diabetic. I would love to do far more tests on Jan, she is not up for a week of say 6 to 10 tests per day. The reason is, I reckon non diabetics would throw up numbers that would be higher than expected. As for playing the odds, I reckon it is down to age and circumstances. A young man like you with a very young family has got to go for the best control possible. I could get better control but at 65 years of age I have compromised.

    Like all diabetics I see numbers and think jeez why I am I seeing 7 or 8 on a meter when I was expecting 6 at the most. In the early days I looked for answers, I gave that game up around five years ago. What we are talking about is a balance, a balance between living a life and doing a good job 90% of the time, or turning ourselves into a science experiment.

    In some ways type two diabetics have it easy (apart from the myriad of metabolic syndromes) well controlled type ones can avoid, most non medicated (other than Metformin) diabetics never have to worry about possible life threatening hypos. We only have to worry about keeping BG down. One thing is for sure, just about every member of this forum is doing a great job, the reality is so could just about every diabetic, but for the stupidity, greed and recklessness we see all too often.

    My tip for any diabetic is decide what you really want for yourself in the way of control, be realistic. Setting the bar too high usually ends in failure and disappointment. One of my main goals from the start was to stay off insulin for five years and keep HbA1c numbers to non diabetic, seven years on things are still cool. Whether I rub out next week or in ten years time, I will have no regrets re. the betus, I will have given it a good fight, that’s all any of us can do.

    Give it your best shot, but live without fear of outcome, because living in fear is no life at all.
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    Post by sanguine Wed Feb 25 2015, 13:01

    I suppose I've not been in the game long enough to have developed a 'comfortable' managed regime. Well I've got one but how it will pan out longer term I need to review. I have my annual tests next month so my HbA1c will inform any review I need to make.

    As for tweaks, every time I've tried one (exercise early, late, snack before bedtime or not. yadda yadda) the results are fairly random so I'm just sticking to the big-picture basics at the moment.
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    Post by Eddie Wed Feb 25 2015, 13:18

    Rod not looking to wind you up, but I reckon a 'bog standard' type two diabetic, which is what most of us type two diabetics are, should be "comfortable" within three months max. If the betus has not been tamed in three months, something is wrong.
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    Post by Paul1976 Wed Feb 25 2015, 14:21

    Dillinger wrote:

    How about you lot? I know most are Type 2 but do you have any little tweaks that you use to help your control? Tweaks that is; I really don’t want to know about Eddie and twerks… affraid

    Best

    Dillinger

    Hi Dillinger!

    Yep,I recognise myself in some of what you've described above-certainly with the beer which I really DO miss but like you it shoots my levels up and of course the lonely 3 or 4 chips left on my kids plate that call for me to dip in the ketchup and polish off! Smile and the exercise?...Yep,I'm a bit lazy too! Wink

    Other things I have learned is that,like others,complete control is not achievable 100% of the time-my recent blip after an illness taught me that I was being too complacent in that I really believed I had tight control licked-I was wrong and beat myself up about it as I felt like I'd failed but I now know this is not the case-my levels are good again and blips are going to happen.
    Also on my list is to keep 'Cheat' days to very special occasions only-as well as giving me carb cravings again-having to get in ketosis all over again makes me feel rubbish all over again so 'Cheat' days are very rare.

    Cheers

    Paul
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    Post by Eddie Wed Feb 25 2015, 15:10

    Complete Control! Cfreak
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    Post by Andy12345 Wed Feb 25 2015, 16:25

    brilliant post Mr Dillinger

    much easier for type 2's as Mr Eddie has said, we just (or i do) aim for the floor all the time, i don't test anymore which i told myself was fine as long as i ate right but i totally agree i should be testing, especially after a recent hba1c showing a higher number (not telling) i do put that down to X3 colds in the previous 2 months up to the test where i was in the 15's for some god forsaken reason, but i really think i should test and must start doing that as it definitely keeps me on the straight and narrow, i do have perhaps the opposite problem to most folks in my struggle is not being too strict with myself, its so easy to live the low carb life, its no longer a challenge so I'm sure i deprive myself of stuff just because i can when I'm sure it would be fine to have a little from time to time, i just don't struggle with eating food, i don't want the chocolates etc etc anymore, i don't feel deprived so i suppose that means I'm not deprived? so with regards to balance, my balance is don't eat carbs where ever they are avoidable, it would seem very strange for me to eat them, i no longer look down my nose at folks eating them (which is a good thing) and i don't say to people "are your really gonna put that in your mouth?" anymore (another good thing) i tweak everything all the time, i am far too busy for it to be healthy and believe if i keep this up i will die young (soon) with a perfect hba1c lol

    hb1 was 44 btw (its not really a secret I'm just really pissed off about it)
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    Post by sanguine Wed Feb 25 2015, 16:38

    eddie1 wrote:Rod not looking to wind you up, but I reckon a 'bog standard' type two diabetic, which is what most of us type two diabetics are, should be "comfortable" within three months max. If the betus has not been tamed in three months, something is wrong.

    Absolutely and I was but as I'm such a paranoid data geek and I haven't had an HbA1c since October ... bounce
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    Post by mo1905 Wed Feb 25 2015, 17:52

    Totally agree with the recording aspect. I've used various apps but always seem to go back to an old fashioned BG diary and a pen. I record BG levels, exercise, carbs, BP and weight. I put a lot of effort in and used to get a bit frustrated when I would turn up for my diabetes check-ups and realised the DSN's/docs would randomly look at 1 page, smile, then hand it back. I stopped keep a diary for months but ended up starting again. I realised that what Dillinger said was 100% correct. I keep the diary for me, nobody else. I don't analyse or look back over previous months or draw graphs but it does keep temptation at bay. I will refuse certain foods and ensure I keep exercising knowing that I will soon be writing results down.
    As usual, a great post Dillinger :-)
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    Post by zand Wed Feb 25 2015, 21:58

    Yep great post Dillinger. I started recording my carbs and BGs etc on a spreadsheet a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why I didn't do it before! I kept a diary of my son's asthma medication and how well/ill he was for years and it really helped him get and keep good control. I really don't know why I didn't think of this in respect of my own diabetes. Crazy!
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    Post by graham64 Wed Feb 25 2015, 22:23

    Dillinger wrote:5.  Don’t drink beer – I hate this, I like beer but every time I try and have a couple of pints it just totally throws my blood sugars; big highs, random drops; it’s a nightmare. My record keeping has confirmed that for me when I’ve tried to do this a couple of times of late. I might as well be drinking pints of coke and randomly injecting insulin. That’s the same effect it has.

    That's tough, I drink beer and just so long as I stick to cask conditioned ales I don't have a problem in fact it has a positive effect actually brings my BG down without the highs that you experience. The same can't be said for keg beers and lager they have the opposite effect I avoid them.
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    Post by sanguine Thu Feb 26 2015, 07:55

    I can't say real ale does that with me. Maybe some more testing is required!
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    Post by Dillinger Thu Feb 26 2015, 07:57

    Thanks Graham - worth a go! The stuff that did me in last was bottled Pale Ale. It was like Coca-Cola's demented twin!
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    Post by graham64 Thu Feb 26 2015, 22:46

    Dillinger wrote:Thanks Graham - worth a go! The stuff that did me in last was bottled Pale Ale. It was like Coca-Cola's demented twin!

    By all means give it a go Al drunken , but don't forget I'm talking from the perspective of a T2 and don't have to worry about low BG.


    sanguine wrote: I can't say real ale does that with me. Maybe some more testing is required!


    Let's know how you get on Rod, I tend to go with ales over 4%, actually tonight at home I'm having a couple of bottles Hobgoblin Gold 4.5% will test before bed and post the results.
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    Post by graham64 Fri Feb 27 2015, 23:06

    I tested before bed it was around 75 mins since finishing the beer and it was 7.1, OK not ideal but I can live with that. Cool  
     
    I don't have a clue what my BG was pre beer so not really an ideal experiment Neutral
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    Post by mo1905 Fri Feb 27 2015, 23:23

    graham64 wrote:I tested before bed it was around 75 mins since finishing the beer and it was 7.1, OK not ideal but I can live with that. Cool  
     
    I don't have a clue what my BG was pre beer so not really an ideal experiment Neutral

    Au contraire Graham ! Sounds like a crackin' experiment :-)

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