I know low carb might be the only way but I don't want to.

[pm133]

I think @Nayshiftin is wanting to do this without medication and does seem to have been really trying to make adjustments to her diet but is still experiencing high levels and is understandably getting disheartened.

Yeah I thought that might be the problem.
I don't know enough about Type 2 to know if it's possible to do this without medication or low carbing. My instinct would be no, but I just don't know.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yeah I thought that might be the problem.
I don't know enough about Type 2 to know if it's possible to do this without medication or low carbing. My instinct would be no, but I just don't know.

I started off at 50mmol/mol last June which I know isn't terribly high but with no meds and low carb I have reduced it to 36mmol/mol now (42 in Sept, 38 in Dec) but as we know everybody is different, a few people suspect she may not be Type 2 but I also gather she is struggling to lose weight which doesn't point to Type 1.

 

[Deleted member 25429]

I'm sorry Inka It's a very bad day for me here. I read the link everydayupsanddown moderator had in your link and the first thing I read was the gentle reminder. I thought you were saying that I was wrong and well I am in a mess today so forgive me. I probably read the moderator wrong too. I am going to speak to the Gp or nurse when I can to get an appointment to see if I can get help. Reading above whatever type of diabetes anyone has it is their struggle. Not sure I'd not worry about counting carbs and taking insulin and all sorts. I am really grateful you are there as I feel very alone with this without having the forum, I get enough somedays to get me through. I am glad you set me straight Inka as I was so upset as forums can be black and white and not taken as they are meant and I truly do not like drama. Tomorrow is another day.

We all have frustrating days , I scream and moan some days when it just won’t play ball . I have had to learn to write the day off as a bad day and dust myself off and focus on tomorrow is another day . Loosing weight is very difficult, I don’t think that people that have never struggled with weight appreciate this . Some nurses don’t realise that what they say upsets you . Sometimes the understanding you get from this forum , people that actually live with diabetes is more helpful. I hope you can have a good nights sleep and look on tomorrow as a new day x

 

[Jo121]

Hi I am really struggling no matter how low I think I am going my blood sugars are not really coming down anymore they have remained in the 7 to ten and although the highest has not gone back to over 15 (which is in the night) why it does that I do not know, I had one spike after exercise too which I was told lowered it. But I would love to get it to about 4-6 as that would be normal.
I know some of you eat 20g of carbs per day but I do not like meat and without any fruit/ bread, pasta, rice a lot of vegs. There is little left already. I do go between 40g and 80g but I do like veg and fruit. Even a pear or a carrot has carbs. I have been using courgettes and celeriac and cauliflower so I am trying hard. i do not have low-carb bread on a daily basis either and I do watch what I eat. To go low carb I don't know where to even start and cannot think what I would eat. Full fat yoghurt and nuts. I have already but that's a lot of calories. i do not like cream as it makes a mess in coffee. I would have to give up milk which is most of my daily carbs. Lunch would be easy as I can have coleslaw cheese and salad or crustless quiche frittata things but I get fed up Id not want it on a daily basis. For dinner, I have things like courgette, aubergine parmesan bake. Tonight it will be chicken curry for him and me the veg from it. I am not a meat fan. So even the peppers have carbs it's not easy. I am not on medication. Should I go back to Gp and go on meds that make me feel ill bloat and put on weight or what else can I try. I am moving as much as I can with my arthritis and drinking lots.

I feel very similar to you as I seem to have similar tastes in food and about meat etc. I've just decided that I really cant go low low carb. I track on mfp and I dont eat sweets, cakes etc or processed sugars and my carbs are about 80 to 110g per day. I have brown pasta and rice but just weigh it out and my sugars with medication seem to manage that. Can you go back to your doctor as its their job to help find a way you can fit the diabetes into your life and as you are really trying they hopefully can offer more advice

 

[trophywench]

It is very difficult to divorce oneself personally from info given to you by sundry other people who we don't actually know.

Some are very definite about what they say to others - and it's rarely that flippin definite what might really help the other person. You know for definite when you see eg that house is on fire or that person is waving a gun about, what you should do - ie dial 999 - but even then only if & when it's safe for you personally to stop and use your phone.

Not everyone says 'what helped/helps me in these circs is blah blah, so maybe it could help you too' but instead tells you to do blah blah giving you the impression that is the only way.

See what a number of answers say and see if there's any consensus how to deal with it. Otherwise because you are doing your very own clinical trial with your diabetes, try one thing and if that doesn't work, try the next. Most of them won't be instantly successful though - cos diabetes just doesn't do 'instant' !

 

[TinaD]

Sorry you are having such a hard time Nayshiftin. Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University, who has carried out a lot of research on Type 2 remission through diet, says the important thing is to get the weight off - it doesn't matter if it is low carb, calorie counting, low fat - whatever helps get the visceral fat away from your pancreas. The best diet is the one you can stick to, makes you lose weight, and doesn't make you totally miserable. When enough weight comes off for your personal leveI he says you will get your blood sugars under control. (Obviously avoiding a high carb intake is necessary in any event and using unrefined rather than refined carbs also helps by spreading out the impact.)
I quite agree with other comments saying your diabetic team ought to be helping and advising you. Some of us are having good success with very low carbs, others with moderate, carbs, and some with other diets combined with various prescriptions - which route forward for you will depend on your choices aided by their advice. Good luck and try to avoid stress. Remember we are all different and what works for one may not work for others so you have, as Trophywench suggests, to do your own research into you.
As to your post - no apologies needed in my view - it just sounded like you were having a really rough time and needed to vent to people who would understand..

 

[pm133]

Sorry you are having such a hard time Nayshiftin. Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University, who has carried out a lot of research on Type 2 remission through diet, says the important thing is to get the weight off - it doesn't matter if it is low carb, calorie counting, low fat - whatever helps get the visceral fat away from your pancreas. The best diet is the one you can stick to, makes you lose weight, and doesn't make you totally miserable. When enough weight comes off for your personal leveI he says you will get your blood sugars under control. (Obviously avoiding a high carb intake is necessary in any event and using unrefined rather than refined carbs also helps by spreading out the impact.)

I'm pretty sure he also says that his ideas don't work for everyone.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I'm pretty sure he also says that his ideas don't work for everyone.

Very, very true.
The takeaway is we all need to find our own terms at to cope.
Low carb didn't work at all for me either.
I gravitated to Prof Taylor for this very reason.

 

[Drummer]

I strongly suspect that what is termed type 2 is actually a number of different problems lumped together, not to mention the misdiagnosed.
My type two did an abrupt about face and vanished when I ate low carb, so I term it ordinary and almost boring. Those who find low carb doesn't work for them must find me very irritating, but I'm not trying to blame them, they obviously have a far more complex set of circumstances to sort out, and that GPs don't help, or even seem to be interested is not kind.

 

[TinaD]

He says "It’s now clear that type 2 diabetes is caused by abnormal fat storage. If you are eating more than you burn, then the excess is stored in the liver and pancreas as fat. On this diet …the body is suddenly in negative calorie balance, so it calls on its own reserves of fat.The fat used first is that around the pancreas and liver. This means the pancreas is given a chance to start working again.” That "chance" appears to be success for around for 46% of those following his guidance. Others reduce their need for medication. He is, however, not insistent on which diet acheives the weight loss.

 

[pm133]

I strongly suspect that what is termed type 2 is actually a number of different problems lumped together, not to mention the misdiagnosed.
My type two did an abrupt about face and vanished when I ate low carb, so I term it ordinary and almost boring. Those who find low carb doesn't work for them must find me very irritating, but I'm not trying to blame them, they obviously have a far more complex set of circumstances to sort out, and that GPs don't help, or even seem to be interested is not kind.

Your diabetes vanished?
I thought you were only holding it at bay through extreme low carbing?

 

[pm133]

Very, very true.
The takeaway is we all need to find our own terms at to cope.
Low carb didn't work at all for me either.
I gravitated to Prof Taylor for this very reason.

I suppose where I'm coming from is that when people forget to wrap all these wonderful results they are experiencing with necessary caveats, it ends up being something people use to beat themselves up with when it doesn't work for them.

Low carbers and extreme dieters who do see success for themselves can be pretty bad for this in my experience.

 

[Nayshiftin]

We all have frustrating days , I scream and moan some days when it just won’t play ball . I have had to learn to write the day off as a bad day and dust myself off and focus on tomorrow is another day . Loosing weight is very difficult, I don’t think that people that have never struggled with weight appreciate this . Some nurses don’t realise that what they say upsets you . Sometimes the understanding you get from this forum , people that actually live with diabetes is more helpful. I hope you can have a good nights sleep and look on tomorrow as a new day x

Thank you

 

[Lucyr]

Hi I am really struggling no matter how low I think I am going my blood sugars are not really coming down anymore they have remained in the 7 to ten and although the highest has not gone back to over 15 (which is in the night) why it does that I do not know, I had one spike after exercise too which I was told lowered it. But I would love to get it to about 4-6 as that would be normal.
I know some of you eat 20g of carbs per day but I do not like meat and without any fruit/ bread, pasta, rice a lot of vegs. There is little left already. I do go between 40g and 80g but I do like veg and fruit. Even a pear or a carrot has carbs. I have been using courgettes and celeriac and cauliflower so I am trying hard. i do not have low-carb bread on a daily basis either and I do watch what I eat. To go low carb I don't know where to even start and cannot think what I would eat. Full fat yoghurt and nuts. I have already but that's a lot of calories. i do not like cream as it makes a mess in coffee. I would have to give up milk which is most of my daily carbs. Lunch would be easy as I can have coleslaw cheese and salad or crustless quiche frittata things but I get fed up Id not want it on a daily basis. For dinner, I have things like courgette, aubergine parmesan bake. Tonight it will be chicken curry for him and me the veg from it. I am not a meat fan. So even the peppers have carbs it's not easy. I am not on medication. Should I go back to Gp and go on meds that make me feel ill bloat and put on weight or what else can I try. I am moving as much as I can with my arthritis and drinking lots.

If low carb doesn’t work for you, it isn’t the only way. It doesn’t work for me either. I get bad diarrhoea if I eat a meal with fat but not carbs, eg omelette for breakfast and I’ll be rushing to the loo all morning, egg on a piece of toast and I’m fine. I also couldn’t deal with the restrictions of low carb for other reasons like already having a limited diet and finding that limiting one food group in particular wasn’t good for my thought patterns.

I think it’s just about understanding moderation, you can find a balance that works for you somewhere between the 20g a day some people here eat and the typical british diet. Include some carbs but focus on reduced portion sizes or on getting more carbs from better sources like vegetables, beans and pulses. Monitor the impact on your blood sugar and consider whether medication would help you get the right balance. There’s no shame in taking medication to help you reach a sustainable diet with good blood sugars.

 

[Drummer]

Your diabetes vanished?
I thought you were only holding it at bay through extreme low carbing?

Well the background retinopathy went, I lost quite a bit of weight, I got my energy back and my strength and endurance have increased, my shape has changed, my skin is soft and supple and my colouring is normal rather than flushed pink, my joints and muscles don't ache and I am far more flexible.
What I still can't do is what I have never been able to do, eat carbs without gaining weight, so either I have always been diabetic or I am back to normal.

The amount of carbs I can eat means I can have tasty and varied meals, so it doesn't feel at all extreme.

 

[Leadinglights]

If low carb doesn’t work for you, it isn’t the only way. It doesn’t work for me either. I get bad diarrhoea if I eat a meal with fat but not carbs, eg omelette for breakfast and I’ll be rushing to the loo all morning, egg on a piece of toast and I’m fine. I also couldn’t deal with the restrictions of low carb for other reasons like already having a limited diet and finding that limiting one food group in particular wasn’t good for my thought patterns.

I think it’s just about understanding moderation, you can find a balance that works for you somewhere between the 20g a day some people here eat and the typical british diet. Include some carbs but focus on reduced portion sizes or on getting more carbs from better sources like vegetables, beans and pulses. Monitor the impact on your blood sugar and consider whether medication would help you get the right balance. There’s no shame in taking medication to help you reach a sustainable diet with good blood sugars.

You seem to have found an approach which works for you, a slice of toast with your egg doesn't add up to that many carbs and beans and pulses are much more flavoursome than potatoes or rice and as you say portion size is important. So crucial to be eating food you actually like and then your diet will be sustainable and be just your way of life not something you have to think about or be feared. You don't think about brushing your teeth it is just automatic, that's what you do.

 

[Nayshiftin]

Yesterday . Is s day to say I got through . I ended up having rice for dinner my bloods were 16.5 and I was in s place I was not really helping myself . My Nordic walk snd exercise left me feeling sore snd sorry too especially with 16.5 on the blood monitor . Two hours later it’s 7.5 so either the fluid in the curry or I needed carbs to level it . I woke up to 8.5 this morning . I bought s new metre. I checked with the old snd Biggs vary on a second reading of about two points between them . My hubby says it’s so annoying your hungry on a bit of salad n coleslaw whilst we eat s Sunday roast. I gong like meat can t have the stuffing, potatoes, carrots, peas, sweetcorn or Yorkshire so what’s the point . Then I was having cauliflower when he had rice s as Nd looking last time it went up two with the same homemade curry but with rice it went down. So he is saying it’s all nonsense If I just ate snd no test would I go back to 33 . I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever understand or cope with this . In case people ask I had about 3 tablespoons of rice

 

[Leadinglights]

Yesterday . Is s day to say I got through . I ended up having rice for dinner my bloods were 16.5 and I was in s place I was not really helping myself . My Nordic walk snd exercise left me feeling sore snd sorry too especially with 16.5 on the blood monitor . Two hours later it’s 7.5 so either the fluid in the curry or I needed carbs to level it . I woke up to 8.5 this morning . I bought s new metre. I checked with the old snd Biggs vary on a second reading of about two points between them . My hubby says it’s so annoying your hungry on a bit of salad n coleslaw whilst we eat s Sunday roast. I gong like meat can t have the stuffing, potatoes, carrots, peas, sweetcorn or Yorkshire so what’s the point . Then I was having cauliflower when he had rice s as Nd looking last time it went up two with the same homemade curry but with rice it went down. So he is saying it’s all nonsense If I just ate snd no test would I go back to 33 . I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever understand or cope with this . In case people ask I had about 3 tablespoons of rice

Please don't take this the wrong way but I think everybody is at a loss to know what is going on with you as you seem to be doing all the right things but are still struggling.
I don't know who you are seeing medic wise but I think you need to be asking to be referred to a specialist.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

He says "It’s now clear that type 2 diabetes is caused by abnormal fat storage. If you are eating more than you burn, then the excess is stored in the liver and pancreas as fat. On this diet …the body is suddenly in negative calorie balance, so it calls on its own reserves of fat.The fat used first is that around the pancreas and liver. This means the pancreas is given a chance to start working again.” That "chance" appears to be success for around for 46% of those following his guidance. Others reduce their need for medication. He is, however, not insistent on which diet acheives the weight loss.

I didn't find internal fat was the first to go.
To me, it was more like the last!

 

[Terry-J]

Blood glucose can vary a lot depending on the type of exercise. Fairly strenuous exercise is likely to boost your blood glucose. This article explains why -

Why Does My Sugar Go Up After Exercise? - Diabetes Health

Low insulin coupled with physical activity stimulates the secretion of several other hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol

www.diabeteshealth.com

You can exercise in a different way and keep your blood sugars from going up too much. As a general rule of thumb, subtract your age from 180 and aim to keep your pulse around that figure. Example - if your aged 50 them aim for a pulse rate of 130. Slowing the heart rate will encourage your body to burn fat for energy rather than demanding glucose for energy.