Low carb diets

[Chrispies1701]

Hi - I'm a new member and would like to ask a diet related question. A couple of years ago I started to feel generally unwell and visited my GP for a diagnosis. I was told I was in a 'pre-diabetic' state.

This shocked me because I am not over weight and always considered my diet pretty healthy. I took action immediately by starting a low carb diet and felt much better straight away. I have since been informed by my GP that my blood sugar levels have returned to the middle of the range considered appropriate by the NHS.

I have one issue since restricting my diet that I would like to seek advice on. I eat almost no sugary foods, but have found that on occasion, I feel quite lethargic and slightly nauseous. My appetite dips. I realise self diagnosis is a dangerous thing, but I understand this maybe a side effect on my 'almost no sugar' diet. The condition 'ketosis' is mentioned in connection with low carb/sugar diets. Do any of you know if my occasional symptoms signify this condition? Am I doing more harm than good?

Regards,
Chris.

 

[HOBIE]

Hi Chris. I have been T1 for more than 51yrs. I hate sweet stuff & that feeling of being "Clogged Up". Hydration & right BG are important. Good luck 🙂

 

[Copepod]

Welcome to the forum Chrispies1701.
It's difficult to know exactly what is happening when you feel lethargic. You could try a spot of self investigation by testing your own blood glucose level with a meter (CodeFree has cheapest strips) when you feel lethargic and also at a few times when you feel normal, typically on waking, before eating and 2 hours after eating, so that you can compare and see if there is any correlation.

 

[Chrispies1701]

Thanks for your replies. Hobie - good luck also with your condition. Sounds like you are managing it well.

Copepod - I think I may have just restricted my diet too much. I feel 100 percent better then yesterday, mainly after having a couple of chocolate biscuits yesterday! I've read that following a very low carb diet can cause the symptoms I had. My BS levels are normally well within tolerance - averages out at about 5.7 on my meter. The NHS range runs on a scale from 19 to 48. My last test put me at 34. I think it may just be a case of striking the right balance. In my head, I have any form of sugar down as a demon substance, so I may have overdone things.

Thanks for your help 🙂

 

[Maz2]

HI Chrispies - I think you can overdo it. I was normal weight when diagnosed pre-diabetic last year (so much for it is overweight and obese people who get it!!). I cut the carbs and am now underweight. I am OK though apart from last year diagnosed with a low red blood cell count which GP thought due to being underweight. I still donate blood although I failed haemoglobin last time

I feel quite scared to have desserts,chocolates or anything like that. I have been on a diabetes prevention course and last three readings for hba1c have been normal but they keep creeping up again. I have one more in October. I am now self-testing to see what I can and cannot eat as it is different for everyone.

Well done getting yourself back to normal.

 

[Chrispies1701]

Maz2 - I hope you manage to stabilise your situation. I wonder if some people are genetically pre disposed to diabetes? You say you are now underweight, so its hard to see how your diet can have caused the problem. For me, I think a low carb diet worked wonders in the short term. Generally I don't like the idea of fad diets. I tend to think my problem was partly caused by my job in an office. The carbs I ate didn't get worked off by exercise during the course of the working day. I'm not inactive away from these hours, though.

Anyhow, I was surprised by my subsequent low periods. I'm assuming these were the result of me lowering my glucose intake too far. As with everything, balance must be the key. Hope you also find yours soon.

Best wishes - Chris.

 

[Maz2]

me too, Chris. I suspect the original problem was the carb heavy diet. For breakfast on a work day I would have muesli and then put loads of dried fruit on it, plus plum, pineapple, and sometimes mango. When I was at home on days off I would eat cereal and toast. Lunch would be sandwiches with 3 or 4 lots of fruit. Evenings I would have potatoes with meals and then go on to eat fruit again while watching TV. Sometimes as I was going to bed I would eat a handful of dried fruit (eeek!!!). When I was at home I would have huge jacket potatoes too. I had a sedentary job and, although I commuted to work on public transport and had 30 a day walking, I don't think a sedentary office job helped.

My GP mentioned genetics but my parents did not have sedentary jobs. Also they lived in the war during rationing and my Mom's family were poor growing up. She was an 18 waist when she met my Dad because she didn't have enough to eat so, even if there was a pre-disposition, neither of them would have got it because the lifestyle was not conducive.

I hope there isn't a genetic load but, even if there is, I am not going to just give in.

I have started testing as I need to know what I can and cannot eat. I had a meal for lunch a couple of weeks ago of bacon, sausage, egg and a piece of burgen soya and linseed bread. My BGs went from 5.9 to 12.4 after two hours!! I tested all the other foods subsequently on an individual basis except the sausage and they did not make any difference so assumed it must have been the sausage that did it although I know lots of people here can eat it.

I need an SD Codefree which I am going to get. I like the Accu Check but the strips are costing me a fortune.