Newbie to the site, sadly not to Diabetes.

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LittleLottie87

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Type 2
Hello all, hope you are all safe and well.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2013 and from there it was pretty much oh you are, actually your not. Crazy right.
I was eventually seen by an endocrinologist who did genetic testing and confirmed I am diabetic (type 2) however my blood work always looks good and is managed by metformin. The only time I've used insulin is with both of my pregnancies.
I was recently 'officially' diagnosed with PCOS after 22 years of just thinking I was overweight and periods weren't normal. After a gynae told me the reason I didn't have them was because I was 'fat' (I was 13 at the time) all it took was a blood test. The endo is lovely and the diabetes and pcos are all linked.

So 2 months ago I was started on Trulicity to help with cardiovascular reasons as well as it being an aid to weight loss. I started on 1. Something mg and then upped to 3.5mg very quickly.

I don't think I shall be staying on it as this last week and a bit I have felt so sick on and off, if not felt it I've been it, also I've been experiencing dizziness. I'm not spinning and the room isn't but I feel so full in my head, very spaced out.

I was wondering if any of you are on Trulicity and your experience of it, and if what Im experiencing, especially with the dizzy/full head feeling rings true.

Thanks in advance
 
Hi @LittleLottie87 and welcome to the forum.

I had not previously heard that Trulicity helps with Cardiovascular problems. It does encourage/force your pancreas to produce more insulin, however if you are insulin resistant (and with PCOS and Type 2 diabetes you almost certainly are), then this isn't a good thing in the long term since you're already producing more than the normal amount of insulin. The problem is that the insulin isn't able to work properly because of the insulin resistance.

The only 'cure/remission' I've heard of for PCOS in a Low Carb way of eating and since this also puts Type2 diabetes into remission why don't you give that a try. - It worked (and is still working) for my Type 2 since I've had non-diabetic normal HbA1C for 1yr now.
Side effects of Trulicity below:

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Hi Ian, thank you :)


The Endo looked to start me on the GLP1 receptor agonist not only for the HbA1c but also for associated beneficial side effects of weight loss as well as reducing the risk of heart disease.

I really don't each much at all, never have really, which is probably a problem in itself. Yes I have weight to lose but on the scale of things not so much. If I could reduce the belly roll (as I call it) I would be a happy camper indeed, and I've no doubts it would bring much improvement to health.


May I ask you to share some information on what a typical low card day looks like for you?

Thank you :)
 
LittleLottie87 said:
May I ask you to share some information on what a typical low card day looks like for you?
Click to expand...
I appreciate that is aimed at Ian but for me.....

Breakfast:- Fibre drink (Psyllium and chia seeds) in water with a splash of ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar and a splash of balsamic) I found that I needed a fibre supplement when I cut wholemeal bread out of my diet. My gut health has never been so good!
Coffee with double cream (almost no carbs in cream compared to milk)
Creamy Greek natural yoghurt (2 large dollops) with a few berries approx 8-10 rasps blackberries or blueberries or at the moment sour cherries (frozen or fresh) mixed seeds and a sprinkle of low carb (Eat Natural Protein) Granola.

Lunch might be a bowl of soup (without potatoes, pasta or lentils) or some cheese or if I am hungry a 2 egg omelette with whatever needs using up (onion, mushrooms, peppers, aubergine, ham, chicken, cheese.... almost always cheese :)) with a large plate of salad leaves, cucumber, peppers, perhaps a couple of cherry tomatoes and a large dollop of full fat coleslaw (usually cheese coleslaw) and maybe a drizzle of balsamic. Or a tuna salad.

Dinner would be lamb chops or steak with lots of veg and perhaps a couple of small new potatoes. High meat content sausages or gammon with cauliflower cheese made using cream cheese and grated cheese (instead of a cheese sauce with flour and milk) cabbage or kale. I've got a major thing for ratatouille at the moment with halloumi on top. Can be served with meat/chicken/lamb gammon or just on its own. Yum! I had bolognaise sauce with kale and broccoli last night. I buy sour cream and chive dip (the fresh stuff from the refrigerated counter, not the Doritos stuff in a jar) and that goes really well with steamed/microwaved broccoli.

Anyway, I hope that gives you a few ideas. Cutting carbs was mind boggling to me at first as most of us have spent our whole lives bulking our plates our with pasta and spuds and to me 4 slices of wholemeal toast with baked beans was a healthy, quick meal option. There are the equivalent of 3 teaspoons of sugar in the carbohydrates in one slice of wholemeal bread once your body breaks it down into glucose, so that is a whopping 12 teaspoons of sugar going into my blood without looking at the beans and the sauce which are also high carb. Beans on toast is carbs on carbs with carbs! Sadly no longer on my menu. I also mostly followed the low fat advice, so bought green top milk and low fat yoghurt, mayonnaise and coleslaw etc. Those low fat products are pretty much all higher in carbs than their full fat counterpart because fat doesn't contain carbs.

I feel so much healthier and fitter now for eating a lot less carbs and more fat and I very rarely get the horrible food cravings I used to suffer from and most surprisingly, despite eating A LOT more fat, my cholesterol levels are coming down. I also no longer suffer from debilitating migraines which I had had for the past 20 years and they stopped overnight when I cut the carbs, despite now drinking red wine which was my only known trigger and eating lots of lovely cheese. My occasional evening treat is a glass of red with some nice cheese.

Anyway, that is just a few examples. Hopefully you can see that it is by no means a "sack cloth and ashes" way of eating and I am confident that I will be happy to continue eating like this for the rest of my life, but I am not denying it was a bit mind boggling at first, particularly not eating bread as it is a carrier for so many foods, but you figure out ways around it.
I used to love bread but I really don't miss it anymore, even when my partner buys a big crunch Tiger loaf.
 
LittleLottie87 said:
Hi Ian, thank you :)

..........................................................
May I ask you to share some information on what a typical low card day looks like for you?

Thank you :)
Click to expand...
Hi @LittleLottie87 . There are a huge number of possibilities, unless you are restricted by medical conditions or by faith, ethics, animal welfare concerns etc then you should never get bored.

Here is an example from back before I got 'fat adapted' and so was still eating 3 meals per day- note that I was losing around 2lbs per week during this period as well as keeping my Blood Glucose numbers below 8.0 mmol

My aim was from between 20gms and 40 gms of carbs per day ( so very low carb, but not quite keto). This was really determined by testing my meals with my BG meter from just before a meal to 2hrs after having a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol. Some people may be able to eat as much as 130gms of carbs per day and still keep within this range, but not me.

Drinks: No sugar or milk in tea or coffee, no sugary drinks, but a large glass of red wine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Treats: Up to 50gms (half a bar) of Lindt 90% dark chocolate = up to 7gms carbs.

Snacks: I tried to avoid snacks, but if I had to I ate:- Olives, mature hard cheese (for a strong taste), or nuts ( mix of Brazil, Walnut, Hazel, Almond). I didn't weigh my snacks and didn't always have a snack. But I might have as much as 100gms of nuts or 200gms of cheese or half a jar of olives.

Breakfast: 2 or 3 boiled eggs (large) = approx 0 carbs

Lunch: Between 120gms and 150 gms of cold meat or fish(i.e. a medium sized supermarket pack) with 1 avocado, 1 tomato, and salad of leafy greens, radishes, cucumber, celery dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Sometimes I might have a large portion of home made low carb so no flour or milk) cauliflower cheese - just cauliflower and cheeses (a soft one and a hard one for the grilled topping).

Dinner: About a 250gm to 300gm piece of meat or fish. Fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel, or a fatty cut of meat preferred). With stir fried low carb vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, aubergine, onion, capsicum (green or yellow or red pepper), celeriac (a low carb substitute for potato) etc.

Or a curry (choose a low carb curry paste by examining the label) using whichever meat you like, or just low carb veg. Substitute Cauliflower 'rice' or 'broccoli rice' for your normal white rice.

Desert: Berries (raw or stewed) either on their own or with plain full-fat greek style yogurt. Or stewed rhubarb (with Stevia sweetener added to taste) or Olives, nuts or hard cheese.

I hope this gives you some ideas.
 
Several people on the low carb group have fallen pregnant after a few months eating low carb - a lot of people must have wondered what the shrieking was all about.
 
Hello all,

Thank you for your replies :) How lovely of you all to take the time to give me such detailed information.

I must admit the thought of going low carb feels like I wouldn't know what to do, but I am sure I am making it seem harder than it is.

Everything is home cooked, we don't fry anything, and jars aren't really used. I can make a meal out of anything I suppose you could say.

Cereals and bread doesn't really bother me, I would quite happily eat some boiled eggs/omelet or yogurt and berries.

I love making soup, never had cauliflower cheese though! I must admit in the colder months my body doesn't want salad, it craves warm food, if that makes any sense.

I think it is quantities though, and when you start talking about how many grams of carbs I should aim for that I get a little confused.
 
Quite a lot of people use the book or app Carbs and Cals or Nutra check app which gives carb info for all sorts of foods and meals but a search of the internet for TOTAL Carbohydrate or the back of packets will give you the information you need to be able to work out how much carb there is in your meal.
They will give you carb per 100g or sometimes per portion so you can make your decision accordingly but those portion size suggestions may well be too carb heavy for those with Type 2 so less may be the better option and bulking out with low carb veg or salad.
 
Don't be frightened of frying or roasting, but use butter or coconut oil or olive oil or lard/dripping rather than seed oils. Natural fat is your friend. It is carb free and will help you to feel full and provide slow release energy. I know it takes a big leap of faith to go against the low fat advice we have been bombarded with all our lives and are still being indoctrinated with through the NHS but certainly in my experience and that of many others, it is actually beneficial to our health rather than detrimental. In fact, it may well be the low fat advice which in part has caused the obesity epidemic society is currently experiencing. We are always hungry and and looking for our next meal or snack. Eating more fat stops the hunger. Not saying eat blocks of butter but use a knob in your vegetables like cabbage/kale and swede. Have cheese with your cauliflower, cream cheese in your spinach, cream in your coffee, aubergines and courgettes are great for soaking up olive oil in a ratatouille etc. Fat takes longer to digest than carbs so it keeps you feeling full for longer. If you eat too many carbs as well as fat, then your body will burn the carbs and store the fat and you will put on weight, but if you reduce the carbs your body will burn the fat and not just the fat you eat, but the surplus body fat too, particularly if you can incorporate a brisk daily walk into your regime. Fat also tastes really good, so it's not like you are depriving yourself.
 
Lots of ideas above. People are very individual and how many daily carbs you have depends on what suits your body. I got an app NutraCheck (but there are others) which record my daily cals and carbs so keep me on track. I experimented between 50gm and 130gm a day and settled on around 90 gm a day. Its a question of portion control and it's surprising how quickly the totals mount up. And I would also recommend moderation not abstinence.

Today was typical for me and I've given portion sizes to aid you:

Pre breakfast: Glass of water with Fybogel (to keep the bowels going). and a Benecol Cholesterol lowering drink (I can't take statins), 170ml milk set aside for de-caf tea or coffee, lots of water during the day
Breakfast: 1 poached egg, 2 well grilled rashers, grilled large tomato, grilled mushrooms.
Lunch: 300ml home made tomato vegetable soup.
Dinner: 160gm grilled gammon steak, 90gm cauliflower, 80gm steamed carrots, 60gm fresh peas, 50ml gravy from granules, 40gm frozen pineapple
Snack: 6 strawberries, 1 dessertspoon full fat Greek yogurt, 2 squares dark chocolate.

1265 cals and 95.6gm carbs. You will note there is no bread with the breakfast, lunch, or used to thicken the soup. It can be thickened by par-blending, but I left the veggies chunky. Also no potato with the dinner, yet it all came to almost 100gm carbs. Surprising!

Alternative breakfasts: 80gm mixed berries, with a tablespoon Greek yogurt; 25gm rolled oats with 125ml unsweetened almond milk and 40gm blueberries.
Alternative lunches: Large mixed salad with a helping of protein, such as eggs, tuna, salmon, mackerel, cottage cheese, prawns, chicken; Open sandwich with 25gm slice wholemeal from a 400gm loaf, piled with salad and protein
Alternative dinners: Between 120gm and 160gm protein, with lots of green veggies like spinach, broccoli, cabbage, brussels, kale, runner beans, greens plus a portion of cauliflower rice/mash or courgetti/boodles.
Alternative snack - probably not what some people would recommend!! Tablespoon cottage cheese, 6 king prawns and a teaspoon of low cal seafood sauce, vegetable crudities with cottage cheese dip.

I do have the occasional slice of bread, 2 small new potatoes, or a small helping of porridge, just not every day. And I do like dark chocolate or chocolate rice cakes. I don't miss the bread or potatoes at all now. Good luck
 
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