Diabetics Progress Reports

[Small_1]

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheryl, my mother used to say, "You youngins will drive a preacher to drinkin'!" Poor dear did have four of us, two boys and one girl (me) very close in age. Bless her .

I was diagnosed type 1 at the age of 41 on Oct 24, 2008. My blood sugar was over 700. Also I was labeled aneroxic ( but I am not nor have I ever been), yeah sure I was small (81#) but they never bothered to ask about what had been happening in my life just prior to being hospitalized. Anywhoo...was also put on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism. But I'm thinking of going off of that. The doctor at the hospital said, "It will make your hair, skin and nails beautiful. And you won't be constipated anymore." I asked him if it would also make my hair blonde and my eyes blue, he just looked at me like I was nuts. LOL When I told my sister in-law/my doctor's assoc. that I wanted off, she said, "If you do you'll feel like crap." Honest her exact words. Well, I have to say...everyday I feel especially after eating. I'm thinking the thyroid medicine is causing it. Well, that was probably way more imformation than y'all wanted.

I am only taking 5 units Lantus in the morning. I am suppose to take 3 units novolog before breakfast and dinner and 6 units novolog before supper. But they always cause me to go hypo so I don't.

Today was my first hypo moment in weeks. I ate breakfast of one fried egg and 2 sausage links about an hour after taking the Lantus. Then as I said I haven't been feeling well and I had breakfast kinda late so I skipped dinner. At about 6 p.m. I tested and I was 60. Supper was just getting started. So, I ate one smartie and two stauffer's animal crackers. Then I ate supper. One hour pp and I was 85. I still feel .

Take Care,
Paula

[NCgrl]

You need to be very careful Small _1.I'm worried for you.In my opinion you need a second opinion.Your healthcare staff sounds a little off.I know personally if I had eaten that little I would feel sick as well.You need to eat more.If I get nauseous I know I haven't had enough food.These are just my opinions and I haven't been diagnosed long enough to know much but your hypo's worry me.Take care of yourself.It's a lot of work and sometimes the meds make you sick(like metformin).It'll all come together in time.Wishing you the best.

[Small_1]

Thanks NCGirl. Today I have been feeling better.

Breakfast was fried egg and 2 sausage patties.

Dinner was 4 ham and mustard roll ups. I wasn't very hungry and knew I would be having a big supper.

And I did! LOL

Supper was a thick NY Strip (that my Beloved grilled) and a pretty nice sized salad. For dessert I had some homemade low carb baked cheesecake with homemade whipped cream.

I haven't gone hypo in a while. Today my lowest was 73, and I don't consider that hypo...though my mil does!

My healthcare staff are off and that's what I about them. One of them is my sister in-law, so I really her, plus I can call her anytime day or night if an issue comes up. Not too many folks have their doc' cell phone number. Plus she doesn't charge me extra for bugging her at home or on the weekends.

My grandson is having a party (his second) on Sunday. My doc/sil is going so I plan to corner her at the party and let her know that I am coming off the Levoyxl (for my thyroid).

[NCgrl]

Good.I'm glad you're feeling better.Have a great time at your Grandson's party this weekend.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Cherylg

Amy - I take 500 mg metformin before I go to sleep and that helps. Yeah, I know I should have stopped with the sugar but I am QUEEN OF DE NIAL

Dawn Phenomenon (DP) affects a lot of us diabetics. For some, taking the metformin at night can help. For some, a snack at night will help. Most recommend a mixed protein/fat snack as it takes a while to digest. In fact, I have found that the most reliable way to suppress DP is a glass or two of medicinal red wine before I sleep. I think that the alcohol keeps my liver busy overnight, and it never gets around to dumping blood sugar in the morning.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheryl, my mother used to say, "You youngins will drive a preacher to drinkin'!" Poor dear did have four of us, two boys and one girl (me) very close in age. Bless her .

I was diagnosed type 1 at the age of 41 on Oct 24, 2008. My blood sugar was over 700. Also I was labeled aneroxic ( but I am not nor have I ever been), yeah sure I was small (81#) but they never bothered to ask about what had been happening in my life just prior to being hospitalized. Anywhoo...was also put on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism. But I'm thinking of going off of that. The doctor at the hospital said, "It will make your hair, skin and nails beautiful. And you won't be constipated anymore." I asked him if it would also make my hair blonde and my eyes blue, he just looked at me like I was nuts. LOL When I told my sister in-law/my doctor's assoc. that I wanted off, she said, "If you do you'll feel like crap." Honest her exact words. Well, I have to say...everyday I feel especially after eating. I'm thinking the thyroid medicine is causing it. Well, that was probably way more imformation than y'all wanted.

I am only taking 5 units Lantus in the morning. I am suppose to take 3 units novolog before breakfast and dinner and 6 units novolog before supper. But they always cause me to go hypo so I don't.

Today was my first hypo moment in weeks. I ate breakfast of one fried egg and 2 sausage links about an hour after taking the Lantus. Then as I said I haven't been feeling well and I had breakfast kinda late so I skipped dinner. At about 6 p.m. I tested and I was 60. Supper was just getting started. So, I ate one smartie and two stauffer's animal crackers. Then I ate supper. One hour pp and I was 85. I still feel .

Take Care,
Paula

Welcome. I have been a type 2 diabetic for some years, but am becoming insulin deficient so in the near future I will be on insulin. Although there are only a few people that actively post in the diabetes section, many on this board struggle with carb issues. If you read closely, you will also see many have struggled with thyroid issues. I know that you want to get everything back to normal as soon as possible. At times, I am sure that you will feel unwell. But you have to realize that it does take some time to figure out all this stuff.

I do urge you to become informed about your condition. There are many resources on the internet. One fellow member blood sugar 101 runs a very informative site, you can google it. Another resource is the book "Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Richard Bernstein. There is also a forum run by followers of his teaching. Two other books that are invaluable as a type 1 are "Using Insulin" and "Think like a Pancreas."

Again, I want to welcome you to the community. Having diabetes can be somewhat daunting, but as you learn to manage things it will become easier. By taking care with your diet, exercising and taking your medications you can expect to live a long healthy, happy and normal life.

[That Girl]

hi everyone.......i am trying (w/metformin) to get my bs under control, in the last few days my readings have been coming down nicely...my highest was 256, thats when the doctor decided to do the metformin.. ok, here is the question.
my reading before dinner tonite was 105, should i not have taken my second dose of metformin? i have been instructed to take a reading, take one tab, 500 mg before each morning and evening meal...now hubby says maybe i should not have taken it, might drop too low...i am signed up for the classes, but they are not until next week..what do you guys think? thanks, i am finally getting a grip on this, at first i was really upset, now have realized i need to get educated about this..thank you!

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by That Girl

hi everyone.......i am trying (w/metformin) to get my bs under control, in the last few days my readings have been coming down nicely...my highest was 256, thats when the doctor decided to do the metformin.. ok, here is the question.
my reading before dinner tonite was 105, should i not have taken my second dose of metformin? i have been instructed to take a reading, take one tab, 500 mg before each morning and evening meal...now hubby says maybe i should not have taken it, might drop too low...i am signed up for the classes, but they are not until next week..what do you guys think? thanks, i am finally getting a grip on this, at first i was really upset, now have realized i need to get educated about this..thank you!

Metformin works over time, building up in your body and improving your insulin sensitivity. It won't be something you can take to address a particular blood sugar value, but be assured over time, it can really make a differernce for many type 2 diabetics. A fasting of 105 mg/dl is pretty darn good, considering you had been > 250 mg/dl. Give it some time. Work on your diet, exercise and take your medication and you can reasonably expect to get things in order.

[gramquacker]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I've been diabetic for a few years now. Not on any meds as yet, but I was getting close, so I started a low carb diet, or way of life. No potatoes, and I'm a tater nut!! No pasta, or rice. The thing is, I have gotten my BS numbers down, but I'm not losing much weight. I was wondering if maybe I have been eating too much at my meals, even though they are low carb?

[NCgrl]

I'm not sure as I was recently diagnosed and have no clue what's going on.Just wanted to say WelcomeSomeone with more experience will be along to help.

[That Girl]

thank you brian!

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by gramquacker

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I've been diabetic for a few years now. Not on any meds as yet, but I was getting close, so I started a low carb diet, or way of life. No potatoes, and I'm a tater nut!! No pasta, or rice. The thing is, I have gotten my BS numbers down, but I'm not losing much weight. I was wondering if maybe I have been eating too much at my meals, even though they are low carb?

Congratulations on getting your blood sugar down. That is the most important thing. When you get your blood sugar normalized (fasting < 110 mg/dl, after dinner < 140 mg/dl), then you can worry about your weight. The key to losing weight as a diabetic is to maintain a low carb diet, and have a slight caloric deficit. Many people find that as they get their blood sugar normalized with a low carb diet, they naturally lose weight. You may just hold onto it a bit more.

If you do feel your blood sugar is where it should be, yet you are not losing, post again, and we can make some more suggestions.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by NCgrl

I'm not sure as I was recently diagnosed and have no clue what's going on.Just wanted to say WelcomeSomeone with more experience will be along to help.

Welcome. I know you have a basic idea about this stuff, but you are a bit hard on yourself. It does take time. There is lots to learn. Tracking the carb content of all these foods, jeeez. And all the stuff of figuring out blood sugar, if often behaves in totally non-intuitive manners. I have found the web site maintained by our fellow member blood sugar 101 to be very helpful. You also have to have reasonable expectations for yourself. I struggled for six months to even get my blood sugar down near normal levels and it was only after a year of more concentrated efforts that I was able to reach normal targets.

[JMS1]

What the hey! I've been getting up with anywhere from 86 to 96 bg every morning. I tested this am got 86. I had a one egg omellete with a couple of spoonfulls of chive cream cheese and 2 strips of bacon and after 2 hours read 148. Has anyone gone thru this before? Help I'm trying to follow Bernstein but I'm not getting the readings he predicts. This is very distressful. I just want to give up.
Juani

[BABSY]

Originally Posted by JMS1

What the hey! I've been getting up with anywhere from 86 to 96 bg every morning. I tested this am got 86. I had a one egg omellete with a couple of spoonfulls of chive cream cheese and 2 strips of bacon and after 2 hours read 148. Has anyone gone thru this before? Help I'm trying to follow Bernstein but I'm not getting the readings he predicts. This is very distressful. I just want to give up.
Juani

Is it possible it is the cream cheese? I thought I read somewhere that these soft cheeses may raise blood sugar in diabetics.

[JMS1]

cream cheese was one of the allowed items in the Bernstein article, so I thought.

[Small_1]

Not all brands of cream cheese are the same. Kraft's Philly full fat cream cheese has something like 1 gram per oz. Kraft's Philly 1/3 less fat has <1 gram per oz. I think all the others have like 2 grams per oz. I could be wrong on these numbers but I stood in the market and compared all of them...LOL I bought many boxes of Kraft's Philly full fat cream cheese. (Hey they were on sale for $1.00.)

I understand what you're saying about the blood sugar. In the morning I normally wake up <100 eat breakfast of 1 fried egg and a sausage patty and BAM! I'm well above 120. A couple morning I decide that perhaps I need a little insulin to cover the egg and sausage. My blood sugar was even higher. I just can't get this thing figured out.

I have been following Dr. B's diet since Feb. 2009. I bought both of his books and have been studying like crazy. It really disappoints me that he basically devotes so much time/space to type 2 and overweight...when he is type one and was underweight when he started his journey to better health. Gee, that's the only reason I bought the books.

[NCgrl]

Originally Posted by BrianSCohen

Welcome. I know you have a basic idea about this stuff, but you are a bit hard on yourself. It does take time. There is lots to learn. Tracking the carb content of all these foods, jeeez. And all the stuff of figuring out blood sugar, if often behaves in totally non-intuitive manners. I have found the web site maintained by our fellow member blood sugar 101 to be very helpful. You also have to have reasonable expectations for yourself. I struggled for six months to even get my blood sugar down near normal levels and it was only after a year of more concentrated efforts that I was able to reach normal targets.

Hi Brian,
I know I'm too hard on myself.Typical Type A personality.I do read Blood Sugar 101 often.It helps to read everything I can,I think.Sometimes it just keeps me more confused.I'm just so scared of the complications,I try so hard.Mostly I've just been miserable even though my numbers are pretty close to normal.I feel very guilty if I stray from what I expect from myself.
I had a sandwich a few weeks ago,my bg went to 160.I beat myself up all day over it.

I have a friend who told me this morning to stop trying to make the ends meet.Just relax a little and let it go.Don't try to control every minute of every day.I think he might be right.Just stick with your food and exercise but don't stress so much.I think that might be what you are telling me,too.

Thanks,it helps to have people who have been there before to help you along the way.I'll get it all balanced one day.Friday is my first recheck,it'll be 6 weeks.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Not all brands of cream cheese are the same. Kraft's Philly full fat cream cheese has something like 1 gram per oz. Kraft's Philly 1/3 less fat has <1 gram per oz. I think all the others have like 2 grams per oz. I could be wrong on these numbers but I stood in the market and compared all of them...LOL I bought many boxes of Kraft's Philly full fat cream cheese. (Hey they were on sale for $1.00.)

I understand what you're saying about the blood sugar. In the morning I normally wake up <100 eat breakfast of 1 fried egg and a sausage patty and BAM! I'm well above 120. A couple morning I decide that perhaps I need a little insulin to cover the egg and sausage. My blood sugar was even higher. I just can't get this thing figured out.

I have been following Dr. B's diet since Feb. 2009. I bought both of his books and have been studying like crazy. It really disappoints me that he basically devotes so much time/space to type 2 and overweight...when he is type one and was underweight when he started his journey to better health. Gee, that's the only reason I bought the books.

On thing you need to be careful of in the morning is Dawn Phenomenon (DP). Either as a type 1 or type 2, you can have a major rise in blood sugar in the morning that is hard to understand, it does not come from your dietary carbs. Instead your liver produces it and in diabetics, this normal surge in blood sugar that is supposed to help get you up gets out of control. Fasting in the morning does not help and can make it worse. In fact, many type 2s find that eating a no carb breakfast does not fix it. I eat a measured amount of carbs in the morning to reset this DP. A type 1 will often find that even a basal is not enough and some type 1s will bolus to counteract the DP.

I am a bit surprised at your comment about Dr. B. I have found he has historically addressed the type 1 more than the type 2. In practice, much of his advice is true for any diabetic. His books are part of the core references that any diabetic should have on hand. You may not follow and agree with everything he says, but there is certainly much value in his books.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by NCgrl

Hi Brian,
I know I'm too hard on myself.Typical Type A personality.I do read Blood Sugar 101 often.It helps to read everything I can,I think.Sometimes it just keeps me more confused.I'm just so scared of the complications,I try so hard.Mostly I've just been miserable even though my numbers are pretty close to normal.I feel very guilty if I stray from what I expect from myself.
I had a sandwich a few weeks ago,my bg went to 160.I beat myself up all day over it.

I have a friend who told me this morning to stop trying to make the ends meet.Just relax a little and let it go.Don't try to control every minute of every day.I think he might be right.Just stick with your food and exercise but don't stress so much.I think that might be what you are telling me,too.

Thanks,it helps to have people who have been there before to help you along the way.I'll get it all balanced one day.Friday is my first recheck,it'll be 6 weeks.

I know what you mean about guilt. Many of use have gone through that. You need to step back and realize you are going through a learning process. You need to try things and see how you react. A 160 mg/dl is not going to hurt you. You can eat steaks and salad for the rest of your life and avoid a 160 mg/dl, but who would want to do that. You need to try all these things and find out how they affect you. The only way to do that is exactly what you have been doing. The only reason you should feel guilty is when you make repeated choices of things to eat, knowing that they will raise your blood sugar to dangerous levels. But you know that. A 160 mg/dl once or twice a week certainly won't hurt you, you just won't want to be at that level 2 hours after every meal.

[Small_1]

Thanks Brian. I suppose my problem is that:

(1) I need to gain weight and so far it isn't happening on any woe. Not Dr. B's problem/fault however, I had hoped the book would help me to gain weight. So I am frustrated, especially because my Beloved keeps chanting "Just Do It...Take the Insulin! Eat the Carbs"

(2) Brian, Before I started following Dr. B's woe, I ate pretty low carb anyway. I would eat a 1/2 peanut butter sandwich (2 tbsp. Jif pb and 1 slice nature's own white wheat bread) before going to bed, between 8-9 p.m. Around 11 p.m., my Before bed BGL would typically be around 120-140 but within 3-4 hours I would awaken in a sweat, confused...hypo.

But now, like last night. For supper around 6-7 p.m. I ate 2 scrambled eggs with shredded cheese melted on top and 3/4 aparagus spears. Couple hours after eating I was 108, 4 hours later 103. Decided to test between 11 and 12 I was 92. This morning at 5:30 I awake, test and was 94.

It's just confusing and frustrating...I fear diabetes because my type 2 grandma died with shiveled up hands, nothing but two stumps where her legs should have been, she didn't know any of us for years before she died, she was fed through a tube...watching her slowly die for years makes me so depressed that I have nothing easy like type 2 but my worst fear coming true...I'm terrified!

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Thanks Brian. I suppose my problem is that:

(1) I need to gain weight and so far it isn't happening on any woe. Not Dr. B's problem/fault however, I had hoped the book would help me to gain weight. So I am frustrated, especially because my Beloved keeps chanting "Just Do It...Take the Insulin! Eat the Carbs"

(2) Brian, Before I started following Dr. B's woe, I ate pretty low carb anyway. I would eat a 1/2 peanut butter sandwich (2 tbsp. Jif pb and 1 slice nature's own white wheat bread) before going to bed, between 8-9 p.m. Around 11 p.m., my Before bed BGL would typically be around 120-140 but within 3-4 hours I would awaken in a sweat, confused...hypo.

But now, like last night. For supper around 6-7 p.m. I ate 2 scrambled eggs with shredded cheese melted on top and 3/4 aparagus spears. Couple hours after eating I was 108, 4 hours later 103. Decided to test between 11 and 12 I was 92. This morning at 5:30 I awake, test and was 94.

It's just confusing and frustrating...I fear diabetes because my type 2 grandma died with shiveled up hands, nothing but two stumps where her legs should have been, she didn't know any of us for years before she died, she was fed through a tube...watching her slowly die for years makes me so depressed that I have nothing easy like type 2 but my worst fear coming true...I'm terrified!

Well, I sympathize with your difficulty. There is no reason you cannot gain weight on a low carb diet. Simply eating more carbs and taking more insulin is a recipe for fat gain. I am sure that is not what you want. What you really should do is gain some muscle mass. I have gained about 20 lb of muscle mass on very low carb diet. The way to do it is to resistance train and to increase your protein. If you are serious about this, I would be happy to provide you some suggestions. Even Dr. B recommends increasing or decreasing protein to gain or lose weight respectively.

You don't have to fear your diabetes, you should only fear yourself. Follow a proper diet, exercise and take your medication/insulin and there is no reason you can live a long, full happy and normal life free from complications. Years ago, diabetics were not told instructed to tightly control their blood sugars and your grandmother suffered from that. I am truly sorry to hear her story. But don't be mistaken. That is only your fate if you choose to make it so.

[Small_1]

Thanks Brian. Yes, I would love for you to share your suggestions. I truly need all the help I can get.

You are right. I watched my Grandma eat. When I cry on my mother's shoulder about my Grandma and how I have no hope...she reminds me that Grandma didn't eat in a diabetic friendly way. So true. And hey, we do live in the south where sweet tea is the house specialty and waitresses look at you like you dropped from outer space when you order unsweet tea. Some will even try to serve you sweet anyway! I know one did that to me.

A couple days after I was dx, a nurse in the hospital's icu had a KK doughnut. She had heard how much I L-O-V-E those doughnuts. She came and stood at my door and s-l-o-w-l-y ate her doughnut. I cried. She assured me that once I got my insulin dosages straight I could have all the doughnuts I wanted! I believed her. HA!!!

Well...anyway...

I do have some questions...

(1) I thought Dr. B said his woe was different from Atkins because he doesn't recommend eating a lot of protein. I believe the protein is suppose to be about the portion of a deck of playing cards. So, How much protein should I eat in order to at least gain my weight back?

(2) Do you pre-meal bolus for the protein? When I eat protein, and this scares me a lot, I can start a meal at 85 or so eat protein (Dr. B's recommended amount) and my BGL will riase very very slowly over the next three hours sometimes as high as 120/more, hang there and over the next three or so hours oh so very slowly climb down.

I do appreciate you taking your time to help me. I have been so confused, so scared, and some days so depressed I just wanted to go ahead and end this before diabetes had a chance to completely have it's way with my body. Yesterday, I cried all day but your words have given me new courage to face this battle another day. I thank you.

PS I told my Beloved that whenever he says that, it translates in my mind to "Eat more Poison. Inject more Antedote. And Die a very slow pain-filled Death." He apologized and assured me that he will stop pushing the carbs. That has given me a great deal of hope to go on.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Small_1

I do have some questions...

(1) I thought Dr. B said his woe was different from Atkins because he doesn't recommend eating a lot of protein. I believe the protein is suppose to be about the portion of a deck of playing cards. So, How much protein should I eat in order to at least gain my weight back?

(2) Do you pre-meal bolus for the protein? When I eat protein, and this scares me a lot, I can start a meal at 85 or so eat protein (Dr. B's recommended amount) and my BGL will riase very very slowly over the next three hours sometimes as high as 120/more, hang there and over the next three or so hours oh so very slowly climb down.

I do appreciate you taking your time to help me. I have been so confused, so scared, and some days so depressed I just wanted to go ahead and end this before diabetes had a chance to completely have it's way with my body. Yesterday, I cried all day but your words have given me new courage to face this battle another day. I thank you.

PS I told my Beloved that whenever he says that, it translates in my mind to "Eat more Poison. Inject more Antedote. And Die a very slow pain-filled Death." He apologized and assured me that he will stop pushing the carbs. That has given me a great deal of hope to go on.

Sometimes others can really just not understand what you are going through. You need to have a thick hide about things, but be very clear. Last week I was in florida and was served a tea, it tasted sweet. I asked the waiter if it was sweetened, he vehemently claimed it was not. I made him go back in the kitchen and ask, and he sheepishly returned and confirmed it was sweetened. It the end, you have to protect yourself. There will be times that stuff will slip through. You will survive, but you always need to defend yourself, otherwise the constant barrage will get to you.

You also need to step back and cut yourself some slack. You know, having your blood sugar rise after your meal to only 120 mg/dl represents great control. You need to pat yourself on the back. If you just kept that level of control up, you will amaze your doctors and live a long healthy life free of complications. I realize this is all very scary. When I was diagnosed, I felt like a bit of me died. It is natural to be a bit depressed about all this, worry about your mortality and obsess over these things. But you also need to keep it in context. Diabetes is just a condition. You caught it before it did any harm. You live in a wonderful world where you have the ability through diet, exercise and medication/insulin to fully control this condition. That is not the world your grandmother lived in. You should wake every morning and remind yourself that you are going to be ok.

So that being said. Let's talk about protein. Atkins considers protein to be relatively free in terms of glucose load. Bernstein does not. I believe Dr. B actually also tells you that you may have to bolus for protein. More about that later. I know that large amounts of protein can raise my blood sugar. Dr. B recommends you limit protein in order to lose weight, the opposite of your goal. Your body will only utilize about 20-40g of protein at any one time as protein (such as for building muscle mass), the rest of the extra protein is used by your body for energy. Your liver will convert protein to blood sugar through gluconeogenesis (you can look that up) and if your body does not need the blood sugar, you can then store the excess as body fat.

A 3 oz serving of meat contains about 20-30g of protein. That is about the minimum for anyone. Eat three meals with that a day and you will get 60-90g of protein. Most people are not even getting that. I would recommend a more aggressive approach to protein. You could double that. Get 40-60g for each of your three meals. That would be 120-180g of protein a day. You could even add 2-3 snacks a day with more protein (10-30g). Your protein can come from meat, eggs, cheese, fish or nuts. It may not be easy to get your protein up as far as I have suggested at first, but it would help to increase it. With that extra protein, you need to urge your body to build muscle. The best way to do that is with resistance exercise. You really need to exercise. I'd recommend you get the book "New Rules of Lifting for Women" from your library or amazon. There are other programs. For more help, ask questions in the muscle maters forum.

As I mentioned protein can raise your blood sugar, at perhaps a 1/3 efficiency. Namely 3 g of protein raises your bloow sugar about as much as 1g of carbs. You will also find that protein is digested and convered slowly, often taking 3-5 hours. Hence a bolus to match the protein may be very different than what you would do to match a simple carb. What I would suggest is that you divide the protein by 3 and get a carb equivalent and then bolus to time you insulin peak an hour or two after eating. Thus, eating a piece of meat with 45g of protein would have the same glucose load as 45g/3 = 15g of carbs. If your insulin carb ratio is 1:15, then you would use one unit. If your insulin peaks in 30-60 minutes (like Humalog), then you could actually bolus after the meal, perhaps even an hour after the meal. If you continue to follow a very low carb high protein diet, you may would do better with an insulin like R which is slower and would peak after 2-4 hours. You could then take R concurrent with your meal and probably get a better match the glucose load from protein.


And remember. "Everything is going to be ok"

[NCgrl]

Originally Posted by Small_1

A couple days after I was dx, a nurse in the hospital's icu had a KK doughnut. She had heard how much I L-O-V-E those doughnuts. She came and stood at my door and s-l-o-w-l-y ate her doughnut. I cried.

That is just cruel and inhuman.

[Small_1]

Amy, That's exactly what I said. They all reassured me that I would live to enjoy all the foods that I have always loved. It's okay now, it's everyday life. I see others enjoying those things and think, "I love ___, but it's not to die for." LOL

OT: how's the weather on your side of our great state today? It's cloudy and rainy here, I am ing for a least a speck of sunshine sometime today.

Brian, thanks. I actually can not eat more protein/fat than my body requires. I tried the "Zero Carb WOE" where you eat all the greasy meat you want and drink water. Ewwww. My body wasn't happy. LOL It only lasted one day. I got very .

Last night for sup, I ate a grilled chicken thigh and leg (frank's hot sauce and olive oil) with maybe 5 seasoned asparagus spears. For dessert I had a bowl of frozen land of lakes s/f whipped cream with davinci's s/f vanilla syrup drizzled on top along with a couple cups of coffee which I had added some splenda tablets and coconut oil. My BGL remained pretty much <105mg/dl PP until bed time which was 103mg/dl. My pre-supper BGL was 87mg/dl.

My fasting this am was 106mg/dl. Which is a wee bit higher than normal. I'm thinking I may need to eat something, maybe a couple ham and cheese roll-ups or something between supper and bedtime to keep from having a liver dump overnight. ????? I used to eat either a couple peanut butter crackers or 1/2 peanut butter sandwich before bed and awake well under 80mg/dl, which is why I currently only take 5 units Lantus in the AM.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

[30something]

I am a Type 2, dx'd 10/05. I 62 yrs. young, and 5' 8.5" tall.

Good reports: A1C is 5.3 for the past 6 mos. (tests every 3 mos.). other blood work is great except for low thyroid, started on generic synthyroid. Initially it seemed to raise bs but gradually went back to my normal averages.

I lost 2 lbs., still below goal wt. but 8 lbs. higher than lowest wt post dx. I do not want to necessarily lose 8 lbs. b/c I was too thin but I do not want lbs. to creep up.

Back to counting everything I put in my mouth, balancing my diet and working towards 5 small balanced low carb meals.

Nursing a low back strain so exercise is minimal. I normally exercise 45 min. 3 x wk. Miss exercise and will gently work my way back into my routine.

Denise

[BABSY]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Amy, That's exactly what I said. They all reassured me that I would live to enjoy all the foods that I have always loved. It's okay now, it's everyday life. I see others enjoying those things and think, "I love ___, but it's not to die for." LOL

OT: how's the weather on your side of our great state today? It's cloudy and rainy here, I am ing for a least a speck of sunshine sometime today.

Brian, thanks. I actually can not eat more protein/fat than my body requires. I tried the "Zero Carb WOE" where you eat all the greasy meat you want and drink water. Ewwww. My body wasn't happy. LOL It only lasted one day. I got very .

Last night for sup, I ate a grilled chicken thigh and leg (frank's hot sauce and olive oil) with maybe 5 seasoned asparagus spears. For dessert I had a bowl of frozen land of lakes s/f whipped cream with davinci's s/f vanilla syrup drizzled on top along with a couple cups of coffee which I had added some splenda tablets and coconut oil. My BGL remained pretty much <105mg/dl PP until bed time which was 103mg/dl. My pre-supper BGL was 87mg/dl.

My fasting this am was 106mg/dl. Which is a wee bit higher than normal. I'm thinking I may need to eat something, maybe a couple ham and cheese roll-ups or something between supper and bedtime to keep from having a liver dump overnight. ????? I used to eat either a couple peanut butter crackers or 1/2 peanut butter sandwich before bed and awake well under 80mg/dl, which is why I currently only take 5 units Lantus in the AM.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

just curios, what meds are you taking

[NCgrl]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Amy, That's exactly what I said. They all reassured me that I would live to enjoy all the foods that I have always loved. It's okay now, it's everyday life. I see others enjoying those things and think, "I love ___, but it's not to die for." LOL

OT: how's the weather on your side of our great state today? It's cloudy and rainy here, I am ing for a least a speck of sunshine sometime today.

I'm finding that not to be true.I have to stick with very low carbs to keep my numbers low.Chances are if I want to live without complications this is going to be my life from now on.It sucks but so does losing your feet.I try to look at that stuff like arsenic now,kills you a little at a time.

It's raining here,too.I don't mind we are so far in drought,we need all we can get.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by Small_1

Amy, That's exactly what I said. They all reassured me that I would live to enjoy all the foods that I have always loved. It's okay now, it's everyday life. I see others enjoying those things and think, "I love ___, but it's not to die for." LOL

OT: how's the weather on your side of our great state today? It's cloudy and rainy here, I am ing for a least a speck of sunshine sometime today.

Brian, thanks. I actually can not eat more protein/fat than my body requires. I tried the "Zero Carb WOE" where you eat all the greasy meat you want and drink water. Ewwww. My body wasn't happy. LOL It only lasted one day. I got very .

Last night for sup, I ate a grilled chicken thigh and leg (frank's hot sauce and olive oil) with maybe 5 seasoned asparagus spears. For dessert I had a bowl of frozen land of lakes s/f whipped cream with davinci's s/f vanilla syrup drizzled on top along with a couple cups of coffee which I had added some splenda tablets and coconut oil. My BGL remained pretty much <105mg/dl PP until bed time which was 103mg/dl. My pre-supper BGL was 87mg/dl.

My fasting this am was 106mg/dl. Which is a wee bit higher than normal. I'm thinking I may need to eat something, maybe a couple ham and cheese roll-ups or something between supper and bedtime to keep from having a liver dump overnight. ????? I used to eat either a couple peanut butter crackers or 1/2 peanut butter sandwich before bed and awake well under 80mg/dl, which is why I currently only take 5 units Lantus in the AM.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Your blood sugar is doing fine. You should pat yourself on the back. This whole protein thing is in your mind. Here is my suggestion. Go to walmart. Purchase a big jug of when protein powder. In the morning, mix up a serving and have it with breakfast. I mix it with milk. A cup of milk is 12g carb. If you don't want the carbs and/or won't bolus for it, then use cold water. Have another at dinner.

Your body does not adapt to dietary changes overnight. If you suddenly eat a very differnent diet, you may well have difficulty digesting. You need to give things time. Our bodies adapt wonderfully, but sometimes it takes some time to generate the right enzymes and things bile to absorb more fat.

One thing you have to remember is that you often are not hungry on a low carb diet. This does not mean you should not eat. In fact, if you are serious about gaining weight, you are going to have to eat when you are not hungry and you are going to have to push to eat some more when you feel full.