Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Daily Low-Carb Support > General Low-Carb
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Mark Forums Read Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #16   ^
Old Sun, Jan-07-18, 13:12
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
Default

Tyle I had to become a phlebotomist for part of my job. You had a hematoma. The capllary is leaking blood under the skin. She must have really have really jabbed you. Finger sticks hurt sometimes but the pain is about 5 seconds. I volunteer and got 20 fingersticks over 2 days for people to practice on me! I've also let students do blood draws for experiments needing blood. What I'm saying is you become used to it.

I was diagnosed with hypoglyemia with the glucose tolerance test. They take a fasting blood sample. Then you drink 75mg glucose drink. They take blood at 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr. Tell your dr your symptoms, especially the blurred vision. Doing this test will fill in some blanks for you.

Before lowcarb if I didn't eat food soon after drinking coffee I would literally cry from low blood sugar, my heart pounds and my hands start sweating. At that point I would eat anything. Now my pancreas isn't pouring out insulin I can go half the day on a cup of coffee. It was a gradual process, flat out LC from the start was an agony for me.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #17   ^
Old Sun, Jan-07-18, 20:39
TyLe_RoAd TyLe_RoAd is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: Non-specific
Stats: 234/145/120 Female 5 feet 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Default

~teaser

Fair enough! I actually have a sleep disorder almost unheard of outside of people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, so for all I know I might even have the latter.

I'm glad you're handling everything better now! Man, if eating low carb would help with easing my pain sensitivity that would be beyond awesome, another good reason to try again.

Interesting, I never noticed caffeine helping with pain myself. But then I have it regularly enough that I've probably built up a tolerance to it, so that might explain that.

Oh, I'll try anything to help with my energy levels! Not that anything ever helps, not even the weight loss . . .

~GRB5111

Ah, gotcha! I know what you mean, you have to add quite a few goodies to a smoothie to add enough flavor so they don't taste watered down. I'm careful about my peanut butter though, I buy the all natural stuff, I don't even like the sweetened stuff anymore.

I actually searched for low carb smoothies a while back and most had fruit in them. But I'll check the site out, thanks! Their search function sucks, but I tried searching the site with Google and it worked way better. And the first two smoothie recipes listed had strawberry and blueberry in the titles.

I actually don't care much for avocados plain, but if they're blended into a smoothie, I really like the creamy texture. I don't like artificial sweeteners at all though, they all seem to have a weird, chemical undertaste to me.

Oh, I can be patient! I rode this hell out for three months waiting for my body to adjust and it took me a year and a half to lose 50 lbs each time, give or take. But I'm not going to put up with being ravenously hungry no matter how much I eat and piling on weight because of it either, you know what I mean?

Thanks, I really hope I can make this work, I'd love the energy boost from being in ketosis!

~nawchem

Words cannot express how awesome it is to hear you say that, it seems like everyone else accused me of lying about how badly my finger was maimed. She squeezed it and practically wrung it out to get more blood out of it too, does that normally happen?

The thing is while I'm not phobic of needles themselves, I am phobic of the pain from them. I can handle blood draws and dental injections because they don't hurt much if at all, but everything else was excruciating. I might get used to finger sticks, but working up the courage (and funds) to try is going to be extremely difficult for me.

I'm definitely going to mention that test to her, it's going to be a lot easier for me to handle four blood draws than to drop $100 on a testing kit I may be too scared to use!

Do you put sugar in your coffee? Or were you just having a bad reaction to the caffeine? I don't have coffee around anymore but I always drink it black when I go out.

Yeah, I'm really liking the idea of tapering off on carbs a lot, at least then if I do get sick I won't get as sick before I adjust. Plus, if I really can't tolerate ketosis, at least I can pinpoint the bare minimum of carbs I need to be functional so if I fall off the wagon again it won't be to this same extent!
Reply With Quote
  #18   ^
Old Sun, Jan-07-18, 22:41
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
Default

Difficulty getting blood is usually related to the patients hydration status. Squeezing is pretty typical. You can keep your fingers pointed down so the blood pulls in them. Labs usually have a heating pad which helps. Drinking half a liter plain water before any blood draq will make it easier on you.

I just remembered I got the count down idea from the book Life Without Bread. I get low blood sugar with unsweetened coffee.

Best Wishes!
Reply With Quote
  #19   ^
Old Tue, Jan-09-18, 02:04
TyLe_RoAd TyLe_RoAd is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: Non-specific
Stats: 234/145/120 Female 5 feet 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Default

Thank you for the tips! I really wish more people took the time to give people like me advice, if you can do things to prepare for blood draws it's a lot less scary.

I hadn't heard of drinking water before a draw before, I'll make sure to do that next time! I almost certainly would've been dehydrated the last time I had a draw and I remember it hurting way worse than usual.

That's crazy that plain coffee could do that to you, I wonder why that happened?

Thanks, same to you!

Last edited by TyLe_RoAd : Tue, Jan-09-18 at 02:06. Reason: Missed the last paragraphs!
Reply With Quote
  #20   ^
Old Fri, Jan-19-18, 09:59
quietone quietone is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,271
 
Plan: original 72 Atkins
Stats: 201/177/142 Female 65 inches
BF:44/44/25
Progress: 41%
Location: Northern Virginia
Default

TyLe, I also never got out of the so called carb flu stage years ago when doing LC for a long time. Looking back, I think adding in a salt/potassium/mag solution might have helped. I was weak, unhappy, crampy muscles and crabby...but I looked darned good!

Now days, I'm also missing a gallbladder and the difference in losing and sustaining weight loss is night and day, regardless of which regimen I use.

I've found adding in digestive enzymes helps me tremendously. I feel like I'm getting more benefit from my food. Pancreatin is what I use. I compared it to the prescription kind and its very close. I also use ox bile to aid digesting fats.

Hope this might help get you back on track!
Reply With Quote
  #21   ^
Old Fri, Jan-19-18, 18:55
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 14,605
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

In addition to the already good advice:

I used to make smoothies from whey protein, coconut oil, fresh berries, spirulina. Peanut butter is really a bean... I stay away from legumes and I feel better as a result.

I got started on Atkins by dropping my carbs gradually. Now I can do 24 hour fasts, have a meal of tea & coconut oil, and found that the right supplements can make a lot of difference.

TRACK. Really. I do better with more protein and B vitamins, but then I have a health issue of my own. By all means, see what you are doing, and you might figure out what you are doing wrong.
Reply With Quote
  #22   ^
Old Sat, Jan-20-18, 02:02
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 19,177
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

When poking yourself to test for blood sugar YOU can control the lancet to have the lowest pain. I had gestational diabetes and had to test 5-10 times a day. My use of the lancet was ALWAYS less painful than another person doing it.Nurses seemed hell bent on stabbing it deep. OUCH! Warm your fingers first to bring blood close to the surface. THen make a shallow cut With the lancet.

Granola--given that cranberries are coated with sugar and the chocolate chips have chocolate, I'm wondering if you were in ketosis. Have you carefully tracked the daily intake of carbs to see if the count is less than 20?? And spread out over 3 meals? Dr A uses this baseline for 2 weeks for several reasons. Mostly to prove this way of eating works.

JUst asking because some times the obvious is not so obvious. If your body is not into ketosis properly it cannot adapt the way it needs to to be successfull.

Hope you find your answers!
Reply With Quote
  #23   ^
Old Sat, Jan-20-18, 04:27
TyLe_RoAd TyLe_RoAd is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: Non-specific
Stats: 234/145/120 Female 5 feet 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Default

~quietone

I did try loading up on salt and potassium but I didn't have any luck so you never know. That sounds exactly like how I felt though! Except without the good looks.

Is it easier or harder to lose weight without a gallbladder?

Thanks for the tip! I'm not taking anything to help me digest my food and I'm actually making an emergency run to the store tomorrow so I'll see if I can find pancreatin.

Thanks, I hope so too!

~WereBear

I've never even heard of spirulina! I tried swapping out peanut butter for almond butter but I didn't feel any different, and since almond butter is crazy expensive I went back.

Wow! I can't even imagine just having tea and coconut oil, I'd be freaking out about not having protein.

I don't eat anything without writing it down, and so far it seems like I feel way better when I eat sugar, provided I don't go overboard with it. Very frustrating to say the least. At least my appetite and vision is pretty much stable now. I'm not losing much weight, but when I taper back on the sugar next month that'll cut calories and hopefully get things moving.

~Ms Arielle

I wonder if part of the reason stuff like that hurts less when you do it yourself is because you know it's coming?

I think you might have misread the posts, I did eat trail mix but that was before I went low carb. However, when I was eating low carb I definitely wasn't under 20 carbs. I thought I only had to be under 50 to be in ketosis and I was hovering right around 30.

Thank you! You were a big help, if 20 carbs is really the cut off the frozen fruits in my smoothies were definitely putting me over the limit. The problem is fruit is so freaking good that I just don't know if I can give it up, I need a vice!
Reply With Quote
  #24   ^
Old Sat, Jan-20-18, 10:19
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 19,177
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

20 carbs is just the test level--to prove weight loss IS possible. Dr A wants everyone to move up a level so that more veg and fruit can be included.

Not all fruits are equal. Definitely no juices. I look at glycemic index AND the net carbs to choose a fruit. Look at cherries. Be careful with strawberries.IMO mixing fruits and fats can improve the glycemic index , to prevent a glucose rush which can lead to binging. I am toying with slipping the outer peel from black/blue grapes to remove the inner carbs but get the anthocytes and fiber in the skin.

Again as long as you know the exact count and stay under 1/3 the daily allowance of carbs at each of 3 meals you can eat any fruit. I find small fruits like cherries and blueberries easy to measure out a limited amount. A scale can be helpful to learn the carb counts for a 5 or 10 carb serving.

I use products like crystal lite to get fruit flavor in my life. My kids and I like to make slushies of water, ice, and crystal lite in a blender. And yes, fruits are as addictive as any bread or cake. I was a big fruit eater but did find a way to limit them. Dr. Amen ( not Atkins) recommends 4:1, vegies to fruits a day.

I freeze fruit to then remove the portion I can eat and the fruit is not wasted. Frozen fruits are the easiest and cheapest to buy ,too.

I used to eat bowls of fruit salad, with rum! I choose not to do this. I choose not to eat a banana with peanut butter--because 1 is not enough, I MUST eat a second.

Learn your triggers.

Yes, I did misunderstand on the granola.

On the lancet, it is because you dont set the lancet as deep so it doesnt hit as many nerves. Nurses are in a hurry and want a lot of blood fast. I could go slowly, and milk out the amt needed from a shallow cut to get a reading.

Living low carb is a learning process. You are doing great.
Reply With Quote
  #25   ^
Old Sun, Jan-21-18, 20:50
TyLe_RoAd TyLe_RoAd is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: Non-specific
Stats: 234/145/120 Female 5 feet 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Default

Ah, fair enough! I guess the idea is to force your body to use fats for fuel right away instead of risking it trying to run on a tiny amount carbs? I'm guessing that's what happened to me.

I read that cherry juice can help you sleep, but I vetoed that idea and put frozen cherries into my smoothies instead. I have no idea if it really helps but it's something to try anyway. Why are cherries safer than strawberries? Cherries have more carbs than strawberries I thought?

Hmmm, I never thought about trying to use my scale. I've been measuring out the fruit for my smoothies using measuring cups but with round cherries it's hard to know how many you're really getting. I'll have to try that tonight and see if I'm actually putting in 1/2 cup worth or not.

I can't stand anything with artificial sweeteners in it unfortunately, it's real fruit or bust for me. I definitely don't eat anywhere near that ratio of veggies, it's probably more like 1:1 at this point.

Oh yum! I loved fruit salad but I never heard of putting rum on it, that really must have been delicious! I can't eat bananas anymore, they really mess up my vision. Ice cream and chips are big triggers for me, they're like eating air and I can eat an entire container / bag in one sitting and still be hungry.

Thank you! I just wish I knew the safest way to try for ketosis again, I thought tapering back on carbs sounded best but if you're supposed to go cold turkey?? Now I'm worried I'll just find the minimum carbs I need to function without getting into ketosis doing it that way . . .
Reply With Quote
  #26   ^
Old Sun, Jan-21-18, 21:36
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
Default

Tyle I like fruit too. I nuke cream cheese and blueberries. Its so delicious. I tried another one with egg and sofened cream cheese with the blueberries then melted butter all over it sort of like bread. Blueberries are 2 netcarbs for 1/4 cup.

I read blueberries are good for inflammation, then I found out they're also delicious.
Reply With Quote
  #27   ^
Old Mon, Jan-22-18, 06:06
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 14,605
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

TyLe_RoAd, you might look into supplementation for your issues, most of us come to low carb with serious deficiences. I have learned a lot by researching possible additions to my diet and it has helped.
Reply With Quote
  #28   ^
Old Mon, Jan-22-18, 09:59
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 19,177
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by TyLe_RoAd
Ah, fair enough! I guess the idea is to force your body to use fats for fuel right away instead of risking it trying to run on a tiny amount carbs? I'm guessing that's what happened to me.Sometimes I do get into ketosis over 4-5 days, slowly, because this works for me. Most people need the 20 carb level to jump into ketosis and to see weight loss is possible.

I read that cherry juice can help you sleep, but I vetoed that idea and put frozen cherries into my smoothies instead. I have no idea if it really helps but it's something to try anyway. Why are cherries safer than strawberries? Cherries have more carbs than strawberries I thought? I use magnesium and calcium to help me get to sleep, and a few carbs. To trigger sertonin which becomes melatonin. The cherries have more fiber; woman used glucose meter to test the different fruits. Dr Amen has a product to help with sleep, as often our minds are still running and need to chill. All components are OTC. You can find info on his web site for supplements.

Hmmm, I never thought about trying to use my scale. I've been measuring out the fruit for my smoothies using measuring cups but with round cherries it's hard to know how many you're really getting. I'll have to try that tonight and see if I'm actually putting in 1/2 cup worth or not.

I can't stand anything with artificial sweeteners in it unfortunately, it's real fruit or bust for me. I definitely don't eat anywhere near that ratio of veggies, it's probably more like 1:1 at this point. In ketosis your tastebuds change and sugar, even fruit sugar, becomes too sweet. How about stevia liquid?

Oh yum! I loved fruit salad but I never heard of putting rum on it, that really must have been delicious! I can't eat bananas anymore, they really mess up my vision. Ice cream and chips are big triggers for me, they're like eating air and I can eat an entire container / bag in one sitting and still be hungry. LOL. try pork rinds with a fatty dip! I make homemade icecream or et Ben and Jerry's as I eat farrrrrrr less icecream than a carton of the junk stuff. Again, wanting ice cream decreases when in ketosis; many LC ice cream recipes; just get an ice cream maker.

Thank you! I just wish I knew the safest way to try for ketosis again, I thought tapering back on carbs sounded best but if you're supposed to go cold turkey?? Now I'm worried I'll just find the minimum carbs I need to function without getting into ketosis doing it that way . You can go into ketosis slowly. Are you eating enough salts? Do you know that your body needs time to start making the enzymes it has not used for years??? THAT takes. days in ketosis. Keep eating some carbs to reduce the feeling of the flu. I can switch back and forth quickly NOW as my body is primed to make the enzymes. BUT no ketosis, no enzymes called into action. You may need to struggle thru 7-10-14 days to get those enzymes going.




Hope this helps. Starting ketosis is not without a few bumps. Invest in a copy of the book----it is a remarkable book, a bible of solutions to those bumps.
Reply With Quote
  #29   ^
Old Mon, Jan-22-18, 10:01
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 19,177
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBear
TyLe_RoAd, you might look into supplementation for your issues, most of us come to low carb with serious deficiences. I have learned a lot by researching possible additions to my diet and it has helped.



Ditto. Our lives are so challanging that I know understand why we must supplement with a multivite every day.
Reply With Quote
  #30   ^
Old Tue, Jan-23-18, 03:02
TyLe_RoAd TyLe_RoAd is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: Non-specific
Stats: 234/145/120 Female 5 feet 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Default

~nawchem

Cream cheese and blueberries sounds really yummy! Especially with butter! My microwave has been broken for well over a year now otherwise I'd totally try it. I wonder if I could misuse my toaster oven to try making that, hmmm . . .

~WereBear

I've tried looking at multivitamins but I get so completely overwhelmed! I can't seem to find one that has a good amount of everything in it, and I have no idea what's vital to have in one if I don't get a complete one.

~Ms Arielle

Well I do believe weight loss is possible eating that way, it's just a matter of getting into ketosis so I don't feel like I'm starving to death and end up bingeing!

I tried magnesium and calcium to help me sleep back when I was seeing a sleep specialist and wound up bouncing off the walls hyper. He didn't believe me! I'll go check out that site.

I've noticed I do seem more sensitive to sugar, when I had my first mug of soy chocolate milk after a long break it was like drinking liquid candy! I think stevia was actually the last thing I tried and I hated it.

I don't know if I've ever even seen pork rinds in a store! I don't really seek out ice cream anymore, but my mom's been known to get me some if it's on sale.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting enough salt, I get horrific headaches if I don't. I have no idea what I'm going to do now, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll take a flying leap off the deep end and just leave the fruit out of my smoothies for a month, throw in extra peanut butter to get the same amount of calories, and if that still doesn't get me into ketosis, well, I tried!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 13:17.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.