My husband is 275, and only five foot nine, so he's very overweight. He has type II diabetes and is on several different meds.

After seeing me lose five pounds last week, he lowered his carbs a lot, and lost a few pounds ina few days himself. However, we are wondering how low a diabetic can go who is on meds. He says that if he doesn't have enough carbs his blood sugar will dive, and he will get shaky and pass out (which can also lead to coma eventually). His meds regulate his blood sugar level, which makes this situation more likely to occur if he doesn't have carbs.

Anyone else out there with type II and on meds? How do you handle it? What is your daily carb count?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes 6 weeks ago and am taking 1700 mg of Metformin a day.

I started the Atkins diet 4 weeks ago and have lost 9 pounds so far. I'm averaging about 30 grams of carbs a day rather than the 20 that Atkins recommends for induction.

So far my bg has remained in the normal range unless I overdo it on the carbs then it shoots up and it is usually higher in the morning. I haven't had a problem with low bg...but I think that depends on the meds you're on.

I've just ordered Dr. Berstein's book and am anxious to read it as all this diabetes stuff is pretty scary when you first learn about it.

I am Type II as well and am on 1500 mg of Metformin. My doc wanted me to take 250 mg glyberide at dinner but I convinced him that low carb (30 daily) would get my BGL down. He is delighted now.

What meds does your husband take? Perhaps they can be cut if he lowers his carbs. Do not do this without consulting your doc, however.

My husband is diabetic. He was taking Glucophage 1000 mg daily. We started Protein Power May 5, 2003. He cut his Glucophage to 500 mg daily and his blood sugars have been running in the 90's to 112. He has been limiting his carbs to 30 a day. He has not had any problems with low blood sugar and he has already lost 12 pounds! However, as previously suggested, it would be a good idea for your husband to check with his doctor first. I hope this helps.

My husband is a type II diabetic as well. He takes insulin as well as glucoltrol for his diabetes. He takes his insulin injections morning and evening. The thing is yesterday the dietcian where he goes for cardiac rehab (he has heart disease as well) told him he should begin to follow a low carb diet. "No BREAD" that is what she told him. Well he is in a panic today saying what is he going to eat. I am afraid that his bg will drop too so I think we are going to take it one day at a time and see if we can modify his carbs somehow. Wish us luck! Good luck to you as well!

Karen

I'm type 2 for 7 years and my doctor told me reducing my carbs would help my blood sugar and they were right.

Lowering your carbs to 20-30 a day, spread throughout the day will not only help in lowering your blood sugar but also in keeping your levels even.

You get all the carbs you need from eggs, cheese and your vegetables. Mine responded well in a week and very well after several weeks. I also don't get that mid afternoon so sleepy feeling from having high carbs throughout the morning.

Last year was rough for me as I was scheduled for spine surgery when my sugars went out of control. My doctor told me that infections, stress and pain make your body pump more steroids which in turn increases your blood sugar.

You might consider eating smaller meals throughout the day, some handy things that I carry with me "just in case" are those little 1oz bags of peanuts, a can of tuna or even a hard boiled egg or some cheese.

HTH

I was in the same boat as your husband. I needed the meds to control the carbs, and I needed the carbs to control the meds.

I got off that merry go round by discontinuing the glyburide I was on. It looks as though next week I'll be perscribed metformin - which doesn't cause the same lows as some of the other meds.

If you think your doctor will work with you, you should get in to see him/her and look at the possibility of adjusting medications.

Good luck.

I think that ALL the low carb plan books stress that people on medication for a number of conditions should be closely monitored by their own physician when they begin low carbing.

This especially applies to diabetics Type 1 & 2, and people on blood pressure medications as the sugar levels and blood pressure might change quite a bit, depending on the carb level.

This board is NOT to be considered medical advice NOR to substitute for seeing your own physician who knows your case well.

However anyone with such a condition might consider GRADUALLY lowering the carbs to mitigate the effect on the sugars and blood pressure.

Suggestions:
----cut out all sugars, desserts & processed foods. But do continue to eat some low carb fruits. Canteloupe & berries are the best choices.
----continue to eat some grains but choose whole grain bread & hot cereal, Avoid packaged cold cereals nearly all of which contain sugar & not the instant hot cereals.
----eat lots of vegetables and salad which are on the Induction List or the PPP list for the Phase 2 level. Eat salad but choose dressings made with good fats (olive oil is best) or creamy dressings that do not have extra sugar.
----eat nuts like macadamias, walnuts & almonds (but in limited quantity) because they give you lots of protein & fat without a huge carb hit.
----eat small meals frequently with protein, fat and some good carbs at each.
----become a demon label reader and search for the names which hide sugars in processed foods. Low fat on the label nearly always means that lots of sugar has been added.

If you have been eating a "typical North American diet" or according to the Food Pyramid, just these simple changes will make a huge difference in your carb level. After a week of this way of eating, try to gradually reduce the carbs a bit more but take lots of time at each level. (It's sort of like increasing the carbs gradually but in reverse )

Remember to be checked by your doctor frequently because this is the rest of your life you are playing with. Your physician needs to know how to adjust your medication if your condition is changing.

Those of you whose doctors approve of low carb are very fortunate because not all physicians are yet convinced of the health values of low carbing.

This is great information, thank you for replying.

Hubby is on glyberide (<-sp?) and 2500 mg Metformin, he said this is high to counteract some of the Actos which causes him to gain weight (water weight perhaps?)

I talked to him on the phone this morning, and he said that since he has reduced his carbs to 60 or 70 compared to the 200 or so he was getting, he has lost 6 pounds and his blood sugar levels are much lower and in a safer range than they have been in montlhs. (He was diagnosed 6 months ago, after suffering a horrendous subcutaneous infection, and was found to have a BS level of 19 in hospital, don't know what that is in the other American numbers....). Yesterday and this morning he was on the low side, and had to increase his carbs slightly. He seems convinced that he can attempt to drop the glyburide and go even lower with his carbs and see where that takes him.

His doctor has said that there may be some hope that if he loses the 100 pounds his body may cure itself of the diabetes. So this is what we are hoping for!

Thanks everyone for the information!

Information you have isn't entirely correct. Actos and Glucaphage do the same thing, Actos has been shown to cause weight gain in clinical studies with diet therapy. Diet therapy I'm sure would be the typical ADA sugar diet.

Both of these drugs, however, decrease the amount of insulin in the bloodstream and also the amount of insulin your body needs. Combine that with a low carb eating plan, and there is even less insulin and very suddenly, you can lose weight very well. This was the exact advice I got from my first Internal Medicine doctor.

glyberide (<-sp?) would be the drug I would try to get off first. Increasing insulin production will cause weight gain (fat weight), while Actos will cause water gain (which I have lost 4 pounds since being on Actos 30mg myself).

The main problem it seems to me is the going low. Sounds too me like he is overmedicated if he can go low at all. Glucaphage and Actos alone are very unlikely to cause this to happen.

That's my take on it, but as usual, get with his doctor and see what he/her opinion is.

Good luck to you,
wsgts

I WAS considered a Type II Diabetic... I weighed in ~ 330+ and was on 8mg of Avandia and 8mg Amaryl daily. My Dr said that that was the most oral meds I could have...next step shots! My Sugar was 230 with meds.

I started Atkins on April 14th, 2003 and what a life change. I'm 308 this am, and ALL my clothes are falling off me. I don't need to unbutton my pants to pull them off. My belt hangs off my by 2 inches.

My blood sugar fell to 109 instantly the day I started Atkins. I was worried that I would have spikes and hunger cravings, but I haven't. I was taken off my meds and haven't been an any. It's GREAT!!!

Hey Tech,

That is wonderful news. I am going to show my husband this forum today when I get home from work. Hopefully you will be an inspiration for him. He can really use it.

Thanks for sharing that with me.


Karen

hi people,
i'm not sure how this works, or if i'll be able to get back to it.but
i want to say , i am a diabetic type1, i have yet to find anything on adkins diet about type1, but i decided to try it anyway, taking very close blood test and keeping eye on it. i'm still trying to get use to diet cause i was told wrong so i started off wrong, but trying to get on right track with adkins now.
so i'm reaching for 20 a day. but what i want to say is even in all my mess ups cause of wrong information, i cant believe how it has help my b/s control .i been diabetic 31 years, was 17 when i turned diabetic( insulin dependent from very start) . and i never really tried fighting carbs to this extent . i'm amazed at how it has helped me in the last couple of weeks . i have dropped my insulin alot
my lantus (24hr insulin) from 64 to 46........20units !!!! in 2 weeks
my humalog oooo man i would take anywhere from 8 to 20 units at each meal.........now the most i took so far is 5, and last several days 2 to 4 people let me tell you that is a hugeeeeeeee difference ( AND YES IT IS VERY TRUE THE MORE INSULIN YOU TAKE THE MORE WEIGHT YOU GAIN ) i have lost 6 lbs, which to me isnt alot not when you are sitting where i am but it is a start, and the difference in my blood like i say it just amazes me . wishing i had done this diet along time ago .
well that all i will say for now, and if i cant find my way back here,
i wanted to let other type 1 diabetics know this adkins is working good for me in my blood control and lot less insulin, the weight got to start coming off soon . so i hope this helps someone, if you are scared go to your dr and get him to monitor it for you, but i tell you ,you can see the differenvce in my blood sugars from 3 and 4 00 alot of times to highest one i have had is 180 in 2 weeks but most of them have been just below 100 or just over 100 . blood has dropped a few times that i ate 1/2 a candy bar to bring it up . but i have seen enough that i'm sure going to hang in there .
well , i'll go now but i wish you all a good day
BAC

God Bless you BAC! Keep up the good work. May I also recommend another book? Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It goes very well with the Atkins program. Dr. Bernstein himself is a type 1 diabetic and has been for many years. His website is:

www.diabetes-normalsugars.com

You can download several chapters of his book for free there as well. They also have a forum such as this one here.