Hi, I'm new here, but have been lurking for awhile.
I'm newly diagnosed Type II, but not new to low carbing, i've done it off and on for maybe 3 years... I always feel better when I low carb, but never succeeded at losing weight with it, so eventually I fall off the wagon and answer the sirene call of those carbs....curses!.

So now weight loss is not my priority, managing my blood sugar is. Weight loss would certainly be a welcome side effect, though.

A little about my story:
About this time last year, my son, then 22, started having problems with his legs. He walked in a parade, and had a lot of pain and fatigue afterwards which he attributed to "overdoing it", but it never went away. Week after week, it seemed to get progressivly worse, until he could no longer walk "normal", he walked with a shuffle, and he was losing his balance - couldn't stand on one leg to put on his slacks, etc. He wasn't insured, so avoided going to a doctor, waiting and hoping for it to get better on it's own. Then one day I remembered that his paternal grandfather had had ALS, and that terrified me, so I made him go to the doctor.
They took blood of course. The next day, we got a phone call from the Dr saying my son should go straight into emergency...his blood sugar was off the chart. In the emergancy room that day, it tested at 712. He was diabetic! (Can you imagine being relieved to learn that?!) They administered insulin and started him on medication, (and I put him on Atkins) and his leg problems cleared up very rapidly, thank goodness. That was last July.

That's when I started lurking here, found you in my search for a low carb forum within the context of diabetes rather than weight loss. I guess I knew I had diabetes too, I'd been thirsty for a year at least. Drinking 2 gallons+ of water a day, up 4 times a night in the bathroom...
But my spouse had just changed jobs, and we were temporarily without insurance also. And I didn't want to risk seeking medical help without insurance, and then the insurance kicks in, and be told "no coverage for 2 years on an existing condition" or something, so I just started doing low carb (last summer and fall - fell off the wagon again during holidays and never really got back on) and went without an official diagnosis.

Until this past week. New insurance card in hand, I finally saw a doctor, and my blood sugar was 296, with a 3 month average of 270. I have the same worries and concerns I see voiced here with much frequency - how to find a doctor who is supportive of a low carb WOE. The doctor was very nice, and I was encouraged...when he asked me what symptoms I'd been having, I told him about my thirst problems but how I get that under control and sleep through the night when I do low-carb, and he did a big nod of his head, as if to say "yes, that will do it". But yesterday I had my first appointment with the office's nutritionist, and she's ADA low fat food pyramid death diet all the way. She spoke very bad/defensively/angrily when I brought up Dr Bernstein's book. Then she pointed to my "bad" cholesteral number of 229 as proof that low carb is evil. I told her that those numbers were not representative of a low-carb diet, as I had not been truly doing low carb since December. (Oh, I still eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, but follow that up with 2 chocolate donuts!)

So that stupidness has got to stop. I've got to get back on induction. With my life at stake this time, not just my waistline, seems like I should be sufficiently motivated, but I'm still finding it very hard to get started.

The doctor put me on metformin, 500 mg twice a day to start off, although he just about guaranteed me that would be too weak a dose and we'd be increasing it. Day 3, I haven't had any gastrointestinal distress or diarrhea, knock on wood, but I also don't have a BG meter yet (it's coming UPS) so I don't know what's going on with my blood sugar readings.

I'd like to participate and share and lend support here as I fumble along and try to learn what I need to know. I love all the good information available on this site, and thank the moderators.

My most bothersome symptom is nighttime leg pain...Not cramping, but just numbness, pain, and fatigue as if I too had spent the day walking in a parade. Rarely can I get to sleep before 2:00 am due to leg discomfort. I'm hoping this will clear up once my blood sugar is under control. Does anyone else here have experience with this?

Also would like to know if anyone can recommend a doctor/nutritionist supportive of low carbing in the St. Louis area. My son's doctor was no better, so we're both on the lookout. Does anyone know if Dr. Bernstein's office in NY will make referrals to doctors in other parts of the country? I was thinking of calling it to see.

Thanks! I look forward to getting to know other members.

I'm so glad you and your son have discovered your problem and are on the right track with low carb.
As soon as you get your meter you can begin to test and discover what different foods and exercise do to your blood sugar. It will take the metformin a few weeks to begin to work. If you have been taking it for 3 days with no problems, you may be one of the lucky ones. Even if you do have stomach problems with metformin, they go away in a few days for most people.
The other day my doctor fussed at me for eating bacon and eggs for breakfast - he thought I should eat bran cereal, etc. When I told him that if I ate cereal my blood sugar would zoom right up to 200 and that I absolutely could not have any carbs in the morning, he gave it a rest. I think with my A1c at 5.7, he had to admit that I must be doing something right. If you have to go back to the nutritionist, just smile and nod a lot and then go home and eat some protein.
I am finding it a real challenge to lose weight but by getting my blood sugar down, I feel so much better. I now excercise and am able to do yard work and house work without getting tired. I feel better than I have in about ten years.
You will find that low carb is a lot easier to stick with when the alternative is blindness, loss of a leg, etc. Just stick with it and before long you will be feeling so much better. Test 1 and 2 hours after each meal to see how different foods affect you, try to begin exercise - a little walk to begin with.
Goog luck!

Hi Hissy and welcome! I'm a Type 2 diabetic like yourself and I started low carbing for that reason. Even in the short time I have been low carbing, I have seen a big difference in my blood sugar levels. I did manage to find a doctor that supports this plan ( I follow Atkins). He agrees that test results are what speaks and as long as everything is going good, then keep doing what you're doing! I am not on any medication. I am controlling this by diet and exercise instead. Even though I am doing it for a medical reason, it doesn't make it any easier to follow. I still get cravings and fall off the plan here even though I know its bad for my health. It is something I may struggle with for the rest of my life, but I'm determined to be in this for the long run. I'm like you. I want to control my blood sugar, but it sure would be nice to lose some weight in the process...LOL. Keep at it! Come for support! Start a journal and I'd love to come check in with you and see how you're doing! Oh and also, I did have the leg pain that you talked about and yes, I'm glad to say it did go away after my sugars got in control! Stop by my journal if you'd like and good luck on your new WOE!

Dear Hissyfit:

There's also an excellent diabetes forum over at Dr. B's site, http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com.

I, like your son, suffered from unbelievable muscle fatigue and shortness of breath about 5 years ago. I went from doctor to doctor and nobody had a clue. I don't know what my blood sugar was at the time, but I'll bet it was high. I was finally diagnosed as a Type II diabetic after presenting elevated blood pressure readings.

Today my HbA1c is 4.5%, my average bg is 87 (a fasting reading in the morning and one in the evening), LDL is 118, HDL 46, triglycerides 73 (total cholesterol therefore 179). I've also lost 30 lbs. Five years ago my physician looked at my 252 triglycerides reading and said "There's a lot of fat in your blood. You might want to change your diet." Some help he was. And I'm paying for such sage counsel?

My message to you and your son is "Hang in there!" I was told to go to the diabetes seminar at a local hospital by my doctor. I didn't, because I knew I would hear the ADA party line. How physicians can keep prescribing such diabetes "education" which promotes a toxic diet is beyond me. Drs. Bernstein and Atkins have it right. The mainstream is WRONG. It's like in the exorcist: "The demon is a liar. DO NOT LISTEN!"

Jim

Hi there, Hissyfit!

The leg problems could very well be due to low potassium and/or magnesium and calcium because you're drinking and urinating so much. If you're taking medications for blood pressure, check with your doctor before you add potassium, but otherwise get yourself some supplements. Potassium can be added at up to 400 mg. per day and also a calcium/magnesium supplement (2:1 ratio) as well. I think if you add those and start getting your blood sugars under better control you'll find that your leg discomfort improves quickly. My biggest symptom of high blood sugar wasn't the thirst, although I had that too, it was horrible nighttime leg cramps; sometimes in more than one muscle at a time. Those cleared up within a few days of starting low carb and I haven't had one since.
As soon as you get your meeter, start testing! The more you test, the better idea you will have of what certain foods do to your blood sugars and this is vital information since no two diabetics react to the same foods exactly the same way; what might spike me might not spike you. You might want to follow Dr. Bernstein's suggestion and keep a journal of what you eat and what your resulting blood sugars are...this will also be very helpful information for you, your doctor and yes, even that pesky dietician. Since your doctor seems supportive of low carb, you could consider complaining to him about his dietician's negative attitude and lack of support for your low carbing ventures...just a
thought. If all else fails, just nod politely as Nope suggested and then go home and keep on low carbing. The results can argue for themselves.

Incidentally, my stats were pretty much the same as yours when I started low carbing 2 years ago. I now have consistently normal blood sugars and am off all medications. I'm also down 75 pounds...not world record speed for weight loss, but I'll take it.

Thanks to all for your encouragement and advice.

Yes! I use fitday and really find it a helpful tool.

Nopie, I'm looking forward to getting my meter (the insurance co called this morning, and they approved me for the one I wanted, the Sof Tact - yippee!), so I can see what's happening with my BS. I should have it by the end of the week.

Yesterday I was commenting to my husband that although I've only been on the metformin less than a week, and it supposedly takes a few to start working, I was sure I was feeling better, energy and depression levels changing for the positive, maybe even a little less discomfort at night....

Then after he left for work I thought DUH! Not the medicine, the DIET! 6 days of truly eating a healthy low-carb diet with no cheating.

Char, I stopped by your journal and can relate to so much of what you say. But that's good that your Dr is supportive of your WOE. I'm going to ask mine what he
thinks next time - the first time I didn't, wanting to wait and see what his nutritionist would say. Well.... I've already described how that went!

Jim, that's so sad you had to go from Dr to Dr for someone to diagnose you. Did none of them take blood?
I agree, it's a mystery what keeps these doctors and nutritionists from changing their recommendations. Pressure from their licensing boards/associations? Who fear lawsuits from people who's health has suffered from following the food pyramid? Well, I tend to think some of those theories of the medical associations having their hands in the pockets of the drug companies, who have an interest in keeping us sick and on medicine, may not be far from truth. Has anyone read Bob Barefoot's book "Death by Diet"? His drug company conspiracy theories make Atkins theories look mild/mainstream!

Lisa, thanks for the tip on the potassium. I'm taking quite a few supplements and am getting plenty of calcium and magnesium (including a couple by Atkins and Barefoot's coral calcium), but none of them really have any significant potassium. It's encouraging to know you found relief from your night time leg cramps, those sound awful.

Congratulations to you all on your weight loss, too. (I hope someone gets to say that to me one day in the nottoo distant future!)

They did take blood. In fact, one of them (the one who so expertly suggested I change my diet) is a hematologist. They see a casual bg of 135 or 140 and think nothing of it. (I'm guessing here that that's about what mine was.) I finally ran into a truly progressive and conscientious doctor who gave me a 75 gram load glucose tolerance test (114 fasting, 142 postprandial) and said "You have diabetes". Note that the ADA would only call this "impaired glucose tolerance", and just barely that.

The good news is that these diagnostic standards are changing. Even my own doctor has changed within the last year. A year ago she told me to keep the bg below 140 at all times (an unacceptably high reading) and six months ago she said that she wanted me to keep it under 110. (It's actually almost never over 100.)

Any of you who live near the Washington, DC area: I know a terrific internist who will work with you. She recommends Dr. B's book to her patients.

Jim

Hissyfit:

Bob Barefoot's Coral Calcium seems to elevate my blood sugar. I've tested it 3 or 4 times now. There's something in it, one of those trace minerals I guess, that drives it up about 20 mg/dl. Test carefully if you're going to take that stuff.

Jim