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  #1   ^
Old Sat, Dec-29-18, 18:41
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default Learning to live with this & testing

Diagnosed November 18, based on a single high (200) random blood glucose test.

Doc sent me in for A1C and a fasting blood glucose, and was really shocked. She assumed I was out-of-control...

(Since the 200 came when I was prepping for a Celiac test, I MAY have been out of control then. I was deliberately eating lots of wheat.)

My A1C was 6.1 (if I remember right) and my fasting BG was... 120 or so? Not terribly bad.

This made her relax a lot, and she was much more willing to let me give the 'lifestyle option' a change. (Didn't hurt that she saw me losing weight.)

When I asked her about finger-pricks, she told me no need, yet.



Well, I went out and bought a monitor, anyway. (Did my research, got one considered accurate AND where I can get test-strips cheaply and locally.) What I DIDN'T get was a lot of lancets, initially.

Finally picked up a big pack of them on the 26th, and so I'm able to make more frequent tests throughout the day.

One thing I've noticed, that I don't understand?

My highest BG of the day is in the morning, before I've consumed anything.

This morning, I woke at 6am, and tested. 112. Then... I started reading & fell back asleep. Tested again, around 8, before my morning coffee. 125. What the ever-loving frell?

None of my other readings today have been over 110.

I'm working on getting lots of meaningful readings, so I can understand how my body reacts. I'm determined to turn this thing around with JUST diet (and, if I ever get to where my knee can handle it, exercise). In direct contrast to my grandmother, who was completely out of control for the 16 years she raised me. (Readings over 300 were her norm.) I'd like, by this time next year, to be NOT diabetic.

I know this is possible.

I've taken a look at Dr. Bernstein's diet. (I'm more familiar with Dr. Atkins'.) I need to spend more time with it, but -- with my general LC eating -- I'm already avoiding all of his "no-no foods". (Just placed a hold on it, from my library, so I can read it in-depth.)

I'll get this all worked out, I swear.

Just really confused at watching my levels rise after hours of fasting and NOT eating anything (particularly not having eaten anything that should make them jump.

Ah well... I'll get the hang of it all, I'm sure.
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  #2   ^
Old Sat, Dec-29-18, 23:14
deirdra's Avatar
deirdra deirdra is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,324
 
Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 130%
Location: Alberta
Default

The dawn phenomenon affects about half of T2 diabetics (probably the ones who became insulin resistant while eating lots of carbs) and is a normal, natural rise in blood sugar that occurs in the early morning hours, between roughly 4 and 8 a.m. to give you energy to wake up. The shift in blood sugar levels happens as a result of hormonal changes in the body. The drop you see to 110 occurs after insulin secretion has kicked in to reduce blood sugar levels into a good range. The dawn effect goes away in some once they become keto-adapted. The BG monitor is a good way to tell how specific foods affect your BG levels 30, 60, 90 & 120 minutes after you eat them.
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  #3   ^
Old Sat, Dec-29-18, 23:22
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

The higher reading in the morning is called Dawn Syndrome. I don't know any details but just have read the name.
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Dec-30-18, 06:24
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Dec-30-18, 08:44
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

Thanks for the article. It makes a lot of sense. I've only been back on LC since November, and my danged knee has meant I haven't been terribly active. (I know that physical activity is one way to deplete glycogen and other bodily glucose "reserves".) The article seems to be saying that my liver still has plenty of stored glucose... meaning these high morning readings will eventually fade as that storage is emptied.

So for now, I'm going to take these morning "spikes" as a good sign... that my (already diagnosed as fatty, along with the rest of my health mess) liver is just getting rid of what it needs to.

Right now, the only readings I'm having that fall outside the "normal" range are my morning/fasting ones.
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, Dec-30-18, 09:06
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Why since your first "It's Diabetes" post, my suggestion has been to add IF to your Atkins diet. The Dr. Fung books, like this article, are a real eye-opener.
Quote:
Solution? Simple. Either don’t put any sugar in (LCHF) or burn it off (Fasting). Even better? LCHF + IF.
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  #7   ^
Old Sun, Dec-30-18, 21:44
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

I know fasting is good. But I just got back on LC in early November, and am still dealing with hunger. I know that in another month or two, my appetite will start disappearing, and fasting will be a lot easier. (Yup, I know -- if I'm hungry, I need to up my fats.)

Really, Janet, I wish you could see my face as I read. I always notice your posts, and that you seem to be keeping track of me, to keep me ON track. I've noticed. I'm grateful. I make note of everything you say, even if I don't implement it that minute. Your advice always seems sound, and you know your stuff.

This is my third start-up on Atkins. (Once, I stopped due to pregnancies, and it took getting through the diaper-years for me to feel like I could focus on it again.) Once, severe depression followed by 5 deaths in 6 months made me just want ONE THING to be easy (this was in the context of flying back home for each funeral, alone most of the time, and staying with other people who fed me). I gave up...

So this third time, just in terms of getting back-on-track I know what to expect in a lot of ways. I know how my body reacts.

I know I lose my appetite 3 or 4 months in, almost completely. I know when I hit a stall, I need to make cheesecake. I know that if I stop weighing daily or stop taking my supplements, I'm about to start having "carb creep". (Those are danger-signals for my depression trying to step in and tell me, "Oh, you don't need to worry about that... it doesn't matter.")

Right now, I'm possibly not high-fat enough... Planning to get grocery shopping done this week. Higher fat helps kill hunger, which makes fasting a whole lot easier! (Actually had to do a "clear liquid diet" for 36 hours recently, and it wasn't that bad... Had to keep REMINDING myself, when I felt hungry, "Nope." If I hadn't been stranded at the same time (2 flat tires on Christmas day, 130 miles from home, spent the 26th getting new ones and driving back home), I might have forgotten myself during some of those hunger-pains and absently grabbed a bite. (A cheese slice, some almonds...)

That was medical, not voluntary. But I'd been in a stall (and the scale going up) for almost a week. Back to rapid loss, still, several days later.

But I hear you and believe you. Just trying to get my act together, as it were.

And I am so very grateful for your willingness to share your knowledge! I know my body on Atkins. I don't know it in terms of diabetes... and my experiences of diabetes are pretty much all in the "dark ages". (ie: prior to 1986)

I've learned so much from you already.
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  #8   ^
Old Mon, Dec-31-18, 07:51
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

IF is a "bridge too far" for many, but helpful for getting morning FBG down. But IF is not necessary, and definitely not something to attempt until you have hunger under control and are Keto-Adapted. It is relatively new as a diabetes treatment and not what you would hear from the ADA/diabetes educator.

Kristie Sullivan, who also uses Dr. Westman's diet, based on Dr. Atkins, has written about hunger in her Start Tips, https://cookingketowithkristie.com/getting-started-2/ and even has a Food Log that focuses on learning to control hunger. https://cookingketowithkristie.com/...nloadable-pdfs/ If forms like that and her story-telling approach would help you (and this may be way more detail than some want to write down everyday), more on this thread https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=470795.

Last edited by JEY100 : Mon, Dec-31-18 at 09:14.
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Dec-31-18, 16:03
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

Yeah, well, from what I've seen, the modern ADA is much more concerned about HYPO-glycemia than hyper. :/ (I remember a time in the 70s when that wasn't true.) With my first pregnancy, I had some bad reactions to coming off LC (if I had it to do over, I'd have stuck to what worked for me), and so my doc listened to what I said and had me try a gestational diabetes diet... I couldn't eat that many carbs!

So no respect at all for their current guidelines. They've gone over to the Dark Side. Luckily, my PCP seems on-board with what I'm doing. I didn't say "low carb" to her. I said, "Cutting out absolutely all grains and all sugars." (I've learned this is a "safer" way to bring up the concept of LC... people get less knee-jerk about it.)

On my 2nd visit with her, 2 weeks later, I'd showed weight-loss and general improvement, but I was frustrated. (I'd had to resort to bars, while traveling.) "What, they don't eat healthy in that house?"
"Well, there's levels of healthy. We were making some beautiful bone-broth turkey soup, and then she said, 'let's add the noodles'. Because it wasn't soup to her without them." (This is a dear friend of mine, for whom I've been acting as a caretaker with her cancer. I go down there for a week at a time, live in their home, and help take care of her while her husband works 2 jobs to keep the rent and insurance paid.)

And the doc nodded her head in sympathy & understanding over that. I am going to experiment with the words "low carb" next time I see her... I think she might actually be OK with them.

Which'll be a first... there's usually so much ingrained resistance in the medical community. Fortunately, I grew up around nurses AND started off by LC journey by reading books by actual doctors, rather than "summaries" of those doctor's plans by layfolk. So I understand the science, and can speak that language to the medical types to get their brain (instead of their jerking knee) engaged.

One of my big issues is that -- what with travel, and a homeschooled child -- I haven't had the leisure for "proper" shopping trips. Instead, I'm doing the dash-and-grab, and our fridge is running mostly empty a lot of the time. I have places in town that sell pork fat for $0.69/lb. Do you know what a hunger-killer that is? Cook up some pork-fat, dump a bag of collard greens in, and you CAN'T FINISH a bowl of them! (This is a favorite with my son....) It's good, it's cheap, it's satisfying, and you can use it to cook other foods. Just to pick one thing I like to have on hand and don't.
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  #10   ^
Old Mon, Dec-31-18, 16:13
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

I love that the greens come all washed and ready to cook in a bag. It truly is fast food and I too love it with pork!
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