[Shalynne]

So. I spike on nuts and frozen veggies (organic, no additives except for the butter, oil and fresh-ground black pepper I add). The nuts are dry-roasted, no seasonings or additives, no salt.

My lowest BG is 115. But most of the time I hover between 140-200. Much improved (believe it or not), but still not human.

My problem isn't cravings, really. It's just that there's almost nothing I can both eat and afford! If it once sat on a shelf next to a carb, it's a no-no.

The hassle makes food ... not worth it.

Has anyone tried living on pure, unaltered broth?

Sorry I'm ranting. But I'm only half-kidding.

 

[Chesney]

So. I spike on nuts and frozen veggies (organic, no additives except for the butter, oil and fresh-ground black pepper I add). The nuts are dry-roasted, no seasonings or additives, no salt.

My lowest BG is 115. But most of the time I hover between 140-200. Much improved (believe it or not), but still not human.

My problem isn't cravings, really. It's just that there's almost nothing I can both eat and afford! If it once sat on a shelf next to a carb, it's a no-no.

The hassle makes food ... not worth it.

Has anyone tried living on pure, unaltered broth?

Sorry I'm ranting. But I'm only half-kidding.

What kind of nuts?

 

[Shalynne]

Oh! Duh.

Cashews and almonds -- 1/2 serving, 2 different meals. Spinach is the offending veggie.

Many thanks!

 

[moon]

If it once sat on a shelf next to a carb, it's a no-no.

LOL! I like you Please stick around.

I have no answers, being newly dx'ed myself. But, what meds are you on?

I also had a high bs when dx'ed (yours was around 500, right?) and was put on 1000mg metformin 2x/day. My numbers stayed up around and over 200 and urgent care added glipizide. My endo wanted me off of it, and lo and behold now I am after a little over a month of it helping drop my numbers. I got lucky, I now have fastings in the 90's about half the time, low 100's the rest. With time I expect to be in the 80's -

Numbers don't drop overnight. Are you eating enough? I'd be surprised if you're actually spiking on spinach. The other day I forgot to eat dinner and my bs shot up - that'll teach me. We need to eat regularly (there are worse things in life) -

Give it a little time. Eat regular meals at regular times (I'm not able to accomplish this, but it's advised...), watch your carbs, get enough fat in your diet... and be patient.

EDITED: oops - I see now you're on insulin. Probably scratch most of what I said, I know next to nothing about insulin -

 

[jwags]

Are you a type 2 or type 1? What meds or insulin are you taking? Many time we assume a certain food is causing us to spike when it may be underlying hormones that cause us to spike. If I don't eat enough calories at a meal my liver will kick in and add glucose. What other things are you eating besides the spinach and nuts?

 

[beefy]

Are you a type 2 or type 1? What meds or insulin are you taking? Many time we assume a certain food is causing us to spike when it may be underlying hormones that cause us to spike. If I don't eat enough calories at a meal my liver will kick in and add glucose. What other things are you eating besides the spinach and nuts?

When I was first diagnosed and trying to figure out what to eat, I wasn't eating 1) enough, and; 2) often-enough.

My liver kept trying to 'save' me by giving me what it thought was much-needed glucose, and back then I'd spike to around 10.5 (189) or so without eating, simply because of liver dumps. Of course, once I ate something I'd end up even higher...

Once I switched to eating every 3 to 3.5 hours the liver dumps stopped happening. Some people can get away with eating only 3x a day, but I'm not one of 'em. I still get the dump in the morning if I sleep more than 6 hours, but now the liver dumps only up me to (on-average) 6.2 (112) ...

So maybe look at not only what you're eating, but how much (gotta get enough calories) and when. Make sure it's both enough, AND often-enough.

The other thing to realize is that since you were only Dx'd a few days ago, it will TAKE TIME for your BG's to lower, simply because of homeostasis... the body tries to maintain a stable constant... if it's USED to high BG's, it will maintain them there for a while.

They will lower naturally as you eat properly, exercise daily, and take your medication... but it won't happen overnight. It took about 6 weeks or more before I started to see any numbers in the 'normal' range.

 

[Shalynne]

I do eat more than spinach and nuts ... mostly meat, fish, cheese, eggs ...

When I was first diagnosed and trying to figure out what to eat, I wasn't eating 1) enough, and; 2) often-enough.

My liver kept trying to 'save' me by giving me what it thought was much-needed glucose, and back then I'd spike to around 10.5 (189) or so without eating, simply because of liver dumps. Of course, once I ate something I'd end up even higher...

Ooookaayyy ... that sounds familiar.

Once I switched to eating every 3 to 3.5 hours the liver dumps stopped happening. Some people can get away with eating only 3x a day, but I'm not one of 'em. I still get the dump in the morning if I sleep more than 6 hours, but now the liver dumps only up me to (on-average) 6.2 (112) ...

So maybe look at not only what you're eating, but how much (gotta get enough calories) and when. Make sure it's both enough, AND often-enough.

Well, I am scared of food at the moment. Seemed like a Good Thing -- cuts down on the cravings! And I'm restricting myself to 3 small(ish) meals a day. Maybe that's not a Good Thing. Thanks!

I have been sleeping more. Might also be a factor.

The other thing to realize is that since you were only Dx'd a few days ago, it will TAKE TIME for your BG's to lower, simply because of homeostasis... the body tries to maintain a stable constant... if it's USED to high BG's, it will maintain them there for a while.

They will lower naturally as you eat properly, exercise daily, and take your medication... but it won't happen overnight. It took about 6 weeks or more before I started to see any numbers in the 'normal' range.

I'm impatient, I guess. 6 weeks really isn't bad, in the scheme of things.

Many thanks for the great advice!

 

[Shanny]

I totally get the "no-food" part of your rant . . . when I was successful quitting smoking many years ago, it was because I just never smoked again - never EVER lit up again. So I've thought all these years that if I just didn't have to EAT ever again, I could control my weight! Then along came low-carbing & I learned that all I had to quit eating is the carbs!

 

[beefy]

You might want to try a quick online calculator to determine the amount of calories you need:

This site provides you a fairly reasonable calculation for maintenance or fat-loss. Remember, fewer calories isn't always better, you need a certain amount or the body goes into starvation mode...

 

[Shalynne]

The Dr. prescribed a 1,800-calorie, carb-filled diet. Will use a calculator to figure out what I'm getting without the carbs.

Right now, I'm so scared of food, that dropping carbs is noooo problem. Plus, I was already changing my diet when diagnosed, so some of the changes are already well in place.

But spiking on spinach is downright depressing. Thanks, Beefy, for pointing out that the spinach may have been innocent.

 

[beefy]

The Dr. prescribed a 1,800-calorie, carb-filled diet. Will use a calculator to figure out what I'm getting without the carbs.

Right now, I'm so scared of food, that dropping carbs is noooo problem. Plus, I was already changing my diet when diagnosed, so some of the changes are already well in place.

But spiking on spinach is downright depressing. Thanks, Beefy, for pointing out that the spinach may have been innocent.

Drop the carbs but not the calories. Try to limit your carbs to mostly veggies (except potatoes, corn or parsnips) and enjoy some added fat and protein in your diet.