[jsntay]

I am a little confused about the low carb diets like Atkins. My sister and a friend of mine tried the diet and I remember them both talking about having to go through ketoacidosis and they checked for ketones to see if they reached it.

I thought ketoacidosis was dangerous and ketones causes kidney damage. Dont type 1's have to check for ketones if their bs gets over a certain level.

I think I am well below my daily carb allowance that the dietician gave me. Following that diet, I get 165grams or 11 carb servings a day. Does that sound a little high?

 

[Shanny]

While I don't know sic 'em about the Atkins diet, I'm guessing what it refers to is ketosis, which is when the body begins to burn fat and ketones begin to spill into the urine.

Ketoacidosis is commonly referred to as DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), and maybe simplistically, it could be considered ketosis run amok. The body is burning fat because there is little or no insulin being produced. Blood sugar shoots skyhigh and ketones build to a toxic level. There are others here who can explain this FAR better than I!

What I CAN explain is that for my diet, 165g of carbs per day would be about three times too much! Since I'm not on insulin, I can't quickly recover from a spike, so I target a range between 80 and 130, and eat however few carbs it takes to stay there. What it works out to is about 50-60g per day.

 

[jsntay]

I am not on insulin either and dont know how they came up with that diet. They did check my height/weight at that appointment. Nothing was said, I know I was overweight, BMI was never mentioned. We just talked about my 13.9% A1C being at the top and a little over the top of the chart that was hanging on the wall, LOL.

My bs goals were set to be up to 140 before meals and up to 180 2hrs after meals. I think this is the American Diabetes Assoc. guideline but not the AACE guideline.

 

[breezeonby]

I am not on insulin either and dont know how they came up with that diet. They did check my height/weight at that appointment. Nothing was said, I know I was overweight, BMI was never mentioned. We just talked about my 13.9% A1C being at the top and a little over the top of the chart that was hanging on the wall, LOL.

My bs goals were set to be up to 140 before meals and up to 180 2hrs after meals. I think this is the American Diabetes Assoc. guideline but not the AACE guideline.

At my last diabetes self management class, the CDE said that 50-75 grams of carbs can be consumed each meal and 15-30 grams of carbs per snack. If you are trying to loose weight, then stay at the lower end of the range. The best gauge is your glucose meter. Try different amounts of carbs and test to see what impact they have on your blood sugar. I do take insulin and it does give you more flexibility than oral medication(s) alone.

 

[jsntay]

At my last diabetes self management class, the CDE said that 50-75 grams of carbs can be consumed each meal and 15-30 grams of carbs per snack. If you are trying to loose weight, then stay at the lower end of the range. The best gauge is your glucose meter. Try different amounts of carbs and test to see what impact they have on your blood sugar. I do take insulin and it does give you more flexibility than oral medication(s) alone.

So testing your bs is the key!

 

[onaughmae]

So testing your bs is the key!

Absolutely it is the key. The best way to tell if you are going over on your carbs is to test before you eat, and then 1 hour after to see if it is coming down, and then 2 hours later you should be in the target range your doctor wants you to be in. The target ranges they gave you are a bit high, but I am assuming they set your target higher for now because since you have been averaging *so* high its actually better to bring you down to "normal" gradually. You are likely to feel hypoglycemic right now at levels when technically you aren't since your body has gotten used to higher levels. I know I was very out of control for awhile with an A1c of 12.6. When my blood sugars started coming down I actually felt like I was going to faint at 100 Your body will gradually become accustomed to a more normal level. I can eat more carbs now than I was able to before, but I have more flexibility now that I am taking insulin. Even more so since I started pumping. That thing is the best thing since sliced bread!

 

[Shanny]

That thing is the best thing since sliced bread!

Whoa baby! That thing is way BETTER than sliced bread . . . bread throws me WAY outta whack!

 

[Shanny]

I am not on insulin either and dont know how they came up with that diet. They did check my height/weight at that appointment. Nothing was said, I know I was overweight, BMI was never mentioned. We just talked about my 13.9% A1C being at the top and a little over the top of the chart that was hanging on the wall, LOL.

My bs goals were set to be up to 140 before meals and up to 180 2hrs after meals. I think this is the American Diabetes Assoc. guideline but not the AACE guideline.

ADA even admits that their guidelines are lenient, and why the heck they don't tighten up is beyond me! And for the medical community to continue adherence to such foolishness is almost more than I can accept. At the very least, our medical teams should be teaching new patients to eat to their meters, the better to establish a safe diet plan than keeps their bs within safe parameters. And in my opinion, anything over 140 is NOT safe. Yet even my own doctor tells me I test too much, and the insurance companies often put stringent limits on the numbers of strips they'll cover. It makes no sense at all.

(but since it's so early in the morning, I'm going to try to curb this rant before I get up a real head of steam! I don't think you need me to tell you that you hit a nerve here! heheh! )

 

[Eorellana]

Carbs.

The human brain needs 40-60 grams of carbs per meal to function properly belive me I went for y e a r s. In a much lower than that and I can tell you that I'm not as bright as I used to be ( that's why I married a very bright girl ) I went from being an excelent troubleshutter to average and I'm not even mentioning my Atkins experiment were yes I lost weight ( and lots of muscle mass w it too) but now I know that eating carbs and excersice is the best way to keep it all balanced.. good luck to y'all.

 

[onaughmae]

The human brain needs 40-60 grams of carbs per meal to function properly belive me I went for y e a r s. In a much lower than that and I can tell you that I'm not as bright as I used to be ( that's why I married a very bright girl ) I went from being an excelent troubleshutter to average and I'm not even mentioning my Atkins experiment were yes I lost weight ( and lots of muscle mass w it too) but now I know that eating carbs and excersice is the best way to keep it all balanced.. good luck to y'all.

How do you manage your carbs with your diabetes? Carb counting with insulin> oral meds? diet and exercise? I know its a difficult for many diabetics to be able to get the carbs they need for fuel and still keep their BG in a target range. It is for sure the challenge we all face

 

[Shanny]

The human brain runs on glucose, just like every other cell in the body. Whatever nutrients are available, the body will convert to glucose. Carbs are not the only source, and for diabetics, not even the best source.

The human brain needs 40-60 grams of carbs per meal to function properly belive me I went for y e a r s. In a much lower than that and I can tell you that I'm not as bright as I used to be ( that's why I married a very bright girl ) I went from being an excelent troubleshutter to average and I'm not even mentioning my Atkins experiment were yes I lost weight ( and lots of muscle mass w it too) but now I know that eating carbs and excersice is the best way to keep it all balanced.. good luck to y'all.

 

[Kitchener Bay]

Dietican allows me 240g of carbs per day but I rarely intake anywhere near that.

50g per day Shanny?
That's remarkable

 

[Shanny]

Dietican allows me 240g of carbs per day but I rarely intake anywhere near that.

50g per day Shanny?
That's remarkable

Well, when I couldn't get my sugars down following higher carb recommendations, even though my doc increased my metformin, I just started whittling away at the carb intake. This is where I wound up. I just substitute a lotta things and I don't keep carby stuff in the house anymore, so it isn't an option unless I wanna drive five miles into town. Gasoline is too high-priced & I'm too cheap to make any basically unnecessary trips to town!