[SecretAgent]

I'm getting so frustrated and nervous.

(just got back results from A1c from last week, before I started eating low carb. It was 8.)

I've been doing the low carb and testing my blood for almost a week now. The numbers are not going down much. Ok, the first day, before I started eating low carb, the number was 242. It has not gotten over 200 since I started doing low carb, but I cannot get the numbers down below 129. Most of the time it is going from 135, 145, and 160.

I don't know what to do. I am practically eating no carbs. The other morning I had eggs, cheese (no carb), and sausage (no carb). The entire meal was 0 carbs and at the one hour test, the glucose number was over 160.

I am mostly eating unprocessed foods, other than cheese and sausage. No artificial sweeteners. I am keeping breakfast 0-5 carbs, lunch 0-10 carbs, and dinner 0-10 carbs. I try really hard to keep the carbs closer to zero as possible.

I have to say though, when I start to feel lightheaded, if I eat some carbs, I feel better. The carbs I am eating are from a CoCo Pop, which is a puffed, whole grain cracker with 4 grams of carbs. I'm only eating one of these a day, and I only started that 3 days ago. I put some peanut butter, cheese, or dip on it and test an hour after. The numbers go down about 10 points after I eat that.

There is a possibility that I have Cushing's syndrome. Saturday morning I will go for an MRI on the pituitary and then Wednesday, I will be seeing a neuro-endocrinologist. I know that one of the symptoms of Cushings is high blood glucose levels. I have been unable to find out though, if the Cushings causes the levels to stay high, even while eating low carb.

I just found out that my potassium level is now in the normal range. Low normal though. 3.8. Normal is between 3.5 to 5.1. I am on 2 pills of the highest dose of potassium supplements, though. I know if I go off of it, the potassium level will drop below normal again. Low potassium is also a symptom of Cushings. Does anyone know if low potassium affects blood glucose levels?

Thanks so much! I am so nervous right now, I don't know what to eat or do. I guess I am even more nervous because my mom is still in the hospital, after 12 weeks, due to complications with her diabetes. She also lost her leg 5 years ago.

 

[SecretAgent]

I'm also frustrated because when I had gestational diabetes almost 10 years ago, I was able to control it very easily with the carb limits the nutritionist gave me. 15 for breakfast and snacks, and 30 for lunch and dinner. It was so easy and the obgyn told me that I was the only patient she ever had with gestational that did not need insulin. Only once then did the glucose number go over 130; it went to 141, and that is only because I ate a bowl of cereal that day. Never did that after. Mostly I was able to keep it about 105-110.

I feel like this should work too, especially since most days I'm getting under 20 carbs. :Cry::Cry: thanks for letting me whine, and any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[foxl]

Basal Insulin.

AND, C-peptide and GAD-65 antibody testing.

Many women who had GD turn out to have antibodies and LADA.

But even if you do not get the testing, your basal rate is not correcting so I would get basal insulin.

And I agree - it IS frustrating! (That is why I got the testing).

 

[Shalynne]

I'm sorry you're in such a frustrating position! :hug:

Actually, it looks like low-carb has improved your levels some ... but it may not be enough by itself. This happens to some of us, unfortunately, no matter how "good" we are -- and you are being very good, indeed. You may want to ask about meds.

There is some relationship between diabetes and Cushing's, but it seems to be one of those areas where research is still in its early stages. (I found more on canines than humans!)

In any case, I'd encourage you to actively pursue both the glucose levels and the Cushing's angle. Am very glad you're seeing an endo in the next few days.

Please keep us posted!

EDITED TO ADD: I'm with FoxL on the insulin recommendation!

 

[jwags]

I know this is hard , but low carb isn't an instant fix. It probably took you a long while to become diabetic and may take awhile to bring those bgs down to close to normal. It took me almost 2 years of low carb to go from an HbA1c of almost 11 to an HbA1c of 7. Then it took me another 2 years to get into the low 5's. From lots of testing I found my problem was liver dumps when I didn't eat enough. I actually found that increasing my calories and adding fats at meals and snacks really helped my bgs. Can you give us an example of what you are eating and how much in a typical day. Are you counting every carb. Even things like peanut butter may spike some of us. It takes a lot of trial an error to find your safe foods.

 

[Patdart]

FWIW I would add more fats to your meals. It makes my food much more filling and I found my self more easily satiated. It does take a while for the BG to drop, but mine did after I'd been low carbing for a year. It gradually got lower and lower, so have faith. Jwags is right on in my opinion.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

LC alone isn't going to magically drop your numbers.

Portion control along with exercise and LC is what will drop your numbers

Just because a food is LC doesn't mean you can eat as much of it as you want.

 

[wdmama]

As jwags said, it can take time... even with meds and diet, it was a couple months before I got consistently normal numbers. But you may also need help, like basal insulin. TBP is also right about portion control and exercise.

 

[Gizmo]

When I was diagnosed, my bg wasn't all that high, but I was eating about 20 carbs per day and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it below 129. It didn't take long to learn that the more carbs you eat per sitting, the higher your bg goes, so I started eating 5 meals per day. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with melted cheese on it. Then 4 small snacks per day with 5 carbs each. And even though I was getting the same amount of carbs per day, that is when my bg started coming down.

Once you get your bg down, you should be able to add more carbs into you diet, but getting it down in the first place takes time and patience. And as long as you are eating as you should, I wouldn't worry too much about the fasting bg. The important thing is how high your bg goes one or two hrs. after eating. Once you get those down, your fasting bg will surely follow.

I get lightheaded between meals sometimes, so I usually eat an ounce of cheese or eat my next snack, and it goes away. In my case, I know lightheadedness is a signal that it's time to eat again.

You probably already know it is best to eat fat when you eat carbs, but eating fiber with carbs also keeps your bg from going as high. You mentioned peanut butter, crackers and dip, so I assume those sorts of things are where you are getting your carbs. But all of us need fiber and veggies so I suggest, since you are only eating 25 carbs per day, that you get all or most of them through veggies that are low on the glycemic index. Veggies are also a lot more filling than things like a tablespoon of dip.

One more thing, you are allotting 5 carbs for breakfast. Many diabetics don't eat any carbs at breakfast because morning is when your bg could go the highest, and because you want to start the day with your body burning fat, not carbs for energy. So for lots of us breakfast is eggs and sausage. I have trouble finding low carb sausage that is pre-cooked, that's why I go with the scrambled eggs with melted cheese.

Sorry for the book, but I had to get my 2 cents in here, too. Good luck and keep us posted.