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Seriously?

6K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  gphx 
#1 · (Edited)
I had to see the certified diabetes educator again this week. So she is impressed with my weight loss and blood pressure, looks at my food journal and says, you aren't eating enough carbs!!!!!! You need 45-60 per meal at least 180 total per day. I average a 100 per day mostly lunch and dinner (I can eat brown rice and sweet potatos for dinner with no probelm). She had uploaded my meter and printed out the numbers so I said well, look what my blood sugar does in the mornings when I increase the carbs. So her response:

Let's increase your metformin to 500 twice a day instead of once and eat more carbs!!!!!!! Seriously??????:eek:

I did put on my bigger girl panties and ask why when carbs are the enemy? Her response, They are not the enemy, they give us energy. BLAH BLAH BLAH

Can't wait to be able to move on when I see a new doctor (an endo)in September.

How do I get a signature at the bottom of my page like everbody else? I want to be cool too!
 
#3 ·
How do I get a signature at the bottom of my page like everbody else? I want to be cool too!
You're already cool, but to edit your sig click on "Quick Links" in the black bar, and you'll see 'edit sig' under User Control Panel.

As for the CDE ADA carb thing, I will never in my whole life stop being amazed.
 
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#5 ·
American Diabetes Association guidelines call for all those carbs. Depending on their employers' policies, docs and CDEs may be required to provide this bad advice.

Many, however (the Good Ones), will quietly drop the subject when they see you're doing well.

So, welcome to the Carb Resistance! The, ummmm, other club you never wanted to join. :hippie:
 
#6 ·
"Carb Resistance" - Love it! Want the t-shirt!
 
#9 ·
Actually, I can't help but wonder if your doctor is taking your anxiety/panic disorder into consideration.

Complex carbohydrates do in fact provide energy that helps to feed the nervous system, breaking down faster to provide nourishment for nerves that are out of whack. I got a similar lecture awhile back from my doctor and that was the reason why.

I walk a tightrope between watching and eating the right type of carbs to prevent blowing my blood sugar to kingdom come and taking in the right amount and type of carbs to aid in helping my nerves to continue healing.

Perhaps you could ask your doctor if that was in fact the rationale behind the advice?
 
#10 ·
Interesting. I have never heard of that before (complex carbs and anxiety). So, what kind of carbs are talking about and how many can you eat?
 
#11 ·
Gotta be complex carbs, simple carbs break down too fast to really provide any help with nervous illness. While simple carbs are fine for people without diabetes, at least in terms of a burst of energy, a burst isn't in the best interests of folks like us. Plus, simple carbs usually don't pack the nutrients of foods with complex carbs, so you are not giving your body much to work with.

And it's important to remember we are still talking carbs here, so measuring portions is a must. Personally, I use a scale to make sure I really am only consuming a single portion. While they are good for working with other tools like therapy, medication, meditation, etc and gradually getting those exhausted nerves back into a normal pace instead of constantly racing, too much of a good thing won't help your nerves or your blood glucose.

As to how many, that will vary based on your own unique combination of ailments and symptoms.

Some examples of complex carbs that provide me with the nutrients I need and also tend to not spike my glucose levels are whole grain breads, oat bran and buckwheat in particular. In the veggie family, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, cucumbers, celery and just about all the dark green leafy vegies like kale and spinach do the trick. Legumes like garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black beans and soy beans work for me.

You have to play around a bit and figure out how different foods with complex carbs affect you. For example, a thin slice of buckwheat bread won't cause the increase for me that a slice of whole wheat does, but still gives me the nutrients and fiber I want. Same with some of the legumes. I get more mileage from garbanzo beans than I do from kidney beans with less impact on my glucose level. You, on the other hand, might find the opposite to be true. It's all about identifying which complex carbs give you the right balance of nutrients while creating as little distress on the blood sugar as possible.
 
#12 ·
I am only posting here because the title of this thread fits. Went to my doctor 10 years ago about a patch of skin that erupted. I thought it was skin cancer she said it was ring worm. I questioned her are you sure it's not skin cancer and she assured me it was not. Treated it with fungal cream. That did little than cortisone cream multiple times over the years. She retired and second doctor also treated it with cortisone cream. Finally got recommended to specialist biopsy - CANCER - seriously I am not impressed.
 
#13 ·
HardBackStrider, THAT STINKS! Seriously.............. Let us know how it turns out.
 
#14 ·
re: complex carbs and anxiety: 1) I have heard that, it is part of the "party line."

2) if true: so how come I have NOT had the horrendous adrenal rushes I had experienced before, since diagnosis and beginning to low-carb??

Add to it: needing to avoid liver / kidney gluconoegenesis and constant glucose outpouring, due to low-carb: You could try testing: low carb a week and high carb a week, and see what happens! And present the results to your doctor, too ... :p and let us know.
 
#15 ·
HardBackStrider ...
Refusal to diagnose. Unforgivable. How are you doing?

To Carb or Not To Carb ...
I certainly don't get an outpouring of glucose from low-carb. To the contrary, it keeps my numbers down nicely.

My moods are a lot more manageable with low-carb -- never expected that! My once-epic brain fog has cleared too. (I asked my nurse-educator about brain fog and diabetes; she said it should be on all the standard symptoms lists. It isn't.)

I think FoxL's suggestion to test one, then the other, is excellent. We're all different, but the one thing good diabetic managers have in common is this: We eat to our meters ... and get in touch with our minds and bodies ... and discover what works best for us.
 
#16 ·
Dismiss using complex carbs to help recover from anxiety and panic disorders as being part of this nebulous "party line" that seems to be the catch-phrase on this site all you want. It has helped me and it has helped others on the anxiety boards I inhabit.

Since the rule of thumb here seems to be to denigrate and marginalize any ideas that don't fit into a narrow world view, this will be my last post. Best wishes to all of you in your continued efforts to manage your disease.
 
#17 ·
No, please don't go! We are all for sharing ideas.
 
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#22 ·
I had to see the certified diabetes educator again this week. So she is impressed with my weight loss and blood pressure, looks at my food journal and says, you aren't eating enough carbs!!!!!! You need 45-60 per meal at least 180 total per day. I average a 100 per day mostly lunch and dinner (I can eat brown rice and sweet potatos for dinner with no probelm). She had uploaded my meter and printed out the numbers so I said well, look what my blood sugar does in the mornings when I increase the carbs. So her response:

Let's increase your metformin to 500 twice a day instead of once and eat more carbs!!!!!!! Seriously??????:eek:


I did put on my bigger girl panties and ask why when carbs are the enemy? Her response, They are not the enemy, they give us energy. BLAH BLAH BLAH

Can't wait to be able to move on when I see a new doctor (an endo)in September.

How do I get a signature at the bottom of my page like everbody else? I want to be cool too!
LOL Yeah, those people tried to kill me too!!
 
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#23 ·
The fact that a CDE said this doesn't surprise me at all. Mine told me not to count carbs at all.. but calories instead..

Not knowing any better, I listened and where did that get me? Not anywhere close to where I need to be. And after some other drama they caused, I decided to throw everything they told me out the window.. if I can not trust them to return a simple phone call, how can I trust what else they tell me?
 
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#24 ·
I heard this one before too.
I suffer from Anxiety as well, and let me tell you, I find that when I am going on induction (or dropping from my frequent carb binges. LOL) that I get hit with anxiety. Same goes for over consumption of coffee.
As for the dietitian? Whatever. I listen to my body, and I have ALWAYS questioned everything someone tells me. (It's a bad trait sometimes, but I just like to know.)
I used to work with dietitians, so I know that the clinical ones go through a stage (I don't know the english term - I guess work experience?) where they put their knowledge to use. After that, they graduate and continue with the "party line" as the USDA, (or other dietary committees) release their guidelines.
What that means is they basically get their recommendations from the government, and they are REQUIRED to push them in order to maintain their designations. Plus, from the technical standpoint, most of them have already forgotten the theory and science behind their recommendations, so they are recommending based on the best thing they have - experience. (Not saying the experience is good, mind you, just that they only have experience to go with.)
Now, if a dietitian was designated back in the late '80s for example, then the training they received is still going to be the "You need carbs, less fat, blah blah."
It will take at least a generation to change that.

What's with the long ramble? Well, that means you gotta take it into your own hands. Eat to your meter, and let the numbers dictate what you do.

My dietitian argued with me until she was exasperated - because she couldn't argue with the numbers, and her logic was misplaced.

When I started LCing, my BG numbers went down, as well as my Triglycerides, Total cholesterol, and my A1C went down, despite the little amounts of insulin. Plus, I wasn't dead, contrary to what she was saying.

I politely thanked her for her great "advice," and haven't spoken to her since.

The key is, you are the boss. Not them. Once you realize that, all gets better. You shouldn't even have to fight them. Let them know YOU are in the pilot seat, and they are there for a supporting role only. If your protocol requires low carb, they can't argue in the end. If they do, politely fire them, and find another.
 
#25 ·
High bgs make me anxious. Everything else pales in comparison. Except losing my job and being homeless. Homeless and diabetic, now that'd be a mess. I saw a show on a shelter and almost everything they served was high carb. I guess homeless diabetics are just out of luck and out of time. I do my best to keep my bgs low so I don't lose my job. Carbs, who needs em.
 
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