Type 1 New To Gluten Free

[sharkmom]

On day 2 of eating gluten free because just diagnosed with allergy. My blood sugars are totally out of control. The only processed food I ate today (or yesterday) was 2 rice cakes. I have had diabetes for 28 years, so I have lots iof experience and know my body really good. I just cant figure out what is going on and thought maybe my body is doing something weird because it is so used to wheat being in my body. Has anyone had this experience when switching to gluten-free?

[Foxfire62]

I don't know if my blood sugars are out of whack, but I was tested for diabetes, and they said I didn't have it. But there are times I'm jittery and sometimes I'm not. I don't understand what's going on with me. A few people think it's because I'm 46 and might need some progesterone. Could this be the problem?

I will be starting progesterone tomorrow...don't know how that will affect me. Hope if this is the problem, it helps, because sometimes my blood pressure spikes. Is that what happens when sugars are out of whack with you?

[sharkmom]

Usually when my bs is high I get very tired, hunger, thirst. If they are low, I get confused, shaky, sweaty depending on how fast they drop. My md put me on progesterone to help start my period, but I couldn't take it because I felt very strange when I was on it.

[ravenwoodglass]

I don't know if my blood sugars are out of whack, but I was tested for diabetes, and they said I didn't have it. But there are times I'm jittery and sometimes I'm not. I don't understand what's going on with me. A few people think it's because I'm 46 and might need some progesterone. Could this be the problem?

I will be starting progesterone tomorrow...don't know how that will affect me. Hope if this is the problem, it helps, because sometimes my blood pressure spikes. Is that what happens when sugars are out of whack with you?

Please make very sure that the med is gluten-free, your pharmacist will check and you should get a handout with the company name that makes it so you can call and double check. You will get a better answer if you ask if the binders are wheat derived rather than asking if it is gluten free as wheat starch is sometimes considered gluten free.

I went through an early menapause because of the celiac disease and had all the usual horrible perimenapause symptoms. Oddly enough once I had been gluten-free for a short while, strictly all the hot flashes etc disappeared. If you are newly diagnosed you may want to see if the diet does away with those issues if you are apprehensive of some of the possible adverse reactions to taking hormones.

[luvs2eat]

I know some of the stuff we can eat has a higher glycemic index than what non-celiacs can eat... brown rice pastas, for example... altho you didn't say you'd eaten any.

[ravenwoodglass]

I know some of the stuff we can eat has a higher glycemic index than what non-celiacs can eat... brown rice pastas, for example... altho you didn't say you'd eaten any.

This is an excellent point. When I was diagnosed with diabetes and we determined that meds were not an option. I got a book on the glycemic indexes of foods. It was very helpful with eating so that my BS stayed more stable.

[OptimisticMom42]

My only experience with bs is with my #2son who was diagnosed with lowbs in the third grade. He never could tolerate carbs. He started reading labels and disregarging anything that had more carbs than protein when he was about 12. I found that many diabetic adults would disagree with him. They were so unwilling to give up thier carbs. As the years have gone by, we have seen these cousins and parents of friends get fat and go on to insulin while #2son remains thin and healthy. We were lucky, we had a good dr. and I was able to homeschool him until he was able to control his bs on his own.

My point....are you getting a good protein source (not one with carbs like milk) every 6 to 8 hours?

[missy'smom]

Wow Optimisticmom. Good for your son!

I'll second that advice for plenty of protein with each meal and snack-from meats-not milk, and fewer carbs, using non-spiking carbs instead. I've done the ADA diet(gestational) and it didn't work well. I was able to manage with diet alone but was still on a rollercoaster and could see such a difference when I tried different methods when I was diagnosed again recently. Second round with diabetes and I find that lowcarb works very well in controlling BG. Dr. Richard Bernstein is a T1 diabetic himself and has developed a lowcarb diet especially for those with diabetes. He's led a long, healthy life that speaks volumes for the effectiveness of his methods.