Diabetes? Hypoglycemia?

[missy'smom]

Thank You!

That makes me feel a little better, the docs just keep telling me they don't know why I get so dizzy. I will have testing done, does not sound pleasant but best to find out for sure.

I did find out my Great Grandpa had Type1 Diabetes

thanks for your input!

You're welcome. I'm glad it was helpful. It makes me angry that docs ignore these things. When you get tested just bring in plenty of distractions-magazines etc. and have a plan for a quick easy meal afterwards so that you don't have to wait even longer to eat and/or bring a balanced snack with you. Have someone come with you if possible. They can provide support, distraction and drive you if you're feeling not your best afterward. Speak up if you're nervous. The nurses would rather know and not have problems. They can do some things to help-smaller needles etc. One of the nurses even told me that she has to have her mom come in and hold her hand and she does blood draws on other people all day. The anticipation is maybe worse than the actual process.

[AliB]

I'm bumping this because GFLisa seemed to have all the symptoms I have been dealing with.

First anyone involved in this thread have any updates?

Ok so month 7 gluten free, but all my life have had dizziness & it seems worse now that I am gluten free. It is definitely blood sugar related, I was down to corn & white rice as my only grains & even they bother me. Sometimes in my sleep, I wake up from dead sleep thinking "need sugar" go to the kitchen in the middle of the night half asleep and eat anything I can get my hands on...usually something sweet.

My Great Grandpa died of Diabetes...but it was the less common type...guess I should find that out.

I have asked several Doctors if it's possible that I have diabetes or ????

~my GI "For now lets focus on the celiac, it can cause all kinds of strange symptoms"

~my dietitian "well if you had diabetes you GI would have caught it, there might be a chance you have hyperglycemia"....BUT she just told me NOT to try SCD.

~my internist ...well I may have become "the crazy hypochondriac patent that wont leave her alone" so we just delt with the B12 deficiency, guess I could go back.

I will be seeing a Rheumatologist soon guess I can bring it up to him.

SO what now,

If it is Hypo or Hyper glycemia....sounds like I'm on my own, getting a Dx for that may be a waist of time ...I should read up on the glycemic index diet

To test for Diabetes don't they have to hold you and keep testing your blood sugar though out the day???

I don't know...will use this thread as a resource, I'm just overwhelmed & unsure of what to do next.

Thanks for letting me vent

I spent years suffering with weight issues, constant fatigue and hypos before finally succumbing to the dreaded diabetes 11 years ago when I was 40.

I was told by a Practitioner years ago that I should be eating a low-carb diet and although the only 2 times in my life I really felt well, had energy and stable blood sugar was when I was following that advice, I didn't stick to it, and I didn't learn from that and consequently have found myself in a far bigger mess than I undoubtedly would have done had I done so!

For several years after becoming diabetic I had a problem keeping my blood sugars low enough - my HbA1c was often up in the 11-12 range (190-200) or more. Not long before my digestion collapsed last Jan I finally managed to start getting it under control and was feeling pretty pleased with myself and then it all fell apart for a while. When I first went gluten-free my BS was all over the place and I was waking up in the night with very low hypos - to the point that I had to keep something by my bed as staggering down the stairs in the middle of the night with a hypo was not the safest thing to be doing .

I very quickly realised that the high-carb gluten-free foods were just as bad, if not worse for me BS wise, so I had to cut down, and then I found the SCD and things have improved a lot since then. I have realised that the only way to keep stable BS (and to get my body into healing mode) is to avoid the high carbs (and especially before bed!!). That applied long before I was diabetic and still applies now (only now I am finally paying attention!).

What was explained to me all the way back then is that whereas protein and good fats tend generally to keep the BS pretty stable, most carbs create rapid spikes. The pancreas, overwhelmed by the sudden surge, wildly shoves out a load of insulin into the bloodstream which inevitably brings the BS too low, then a short while later you start to get the effects of the hypo come through and then in desperation to get rid of the hypo quickly, you are driven to eat more food which inevitably ends up being more carbs because they are 'quick fixes', and so the cycle continues.

Many think that because their blood 'sugar' is low, they need to have more sugar to fix it. Wrong move. Foods that raise the glucose level slowly is what is needed. When the system is working properly and the BS is relatively stable, as the blood sugar falls the liver will release glucose into the bloodstream to bring it back up. But if the individual has fallen into the pattern of eating carb-rich food every time their blood sugar falls, the liver is fooled into assuming that will happen every time, which of course, in the middle of the night, doesn't normally happen!

The endless cycle of carb followed by more carb just triggers off an all day BS yo-yo effect which is why so many people get that fatigue slump in the middle of the afternoon (or, as in my case all day, every day!).

Although it is considered normal, and indeed there are some people who seem to be able to cope with it without any problems, the amount of carbs that are consumed in our 'Western' diet and the resulting constant stress on the Pancreas is contributing to an epidemic of people with IoL 'burn-out' and inevitably Diabetes. Just during 2008 here in the UK, those diagnosed leapt by an astonishing 50% from the year before, and so many of them were children and young people.

For many, the 'Western' diet appears to revolve around burgers, pizza, chips, fries, candy, sweets, cookies, biscuits, bread, cake, pastry, and the nearest many of them seem to get to a vegetable is a hugely sugar-laden, completely enzyme and nutrient-dead can of baked beans, or fruit - as a hugely sugar-laden, completely enzyme and nutrient-dead glass of squash (not to mention the chemicals!)!

Never before in human history has the quantity of processed sugar and carbohydrate been consumed at the galloping rate it has escalated to in this current climate. Add bad hydrogenated and trans-fats etc. into the mix and, well, it speaks for itself.

I always thought we ate healthily, and compared to some we possibly did, but knowing what I know now, I now know we really didn't eat all that healthily at all! Before the burn-out, the constant barrage of insulin (the fat-laying hormone) floating around in my body from the carb consumption made weight gain easy and losing it virtually impossible, and now I have to inject it I am no better off - and still overweight!

Usually what would happen if you mentioned to your doc that you are wondering if you have Diabetes is that he will ask you certain questions like, "are you very thirsty and do you drink a lot, particularly in the evenings? Do you pee a lot? Are you losing weight without dieting?

If any of those are affirmative then he may test your blood sugar there and then, or he may ask you to go back in for a 'fasting' blood test - in other words first thing in the morning before you have eaten or had a drink (other than water), to see what the level is after having no food for 12 hours or so. If he then has any concerns about it he may then arrange for you to have a GTT (glucose tolerance test). The GTT assesses your body's ability to cope with carbs and sugar. You would have to drink a glucose solution, then they would test your blood sugar at various intervals over the next few hours.

Although uncontrolled hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can lead to diabetes as it indicates that the body cannot cope with carbs very well, at least at that stage an individual has the chance to stabilise it and settle it down by adjusting their diet. Even if it should mean that the diet has to be adjusted on a permanent basis, far better it should be at that stage when that is all it would take to support the pancreas and prevent things getting any worse. Once the individual has already developed diabetes and the pancreas has started to burn out, resulting in the need for injected insulin (which is where I am now), altering the diet may still help to stabilise the blood sugar, but it is too late to prevent the deterioration of the insulin-producing cells.

In that case, prevention is much, much better than the 'cure'.

[RollingAlong]

A fasting blood glucose test can be perfectly normal and you could still have a problem.

www.bloodsugar101.com explains this and other pesky problems with blood sugar testing.

Good luck with it and keep us posted!

[elye]

Heavy carb intake can definitely wreak havoc on those who have blood sugar issues - -hypo or hyper. While you wait to see doctors and/or specialists, you may want to invest in a home blood glucose monitor. They run around fifty dollars, and in five seconds you can know exactly what your BS level is. Testing throughout the day can be very valuable and telling - - you'll quickly get to know which foods cause a spike, and which cause a slow rise and fall. Bloodsugar101 is a good, informative sight, and you can keep all their information in mind while you see how your own BS moves throughout the day.

Good luck with all this.......I've been a type one for 35 years, and tight blood sugar control is the toughest thing I accomplish every day!

[Yoekie]

hi,

I can relate to all of your symptoms: dizzy, shaking, sweating, feeling sick to my stomach, not being able to walk, even bringing a fork to my mouth was really hard even though I so needed food, also I couldn't write -when I was at class- or think straight (which was dramatic when I had it in the middle of an exam). I went to my doc who laughed at me, as I had no other signs that could point at diabetes. I then cut out sugar and actually all sweet things, checked on the glycemic index also. I did it for about 6 weeks but it didn't get any better. In the end I was scared to go anywhere -even for a walk around the block- without carrying food with me. I would get a hypo every 2 hours as well as at night. I stopped the 'diet' because I became depressed with no sweet things to eat, I'm ok with no sugar but honey seems to be my perfect anti-depressant.

This was 5 years ago and I'm fine. I have learned that it's no good thing to have a soda with nothing to eat. I have also learned that it's not good to rely on carbs for energy. Since I'm sticking to those 2 simple rules, hypos are pretty much part of my past and I don't think I'm more at risk for diabetes than any other person. I do think that I was prone to it because of yearlong serious underweight. I do know that those midnight cravings (hypos) made me gain weight, so maybe I just ate myself out of it??

This is my experience, hopefully it's useful to you.

[AliB]

Well, I just looked through 'Bloodsugar101' - I hadn't come across it before - and what do you know? The low-carb diet regime recommended for diabetics on there is virtually identical to the SCD (but then I knew that was the best thing for me as a diabetic anyway let alone the food intolerance issues!).

Now that the SCD is improving both my digestion and my blood sugar levels (not to mention the other health issues that have much improved or gone completely) I don't think I need any persuasion to be following it........

[tarnalberry]

That makes me feel a little better, the docs just keep telling me they don't know why I get so dizzy. I will have testing done, does not sound pleasant but best to find out for sure.

From my first adult GP, as this was the case for me: testing for reactive hypoglycemia is difficult without staying in a lab all the time, and when my doc found that my fasting blood sugar was normal, but on the low side, she said "you know what, symptoms are part of the diagnostics, let's see if treating it makes you feel better". what I've discovered is that, for me, it's some that the blood sugar goes really low (I'm always just on the low side of normal, which apparently is still enough to give me symptoms), but also how fast the blood sugar drops.

[missy'smom]

I'm no expert. I'm still so entrenched in managing my meals and BG at the moment so don't have too much time/energy for too much research other than to meet my immediate needs, but I still think it's worth it to get some extended testing. As another poster pointed out your fasting BG can be normal and you can still have problems. Mine are normal and were on testing day but my BG followed the curve from Blood Sugar 101 for moderate to severe diabetes, going up to 280 something at 2 hrs. and only down to 260 something at 3. Testing may/may not give an easy answer to the lows but it can rule out problems with highs and that's worth knowing IMHO. Knowledge is power. I still occasionally have lows and don't know exactly why. But when I think back to the past few times I passed out before I was tested and started managing it, it falls in line with the theory that my BG spiked up too much, then fell and I didn't get another meal soon enough- more than 4 hrs. later. I suspected BG problems for more than a decade and my doc now suspects that I may have had diabetes for a while. Now that I'm testing and managing it I can feel a little something if I go too high but I would not have noticed it before. I can think back and see possible symptoms of highs but I didn't know that they could be attributed to diabetes at the time, but things that I noticed at the time and thought were abnormal/bothersome like shakinesss or headachy after eating things like muffins for breakfast without any protein and fatigue that followed a certain time after a meal, dizzy spells. My docs. dismissed me because I was too young or petite(no weight problems)no weight loss, no excessive hunger or thirst. The ones I saw before testing and my doc now seem mystified that I had it during pregnancy, indicating that they wonder if I had it before that-my son's 10 now. I asked a doc. about diabetes when I was around 23. He literally laughed at me and walked out of the room-I'm 38 now. I may not have had full blown diabetes all that time but I wasn't tested so I'll never know but if I had been tested I could have treated it if I did have problems. If I could have a do-over, I would have really put my foot down and been tested sooner. I'm very complaint with my dietary management and test often so I know exactly where I'm at and how foods and combinations effect me but with various limitations not due to BG and my body being able to handle so few carbs I can't keep any weight on and am so thin. I can manage it with diet but I am so desperate to gain weight that I'm about ready sometimes to beg my doc. to put me on insulin- me-being the one who passes out whenever needles are involved. Let me gain some weight and save what's left of my pancreas! Yet I know that insulin is not as easy as it sounds either. I don't like to put myself out there like this so much but if it helps one person to catch it earlier then it's worth it. I don't want to go on and on but I'm struggling now too doing better in some ways but struggling in others. Hope you understand. I sometimes don't know where to start with a new thread. (yeah I know how the board works, that's not what I'm talking about) It's easier to join in on one.

[AliB]

So weird isn't it - there's you, can't cope with carbs and can't put weight on - there's me, can't cope with carbs but can't get the weight off! How daft is that!

There must be something going on that defines the difference.

I was a skinny child, a tubby adolescent, slimmer in my later teens then around 9.5 stone when I married. I put a stone on after my marriage but what really whopped it up was my first pregnancy at the age of 21. I climbed to 14 stone then dropped to 12 after the birth of our daughter. I never got below that and hovered between 14 - 16 stone until now (I am 51) where I am stuck around 13.10.

For many years I would get hypos - the worst time was at night before sleep - I would get really stressed and anxious about stupid things - imagining not being able to get us out of the house if there was a fire, or having an car accident - you know the stuff!

I eventually discovered that if I got up and had something to eat it would all go away. I obviously had very unstable BS back then. Because of my family history I had a GTT when I was pregnant and the doc said then that it wasn't brilliant and that I would probably become diabetic eventually.

When the kids were little I went to a Naturopath who told me then that I should eat low-carb - permanently, but when you are young you don't want to be burdened with that so although I did it for a while eventually I went back to a 'normal' diet. Whilst on it I was a lot better though - lost weight and had heaps of energy - you think I would have learned!

When I was 40 I started losing weight without trying. That was great - I loved that diet! For some time I had been very thirsty in the evenings but, although I had grown up with my type 1 diabetic Mum it still took several months for the light bulb to go on.

I was in a cleft stick then because I loved the fact that I was losing weight, but was obviously concerned that I didn't want the diabetes to get too advanced. I eventually took myself to the Doc and told him I thought I was diabetic, which he confirmed.

As I had already tried diet unsuccessfully he put me on to tablets pretty much immediately. Daonil. Within 8 weeks I had put the 2.5 stone I had lost back on!!! I was gutted. When I went back to him he said 'oh, I don't know why I put you on those - I don't normally do that unless the others don't work, because that is one of the side effects"!!! Arrrrrrrggghhhh! I could have strangled him with my bare hands I was so angry!

He put me on to Metformin after that but it was too late.

Sometimes I really HATE doctors!

Since '03 I have been on insulin as well, as my Pancreatic output has dwindled. I was given Byetta for 3 months in July 07 but should never have been given it - it won't work if your body does not supply enough insulin by itself, but I didn't know that and the Doctor obviously didn't know what he was doing. It was that that really messed my digestion up and led to its collapse (sometimes I really, really HATE Doctors!) and it has taken me over a year to get any kind of recovery.

Looking at the BS101 site I reckon I probably fall into what is suggested as the Type 1.5 - slow progressive autoimmune diabetes. I have to say that since I have been on gluten-free and dairy-free and the SCD it does not seem to have worsened which is a positive thing.

After I came off the Byetta and was put back on to insulin I started to take a herbal prep capsule that I get sent over from the States and that, for the first time since becoming diabetic, brought my BS levels right down virtually into normal range which was fantastic. Within 3 months my HbA1c went from 12 right down to 7.3. I was so chuffed that I was finally getting good control, but then my digestion collapsed and it all went out the window. My last A1c was 8 which is still better than 12, but I really want to get it down to normal.

Definitely the less carbs I eat, the better - I get this very annoying thumping/throbbing thing going on all over my body (heart beating - not fast but just very obvious and a stressy duodenum which may be the trigger for it) when I eat foods my digestion can't cope with and carbs are especially problematic. I feel it in my teeth to my toes. The only time it goes completely is if I have a day on just fruit and veg smoothies and a little fish and salad. Wish I knew why!

Looking back I have realised that my digestion has been problematic pretty much all my life. At times my stomach felt so 'weary' it would take all my effort not to just lay down in the street! I always thought it was because my stomach was so fat and heavy, but now understand that they were times my digestion was really struggling. After meals, and the times I would grab a choc bar when shopping, I'd get really fatigued (as opposed to the normal 'tired all the time' feeling) so it was obviously a problem right back then. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - shame we can't use it at the time!

Just out of interest - does or has anyone who has issues with blood sugar have a problem with an itchy back? I used to get an itchy back a lot - had to get my hub to scratch it for me all the time particularly just inside my left shoulder blade. It went away for a while after I started on insulin but since I've been gluten-free it's come back - whether its a healing thing or what I don't know - there's nothing there, it just itches. Some have noticed that as they heal they kind of go backwards through their symptoms so I will have to watch that one. Maybe I'll have to start a topic on itchy backs!

[missy'smom]

Thanks for your reply AliB. I've really needed to talk to someone about it, not with any more defined purpose other than just to talk. I feel like I'm in no man's land out there on my own. Much of the dietary advice/ treatment plans and support is geared toward weight loss. Here I am trying to gain weight on a low carb diet My doc seems cautious about meds. and I'm glad for that. I don't react well to many meds. I hope to educate myself about meds and insulin while I'm managing it by diet for now so that I'll be ready and can make educated decisions when the time comes and it may come sooner than later. I often get a tightness in my upper left chest and left back shoulder blade area when my BG goes above the safe zone which is a little concerning.

[AliB]

I know what you mean about the tightness in the back and stomach - I get a similar thing - almost a pain but not quite - although it is gradually improving since I have been on the SCD and as long as I keep those troublesome carbs very low.

I suspect that it is the poor old Pancreas trying desperately to pump out enough insulin to bring the BS back down!

Can you tolerate fats? Nuts can be quite high calorie but low carb. Although the SCD I am on (because my digestion collapsed and there was little I could cope with) is low-carb, it doesn't cut out all fattening foods. Some cheeses are allowed and the nuts, butter, coconut oil, and olive oil can all be consumed on it.

There are loads of yummy recipes using nut flours - muffins, cakes and suchlike, using honey for sweetening, although I am still limited with those to a certain extent because of the diabetes. I do find that if I have enough fat and/or protein with the few carbs I do have, it slows down the rate at which the sugar is absorbed. I cheated last night and had a couple oatcakes but I slathered the butter on. I ate them with my meal and an hour later my BS had only gone up to about 7.3.

It is not a weight-loss diet, although some who are overweight do lose weight as they start to heal. I have not started to shift it yet - I suspect I probably need to cut the calories a bit (I do like to nibble a few, or more than a few, nuts in the evening), and exercise more - I am beginning to get more energy now so hopefully that will help. From what I have read about the diet it seems that some do actually gain needed weight on the diet too.

But in any case even low-carb doesn't have to be low-calorie. If you can manage your sugar levels by diet and keep them low, there is always the possibility that you may not need to resort to meds at all. I didn't control the carbs enough and ended up on the Meds. I just wish I knew back then what I know now..........

[chatycady]

Hello all;

I HAD reactive hypoglycemia. I was diagnosed through the 6 hour test. I was told to follow the low carb; hi protein diet. It sorta worked, but I struggled with the complex carbohyrates that were recommended. I had all the symptoms you have had.

I did lot of research and read many books, and now no longer have hypoglycemia. I follow the SCDiet closely. The hypoglycemia is part of the "toxic" waste that is produced by undigested foods. Fix the small intestine and hopefully it will fix the hypoglycemia.

Also, I was tested for diabetes and was told I had NO risk of it in my future based on the test. I'm sorry I didn't ask more questions about that test.

The glycemic index may not be the best for celiacs to go by as it doesn't address which foods can be easily digested and which foods take healthy villi producing healthy enzymes to digest properly, which we DON'T have! That is why you can read about all sorts of food intolerances on this forum. Our intestine is damaged and it is unrealistic to think all complex foods can be digested easily.

Hang in there - food may have caused us damaged, but there is good nutritious food that will heal us!

[georgie]

I did lot of research and read many books, and now no longer have hypoglycemia. I follow the SCDiet closely. The hypoglycemia is part of the "toxic" waste that is produced by undigested foods. Fix the small intestine and hopefully it will fix the hypoglycemia.

I am not sure what this means. How does the toxic waste affect the pancreas to over produce insulin ? I did read the SCDiet and it sounds horrendous and very restrictive. I prefer my diet but was just curious about the toxic waste question. Do you still follow the SCDiet once you are healed ?

[AliB]

I am not sure what this means. How does the toxic waste affect the pancreas to over produce insulin ? I did read the SCDiet and it sounds horrendous and very restrictive. I prefer my diet but was just curious about the toxic waste question. Do you still follow the SCDiet once you are healed ?

Not sure I would have worded it quite like that but I know what Chaty was getting at - she is referring to the high-sugar, high-carb, highly processed junk that people are constantly consuming as 'toxic waste'.

It is the constant barrage of high carbohydrate against the body and the insulin receptors - the higher the level of insulin in the body, the less sensitive the receptors and the less able the cells are able to take up the glucose for energy production, etc., that leads to the insulin overproduction as the Pancreas is constantly trying to combat the sugar levels.

The high insulin levels also contribute to damage in the body - even if you are not (yet) diabetic. Year on year the number of people diagnosed is very rapidly rising and there has to be a rational explanation for it!

The SCD is not horrendous. What is horrendous is being sick and not getting better. For those of us who have been battling for years with health issues that the Medical Profession has no answer for, with digestive problems, with yeast infections, with joint pain, with fatigue, with headaches, unexplained neurological issues, etc., etc., etc., the SCD gives a little ray of hope.

When you can't cope with most of the foods that are 'banned' on the diet anyway, what's to lose? I deeply regret not paying attention to what I was told about as far as the Hypoglycemia was concerned years ago. I could eat the food then - but that was the problem. Because I could eat it, I did, blissfully unaware that it was causing the health issues I had back then and that much worse was to follow.

There is no such thing as a 'normal' diet. Everyone eats differently. Even sometimes within the same family. We eat what we like. Whether it is good for us is rarely considered. I am following the SCD because it is helping me to recover. Although I may consume the occasional treat once I am healed I will NEVER return to eating the way I did before, because I now know what it did to my body.

Although our bodies have tremendous abilities to heal and repair, they are not designed to consume the huge amount of carbohydrate that is commonly consumed today. Apart from all the other carbs, equalling out the amount consumed, the average quantity of sugar ingested by every person on that kind of diet amounts to at least half a pound a day! Fifty years ago people were going some if they consumed half a pound a week.

Ancient tribes and even some traditional diets in modern ones were generally low to medium carb consumers. Any carbs they did have were unprocessed and low GI. There was an experiment done with Aborigines. They got a group who had been 'Westernised' and who had type 2 diabetes to go back to the bush and follow their traditional diet. Within a very short period they were no longer diabetic. That's enough proof for me..........

Is it any wonder that diabetes is becoming an epidemic?

[Nancym]

There's a wonderful web site called bloodsugar101.com where you can learn a lot about how to control your blood sugar. I believe she also has a book out too. Anyway, I think she was voted diabetes educator of the year last year.

Check it out! This isn't just for diabetics but for anyone having issues with blood sugar, including hypoglycemia.

[AliB]

Thanks Nancy - yes Blood Sugar 101 has been mentioned a couple times in this thread.

I did notice that 'Protein Power' by Michael and Mary Dan Eades was mentioned on that site. I just found my copy that had been packed in a box for the last 5 years and have been reading through it again. Oh boy, do they speak a lot of sense.

One thing I take a bit of issue with on the BS101 site is the section that states that 'you did not eat your way to Diabetes'. Whilst I am sure that some of us have genetic or family vulnerabilities towards Diabetes, I am also sure that the 'Western' diet is a big contributor by virtue of the quantity of carbohydrate that is consumed.

Certainly none of us would deliberately make ourselves Diabetic but by following the crowd and consuming that quantity on a daily basis, just perhaps we may be inadvertently dropping ourselves into the loop without realising. The high carb stuff is just out there all the time. Millions of tons of the stuff. In our face - both figuratively and literally. We are so used to having it that we feel deprived without it. If it wasn't there we would all be following an SCD type diet and would be perfectly happy with it. You don't miss what you've never had.

Whilst the cause of Type 1 Diabetes is still being debated and due to the speed at which it happens likely has a different trigger, I am still not convinced that Type 2 is not triggered by dietary factors. Even if the high-carb, high-sugar diet doesn't trigger it, it certainly doesn't help one iota to prevent it.

[georgie]

There is no such thing as a 'normal' diet. Everyone eats differently

That's what I like about the RH Diet. There are no banned foods as such but instead methods to eat foods that are balanced and work 'for you'. Some people cope with protein:fat:carb of 30:30:40 or some need 50:40:10 but its has that choice and you work it out as you go. When the insulin get back to normal you can just feel it.... The book explains it very well - written by two Drs.

[AliB]

Not sure Georgie what you mean by the 'RH Diet' but it does sound like a 'free-choice' low-carb regime. Even Protein Power has the same option, either the 'Hedonistic' type, the 'Dilletante' type or the 'Puritan' type depending on how disciplined you need, or want, to be.

I have no choice but to be 'Puritan' - very low carb, as I just can't tolerate it at all. It takes very little to whop my sugars up and I get a pretty intolerable pain in my back if I have too much - probably from my Pancreas.

What all these diets have in common, whether SCD, RH, Protein Power, Paleo, etc., is that they encourage the reduction or even elimination of blood-sugar spiking foods and processed junk.

Maybe they are all trying to tell us something...............

[mslee]

Hello Everyone!

Thank You so much for all the helpful info & resources!

Georgie I don't know what to do about the B12 but my symptoms did get better after the shot.

I have been moving a little slow lately but am trying to focus on always consuming a protein with my carbs or fruit. Seems to help. But still want testing, waiting to hear back form my dietitian. Will try to make an endocrinologist apt this week.

I know they will probably be resistant, I too am trying to gain weight not loose. I am small & don't fit the profile, but my Great Grandpa who died from type 1 complications was very thin too.

Always wondered how people with diabetes found out, do they just recommend checking if you are heavy or have a poor diet?

Never thought my diet was that bad, but looking back now I realize it may have been. Because I don't gain weight I always used that as an excuse for it to be ok to eat a little junk.

Will keep you guys posted

Thank You so much! This is a huge help!

have a good one!

[georgie]

AliB - I was referring to an earlier post of mine

Good books I have read are Reactive HypoGlycemia for Dummies, and The Insulin Resistance Diet.

The book is "The Insulin Resistance Diet" by Drs Hart & Grossman. I found it helped me a lot.

What all these diets have in common, whether SCD, RH, Protein Power, Paleo, etc., is that they encourage the reduction or even elimination of blood-sugar spiking foods and processed junk.

Maybe they are all trying to tell us something...............

Absolutely. I still get amazed people asking me what DO you eat - when you say you are Coeliac and can't eat wheat, barley, rye etc. Most people I know seem to live on processed foods and bread ...

Georgie I don't know what to do about the B12 but my symptoms did get better after the shot.

One shot only ? Refresh me .... how low was your B12 originally, and what type of shot did you have - and was it into muscle or sub subcutaenous into the skin ?

I have been moving a little slow lately but am trying to focus on always consuming a protein with my carbs or fruit. Seems to help. But still want testing, waiting to hear back form my dietitian. Will try to make an endocrinologist apt this week.

Make sure you get the extended oral GTT. A 2 hour one will not show the whole story. And make sure Insulin is measured as well as Glucose. They both give valuable data.

[mslee]

Hi again

Georgie:

"One shot only ? Refresh me .... how low was your B12 originally, and what type of shot did you have - and was it into muscle or sub subcutaenous into the skin ?"

before any supplements, 2 months after my celiac dx my Vitamin B12/Folate, Serum Panel Vitamin B12 was 551...with 200-1100 listed as normal. My methylmalonic acid serum was slightly high at 361, normal listed as 87-318.

at that point my internist told me I could take 500 mcg B12 daily, my tingling, numbness symptoms got worse and worse...so recently I went in had her test for Pernicious Anemia they gave me one shot in the upper arm muscle. And upped my daily sups to 1000-2000 mcg daily. My labs taken before the shot came back as b12 926, normal listed as 200-1100 & methylmalonic acid serum 298 normal listed as 87-318.

Symptoms of tingling were gone. Until the past week or so I have had a tiny bit. But NOTHING like before.

~also have made an apt with an endocrinologist to test my thyroid & blood sugar issues~

I will request extended oral GTT, and Insulin measured

Thank You so much for all the help!!!

[RollingAlong]

Here I am trying to gain weight on a low carb diet

Over on the Bernstein Diabetes Forum (a very low carb diet), they emphasize upping your protein to gain weight. Portions of the Bernstein book are available free online at that site.

[georgie]

at that point my internist told me I could take 500 mcg B12 daily, my tingling, numbness symptoms got worse and worse...so recently I went in had her test for Pernicious Anemia they gave me one shot in the upper arm muscle. And upped my daily sups to 1000-2000 mcg daily. My labs taken before the shot came back as b12 926, normal listed as 200-1100 & methylmalonic acid serum 298 normal listed as 87-318.

Symptoms of tingling were gone. Until the past week or so I have had a tiny bit. But NOTHING like before.

Have you thought of doing the B12 jabs as a person with Pernicious Anaemia would ? With neuro involvement the standard procedure is jabs alternate days for 2 weeks OR until nerve improvement stops to improve then 2 monthly there after. Sometimes I wonder if the blood tests just are not accurate enough. If the sublinguals show a high serum level but it is not getting into the cells. I take 5000mcg a day but still need a jab once a month as well. And it took me two years of injections - most nearly weekly - to get to this stage.

Good luck with your Dr! Make sure that FREE T3 and FREE T4 are tested as well as TSH and Antibodies.

[mslee]

Have you thought of doing the B12 jabs as a person with Pernicious Anaemia would ? With neuro involvement the standard procedure is jabs alternate days for 2 weeks OR until nerve improvement stops to improve then 2 monthly there after. Sometimes I wonder if the blood tests just are not accurate enough. If the sublinguals show a high serum level but it is not getting into the cells. I take 5000mcg a day but still need a jab once a month as well. And it took me two years of injections - most nearly weekly - to get to this stage.

Good luck with your Dr! Make sure that FREE T3 and FREE T4 are tested as well as TSH and Antibodies.

Since it's been about a month since the shot, and I am occasionally feeling some tingling again I would guess shots might not be a bad idea. For now she (my internist) said no more shots for 3-6 months when she tests me again.

Since I feel dramatically better I must be absorbing some...so will give this some time if more shots are needed down the road I'm open to it.

Will be moving out of state within the next 6 mo-1 year...so new docs down the road anyways

taking notes for what to bring to the endo. thanks for the input!

will post an update after my apt next week

have a good one!

~ali

[missy'smom]

Over on the Bernstein Diabetes Forum (a very low carb diet), they emphasize upping your protein to gain weight. Portions of the Bernstein book are available free online at that site.

Could you post a link? Is that forum on his website? I ordered Dr. Bernstein's(first one I think) book online so in about a week I should be starting to read it.