Diabetes (type 2) Query

[Verbena17]

So for the past 3 months I’ve been trying to lower my HCA1C test of 49. Had my retest, having been really good, cut out almost all processed sugar and lowered carbs, walked more when my feet aren’t painful etc.

Got my results back and it’s literally gone UP to 50 😩.
What does this mean?
In the past week, I’ve been feeling shaky when exerting myself/dog walking, feeling like I need to eat to stop that ‘low blood sugar’ feeling but actually I just took my blood sugar 3 hours after brekkie and whilst having symptoms before I ate lunch, and it was 6.4.

Does this likely mean I’m diabetic? In addition I I’ve requested another blood test to check if my iron is still low (was 10 a year ago) because low iron can obviously affect the A1C test- making readings higher. My shaky/weak/no energy/slight cough symptoms are also the symptoms of having low iron….as well as being the same for low blood sugar.
Im overweight and losing any weight is really hard even though my diet is really quite good.

Really this won’t be full blown diabetes but I had a 2 week course of dexamethasone in 2021 and you can get steroid induced diabetes, either temporarily or long term. There is new research from the Recovery Trial saying patients who had dexamethasone whilst in hospital were prone to acquiring diabetes. When I was on it, they had to give me insulin injections to regulate my blood sugar.

I didn’t want to accept it either. Took me about 4 years to address it. I wish I had done it sooner. Just remember there’s 4 million diabetics in the country, should you join “the club” there is lots of info out there. Have a look at https://www.diabetes.co.uk/ there is loads of very helpful info on there which is applicable to people with and without diabetes. good luck!

Thanks @Badchickenpecks

@Verbena17 lentils have a lot of carbs in them.

The symptoms you’re describing feeling shaky and unwell is called reactive hypoglycaemia. It’s a huge red flag for blood sugar disregulation. You fix it with lower carb meals with plenty of fat and protein and a small amount of carbs from veg.

So I just took my blood hours after eating dinner.
It was 6.3mmol.
That’s good yes?

Thanks @LMNT - ah ok I need to read up on that then.

The ‘plenty of fat’ part is tricky without a gall bladder…..I’m not supposed to eat much fat as I have no strong bile to break it down 😬

Have been watching some really good videos by a lady called Kate Eveling on YouTube. She has reactive hypoglycaemia. Really interesting and sounds very much like what’s been happening to me. Another thing to mention to diabetes nurse next week.

Yes.

Get yourself some ox bile tablets or digestive enzymes to help digesting fat. Plenty of fat just means a tablespoon of olive oil or a knob of butter on your broccoli. You don’t need to go mad 😊

Ox bile 🤢. I knew about it years ago….having been a vegan for almost 2 years, even now I est some meat, there’s no way I’m stretching it to ox bile.

What are digestive enzymes made of?

I use avocado oil to cook with and eat cheese and cottage cheese and healthy fats like avocado & nuts. So I reckon that’ll be ok.

So for breakfast today I had porridge with a small banana & blueberries.
Then I waited approx 30 mins and mowed the lawn. I felt awful. I could barely finish it and felt wobbly. That never usually happens.

Just taken BG about 45 minutes later and it’s 7.5! So not low at all.
I just don’t get it.

@Verbena17 that's quite a lot of carb all in one go- I eat that - but am not diabetic trying to reverse it - when I was pre diabetic and trying to reverse it I had 1/2 a banana and Greek yoghurt - now I will have a small bowl of porridge plus 1/2 a banana

If your blood sugars have been higher in the past, and dropped below your normal level due to your changes it could explain why you feel shaky etc. It's your body not being used to that lower level.

You had a reactive hypoglycaemia incident from a really big amount of carbs at breakfast. 7.5 45 minutes after eating IS a problem. It should be much higher than that. You have disglycemia and probably hyperinsulinemia.

OP this is literally what I do every day, help people like you. A vegan diet will 100% tip you into full blown type 2. You need animal protein and fat to recover your blood sugar control.

Digestive enzymes contain hydrochloric acid, lipases and proteases to help you digest food. However given your posts here the urgency is in getting your carbs down.

Go to Diet Doctor website and start with one of the meal plans there.

That’s still way too many carbs for managing pre diabetes.

You’d be better if with Greek yoghurt, berries and some toasted chopped hazelnuts on top. Much better macronutrient ratio.

But I feel awful when I’m all shaky & weak and because I’m not seeing the diabetic nurse until the 19th, i don’t actually know what to do because i still don’t know if my iron is low (hoping to get results tomorrow) and if you look at the info for reactive hypoglycaemia, they suggest low GI, long lasting foods like banana & porridge.

I think some of the advice on those sites can be confusing as often include diabetics who are controlled via medication too as well as those who are trying to bring it down via diet. I do know for me if I have porridge I eat very little carb, if any, for rest of day

They were specifically about what to eat/not eat for reactive hypoglycaemia….although I have no idea if it’s that.

All I know is that until a couple of weeks ago, whatever I was eating (cereal, healthy avo wraps/sandwich/soup and a sandwich /apples, porridge, bananas, rice and veggie stir fry etc) I felt healthy, full of energy and life and now, over past few days of eating low/no carbs, I have hypo symptoms pretty much all day long. How could it be that sudden? I’m now feeling so overwhelmed and depressed.

It just doesn’t make sense.

It does make sense. Your body was used to quite high carbs, it was addicted even. You will feel a bit shit for a week or so. It will go and you will feel the benefit of glucose and insulin not having a fight in your body. Your brain will be as grumpy as if you had given up caffeine or nicotine, it will pass.

I found 2 books by Dr Mark Hyman very useful:

The Sugar Solution
10 Day Detox Diet (which includes recipes)

You can check them out for free via Internet Archive

Have you looked at the Glucose Goddess Instagram? And her book, Glucose Revolution is brilliant for explaining blood sugar control in simple terms.
I read that, then used a freestyle libre for 2 weeks, combined with the glucose goddess app which helps you see the graphs in more detail. That provided me with loads of info as to how my body reacts to different foods. Fwiw a bowl of porridge or some sushi spikes my blood sugar higher than a chocolate bar.

it looks like the simpler the carb the more it goes up.

Precisely.

And sugar is the simplest carbohydrate. The book I mentioned above is very enlightening. Cutting out sugar, UPF and simple carbs is the way to go.