Just started Bernstein

[kevjol]

I finally started doing things the way Dr. Bernstein says in his book and what can I say but it works :yay:
for the first time since lowcarbing my glucose is finally in the 80-90 range (well today anyway) and so far is stating that way :dazzle:

I realize I need a better track record than 1 day but its a start and I'm excited about it.
Also I'm supposed to take 3x500mg metformin aday and so far have only taken 1 this morning when I got up and 1 after dinner today.
I guess I'll take the last one before bed in the hope my fasting BG will be on target. :Party:

I'm really thrilled about berstein and want to thank the people on this forum for turning me onto his plan and book :read2: :thup:

Ya'll said I could get better BG numbers than I was and you were right

Thanks for all the help and advice :yay:

[p_rosie]

Congratulations Kevjol,
I know making it happen for yourself is just the best feeling. You'll feel smarter about your diabetes than your Dr! Which is as it should be I think. Keep up the good work, I know you have come a long way...

[kevjol]

Thanks p_rosie
The last time I went to my Dr I got the PA since the Dr was away on a emergency

The PA hadn't seen me in over a year and he is not a fan of low carb.
He noticed my weight loss and mentioned a lowfat and less salt diet.

I told him I was lowcarbing and following Dr Bernsteins book. He had never heard of Berstein

I went on and tried to explain the plan to him and showed him my BG charts from when I started lowcarbing . He looked at my charts a said the numbers looked great. I told him that I felt the numbers needed to be lower still And told more about DR Bernstein

Finally he told me about the framington study and about all my risks for early death (smoking,diabetes,high blood pressure,weight ect..)

I just let him know that my DR and I had decided one one thing at a time and I would address all those issues.

Finaly he said I probablly knew more about diabetes than he did and asked me the name of the book

I hope he gets it and reads it because I'm not real impressed with him as a medical proffesional
ecpecially when he listens to the heart of female patients he pulls the top of their blouses open far enough for him to get a good look(did this to my wife)
He nevers bothers to listen to my heart(guess he doesn't like manboob)

I don't like him and try to avoid seeing him.

[alleymom]

Kevjol --

Congratulations on the great readings you've been getting!! Wooo hooo!!!!

I hope your PA does get Dr. Bernstein's book and reads it. It's too bad to think that so many doctors see great results from their LCing patients, but they still continue to recommend low fat, high-complex carb diets. I just saw a new cardiologist last week for the first time and he was very pleased with the BG readings I told him I've been getting, but he was in a hurry and he just brushed by my telling him that I am on a low carb diet. He reiterated that I should eat low fat with no red meat, no pork, and no cheese.

Re your PA and opening the women's blouses: doesn't good technique call for listening carefully with the stethoscope at the neck, chest, back, and leg? The cardiologists I have seen have made a much bigger deal about listening at several spots. My first cardiologist always insisted on the patients being undressed from the waist up (with a paper gown, which he then opened). I don't know, maybe your PA is just getting his jollies, but I think that a good exam can hardly be conducted on a fully clothed patient. Just my two cents. (But maybe he ought to have a nurse in the room when he examines a female patient ... )

Marjorie

[Lisa N]

for the first time since lowcarbing my glucose is finally in the 80-90 range

THAT'S what you want to see! Awesome job and well done! :thup:

[kevjol]

Well heres a progress report
I'm still having a few problems staying in the 80-90 target range(thats the bad news)

But I am staying in the 85-110 range and my average BG for the month so far is 102 down from 132 last month

So over all I feel like I am making progress and it will take more time before I get my BG into the target range consistantly. But I will keep at it, I do see a light at the end of the tunnel.

[alleymom]

Well heres a progress report
I'm still having a few problems staying in the 80-90 target range(thats the bad news)

But I am staying in the 85-110 range and my average BG for the month so far is 102 down from 132 last month

So over all I feel like I am making progress and it will take more time before I get my BG into the target range consistantly. But I will keep at it, I do see a light at the end of the tunnel.


Good for you, Kevjol! I wanted to tell you, I was browsing through some of the other threads recently, and I saw the awesome amount of treadmilling you are doing! Way to go!

Best wishes!
Marjorie

[kevjol]

Thanks Alleymom
I try to get on whenever I can
I'm hoping for a gym setup for Christmas if not I'm going to get one after the holidays.
Dr. Bernstein says that cardio is ok but I would be better to build muscle because it helps the body to asorbe BG better and adds more receptors with the new muscle tissue.

[alleymom]

>>>I'm hoping for a gym setup for Christmas if not I'm going to get one after the holidays.
Dr. Bernstein says that cardio is ok but I would be better to build muscle because it helps the body to asorbe BG better and adds more receptors with the new muscle tissue.<<<

Have you ever tried a Concept 2 rower? Even though I have bad shoulders, bad knees, and a bad back I have been able to gradually work up to 45 minutes of moderate rowing most days. I have built up a lot of shoulder muscle (well, **I** think it is a lot <s>). One neat thing about the rower is that you can increase the intensity so that your workout gets into the anaerobic range. But if I am having an achy day I lower the intensity and don't pull as hard or quickly, and I can still burn 200 calories in half in hour, even at a fairly moderate pace.

We have a Concept 2 at home, but I frequently use the one at the gym. When my husband was looking into it, I remember reading a testimonial on their website from a diabetic who had dramatic improvement in his BG's through rowing.

Marjorie

[kevjol]

update
Just started taking ALA and EPO yesterday and this morning my fasting BG was 76 :Party: My bedtime BG was 104
Thats the lowest fasting BG I have ever had. but not sure if it was the supplements or just that I had a lite early dinner. or both :confused:
I quess I'll find out in the next few days.

My problem now is to figure out if I should continue taking my meds when I first get up or wait till before breakfast.
This morning I will wait as I dont want to go hypo and see if BG starts to rise as the morning goes on.

[alleymom]

Just started taking ALA and EPO yesterday and this morning my fasting BG was 76 :Party: My bedtime BG was 104
Thats the lowest fasting BG I have ever had.

WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS!
You have made FANTASTIC progress!

You must be floating on air today!

How much ALA and EPO did you take, and when did you take them during the day?

Marjorie

[kevjol]

I have been taking 400 mg ALA at waking and 200Mg at bedtime.
Also take 1000Mg EPO at waking.
I also take Metformin 500mg 3 times a day, I was doing 1 at waking, 1 before lunch and 1 at before bed.I'm not sure if that is really helping since I have read where other people are taking up to 1800mg of ALA and it takes 2 weeks to start working.
I'll keep it up though and increase if I need to or stop it if it doesn't help.

Since I am trying to get my after breakfast BG lower I just started taking 2 Metformin at waking and 1 at bedtime. So far it seems to help a little depending on what I eat. I think I may need to cut down on protein for breakfast as my post prandial (sp) is usually high then. But the rest of the day my post meal and bedtime BG is usually on target. Kinda like if I get it down in the morning my body takes over for the rest of the day.

Of course I'm still experimenting to see what works best.

I go to get blood work in early Feb and I'm also going to test a variety of meters that I have at that time also.

I called Dr.Bernstein's office to get their recommendation and they support the Bayer elite or elite XL because of the quality control for the strips.
I had a old Bayer Elite but my pharmacy no longer has strips for it as they now sell the NEW Bayer Ascensia Elite XL So I bought it.

Now I have a Walmart Reli-on meter,Accu-chek Compact, old Bayer Elite and New Bayer Ascensia Elite XL and they all register different readings when tested together,sometimes as much as 35 point difference.
So I figure to test with the lab and start using the one that is closest to lab results and get rid of the rest.

[alleymom]

Kevjol--

Thanks for the detailed reply. I am really interested in hearing what other people are taking in terms of meds and supplements and what kinds of results they are achieving.

I am pretty discouraged right now and could use some support.

I have had Type II for 10 years and been poorly controlled with no meds, just diet and exercise. I gave Avandia and Glucotrol a try this fall but had to stop due to side effects. In the meantime I swtiched from 100 grams of carb a day to 30, spread out 6-12-12, and I kicked up the exercise even more. I started getting the best readings I've had in 10 years, I even had a handful of fasting BG's in the 90's. I was excited about the new control I was achieving, and I thought that with continue weight loss, extra exercise, and 30 grams of carbs a day I could probably do even better.

But the day before Thanksgiving my best friend found out she had ovarian cancer, and then a series of pulmonary embolisms sent her into intensive care where she has been ever since.

She has only her husband and no other family, so I have been spending very very long days with her at the hospital. I'm not eating much at all, and I am being absolutely rigid about my low-carb WOE, but the stress and the lack of regular exercise is sending my BG's higher each day. I had a 151 this morning and I was SO discouraged and upset. I can't possibly eat any less, I am eating 3 very small meals now. I am still rowing 3 days a week, but that doesn't seem to be enough. I think the stress is the main problem. I am not sleeping much at night.

I have thought of calling the doctor and asking him to put me on another oral hypolglycemic agent. I asked him the first time about Glucophage, but he said he uses Avandia. It was the Avandia that made me feel AWFUL; I think it was affecting my heart. And I definitely don't want to use a sulfonylurea and flag my poor tired old pancreas into eking out just a little more insulin. I don't know if he would agree to Glucophage over the phone, and I am not willing to take time off from being at the hospital to make an office appointment with him right now.

Anyway, I got up early this morning, had some Keto hot cereal, and then rowed for half an hour before I went to the hospital. I skipped lunch, got home about 45 minutes ago and had a BG of 118 before dinner. Dinner was some turkey and cheese plus 4 (yes, count 'em, four) grapes and I shelled a few mixed nuts for "dessert". But I have a feeling my fasting BG is still going to be high tomorrow.

I could sure use a little encouragement and/or advice from any of you experienced Type II lc-ers. I really am trying to take care of myself, but I need to be there for my friend right now. My judgment is probably not very good because of fatigue and emotional stress.

Thanks!

[kevjol]

Dr.Bernstein mentioned in his book that stress can raise BG.

Sorry to hear about your friend and I hope things turn out alright.


It sounds like your having good results so far with the LC eating. you'll just have to find out what foods are giving you the most rise in BG and try to limit those.
It all takes time and trial and error but as long as we keep it up we will suceed
I'm still trying to get my BG lower in the morning and trying to get them constintly into the 80-100 range and so far I haven't done it yet. someday I'll get them evened out and so will you. Keep up the good fight and you will prevail

Have you read the Bernstein Book?
If not now would be a good time

I'm getting ready for work now and I will post more about to stress factor on Sunday when I get back. meanwhile I'll pray for you and your friend.
and please try to relax and focus on the positive.

[nopie]

It sounds like you are doing everything you can - "dancing as fast as you can" so to speak. However, with your friend's situation and the emotional stress of her illness on you plus spending many hours at the hospital, you may just have to accept your bg for a while until your life gets smoothed out again.
Keeping your blood sugar where you want it all the time works best when you get the right amount of sleep and have a fairly regular schedule for eating and exercise. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. Do what you can and don't obsess about the rest.

[alleymom]

Nopie and Kevjol --

Thanks for the support. My husband has been telling me to try to get in 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, and even though that's not as long or as intense a workout as I usually aim for, it may help alleviate the stress and also help to keep the Bg down a little.

Kevjol, yes I have read Dr. Bernstein's book and consult it frequently.

Nopie, I am enjoying the Keto hot cereal as a "comfort food" each morning.

I was talking to another diabetic in the intensive care waiting room yesterday, and she also said that her bg's have been elevated through the stress of going through this with her husband.

I talked to my husband about calling the doctor, and I think I just want to get through the holidays and then go call or see the doctor. I think I may need some oral medication to help me get better control during this time of stress.

People sometimes use OHA's for only a short time, right?
If I could start something that didn't cause the side effects the Avandia caused, I would be willing to do that short term.

Thanks again.

[kevjol]

PLease try metformin it works great.
some people get a little stomach upset at first(I didn't)
so start with little doses. Also in US it is a generic drug so should be cheaper.
It was originally developed to help weight loss then they found out it helped control BG, it been around 30 years and it recommended by Dr. B

Hope that helps