Doctor says no!

[JammyDodge]

Hi Everyone,

I am a 23 year old type 1 diabetic and over the past couple of weeks I've been reading Dr Bernstein's "Diabetic Solution" book. I really want to get my blood sugars under control and want to start on the diet plan as soon as I finish reading the book.

Yesterday I had my regular visit to the hospital and my doctor told me that I have some damage to my eyes and I am also passing protein in my urine. This upset me a lot and when I suggested to him that I'd like to try a low carb diet he ruled it out and said he didn't think it was a good idea.

Despite this I'd still like to give it a go, but I'd like to know from anybody in a similar situation how they went about lowering their insulin.

I'm on 3 shots of Actrapid and one shot of Insulitard.

Please help, I'm beginning to feel desperate.

[Lisa N]

Hi JammyDodge!

I've never used insulin, so I can't offer you any practical advice on how to go about lowering your insulin dosage, but I will give you this piece of advice: find a doctor who is willing to work with you on this instead of going it alone. Just because one doctor wrote off the idea as unworkable doesn't mean that there aren't others who would consider it a good idea and be willing to work with you on this.

[2Airedales]

hmmm my friend is diabetic and her Doctor TOLD her to lower her carb intake to less than 40 carbs a meal. She's not following his advice and her diabeties isn't getting any better.

I think it's a question of finding a Doctor that will work with you.

[kevjol]

When you read Dr. Bernstein's book you will find that he was in the same condition that you are in except that he also had frozen shoulder and problems with his feet. With the exception of his feet he was able to reverse all his complications.

As far as your doctor goes he doesn't live with your diabetes ad therefor does not have the urgency that you do to improve your condition.
Evidently what he has you doing is not working or you wouldn't have the problems that you are having. So if you keep doing what your doing you will continue to get the same results, OR you change what you are doing and get different results.
After reading the book you will probably know more about diabetes than your doctor. I Changed my DR because he was like yours Didn't want to hear about low carb to control diabetes just take more medicine and see him in a month

Maybe after reading the book and understanding the plan and if you don't want to change doctors Try the plan for a week and see if your blood sugars start to come down That way you will know if the plan will work for you.

As always there will be plenty of support and advice in this forum and in Dr Bernstein's forum (http://www.diabetes-book.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi/YaBB.cgi?board=Helping)to help you acheive the results you are trying to get.

Just remember that we are not doctors we're just a group of people with diabetes like you and we are having success following Dr. Bernstein's plan

Let me stress this point though

Make sure you test a lot and adjust your insulin properly so you don't go hypo!

Keep track of your diet and BG readings they will come in handy to show your DR and to help spot any trends or problems.

Good luck on whatever path you choose and please keep us informed as to how you are doing :thup:

[c6h6o3]

Get another doctor. He gets paid for the advice he gives you. Is he earning it?

I was once flying under instrument conditions with my Dad, who was an accomplished intrument rated commercially licensed pilot. We were in the clouds and began to get freezing rain on the leading edges of the wings. This can turn deadly very quickly. He immediately began a rapid climb out of our assigned altitude and called the Center to tell them what he was doing. I said, "Dad, you're leaving your assigned altitude! You can't do that!"

He said, "Listen! Never forget that the guy telling you what altitude to maintain and what heading to fly is safe and warm ON THE GROUND."

[Marol]

The only way I was able to cut my original dose of insulin in half was to low carb, as far as I,m concerned all I have read points to that being the only way to keep sugars in control, too many carbs, especially the wrong kind lead to spikes in blood sugars and ever increasing does of insulin, not the way to go!

[eevee]

Hi
If you haven't been following a low carb plan, my suggestion would be to cut your current carb intake by half, insulin by a few units at a time..and test 6-8 times a day for a couple of days, till you get a 'feel' for the changes. Continued testing is very important, but not necessarily as high as I suggested, UNLESS you are making more changes to diet/insulin.
I would think you would get much better basal cover from your long acting if it was taken twice a day--12 hours apart...or switch to Lantus (once a day). At present you are getting a fairly long active period but with about 10 hrs per day with none, or very minimal background action.
Protein in your urine is serious and needs to be attended to....research it (urine+protein) on the 'net and see what suggested 'fixes' are...then go back to your Dr with better bG results and maybe help him understand that high carb is not the most effective way to go. It is easy to say "Find a new doctor" but if you are attending a clinic at a hospital, that is not as easy said as done.
Good luck, and keep posting......Eve

[Lisa N]

It is easy to say "Find a new doctor" but if you are attending a clinic at a hospital, that is not as easy said as done.

You're right, Eve...sometimes it's not easy to find a doctor who will work with you (or financially feasable for that matter), but it's certainly worth the effort to have a doctor that's behind you instead of fighting you every step of the way even if you have to pay for a visit or two out of your own pocket.

[JammyDodge]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

Forgot to mention that I live in England (London) and changing your doctor over here is definitely easier said than done. We have a health system called the NHS and although that means everyone gets free health care (Paid by taxes) it also mean that we don’t really get the option to pick what doctor we want to see.

Although in theory the NHS is a great idea, it means people like me don’t get the attention and time we need. For example, I have had to wait over a year for the hospital appointment that I had this week, despite the fact that I am supposed to be seen every 3 months. I have had appointment after appointment cancelled due to the fact that there is a great demand for the diabetes clinic I attend. The NHS just can’t cope we the numbers of people that need to use it.

I don’t think I’ve got an awful lot of choice but to go it alone, well that’s how it feels anyway.

I’ve not always had bad control. I did for a few years during my teens but I just lost it in the last 6 months and stopped caring for myself. I know what I need to do to get back on track but I want to give the low carb thing a go as a permanent solution.

I don’t want to make the situation worse by giving myself serve hypo’s so it would be interesting to know from those of you who take Insulin roughly how much you have reduced your Insulin dosage. Have you reduced your Insulin dosage by as much as a ½ or are you on as little as a 1/3 of the amount of insulin you were on before you started low carbing?

[c6h6o3]

Forgot to mention that I live in England (London) and changing your doctor over here is definitely easier said than done.


Our hearts go out to you. I know I would go see Dr. Bernstein if I could afford it. It would cost me more than $3,000.00.

My doctor has actually come a long way since diagnosing me 2 years ago. At first she told me to "watch the fats" I was eating and to keep my postprandial glucose under 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l). Now she wants it below 100mg/dl around the clock.

She still has a long way to go, though. On my last visit she said, "A well controlled Type 2 diabetic should have at least two hypos a week." I won't take her to task on that, YET. But I'm going to ask about it next visit.

I believe that good control is TIGHT control. 85-95 around the clock. Maybe if you can show a really low HbA1c to your physician you'll turn the light on in his head.

Jim

[clb1968]

Good luck with starting the Dr Bernstein plan. I have just started working on adjusting my insulin (type 1 14 years) and reducing carbs ,so like you I have lots of questions. I have also started a journal here and try and post what I ,eat , blood sugar readings, insulin amounts etc. that way anyone here can read the journal and give me suggestions or answer a question I have posted. I do reccomend you start a journal, that way you can see what you are doing and see what is happening along the way. Again good luck and pop into my journal anytime you want.

[Lisa N]

I don’t think I’ve got an awful lot of choice but to go it alone, well that’s how it feels anyway.

Well, JammyDodge...if you're going to "go it alone", I'd very much encourage you to make the "Law of Small Numbers" your motto: small changes, small mistakes, big changes, big mistakes.
Since you've been a type 1 for a long time, I assume that you have a very good handle on adjusting your insulin dosage based on your intake and know how much a certain amount of carbs will raise your blood sugar on average (if you don't now would be a good time to find out!).
Go easy and test LOTS!
Wish you great success! :)

[Marol]

I would just like to add my experience. The only way I was able to cut my original insulin dose in half was by low carbing. All you have to do is keep testing, especially after a high carb meal and after a low one,you will find an amazing difference ,being in that the high carb meal will send your blood sugars way up, there is no comparison. I try to limit my carbs to 30 or under a meal, it is what has worked for me and countless others, see for yourself when you test. It,s amazing how many doctors have no clue.

[v-effect]

Hi there all,

First, Jammydodge: congrats. I found Dr. B a year after I became a Type 1 at the age of 21, and it was a lifesaver. My advice is to make sure you've got your carb counting skills down, and make adjustments slowly. Also, I personally did not experience a change of my basal insulin rates when I switched to low carb- just my meal boluses. In fact, after a high protein meal, I often need to INCREASE my basal.

Another thing I'd like to bring up is what I feel is an inappropriate glucose target for Type 1's, quoting here another poster

"I believe that good control is TIGHT control. 85-95 around the clock. Maybe if you can show a really low HbA1c to your physician you'll turn the light on in his head."

"Really low" is a scary concept for a Type 1.

I will say without hesitation that a type 1 that rides this close will have very very dangerous hypos. Even nondiabetic people have postprandials that sometimes approach 150. Being stressed out, ill, having insulin absorbtion problems are just a few of the non-food reasons why Type 1's can't, and in my opinion shouldn't strive for a blood sugar that is this low all the time. There is a tendency on this list, which I find frustrating, for people to post targets they assume are the same for Type 2 and Type 1. When I tried to run this tight, I had an average of 5 hypos a week; I would go low just walking up the stairs, because I was trying for such nonmovement in my sugars. While my pump is set for a target of 95, I frequently feel safer at at least 120, especially before and during physical activity. The great thing about low carb for me is the ability to avoid wild swings in blood sugar; this is a different benefit from those who like to always be below 100.

I used to visit this list a lot, but I started getting demoralized by what I felt were targets I could never reach without going low. Now, I know that most of the people with those targets are Type 2. I think it is important to remind the Type 1's on this list that Your Target May Vary.

V.

[eevee]

Well V...all I can say ishttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_3_36.gif, in fact "I bid thee thrice welcome". I hope you will resume your visits here, for mine has been a lone voice in the wilderness with regards T1 and HbA1c below 6% ...and you are on a pump, which makes your experience even more valuable...common lore has it that pumpers would manage every bit as well as a non-diabetic...!!

Cheers http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/25/25_4_106.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

[dina1957]

I hope you will resume your visits here, for mine has been a lone voice in the wilderness with regards T1 and HbA1c below 6%
I always thought the same, even not being type 1 and on insulin. even for some type 2 is not easy to maintain this tight control wihout a bit of help of meds, may be initially. i think our goal should be to improve existing conditions rather than just settting Hb1C goal to be achieved at any cost.
Cheers,
Dina

[alaskaman]

Was reading some articles about A1C, how it is possible to have a reading of 5.0, even if you have "excursions' up to 200. And several people have pointed out that nondiabetics may go high after a carby meal. Seems, on reflection, that the issue is how long the glucose hangs around - hemoglobin only becomes "glycated" permanently when its been exposed to sugar for a certain length of time. So that's why someone can have 200 occasionally and still have a low A1C. Therefore, probably for us diabetics, we don't need to despair if we can't attain Dr B's ideal of about 85 "before during and after meals" as long as we manage things so that it comes down rather quickly post prandially. Does that make sense? Just trying to understand all this stuff. Bill

[Lisa N]

Was reading some articles about A1C, how it is possible to have a reading of 5.0, even if you have "excursions' up to 200. And several people have pointed out that nondiabetics may go high after a carby meal. Seems, on reflection, that the issue is how long the glucose hangs around - hemoglobin only becomes "glycated" permanently when its been exposed to sugar for a certain length of time. So that's why someone can have 200 occasionally and still have a low A1C. Therefore, probably for us diabetics, we don't need to despair if we can't attain Dr B's ideal of about 85 "before during and after meals" as long as we manage things so that it comes down rather quickly post prandially. Does that make sense? Just trying to understand all this stuff. Bill

It makes perfect sense, Bill. We discussed this briefly in another thread. My take on Dr. Bernstein's recommendations isn't that we have to be nailed on a blood sugar of 85 24/7 but that our post prandial rise should be small (preferably 30 points or less) and that we should be back at our pre prandial reading within 2 hours. Admittedly, most non-diabetics probably don't achieve that sometimes, but then again they aren't facing the same health risks as those of us who ARE diabetics and if you're not a diabetic, as you pointed out above, those blood sugar excursions into the higher numbers don't last long. In the past 2 years, I've had one hypo and that was a relatively minor one last summer (blood glucose came in at 65), but it was my own fault for eating a very small lunch and then attempting 3 hours of raspberry cane pulling in my garden without a break in 85 degree weather. :rolleyes: I pushed myself too hard on too little food for the task at hand and paid the price.
I believe another strategy that Dr. Bernstein uses (and recommends to his patients) is absolute consistency with what you eat at each meal each day keeping the amount of protein and carbs the same at breakfast, for example, each day and the same consistency for lunch and dinner once you've figured out what gives you the best results in your post prandial readings. While I admit, I don't do that, I am pretty much a creature of habit at least at breakfast and lunch each day. Dinners tend to vary depending on my level of hunger (or lack thereof).
Is it easy to achieve those numbers? Not at all! Is it worth the effort? I'm convinced that it is...at least for me and for me it has paid off after 3 years with my last A1C coming in at 4.7....my lowest yet. It remains to be seen whether or not I can keep it there.

[eevee]

Hi Lisa and Bill....
I just wish you would make it clear in your posts which Type of diabetes you have. Obviously I know, but there are plenty of new members who don't.
Cheers...Eve

[c6h6o3]

I will say without hesitation that a type 1 that rides this close will have very very dangerous hypos. ......

I used to visit this list a lot, but I started getting demoralized by what I felt were targets I could never reach without going low. Now, I know that most of the people with those targets are Type 2. I think it is important to remind the Type 1's on this list that Your Target May Vary.

V.

http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/articles/low_bgs.shtml

These are Dr. Bernstein's targets, not mine. I am a Type 2, but he is a Type 1.

[v-effect]

Hi all,

I really think that we should let each other know what Type of diabetes we have in our posts, especially if they are related to hypos and A1Cs. Thanks for the clarification that the striving for 85 is Dr. Bernsteins recommendation; it's been a while since I re-read his book in its entirety. I guess I disagree then, with this Dr that's been so helpful in helping me maintain better sugars. I thinks its a YMMV thing- I personally need to snack before doing an hour of cardio. I can't imagine starting a cardio session at 85: scary! Also, I have purposely higher targets for instance, on the day before my period-- since it's kinda unpredicable when it will start (and then I need lots less basal and bolus insulin) I have avoided the dangerous lows (like seizures!) after raising my target on those days to 120-130. On the exercise note, I'm not sure that even Dr. B can handle being 85 while doing cardio, and perhaps that is why he advocates weights mostly instead.
I'm really interested from hearing from the Type 1 people who have set and maintained a GOAL THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH. For me, the dangers of a low (like death) have to just as important as the dangers from a high. I try to set my targets respecting both ends of the spectrum. My last A1C was 6.2. This is fine with me-- its under the DCCT goals, and it's the result of constant good sugars- not an average of jumping around constantly.
One other things I have to critique Dr. B for- his claim that "most " people on the pump get lesser aborbtion rates is simply untrue. Perhaps he is older, and less used to dealing with a younger generation of pumpers, but no-one I know, who actualy rotates their sites responsibly has lumps or absorption problems.

Peace out,

V.

[Lisa N]

On the exercise note, I'm not sure that even Dr. B can handle being 85 while doing cardio, and perhaps that is why he advocates weights mostly instead.

You might find it helpful to go back and re-read Dr. Bernstein's recommendations for excercise and maintaining your target blood sugars during both aerobic and anaerobic excercise. He does address both situations in his book in quite some detail (see chapter 14 of his latest edition or chapter 13 in the old edition), but the condensed version is that he uses glucotabs at a pre-determined rate during his excercise routine to maintain the target level of blood sugar and to monitor your blood sugars for an hour after excercising, using additional tabs as necessary, to prevent a hypo during that period as well.

One other things I have to critique Dr. B for- his claim that "most " people on the pump get lesser aborbtion rates is simply untrue. Perhaps he is older, and less used to dealing with a younger generation of pumpers, but no-one I know, who actualy rotates their sites responsibly has lumps or absorption problems.

To be honest (and I admit to not having any experience with an insulin pump), I thought Dr. B gave a reasonable assesment of the pros and cons of pumping based on his experience treating those who use them, but in relation to decreased absorption or lumps, this is what he said in the newest edition of the book:
"All of the long-term (7-plus years) pump users that I have seen had fibrosis (scar tissue formation) at the injection site. This had impaired their insulin absorption so much that very high doses failed to control their blood sugars."

If these people had been pumping for 7+ years, they were likey using older versions. The newer versions may be better in that respect along with responsible rotation of injection sites, but that was his experience with those he treated who used the (I'm assuming) older versions.

P.S. for those who have a burning desire to know what type of diabetic I am, that information is located in my profile in my biography information since I don't prefer to put it in my signature and share that information with the other forums I post in where I'm sure most folks couldn't care less or having to answer the inevitable "what's a T2 diabetic?" questions. :)

[eevee]

Plenty of these around V http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_5_130.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001) but hope you keep posting ..

I would like to say I had an HbA1c of 6.2% but it wouldn't be the truth. The truth is that my bGs are currently stuffed up and I'd be lucky to have a 7.5%.
Some of us T1s cannot manage DrBs recommendations however hard we try .... dropping down to 6-12-12 has done me more harm than good.
Which doesn't mean that DrB is unhelpful...just that we are not all 70-odd year old men..apart from any other physical differences and conditions.
He does however give us something to aim for, and we are not http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/347.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001) if we can't match his ideals.
Eve

[JammyDodge]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it's taken me a long time to reply.

Thanks very much for all your advice and opinions. It’s been really useful to hear all your views.

I'm going to start low carbing next week so I'll probably post you with all my problems when I start.

I've decided to cut back on my carb's slowly but surely as I think this is probably the best way to adjust my insulin levels without going hypo.

Thank you, you've been a great help.

I'll post soon and let you know how I get on.

Regards,

JammyDodge

[Sea Saw]

The Dr."s reason for not wanting you to do a really low carb - high protein diet is probably due to the protein in your urine and some changes in your eyes. A high protein diet can be hard on your kidneys and worsen your condition. Be sure to get an appointment with a retina specialist to treat your eyes ASAP, so you will not lose your sight down the road. VERY IMPORTANT!

On the other hand, sometimes if you have had a recent urinary infection, a little protein will show up in your urine. A 24 hr collection may be something the Dr. would want you to do or a microalbumin test. Question, question, question...do not get scared...take action.
Good Luck!

[Sherrielee]

A high protein diet can be hard on your kidneys and worsen your condition.

If your kidneys are healthy, a high protein diet will not hurt them. Have you read any of Dr Atkins or Bernstein's books? This kidney thing is a myth; I used to believe it too. Read everything you can find on the internet and in print on your condition. The truth will "set you free"...corny, but true!

[Marol]

I am insulin dependent and I was able cut my original dose in half through low carbing. I keep my carb dose at each meal under 40 grams and feel good. Your doctor is terribly outdated. Dr. Berstein is maybe too strict with the carbs, you can find a middle ground that works for you, but low carbing is the way to go for diabetics, less stress on the pancreas, less meds, etc.

[dina1957]

I am insulin dependent and I was able cut my original dose in half through low carbing. I keep my carb dose at each meal under 40 grams and feel good. Your doctor is terribly outdated. Dr. Berstein is maybe too strict with the carbs, you can find a middle ground that works for you, but low carbing is the way to go for diabetics, less stress on the pancreas, less meds, etc.

this is what i think is right, actually i'm type 2 and try to keep carbs udner 70 g a day, otherwise my BGs will raise
dina

[Sea Saw]

Eve...you have often said how the 6-12-12 really messed you up.
Are you able to elaborate on that? Or perhaps it is too personal. Certainly would understand that.

Did it completely throw you into insulin shock and a bad hypoglycemic situation?

[eevee]

I'm not sure how typical my reaction is/was, but I do wonder about the safety of 6-12-12 for T1s. We are dependent on insulin for our health ... too little is as difficult to manage as is too much.

My experience was none of the things you mentioned Seesaw..quite the opposite in fact...I 'fell' into a deep hole from which I am still struggling to escape. Nowhere in Dr Bs literature (or anyone elses that I am aware of) is there a mention of the danger of slipping below 6-12-12...and believe me, it is the easiest thing in the world to eat no carbs at all for a day. I unwittingly went 4 days before I noticed this fact, and straight away put some back in my 'diet'. That is when disaster struck...sky high bGs from 6g..12g was huge..!! If you are using insulin (T1) you must be able to use carbs...otherwise how to recover from a low..waiting for protein/fat to metabolise is a short-cut to coma territory, and a glucose tab will now put me up to 300/16.6 in moments...
I am not on safe ground yet, but closer than I was a month ago.

Personally, I don't care whether people follow DrBs plan..that is one's choice, BUT it should be made very clear that one must NEVER slip below 6-12-12 if using insulin. My concern is for T1s doing just that. It is as if one becomes super senstitive to carbs...the liver says, "OK, you have converted me to processing protein/fat, and I'm blowed if I'm changing back.."
I know I am not the first person in this situation, and I know I won't be the last. Others are struggling with it right now, but don't recognise the fact..!!

It MAY have worked for DrB, but very few of us --especially women--live his lifestyle or have his physiology. He should promote it, by all means, but there is an obligation to offer full and frank advice. We will still try it, but our eyes will be open.
For what it's worth, I think a more satisfactory amount of carbs is around 60g per day....certainly no less than 50g for any IDDM person.
I do not know if this is the reply you expected, but it is my experience.
Eve

[clb1968]

Thank you for posting that information and your experiences for all of us Eve.

[Sea Saw]

Eve - Thank yu for getting this information out. That must have been horrible. I do feel that 6-12-12 is extreme and not for me, a Type 2. I was getting headache at night (brain cramps). Then I increased my carbs and the brain cramps are gone. Dr. B has some advise that has worked,
I would say that with Type 1s that if you take X amount of insulin you would have to have a certain amount of carbs for the insulin to cover. Otherwise you would have too much circulating insulin and your liver would produce glucose (gluconeogenesis?) to compensate and it would drive your BGs way up,
Have you had to lower your insulin, and inctease back as you added the carbs?
Hope you are in the pink soon,

[eevee]

If only it were that easy Seesaw...the crux of the whole dilemma is that whatever carbs I add seems to bring on an over-reaction. Using insulin is a guessing game at the best of times--this just makes it even more so...the formula x carbs = y insulin has never been of any relevance to my situation...sadly, very few people seem to have text-book diabetes...T1 or T2.

Cheers
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/25/25_4_106.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

[Sea Saw]

Eve - it must be very difficult for you and it must make you feel powerless at times over this disease. Indeed, our bodies are all different in how foods and medicines are processed.

Many times the doctors have never seen a particular scenario, and have no answers. It becomes a matter of whether they can think outside the box. If they can not we, the patient, have to ...it can be exhausting.

So I guess you are taking it one day at a time? What does your Dr. say?

[eevee]

Thanks Seasaw...I am under the care of an endo and my 6-monthly appointment is next week...I am also seeing then a Sports Dietician specialising in diabetes. My hope is that he will have a solution to my dilemma...I feel pretty confident that my excursion into no-carb land will be treated sympathetically.

I'm sorry if I have given the impression that this is all 'getting me down', but I'm pretty philosophical about it...as long as I'm really trying, that is the best I can do. The last two days have been a bit better .... maybe..?????
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/25/25_4_106.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

[schaftd]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.


I don’t want to make the situation worse by giving myself serve hypo’s so it would be interesting to know from those of you who take Insulin roughly how much you have reduced your Insulin dosage. Have you reduced your Insulin dosage by as much as a ½ or are you on as little as a 1/3 of the amount of insulin you were on before you started low carbing?

Actually, how much you reduce your insulin is a direct measurement of how many carbs you quit eating. For me 8 grams of carbs requires 1 unit of fast-acting insulin to cover it.

I inject 4 units before breakfast of about 8 gms of carbs. (a mixture of chopped pecans, tofu, sweetner, an a small amount of no-sugar, high fiber cereal, with no-sugar soymilk and cream) I then inject 3 units before lunch and supper with great results. I take 8 units of Lantus (24-hour insulin) at 9:00pm every night.

My HbA1c (you should know what this number is, also) is 5.3.

Keep on hand a supply of dextrose candy - I prefer "Smarties" for low BG.

Never, never try to treat low BG's with food or sweets or soft drinks - that is a guaranteed way to swing on the high side, if you don't pass out first. Just rememeber that 1 gram of glucose (dextrose) will raise BG's by about 5 points. So if you are low, eat 5 -7 grams.

Also, don't get discouraged - you body may take weeks to get regulated and reacting to both the low carbs and the reduced insulin.

Test, test, test. As often as you can afford to. Try experiments to see how foods affect your BG's.

Stay away from the "low-carb" candies, snacks, and protein bars. They are not really low-carb, and have an affect on Type 1 BG's.

Read, read, read.

I forgot to mention that I am Type 1, and have been for 7 years. I have s l o w l y worked my HbA1c down from 7.8. I have a lot of low BG's, but none dangerously low. My BG almost NEVER goes above 120. I test upwards of 6 times a day.

Good luck.

Danny

[Sea Saw]

Thanks for this input, Eve. Been away from this site for 2 weeks. I have moved from Dr. B's to Dr. Ezrin and Robert Kowalski's, diet plan for Type IIs. I had trouble with that rigid CHO numbers. The type II diet plan is similar except it limits you to 650-800 cals / day and 30 CHO with no more than 40/day. Meals must be no less than 4 hrs apart and no more than 5 hrs. apart.
My goal is to drop 20 lbs. as quickly as possible with this diet so I will be less insulin resistant. Then continue adjusting my insulin, food intake and activity until my A1C is where it should be.
I am having scatter laser treatment on my right eye retina Wednesday. A result of poor control. More later about that.
Thanks for the in put. It is important for us to share this info.
:-)

[eevee]

I thought you must be busy Seasaw..!! I shall be interested to hear how your new plan-of-attack goes.. Dr Kowalski was an early proponent of lower carbing for diabetics wasn't he...just take care to not slide below that carb minimum: it is so easy to do. My bGs are levelling out a bit now, but about to go walk-about (touring) for nearly four weeks and that usually makes for a bit more uncertainty. On the whole though I think lowER carbing is easier to manage travelling, than high carb...constantly looking for the 'right' carbs (high fibre, low fat)..this WOL makes that less important..salad and some form of protein available almost everywhere now..the carbs just minor players.

I shall look-in when I get back, if I don't catch up with you somewhere else beforehand..............Cheers.....Eve