Doreen,

You have answered questions that I haven't even asked yet :cool: Fatigue & headaches have been persistent companions for 2-3 weeks (I'm 5.5 weeks into LC). Alas, I didn't start taking a good multivit & min until last week. Fatigue is abating, especially if I'm able to get enough sleep, but the headaches continue. 10 days ago I bought "half-salt" that is half table salt & half potassium chloride. I don't tend to use salt except for a little sprinkle on my eggs.

Additionally, I notice that my headaches appear or worsen when I'm getting close to the next meal or have had a *very* LC meal.

Typical menu:

B: 3 egg omelet with 1 oz cheese,
1 or 2 X week 2 oz ham
OR bacon & eggs

L: can of tuna with mayo & pepper
1 cup romaine with 1T caesar dressing
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs or 2 oz string cheese

D: chicken, fish, steak with Mrs Dash or lemon jc marinade
salad or steamed broccoli/butter
diet jello

I have headaches in the morning every day. Should I be having more carbs in AM? Any other suggestions? I'm sure you do, you seem to be the scientific/medical guru on this site :D

Oh yeah: Type 2 on glucophage 500mg 3x daily

hi Ruth,

Um, your menu looks a little low on carbs for the whole day, actually, no more than15 gm there. Induction level of 20 carb grams is for two weeks only, then you should move to OWL (ongoing wt. loss) by adding carbs in 5 gm per day increments, one week at a time, until you reach your CCL (critical carb level) -- which is the level of carbs you should stay at till goal. If you hit a plateau, ie, no weight or inches lost in more than 4 weeks, then it's reasonable to go back to Induction level to restimulate ketosis. Truthfully, a stretch of a month or so at 20 gm/day is probably fine, but the goal should be to get the carbs up to OWL level once things are rolling again. Try adding more veggies, have a spinach or mushroom omelet for breakfast, or some 4% cottage cheese, it's 4 carbs for 1/2 cup, and 15 gm protein .. :)

No mention of coffee, have you recently cut out or cut way back on caffeine?? That could explain the morning headache. The other thing, do make sure you're drinking buckets and buckets of water to flush out those ketones -- don't want them accumulating. I tend to suspect low potassium, since you mentioned you only sprinkle a little of the half salt on your eggs. I don't use the salt shaker a lot either, so I buy the NoSalt, the pure potassium one. It's about $4 at most grocery stores here in ONT, so guessing similar in BC. Take 1/8 tsp and stir it into a glass of water, then drink it down. The taste is very, very faint, as if you'd put in a single drop of lemon juice and a few granules of salt. 1/8 tsp will yield 320 mg potassium, and as long as you're still having the headaches, I'd take it twice a day, unless you have severe kidney disease, or are taking blood pressure medication. Once the headaches let up, then once a day for the duration is fine. One $4 shaker will last a very long time!!

The metformin (glucophage) acts by enhancing the effectiveness of insulin, unlike the glyburide you were on before which lowers blood sugar (see I remembered .. :D). Do make sure you take it with your meal, or immediately after, never on an empty stomach.

Hope this helps,

Doreen

I have been headachy as well. Also my lower legs are very swollen today. I can't figure out why. I have a hard time getting in enough water because my job will not let us have anything to drink. A little abusive if you ask me. We don't get a lunch break either. Just 15 minutes to walk through the store and pee....
Could this be the problem?

Abusive....!?
 

Is that LEGAL?????

Maybe it's time to look for another job....?

Rachel

Unfortunately it is legal, we are even unionised!:mad:
In the retail and restaurant business they are only required to give a 10 minute break every 5 1/2 hours.
What I really need is a get rich quick scheme.........:D

Move to Canada!;)

Here, the labour laws require that employees recieve a 20 minute paid break for food after 5 hours of work. Other breaks do not have to be paid for.

Karen

I am in Canada, that 20 minute rule applies to everyone except retail and restaurant. I always thought that too until I called the labour board. It sucks............:( :( :eek:

Thanks Doreen,

I guess I'll be out tonight looking for NoSalt. I suspected low potassium, that's why I bought Halfsalt. I suppose one could use Nosalt in herb tea if I don't like the taste on its own.... hmmm.
Coffee/caffeine, I weaned myself from coffee about 7 months ago & rarely indulge now & feel fortunate that I'm not having to deal with that particular withdrawal right now.

Water.... I drink tons of water and have for years. I'm known for dragging a big water jug with me everywhere (even church). Since LCing I've bumped it up to 5 litres at least each day, consequently my Ketosticks have never moved past Trace or Small & often don't show.

Carbs....You're right, they are low. I'll have to work harder at getting my vegs ~ breakfast & lunch, because carbs at dinner will push up my BG. I keep detailed records :) B4 breakfast readings are 7.0 to 7.4 ~ 6:40 AM & I usually don't eat after 8 PM. That's 10 hours & 1 glucophage at dinner, another at bedtime!! I've kept my carbs low because I don't like going over 6.8 all the time. BTW, avg BG ~ bedtime can be 6.4, morning is 7.4. Must be the dawn phenomenon. Arggh!

:D I've been indoctrinated by Dr Bernsteins's Diabetes Solution about the damage that after meal spikes in BG will cause. Sigh... I'm waiting for the weight to fall off LOL!! so that the old body is less insulin resistant.

Now a note to Wa'il, what about your idea for a diabetes forum? Any ETA?

hi Ruthie....

the Diabetes forum has been waiting for you since the weekend ... ;)

It's a sub-forum of the Health Issues. See, all kinds of secrets and surprises. You need to explore the whole site, lots of goodies!! ..... :D

Doreen

Ahh! Not the Cambridge in Massachusetts!

I learn something new every day, and I'm part of restaurant management. Maybe we're just nice!

That does suck. :mad:

Karen

No, Cambridge Ontario.
Ya, some of the labour laws suck. I used to work every Sunday in a little retail store. They would not even provide bathroom breaks. One day after 6 hours (of course being diabetic) I had to pee big time, so I had no choice but to lock the door and go. I was gone no more than 3 minutes when the manager stopped in and gave me supreme sh--. So I called the labour board and they said " To bad, they are not required to give any breaks if you are the only employee!" Something wrong with that I think!

God, that totally sucks. I'm self-employed and always complaining about the feast/famine nature of my work, but I think I'll shut up now! Geez, at least I get time to pee.....

Rachel

In British Columbia, the "democratic" party )NDP) managed to deny high-tech workers overtime payments, and if you're a high-tech employee for a high-tech company, you can be made to work overtime, weekends, holidays with no compensation, and no banking of time into vacation. But you can go pee anytime you want :)

shelley, i work in retail. i work for Dominion. we are unionised too. we get a 15min break for 4 hours work, 2x15 for 6 hr, 15 + 1/2 hr for 7, 2x15 + 1/2hr for 7 1/2hr, 2x15 + 1hr for 9hr. what's wrong with your union? my daughter works for shoppers drugmart. they have a very similar break schedule and they're not unionised! who do you work for? i'd seriously think of changing companies! that sounds barbaric!

Man your work place wouldn't like me...I would create sh*#, then again they would just get rid of me if I didn't already tell them to shove their job up there...a*#

Thats just awful!