My sugars have started to rise into the 160 - 200 range consistently. I want to know if low carb eating can still lower blood sugar if your beta cells are starting to die.

Also, is it good for diabetics to go into ketosis?

Any help appreciated.

Low carbing is always helpful. But it will not cure diabetes. Have you read Bernstein? And after reading Bernstein you need to assess his and other information, and decide what YOUR goals are. Tell us that, and we can offer our advice, but most of us have idiosyncratic goals, me included, and they may or may not be appropriate for you. Anyway, Good Luck in all of this.

I understand that it won't cure diabetes, I would love to lower my blood sugar so that I don't have to go on insulin.

I am now on 2000mg Metformin twice a day, Byetta 10mcg twice a day and Amaryl 1mg. once a day. My blood sugars just started going up into this range. Previously, A1Cs have been 6.3 or less. I just started getting higher readings and although I will do what it takes to get it back down, I would rather not go on insulin.

http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/ Jenny's blog
There are links here to Jenny's other web sites (four total)

Jenny reports that Byetta either works spectacularly for you, or it doesn't work. Why spend money(even if it is insurance money) and inject if it isn't working. Insulin properly dosed will always reduce blood sugars. And if you are low carb you don't have to take that much, and don't need to worry as much about lows.

I was afraid of insulin too, but it hasn't stopped me from losing weight, and it has helped me get my blood sugars to a completely normal range.

I was using 1 daily injection of Lantus, a long-acting insulin. Just 3 weeks ago, (after 13 months of use while LC-ing and losing weight) I was able to stop it with doctor's blessings, because my A1c was at 5.4. But since stopping, my numbers are higherthan I'd like again, despite staying religiously under 30 net carbs a day, so I'm electing on my own to go back on it.

Maybe a little more time and another 20 pounds off, and I'll try again. As much as I'd love to be off it for good, it's more important to maintain round-the-clock normal blood sugars to me, by whatever means it takes.

But yes, eating VLC will do a world of good for a diabetic. Before I started lowcarbing, I was seeing daily readings in the 300's, even on 1500 metformin, actos and glipizide.

Going on insulin now could give your pancreas a rest and possibly preserve some beta cell function?

I highly recommend the site Rob posted above. Spend some time reading through her archives. I learned more about diabetes on that site in a few hours time than I did in the previous 6 years.

There's no problem with diabetics being in ketosis. Medical professionals who warn otherwise are confusing it with ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition that TYPE I's can develop.

Good luck to you!

Thank you and Rob so much. I will visit the site, I am losing weight so well on Byetta that I hate to give it up but I will if it means getting my numbers back on track.

I've been testing and keeping my sugar in control for three years now and tonight, Thanksgiving eve, I am sitting here upset because I know that anything I put in my mouth tomorrow will cause that stupid meter to rise.

I read this website on a pretty consistent basis and you all really understand the disease. Thanks again for your responses.

Byetta can be great for losing weight

So can out of control diabetes

And metformin has a tendency to help lose weight

My sympathy as you have watched your BGs go out of control. A year ago when I started metering (against medical advice) I could control BGs with diet, by the end of the summer that was no longer true. A major disappointment.

"I am now on 2000mg Metformin twice a day, Byetta 10mcg twice a day and Amaryl 1mg. once a day."
ShesGG
I hope you don't mean you are taking 4000 mg of Metformin a day.Max per day of immediate release Metformin is supposed to be 2550 mg.
You would probably do better with 4 mg of
Amaryl per day-1 mg is extremely small dose.
Don't know about Byetta.
Good luck
Eddie

No, it's 1000 twice a day.

She had me cut the Amyril down to half when I started Byetta. I was doing ok on the meds and 2 months after starting Byetta, I'm struggling to get the numbers down again.

I am going to talk to my doctor and tell her I want to get off of Byetta. If I can't get my numbers down, I'll have to go on insulin.

Have you tried Januvia? It's a pill, and worth a shot, I think

I am on Januvia 50mg twice a day and I take Metformin 500mg twice a day.

My numbers, so far, have been good with an A1C of 5.4.

I have to keep my carbs around 60.

During the holidays, my numbers are creeping up since my carbs are around 100-150 of late. So I am telling you and affirming what we all know that low carbing is essential element to controlling the numbers.

After Thanksgiving I am going back to Dr. Bernstein's 6-12-12 recommendation, which is for T1 diabetics, but it certainly helps T2 diabetics get things under control.

Then if you are faithfully doing 6-12-12 and you see your numbers going up anyway, then it is time to consider further remedy such as insulin. Clearly, you do this with the consultation of your Doctor and hopefully you have a good Doctor working with you.

This is a disease you must take control of and know more about it than even your Doctor. I brought some research to my Doc on Januvia and he was happy to support my efforts. He says it simply. You have your A1C down to 5.4 and I am all for whatever it is that you are doing to accomplish that number.

He didn't care how I did it and didn't pretend to suggest any particular solution.

I also agree that Jenny's site has enormous amount of information for us all.

In fact, I need to go back over there and see what is happening with Januvia.

Ralph

Is Januvia new? I will research it, I really do want to give her a suggestion when I tell her I want to go off of Byetta. She was so happy with the weight loss, me too.

I lost 26 lbs. in two months but part of that was being sick on the Byetta. My plan right now is to call the Dr. tomorrow, get on a lower carb regimine and try not to stress so much over this.

Appreciate your advice as well. We will see what she says about Januvia.

There may be some issues with januvia. Early signs that it may have some not-so-safe side effects. Jenny's blog is the best place to read up on it. Put januvia in as a search term to find the various blog articles she's written about it.

Oh my goodness. The two drugs I read about were Januvia and Galvus. Both lower bs in the same way and can cause some nasty problems.

My actual next appt. with her is January 3. Maybe I should just keep everything as is but start low carbing and see how that goes. I am normally so decisive but this is throwing me.

I think so long as we are getting good advice, have a supportive doctor, have access to medications stress does not need to be part of our treatment regime. Even side affects of these new medications are somewhat rare, and almost never happen quickly. We are concerned about our numbers, and when things go out of control we need to figure a new game plan. And even high numbers for a while are not particularly dangerous when we meter, watching our diet, and know we can always change medications. I kind of look at my diabetes as a new form of Crosswords or Sudoku. I work toward the solution, and it is a kind of game, with occasional bolts of thunder coming out of the blue. And actually it is true that life is a game, and best enjoyed.