PDA

View Full Version : Low Blood Sugars


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums

Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!



fishinmom
Wed, Nov-07-01, 08:08
I've been following the LC for a little while now and my blood sugars have been dropping too low. I reduced the amount of medication I'm taking and they're still droping too low!

For the past two days I've had to add a carb here and there just too bring my levels up to normal. Won't this defeat the purpose of the LC WOL? Last night I had to drink 1/2 a cup of regular pop because my sugars were so low, and then this morning I added a slice of whole wheat toast with 2 poached eggs.

I'm taking Metformin 3 a day (one in the morning, one after lunch, one after supper) I'm also taking 4 Glyburinde (Diabeta) tablets a day 2 in the morning and 2 before my evening meal. I've dropped it down to one in the morning and one before my evening meal. I'm considering taking the evening ones out all together so I can at least sleep without checking my sugar every two hours - so I don't go into a diabetic coma or something!

Have other people had these results? My doctor doesn't want me on the LC thing so I haven't told her or I'll be in deep crap! LOL! Has anyone here gone completely off their meds eating this way?

Fishinmom :roll:

Natrushka
Wed, Nov-07-01, 08:38
Fishinmom, I you need to see your doctor before you start playing around with your medication. Yes this WOE does help you manage your blood sugar, and many people with type II diabetes can stop taking meds altogether, however this should only be done under a doctor's supervision. If your doctor is not willing to listen to you, perhaps you need to find another one? Perhaps he / she will listen now, as you can show her the LCing is working for you?

Nat

fishinmom
Wed, Nov-07-01, 08:58
Don't worry about the medication - I'm only reducing them with my doctors orders. She has already told me that if I am dropping too low to start subtracting my Glyburide(Diabeta) one at a time until I get the desired results.

Unfortunately I have already discussed LC with her and with my diabetes nurse and dietician. They said "absolutely NO". Even though the results are amazing for me. The area I'm living has a very short supply of doctors and most of them aren't even taking patients anymore, and I've pretty well been to all of them, none of them agree with LC what so ever.

But as I said - this works for me! Before LC my sugars were so out of control and I was already suffering from several diabetes related complications. My whole problem is that even a little bit of carbs sends my sugars up. One slice of bread can ruin it for the whole day. Of course none of them listen and keep switching me from med to med trying to find something that works. I was told if these medications didn't work that I would have to take injections. I really don't want to start that when I know it can be controlled by diet - it just makes no sense.

I don't understand their thinking!!! I"m so frustrated - if it works for me why can't they just accept that for some people this WOE may be beneficial and the benefits just might outweigh whatever risks they think there might be!

Fishinmom

Natrushka
Wed, Nov-07-01, 09:03
Originally posted by fishinmom
I don't understand their thinking!!! I"m so frustrated - if it works for me why can't they just accept that for some people this WOE may be beneficial and the benefits just might outweigh whatever risks they think there might be!

Perhaps a living breathing thin and healthy new you will change their minds? Sometimes we have to lead by example :)

N

fishinmom
Wed, Nov-07-01, 21:22
That's so true - Wait til they see how well my blood sugars have come down - there's no denying that! :p LOL!

Fishinmom

Ruth
Wed, Nov-07-01, 22:21
Hi Fishinmom,

I'm so glad your Dr said you can reduce your Glyberide. That's what you need to do. You probably know that glyberide causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, thus reducing blood sugars.

I think you are on the right track with the idea to drop your evening glyberide pill. (BTW what dosage is this pill? 2.5 mg or 5mg?) If it is 5mg, you can split the pill and take half at breakfast and dinner.

My dosage of glyberide was 5mg daily, split between breakfast and dinner, until I started LCing. Because I had a severe hypoglycemic incident 5 days b4 beginning LC, I made an 'executive' decision and stopped the glyberide the day I began Atkins. That low BG incident was so awful, I didn't want to go there again!!! I kept careful & constant track of my blood sugars and saw my Dr 2 weeks later to report what I was doing. (2 wks was long enough to have sufficient data to support my new LC WOL). My blood glucose #'s were similar while LCing w/o glyberide as they were while on glyberide, so she was happy.

My Dr wasn't crazy about LC, but since I was gung-ho to lose weight & my BG was favourable, she wasn't about to dissuade me. *I'm lucky to have a great woman doctor* Since then, she has admitted that I'm doing great on LC WOL, lost weight, better control of BG. Yay!!!

All of the above rambling is to encourage you to 'manage' your diabetes by reducing meds gradually and with frequent testing (4xday). You already have your Dr's permission to reduce glyberide. Of course, it is critical to see your Dr as soon as possible after tweaking the meds, so you can 'fess up and agree on the program going forward.

My thoughts on the Dr & the diabetes nurse & dietician saying NO to LC? They are WRONG and with continued success on LC, you will prove them wrong. And what if you never convince them? Does it matter? You will be slimmer & healthier with better control of your BG than you ever had before. *LOL* Brainstorm: if all diabetics lived LC WOL, would we need diabetes dieticians and nurses, or would they be out of work, except for the few teaching LC WOL as treatment for diabetes? LOL at myself now: you touched a nerve when you shared about them ragging on you about LC.

You've read CAD, now go borrow Atkins and Protein Power from the library (or buy paperback copies for $10 + taxes) and educate yourself further about insulin, carbs etc. I learned more about insulin from Atkins & PP than I ever did at the local Diabetes Clinic classes! Weight loss, better HgA1c test results, blood pressure & cholesterols will be your proof that you are eating the best way for you. You go girl!

Please report back often on how you are doing.

Ruth :wave:

fishinmom
Thu, Nov-08-01, 06:45
Thanks for your comments Ruth - I'm hoping I'll be able to reduce my meds to nil as well. As it looks I'm headed in that direction. I have a doctors appointment next week and I will tell her then. Hopefully she'll agree to at least a month trial. I'm sure by then I'll have solid proof that it's better for me to be LCing than not to be!

I have a woman doctor as well and otherwise she is fantastic! She's done more for me in the 6 months I've been seeing her than any doctor has done in the past 5 years! I really don't want to have to find another :(

I am frustrated though that none of them will take off their blinders and quit using their text-book mentality. I can almost bet in the future this will be the WOE they will use to treat diabetes - with everyone showing such good results, how can they not!

Oh well I'm back to eating LC until one of them can give me absolute proof that it's harming me in some way - I go for my 3 month blood tests again next month and I'm hoping all my counts will be down! How can they argue with that! :cheer:

Oldsalty
Thu, Nov-08-01, 08:40
I noticed that Dr Bernstein was not mentioned in this thread, just in case you have not visited his site here is the location. His book is a "must" read for all diabetics.

http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/

wsgts
Thu, Nov-08-01, 10:17
I am a type II myself (or was according to who you asked). My doctor was LC friendly, even recommended it. You can see to the left my weight lose, and my last hba1c was 5.8 ~ 114 (yes I like saying that over and over again). I stopped taking meds (Glucaphage, 2 per day) about 6 months ago.

Ruth is right on. Anything that makes more insulin will make it more difficult to lose weight, if not impossible. This was advice my diabetic doctor gave me. In his words "keep insulin down, lose weight. insulin high, gain wieght".

Glucaphage is a really good drug, don't be hestitate to take it. It's the only one that will help you lose weight, and it is not a likely to cause low blood sugars.

Here is some insights on diabetes that my first doctor instilled in me. Diabetes is YOUR problem, not the doctors. No amount of medication will ever take the place of you taking control of your eating habits, neither will exercise although it helps. It's not like cancer or something that you can't do anything about. You can control it or in my case cure it (yes I said cure it).

So, given the advice I was given, let me give you some advice. Drop the dietitian, waste of your money and time. Go in and tell the doctor what you are doing, and that you hope that she will still help you with your medication. Remember that this is your problem, not hers. Doctors save lives and improve the quality of life everyday with many health problems, but this one just so happens to be totally up to you. If she it a good doctor, she will give you a kidney function test, do a blood workup and send you on your way with the standard "I can't imagine what you are doing to yourself inside".

Good luck, and do let us know,
wsgts

Ruth
Thu, Nov-08-01, 11:24
Originally posted by wsgts

Diabetes is YOUR problem, not the doctors. No amount of medication will ever take the place of you taking control of your eating habits, neither will exercise although it helps. It's not like cancer or something that you can't do anything about. You can control it or in my case cure it (yes I said cure it).

Doctors save lives and improve the quality of life everyday with many health problems, but this one just so happens to be totally up to you.

Well said.

Oldsalty: I never mentioned Bernstein (I love his book & recommend it to every diabetic in my life) because in fishinmom's profile (click on icon on lower left of post) she indicates she has read Bernstein. But I am glad you mentioned it because others will be reading this thread.

Your comment has reminded me of something I was thinking about as I was going to sleep last night. (!!) CAD is not a good program for diabetics, IMHO. Too many carbs in one meal, insulin will go up. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the goal with diabetes is to keep blood sugars stable & constant. CAD has 2 no/low carb meals & 1 high in carbs, this could result in diabetes complications in the long run. In CADLP, they now recommend the carb meal to be in the morning, rather than the evening. Something to think about.

fishinmom
Thu, Nov-08-01, 13:15
Thank you everyone for your great advice. I dug Dr. Bernsteins book out again - it's been awhile since I read it. I was thinking of loaning it to my Dr.

I didn't realize glyburide made it difficult to lose weight - yikes! What about Meformin?

Thanks for the info on Glucophag - I'll ask the doctor about that.

Hopefully I can just drop it all except the Metformin soon and then eventually drop that too!

I'm looking forward to no meds some day. Well I guess it's back to the books.

P.S. I'm not really following the CAD plan either - I'm just kind of following my own plan right now. I'm keeping my carbs at around 20 - 25 g. per day and just incorporating things from different books I've read. So far it's working well - :roll:

doreen T
Thu, Nov-08-01, 13:46
Metformin is a brand name of Glucophage ... same thing ;)

It would be a terrific idea to show some of the Dr. Bernstein book to your dr. Maybe you could photocopy, or print some scanned pages for her .. that way you don't have to be without the book. I loaned some of my books to my doc. before .. I was weeks getting them back, mostly because she read them thoroughly!

Doreen

fishinmom
Thu, Nov-08-01, 16:20
:doah: :o Okay shows you how much I know - LOL! I guess if I'm already taking the Meformin - I don't need to talk to the doctor about taking "Glucophag" - LMBO!!!!



Fishinmom

kyfaithly
Sun, Dec-02-01, 19:09
I've read all of your advice, and while I don't have diabetes, I do have low blood sugar (drops to below 50, I use to pass out and end up in the hospital, dehydrated, until they figured it out).

All I know for certain, is that this is the first diet I've done that makes me feel good all day. I'm pretty careful about my portions and maybe that is why, but so far, my body doesn't seem to be missing those carbs at all, and I haven't had any drops in my blood sugar either.

Ruth
Mon, Dec-03-01, 19:59
Hi Kyfaithly,

I'm glad to hear that your hypoglycemia is under better control. Eating low carb means no spikes in blood glucose (BG) and no corresponding plummet when the insulin kicks in. In 3 yrs of diabetes, while eating a regular diabetes diet I experienced about 4 incidents of hypoglycemia. Yikes, no fun at all.

Happy LCing

Dandi
Mon, Apr-01-02, 14:06
Hi Kyfaithly,
I too have struggled with the effects of hypoglycemia. And as I get older the symptoms get more serious. So I am trying to keep my blood sugars level too. Dr. Bernstein's book is the best help I've found. But one still has to explore how each food reacts on yourself individually.

I'm realizing that even a tablespoon of mayo reacts too strongly on me. And cream is something I must severely limit too.

Lisa N
Mon, Apr-01-02, 17:54
Fishinmom....

Just thought you should know that my dad is a doctor (a very old one at that at 89) and we had a very interesting discussion yesterday about how low carb used to be the diet of choice to treat diabetics when he first started practicing medicine over 60 years ago (of course, at that time they also recommended low fat as part of the program as well, but at least they had the low carb part of it right) and he can't quite grasp how my cardiac profile has actually improved eating all the fat that I do. He never did understand why they changed the recommendation to high carb when the low carb worked so well. He's been watching my progress with this WOE with great interest and has been very encouraging. Just goes to show you..."improvements" and "medical advances" aren't always for the best. My doctor wasn't totally thrilled about my trying this WOE at first, either, but after 10 months and being able to get off all my medications even he has had to admit that this seems to work pretty well for me. Old ideas die hard but when faced with a healthier patient with less need (or no need) for medications, it would be a poor doctor who would recommend that you go back to what you were doing before and one that I wouldn't continue to employ as my physician.

yelena
Fri, Apr-05-02, 01:26
Originally posted by fishinmom
I've been following the LC for a little while now and my blood sugars have been dropping too low. I reduced the amount of medication I'm taking and they're still droping too low!.....I'm taking Metformin 3 a day (one in the morning, one after lunch, one after supper) I'm also taking 4 Glyburinde (Diabeta) tablets a day 2 in the morning and 2 before my evening meal. ......Fishinmom :roll:

You take too much Metformin. The current recommendations are: Metformin 500-1000mg twice a day or 850 mg once a day. It is not recommended to take Metformin 3 times a day anymore. If you take Metformin XR (Glucophage XR), you would need only 500-2000mg once a day with supper.

Packrat
Sat, Apr-06-02, 17:31
Hi FISHINMOM, I have had a similar problem, both with sugar lows and physicians ( who are just 'practicing' ),HAH! Do you know if you had hypoglycemia prior to being diagnosed with diabetes? I am not diabetic yet, however, have severe reactive hypoglycemia, mine is a precursor to diabetes, as evidenced on a long glucose tolerance test. Prior to Low-Carbing my insulin levels would skyrocket, especially with consumption of white sugar or processed flour, then plummet out of control, to the dangerous gray areas in the 20's after about 2-4 hours of eating. Low carbing was recommended as well as the drug, Metformin ( glucophage). For the first 3 weeks of my diet, I continued to have "spells" of low blood sugarsimilar to what you describe. You might want to try a 'fructose' chaser (couple sips of orange juice) when you take your morning dose of Glucophage, unless you have irritable bowel syndrome. I have been involved with a clinical research study for Polycystic Ovarian Disease and its complications. The "team" is not quite sure why the chaser helps, but it has worked for me. As for doctors...there are kind, caring people out there who listen and still find a challenge in seeking a diagnosis and initiating an improvement of symptoms...but...there are far more who are overworked, burnt out, don't listen and experience a joy out of shuffling you though the system to a mental health provider(probably an ex-roomate) who will then pretend to tolerate your complaints, but truly be thrilled with the idea of a "patient for life". As for my advice when seeking medical council. Tell the truth, tell it all...even the disgusting and embarrassing symptoms, continue to ask questions, accept uncertainty only with the commitment that a pursuit of diagnosis will continue, don't let anyone convice you that you are in a deep depression or fraught with chronic anxiety (unless you are), deal with insurance companies in the same manner. Most people who "CHOOSE" the low-carb lifestyle didn't have a choice. It is a cure for so much "evil". It is so sad to me though how many people could be happier, wiser and healthier if only treated by the"right physicians". Keep us updated on what you do! Packrattery

Spring
Sun, Apr-14-02, 17:59
I am hoping that some of you that have delt with similar problems to what my daughter is experiencing can give me some experienced advice. She will turn 18 in a few days and has suffered these symptoms since she was about 14 or so.

She started out with very normal periods at 12 years old. For about 2 years she was very regular...the only problem being very bad cramps. Then, the periods just stopped all at once. I took her to the doctor and they did a sonogram and said everything looked good. I insisted they do a thyroid test and they said it was normal. The doctor put her on Provera for about 3 days to induce a period...which it did.... and then put her on BC pills. She stayed on the pill for about three months and then went off to see if she would have a period on her own. She didn't. She had no periods for about 6 months and then went back on the pill and started regular periods again and stayed on the pill for about a year. Then she went off the pill and never had another period.

A girl that is diabetic at my daughters school checked my daughters blood sugar one day right after lunch. It was in the high 30's. My daughters father had hypoglycemia. We went on the LC diet to try to control her blood sugar levels and see if that would correct her periods. After about 2 weeks of the LC diet she had a scanty period. That was about 2 months ago and she hasn't had a period since then. On this WOE she has lost 11 pounds and has much more energy. My daughter is 5' tall and when we started the diet she weighed 159...now she weighs 148. Sorry for the long case history, but I felt like it was important for you all to know her history.

I would like to correct her problems with diet and herbs if possible. Although she has never been diagnosed with PCOS, I am thinking that that may be her problem. I don't know exactly what I am asking except for some experienced opinions on her condition. No doctor around this area seems to even care about checking blood sugar levels or anything else when she had a problem with her periods. I just feel like, at this point, that you all have problably learned more about this disorder than they know. I would appreciate any information or personal experiences that you can relate. Thanks for any help that you can offer. I don't have health insurance any more as I lost my job....so, you can see my problem. I just can't afford the specialists etc that I feel she would need to see if we were to get any answers from them.

Lisa N
Sun, Apr-14-02, 18:52
Hi Spring!

Your daughter sounds very much like me at her age. The only way to tell for sure if she has PCOS is to do another ultrasound and to check her hormone levels. An infertility specialist would probably be the best doctor to do these exams as they are more likely to be well informed on PCOS than a general gynecologist. The doctor may also want to do an endometrial biopsy. If she does have PCOS, birth control pills are about the worst thing that she could take because they will make her ovaries shut down completely. Docs put me on BC pills when I was 18 so that I could have a "regular" cycle with the end result being that I was infertile and had completely non-functioning ovaries. I'm really wondering if that blood sugar reading of 30 was an accurate one as most people would be unconscious with a blood sugar that low and would certainly be feeling severe hypoglycemic symptoms at that low a blood sugar. I had a blood sugar reading of 60 once and was near passing out even at that point. If it were my daughter, I would for sure take her to a specialist to get her evaluated properly. Good luck!

Spring
Mon, Apr-15-02, 00:16
Thanks Lisa for the advice. Taking her to a specialist is exactly what I did the first time. He was supposed to really be an expert. He just said she would straighten out on her own after she took the pill for awhile...yeah, right! I am not sure if the BS reading was correct or not. It was done by a girl at school that was diabetic. I plan to get a monitor and check it myself. My mother was diabetic and I had to check her a couple of times a day, so I am familiar with how to do it. I am tired of getting the "run around" with our local doctors. If I decide to go the "expert" route again, I am going to take her to Nashville where they might have someone that at least has an idea of what they are doing. I have No Confidence in any doctors around here.

Lisa N
Mon, Apr-15-02, 17:20
I understand your concern, Spring. I was fortunate to have a very good infertility expert in the town that I live in and the first thing that they told me was that taking the pill was the worst possible thing that I could have done for my condition. Unfortunately, nothing they tried helped my infertility but I did eventually become pregnant on my own a few years after stopping treatment and just giving up. Don't just take her to a gynecologist expert, take her to an infertility specialist. I realize that she isn't trying to get pregnant, but they are usually very well educated as to PCOS because it is a high cause of infertility. Check out the PCOS forum on this board too for more information on the disease and it's treatments. FYI...low carb is one of the treatments now used for that particular syndrome. Also a good idea on the glucometer. It's best to do several readings throughout the day, especially before meals and an hour or two after eating if you suspect hypoglycemia. If they consistently run low, take her to see the doctor with the blood sugar readings recorded for them to see (many monitors now store the readings in memory so that doctors can see your readings as they were on the monitor along with the date and the time of day the reading was taken). Let us know how she's doing!

Spring
Mon, Apr-15-02, 23:50
Thanks Lisa. My daughter talked to one of her teachers at school today. Her daughter has PCOS. Her daughters symptoms are much more severe than my daughters. This girl has been to several specialists in Nashville...endocrinologists, infertility specialists...the whole 9 yards. What did they do for the girl? They put her on Met...probably a good idea....and gave her BC pills...obviously not so good. The girl is still gaining weight...her facial hair is getting worse and she has developed IBS to boot. There goes alot of my hope for Nashville specialists :rolleyes:

Anyway, I did buy the glucose monitor and checked my daughters blood sugar before supper. It was 76. At least that is better than 38! I should have checked it after supper, but my daughter-in-law fell and hurt her ankle and we spent most of the night in the emergency room.....just a sprain, thank God. So, I will do a fasting sugar in the morning and see how her levels are then. Thank you for your help.

Justs a sidenote...my sugar level before supper was 86. Not too bad for a 48 year old. I am sure hoping to avoid my Mother's diabetes so I am keeping a check on mine also.