Newbie/ Old carb deductor

[WarmBreeze]

Hi! I am a newbie here but am an old follower of Dr Atkins. I began his regimine when I was 22 years old in 1978. I lost a great deal of weight on this diet. I even learned how to make bread out of egg whites cream of tarter and other interesting things. Sense then I have balooned into 203 pounds, very high cholestrol, tryglcerides are at 400, can't sleep, tired all the time, feel terrible and hide in the house most the time. I have also been diagnosed with hypoglycemia and was told I need protein to regulate it. Problem is I also need carbs so I do not faint or die from the hypoglycemia. Which took me on a 10 year rollercoaster of loosing, gaining and ruining my body. Interesting to me as I researched this problem I found that years ago people were committed to mental hospitals because thought disturbed when in reality they had low blood sugar problems. Well, I am trying low carb again with a count of 30 carbs per day to see if this will help the problem of getting dizzy, sweaty, panicky and shaky. If there is anyone out there who has this same problem I would greatly appreciate any input that will help me in my quest.

[Kristine]

Hi! :wave: I'm curious: is it <u>reactive</u> hypoglycemia that you have? That's the more common type, and carbs makes it <b>worse</b>. Your sugar doesn't get too low unless you've eaten a carb load. If you stay away from carb loads, you keep a fairly even blood sugar level. :thup: A good strategy is to eat smaller meals, and spread your carbs out through the day. Of course, that's what Atkins and the other low carb plans recommend, anyway. :) It's just extra important if you're prone to blood sugar swings.

The other type of hypoglycemia that I'm aware of is quite rare, and is related to a problem in the way the liver stores sugar, IIRC.

Anyway, I have reactive hypoglycemia, too, but I consider it to be 'latent', since I rarely have problems with it anymore. :thup:

Hope you find success on this plan! Enjoy!

[WarmBreeze]

Thank You Kristine for answering my thread. You know I never was told which type I have. The Dr had me load up on fatty meats, candy bars, mash potaoes, gravy, and a very high calorie diet for three days before he gave me the test. I gained seven pounds! He brought that up to me also. After three hours into the test I decided to sneak to the bathroom for a cig. I almost passed out from it, fell right off the toilet!! LOL I was told you have this and start eating more protein, less carbs but don't omit them completely. That is all he said and sent me on my way! When I use Dr atkins diet starting with zero carbs I get very dizzy, fall over and my head seems to swim at times. I get nervous, shaky, and panicky. I assumed it was the hypoglycemia causing this. As when I did his diet in 1978, I never had this problem. My current Dr always thinks I am drinking alcohol because he says my liver count is to high. Maybe I have the rare kind and don't know it. If you can come up with the full name of it I would love to research it. My blood sugar count is usually 85 or lower at times. After surgery I almost passed out in bed and had to send a friend of mine to buy me a snickers candy bar to help me. I made the nurse call the Dr and take me off the no eating so I could feel better. They punctured my uterus and thought I might hemorage so they did not want me eating in case I had to return to the operating table. I hope this helps.

Thank You So Much!

[Kristine]

>>"The Dr had me load up on (junk)..."

Yep, in order to see how your body really handles carbs, you have to indulge in them (at least 300 g per day, IIRC) for 4 days before the test. If you would have been LCing right up to the test, you probably would have had a normal result.

>>"That is all he said and sent me on my way!"

:rolleyes: Well, at least you're on the right track. :thup:

>>"If you can come up with the full name of it I would love to research it..."

I have to be at work in 15 minutes, but I'll check it out later. You've got me curious. :)

BBL... (be back later)

[lkonzelman]

Hi Warmbreeze and welcome (or welcome back to this WOE).

Just wanted to mention that you may have Atkins wrong, at least the new options wrong. Not sure of how you followed in the past but induction allows and encourages 20 carbs a day not none. None would make anyone sick. You need veggies!

Here are the induction allowed foods and maybe that may help you with some decisions to start out again...

http://atkinscenter.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html

All the best.

[Kristine]

M'kay, the other type of hypoglycemia I was thinking of is fasting hypoglycemia, which just means that your body can't maintain blood sugar levels after several hours with no food.This shouldn't happen to non-diabetics. It's generally caused by liver problems, pancreatic problems, etc. You might want to ask the doctor about that, since your liver enzymes were high. :exclm:

There's a good hypoglycemia FAQ <a href="http://lightning.prohosting.com/~hypoglyc/faq/mainfaq.htm">here (link)</a>.

HTH!

[WarmBreeze]

Thanks everyone!
I never bought Atkins Diet revolution. I was going on his diet from the 70's which starts out with zero carbs for the first week to really push you into ketois.
I began my own revised low carb diet two days ago and have lost 4 pounds already!! YIPPIE!!

I eat 3 strips of bacon, two eggs, 1/2 slice of wheat bread
with butter for breakfast. Lunch is meat and a veggie, dinner the same.
Last night I snacked on this:
1/4 c walnuts
2 tbl spns of nestle baking cocoa/ with hot water
2 packs of diet sugar
heavey cream
1 1/2 oz of sharp cheese


No dizzies, no panicky feelings, no sweating, and I am still losing weight!

[Kristine]

Hi! I highly recommend getting a copy of the newer book. If you don't, check out www.atkinscenter.com for the new induction rules. :thup: That 20 g of carbs will do you good. The rule of thumb is 3 cups of salad, or 2 cups of salad plus 1 cup of cooked LC veggies.

Enjoy! DANDR sounds much more pleasant than the old version. ;)

Oh - I'm going to have to try your LC hot cocoa. :) Sounds good.