I have been following Atkins for 4 weeks now with no change in my weight. I weigh 300 lbs; have Thyroid Cancer and Diabetes Type 2. I take Glucophage XR, Glyburide and (because I have no thyroid gland), Synthroid and Cytomel.

I exercise 5 days a week: 3 weight-bearing and 2 swimming

My BGs are still elevated at 220-230 FASTING in the morning and don't go below 170-180 all day long.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so, what did you do to get the weight loss going?

There have only been 2 occassions in the past 3 years where I experienced weight loss and that was when I was on insulin.

Has anyone noticed that insulin helps their weight loss?

Thanks,
Theresa

I'll bet your doctor hasn't read Dr. Bernstein's book, or he/she would not have you taking any Glyburide, which Dr. B. says should not be prescribed as it accelerates pancreatic beta cell burnout.

Since insulin is the fat-making hormone, overproduction of it is largely responsible for obesity in the first place. But it sounds like you need it badly to get those blood sugar readings down.

If I were you I'd get Dr. B's book and read it cover to cover. Then talk with your doctor about stopping the Glyburide and using insulin.

BTW, from where in western Ky. do you hail? I grew up in Louisville and spent a lot of time in the western part of the state. Hope you didn't get any of that severe weather we heard about in Tennessee.

Jim

So glad you told me about Glyburide. Actually, when I first got a copy of Dr. Bernstien's book and had only skimmed it, I took it with me to my doctor's appt. My doc got so "mad" at me that he took my book away from me and kept it.

He told me that I was "intellectualizing" my obesity issues and then proceeded to lecture me again on eating a "well-balanced" diabetic exchange diet (the ADA diet), eating low-fat, and exercising.

No doctor has ever believed me when I tell them that I don't overeat.

Anyway, it sounds like I need to purchase another copy of Dr. B's book for myself and NOT tell my doctor.

I live in Henderson-- it's about a 2-hr drive from Louisville.
Fortunately the tornadoes missed Henderson.

--Theresa

The doctor kept YOUR book? One that you paid for? I hope he deducted it from his fee. No professional that I consult had better try to take my property from me.

Of course, it's none of my business, but I'd get another doctor. For me, there's only one test: either they help me and I get better or they don't and I get worse. When I try one and it's the latter, I move on to the next doctor. It took me a long time to find a good one.

I wish you success in your battle against diabetes.

Henderson. Know it well. Evansville, too. Used to drive down there at least once a week when it was my sales territory. I also called on a contractor in Morganfield and I used to have family in Hopkinsville.

Jim

The more I think about what your doctor said, the angrier I get. If there's one thing Dr. Bernstein does not do anywhere in his book is "intellectualize". Everything he tells you is founded in scientific fact and personal experience as a Type I diabetic. Has your doctor lived with Type I diabetes for more than 50 years? Does he maintain the lipid profile of a teenage athlete like Dr. B does? Is he fit and trim, like Dr. B. is (even though he's about 70 years old)?

How can any responsible physician allow your blood sugars to remain so chronically high? My doctor wants to be notified if my average fasting glucose exceeds 110mg/dl so that further action can be taken to normalize it. All diabetics have a right to the same normal blood sugar as non diabetics. I demand it of myself and my doctor. The technology and the knowledge are there.

Again, best of luck and all success to you.

Jim

I too am a type II diabetic and lose weight at slower than a snail's pace, but without the starches my blood sugar responds very quickly and I take glucotrol, they've tried me on others and I can't stomach them.

Could you post what you are eating -- that may show something.

Are you drinking coffee or other caffeine -- I can't remember the right wording for it, but caffeine can raise your sugars. Have you seen a decrease in your sugars at all?

Also I can't remember how long you've been doing this? I'd check often throughout the day and see how things go. Like before a meal, then an hour and two hours after a meal. Does your sugar spike or is it staying even?

There may be something in the meds or in the condition of your thyroid.

Are you eating processed meats? Lunch meats, sausages, bacons? You may be eating meats that have sugars added or other items that could be a problem.

I had surgery in December and due to the pain I was having prior to my sugars went up and I had a time controlling them. I ate chicken thighs and broccoli -- tons of it and it really helped. I chose chicken because it was quick and easy to fix for me and easy on my stomach with all the pain meds and other stuff going on. I was able to hold my sugars level so I could have surgery. After getting back into low carbs my sugars began to respond immediately.

I also notice a rise in my sugar after I exercise -- hard walking or weights -- but it is lasting shorter and shorter, I'm recovering quicker.

I also agree in finding a doctor who will work with you -- I finally told my doctor that watching my carb intake helped me tremendously and told her how I ate prior to surgery to accomplish that. When I asked how was the best way to handle recuperation she said, eat lots of chicken.

I hope this helps to encourage you.

Let us know how you are doing.

Debi

Just read your post.... been where you are , know what you're feeling as far as trying to loose weight......I wish I could talk to you in person... but please read this carefully....

I am type 2 also....I know one of your problems is the GLYBURIDE THAT YOU ARE TAKING..... I was taking it too, for 6 yrs.... tried so hard to loose weight, and could not loose one lb....then the Dr. put me on avandia too , with the glucophage, so I was taking all three... weight kept going up......after reading everything I could to help me, including the DIABETES SOLUTION...I knew what was keeping me from loosing.... so I had the Dr. to take me off avandia, and glyburide... and I was taking the very top amount one can take.... my bs were very good and low.... but I was getting bigger and hated myself...... after stopping the medicine.... I AM NOW BEGINNING TO LOOSE WEIGHT, IN A SHORT TIME AFTER STOPPING THOSE MEDS... I WILL NEVER TAKE THEM AGAIN......

I had been on the atkins plan ... 3 months never cheating and doing everything I knew to do and no weight loss..... but I NEVER GAVE UP, EVEN WHEN I DIDN'T SEE A WEIGHT LOSS, I KEPT EATING LIKE EVERYONE THAT WAS LOOSING ON THIS WOE.... ALTHOUGH, I WAS A DIABETIC AND THEY WEREN'T....I AM SO GLAD I STAYED WITH IT, BECAUSE NOW, I AM LOOSING......
MY BS ARE HIGHER ,BUT I AM LOOSING WEIGHT AND WHEN I LOOSE ENOUGH, THEY WILL GO DOWN...I AM STILL TAKING GLUCOPHAGE 2000 MG..... AND I AM BURNING FAT.....

PLEASE KEEP TRYING..... WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU.....

Excuse me???? He TOOK your book and KEPT it?? This is just me, but I'd carefully type up an "overdue book" notice and send it to him with a bill for the book and a request to either pay for the book (or deduct the cost of the book from your next office visit...his choice) or return it ASAP. I would be livid if my doctor (or any doctor for that matter) did that to me and I would not be going back to him for medical care. Where I come from, taking something that does not belong to you without permission and keeping it is called stealing. I don't care what his reasons were, he had absolutely no right to do that and you have every right to report his actions to the state medical board.
Now...on to the business at hand. We really need to see sample menus of what you are eating, when and how much. It could be that enough of your beta cells have burned out that you need the insulin, but let's rule out other possibilities first.
I'd also encourage you to look around for another doctor who will be willing to worth with you on this instead of dictating "my way or the highway" edicts to you regarding diet and treatment. Your doctor is supposed to be your partner in health care, not a dictator. Kick him to the curb and find someone who is willing to listen to your concerns and treat you with more respect.

Thank you all for your support and great info.
I does make me angry when I think about the doctor taking my book; but I think would makes me angrier is never being taken seriously by my doctor.

I recently started seeing a new doctor and I'm hoping things work out much better. I see him again on Mon. May 19th and I'm going to ask him about taking me OFF OF GLYBURIDE. For now, I've decided to stop taking it.

In answer to the questions:
1) No. I haven't seen a decrease in my sugars at all.

2) I take my BGs first in the morning (fasting) then BEFORE Lunch, BEFORE supper, and BEFORE bedtime. It starts out around 220-240 and the LOWEST reading I get all day is around 170-180.

3) I don't have a Thyroid gland, so all the "metabolizing" of my food is done artifically using Synthroid and Cytomel. I'll review these meds with my new doc as well.

4) I don't eat lunch meat, but I do eat the Emge Bacon that comes already cooked.

Wow, Jim, sounds like you have a terrific doctor-- since he wants to know if your BGs are over 110. I can't even remember the last time I saw my BGs that low. My HgAi (?) is at 10% - the highest range level.

I do believe this HAS to be preventing my weight loss.

Again, thank you for your support. You are all so very kind.

Theresa
I'll keep you posted.

My doctor is a woman, not a he. That may be a big part of the reason she's so progressive and open minded. She puts the "care" back into healthcare.

During an office visit when I was first diagnosed I saw Dr. B's book on her office shelf. I asked her about it and she said that although she had been recommending it to her patients, she hadn't read it. Then she told me to keep my 2 hour postprandial blood sugar under 140.

The next visit she told me to keep my blood sugar under 110 around the clock. Whaddya bet she read it between the two visits? I'll give 10-1 on that bet.

Teresa,

I'm mad about that book too! I would definitely subtract the cost of the book, including tax, shipping, from what you owe him next time - in writing.

I once had a dentist try to charge me for not showing when I had a migraine, so when I got the bill, I charged him $100/hr for one hour of my time waiting for him in the waiting room (I was a software contractor at the time). They wrote back and said they would not charge me for a no show "this time". hee hee

Also, I suggest you research synthroid usage. I have found that, typically, it does nothing for me. I use the raw bovine thyroid tissue from the health food store, BUT I use a lot more than they say. Typical is 2/day, or possibly 1 more in the afternoon.

I believe my problem is Wilson's Syndrome (not Wilson's Disease), where your body cannot convert T4 to T3. Synthroid is T4. Bovine thyroid tissue is both. I believe my body is only using the T3, and that's why I gradually increased my dosage. I have meant other women who do this too.

I did at one point go under treatment for Wilson's, but I moved away from the doctor (across country). I felt very good taking timed-release T3, from a pharmacy in Colorado, but finally the prescription could no longer be filled.

So Synthroid does nothing, and I wonder what all the unused T4 from my Bovine thyroid pills does, or if it's just passed.

It's a shame that most doctors will not treat hypothyroid properly. They just write out the synthroid and tell you you don't eat right! It's very hard to find one who will offer T3, and most dis the Bovine thyroid, which is the only thing some of us can get that works.

In my case the Synthroid DOES do something-- it replaces my lack of a Thyroid gland.

In April, 2001, I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and had to have my gland removed.

I know what you mean about the doctors not wanting to prescribe T3. Even in my case, where I have no thryoid gland and totally depend upon the medicaiton to do all my "work"--my doctor still only RELUCTANTLY prescribes Cytomel for me.

Have you tried asking your doc for a script of Cytomel?
I hear there is even a new time-released version of the this which I'm going to ask my doc about at my next appt.

Thanks. I'll look up Cytomel on the net.

What I meant about synthroid not doing anything, is that the body does not utilize it, so it does not do what it's supposed to do.

Oh, okay.
I understand what you mean now about the Synthroid.

It is T4 and your body has to convert it into T3 to use it.

If I understand correctly, the reason WHY you have to take T4 and let your body convert it, is because it will provide a more even distribution and "around the clock" availability of T3 since it takes the body a while to do this conversion thing.

Whereas, if you just take the T3 directly, like in the case of using Cytomel, it is short acting and only stays in the blood stream 4 hours at the most. Although they recently just came out with a time-released version of Cytomel - so things might be improving in this regard.

Anyway, the bottom line is that taking T4 in the best way to insure a constant level of T3. Of course, that's assuming a person can convert it. I can do this even without a Thyroid gland because the conversion takes place out in the other organs.

Just my little 2 cents worth.