Very happy day today for me - kind of a eureka moment - very much due to those on this site - those of you who have seen what I’m posting will realize I am a little new to this and only just emerging from the dark somewhat caused by my doctor and my lack of interest for so long
Here’s my pic for today
For 2 years now I have struggled to figure out what the hell has been going on - I eat a low carb and low GI and high protein diet
My doctor and I argued for years that my basal was too high but I always saw good readings during the day but I was having lows at night and high in the morning due to somogyi and I always got lows at 5pm
So 18months ago I finally relented and took my basal down to what he wanted - my sugar control went crazy and my a1c was 8.5 - 2 hr after meal it was fine then it went up but at night it was flatline at the lower amount and no night lows
Coupled with my poor record on testing before the cgm my doctor and I just continue to disagree - he NEVER ONCE suggested it was my high protein diet at fault - I never even considered it - I was still living the words my doctor told me at 13 that protein doesn’t impact blood sugar - I think my doctor said once - chicken is tricky it may effect blood sugar
Then I wore the cgm - it showed a flat at night but then steady rising starting at 2hrs and ending at 5hrs after every meal pretty much all the time
Then I started reading about protein from here and other places
So today after correcting my high from last night (due to high protein meal) - I dual bolused at each meal - a couple of units before and a lot an hour later and I got this
I’ve seen there is ongoing debate as to whether protein raises blood sugar but there it is plain as day - I need 5 units for the protein and 1 unit for he carb (I eat a lot of protein)
With a dual bolus at each meal it sorted it out apart from evening where even after 4.5 hrs it was still there
All of the garbage wth my doctor about active liver / erratic liver I think could be a massive red herring - all my high blood sugar problems are caused by the fact I eat so much protein
Need to experiment more but thanks to all on here that helped with this
For us, when we eat low carb, we have to do what you are experiencing.
When we eat moderate carb (100 - 120g per day) we don’t have to account for protein.
One thing you might want to consider at some point, is trialing a bit more carbs and see if that changes your control. For us, we can use a dual wave like you are doing and manage, but it is actually easier for us to manage a moderate carb diet. Both from the standpoint of eating more “normally”, but also in predictability of meal digestion.
On lazy days (ok - low physical activity days) I eat about 60g-80g of carbs.I usually bolus for 50% of the protein using my normal insulin to carb ratio (ICR).
(Protein x 0.5 / ICR)
I went for a few weeks without bolusing for protien just to see what would happen. I was always playing catch-up with corrections after the meals.
I am back to protien bolusing this week and everything is staying between the lines. So - my unscientific study says keep doing the protein bolus thing.
Thanks yes through experiments it looks like for me if I’m over 35g per meal then the protein registers - I haven’t seen a variation when counting through the day though
I have to take a lot for the protein - for 100g of salmon I need to take 5 units but I guess that’s about 50% less than carb which seems to be consistent
I’m now keeping well below that - 1 unit of humalog for me deals with 13g of carb so I am keeping to 13g per meal for total of 39g each day
So far it’s working like a dream
I think I may get it tattooed on my shoulder as my first positive result now my blood sugar is ‘normal’ and tattoos are permitted !
My doctor was super pleased but he did say some things I would like to fact check with the expert community on here as I’m a little bit suspicious some of it was 'fake news’
1 - there is no point striving to go lower than an average of 100 bg (a1c of 5.1) - he said as long as I am below 5.5 per cent and don’t peak above 140 then it’s perfect and any further gains below this are not worth the effort it takes to get there and the risk of falling off the wagon as a result
2 - any damage I’ve done already isn’t repaired by now being 5 or the rate of recovery doesn’t increase by getting lower - my arteries and nerves won’t get better but any further damage is stopped - this is contra to what Bernstein says
3 - going forward the key is to keep the inflammation down by not eating grains / bread / going over 140 or anything like that as this would increase the risk that any damage I have in my heart or arteries would be set off by the inflammation
4 we went through all my results ( fingers crossed on retina exam I have Monday as I haven’t been for 3 yrs) but he said all my blood / urine and other tests are completely normal - normal for a non diabetic - I have slightly elevated LDL and that was it so I needn’t worry - my foot pulse is heat and I have no loss of feeling in my feet either - no protein in urine or anything else worrying
5- I asked him why I am not in worse shape and he said that there is no conclusive evidence of why some t1 with terrible control don’t get complications - but he said that the fact that I was probably always above 160-180 for so many years as opposed to up and down over the 140 threshold like many t2 and t1 who strived for good control under the old guidelines for eating carbs may have worked in my favor -also as my family has history of very low blood pressure has helped alongside no history of heart disease
What does everyone think of what he said - bs or any thread of truth there ?
@Robellengold, what a fabulous result and visit! You were truly awesome!
My feedback below is based on my own research and knowledge, and therefore not conclusive.
What I have read leads me to believe that this is correct. The complication rate curves I have seen inflex at 5.5%. Many people now believe that A1c is only one fact of diabetes, and that time in range may be as important. If you remain under 140 all the time (a dream for us btw) then you would be in range 100% of the time, basically. There is some belief that 160 is a number above which damage is more likely, so peaking under 160 appears recommended.
I have read contradictory publications on this, so I am not sure who is right. I believe that Bernstein may be in the minority here.
Inflammation is now believed to be a major factor of diabetes damage. But I have not read any mainstream publications advising against grain and bread – although there are obviously many unauthoritative sources who say so, I think without proof.
I believe this is true. Joslin does research on it, but they have not published anything that concludes with positive correlations.
That may be possible, since your variations may not have been as wide. Although your being far off may have gone against you of course. I don’t think there is enough known about these aspects for him or anyone to come out with certainties – so his answer makes sense to me.
I’ll be curious to see what other feedback there is! Again, @Robellengold, congratulations!
Michel - thank you - I appreciate how well informed you are - in terms of reducing inflammation can you recommend other sources for me to read - I know it’s exercise and lose weight eat lots of green vegetables etc but interested to understand what else I need to be doing more of
