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Permalink Reply by Zoe on March 26, 2012 at 8:45pm

You also probably greatly decreased your carb intake when you stopped eating "wheat products" which probably had a lot more to do with the decrease in your blood sugar as well as your weight loss.

Unfortunately there is a difference between controlling diabetes and "reversing" it. If you went back to eating a lot of carbs, your blood sugar would most likely go high again.

But with those provisions, you still are on the right track, so keep up the good work!

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 26, 2012 at 9:02pm

Hi, Zoe. Not really. I tried low carbs for three weeks and didn't see much movement. It was only after I stopped all wheat that I really saw my numbers dip. You're right, I'm not sure about permanency of reversal. However, I have no plans of ever eating wheat products again, so it's probably going to be pretty permanent.

I'd rather give up cupcakes and bread than be an insulin-dependent diabetic for the rest of my life.

It's nice to know that I might be on the right track. Thanks. :-)

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Permalink Reply by timmy on March 27, 2012 at 12:31am

define low carb for 3 weeks? what did you eat? wheat is naturally a high carb food so it only makes sense you get better bs readings without it.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 27, 2012 at 6:45am

Hi, Timmy. When the doctor sent me forth from her office seven weeks ago to await an appointment with an endocrinologist, she told me to eat 1200 calories a day and "low carb." So I started looking up carb counts on everything and immediately stopped eating bread. I switched to a 100-calorie, 17-carb tortilla wrap to make sandwiches for lunch. I also was eating more salads and nuts, eggs, meats. I started selecting low-carb dressings with one to five carbs.

A big issue I found was that about two hours after my tortilla wrap lunch, I was starving. Painfully hungry. After three weeks and giving up that one wrap per day -- which was my only wheat product left -- my numbers immediately went from the mid-200s to the mid-100s. And I no longer experienced hunger pains in the afternoon. The only thing that changed was losing the wrap.

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Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on March 27, 2012 at 4:35am

Many call what you are doing "eat to your meter" The foods that give T2's a problem are various types of starches in addition to sugars. Through testing various meals over time you can figure out a custom diet that deals with your diabetes. For instance some can tolerate sweet potatoes in limited quantities while others like myself cannot. To find out more about the details of implementing this system over the long term I would recommend the bloodsugar101 website.

A recent book "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis argues that wheat causes lots of health problems. A recent thread here on tuD generated strong opinions on both sides.

Interestingly, both my daughter and sister find they feel better when they eliminate wheat from their diet. I have no way to test this on myself as wheat is an absolute disaster for my blood sugar. I have had none in 2.75 years.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on March 27, 2012 at 5:27am

certainly possible badmoon, that wheat directly causes her issues. I still wouldnt mind knowing what carbs she was eating prior.

I must admit, i had a chuckle you suggested the bloodsugar website. Very much like the diabetes forum where bernstein is a demigod and 90% of the flock live and breathe hflc. Its working for you guys which is great, but that forum is seriously biased and ruled by an ironfist in shanny with a bug up her ass if you disagree with the flock. Its very hard to be a member of that forum when you eat carbs.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 27, 2012 at 6:50am

Hi, BadMoon. Thanks for the link to the thread here. I read most of it (it got tedious after a while.) I do know about the book. I read it about three weeks ago. My personal experiences were certainly validated by Dr. Davis' findings.

Being new to all this, I guess eating to your meter is a good idea. That is what I was doing. It only seemed to make sense. I loved, loved, loved all wheat products and I'm a terrific baker -- sent my oldest son off to the Culinary Institute of America and he's a professional chef -- but I'm still not attached to something as insignificant as wheat if it's going to destroy my health.

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Permalink Reply by Trudy on March 27, 2012 at 4:52am

Hi Kathleen. Perhaps a test for Celiac Disease or a sensitivity to wheat is in order? However, if you stay off gluten very long, the test will be negative whether or not you actually have the disease. There are some differences between voluntarily cutting back on wheat and needing to stop gluten (also found in barley, rye and some oats) for the health of your digestive system.

I have Celiac Disease and have been avoiding gluten for nearly 20 years, since about the time I got Type 1 Diabetes. Celiac and Diabetes are both autoimmune diseases While the two often go together, you don't have to have Type 1 to get Celiac, or to have a sensitivity to wheat.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 27, 2012 at 6:52am

In my case, I think I was just addicted to wheat and baked goods. I wasn't having those classic Celiac digestive issues. Since eliminating all wheat products a month ago, I'm just not craving them any longer. I feel much better now.

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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on March 27, 2012 at 5:31am

What you're probably seeing is more the elimination of carbs from your diet, which is causing less stress on your pancreas and the need for less insulin. And, yes, that will make you lose weight. Just make sure that the endocrinologist tests your c-peptide/insulin levels and checks you for antibodies. This will help differentiate if you're a type 1 or type 2. If you're a type 1, only insulin will help in the long-run.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 27, 2012 at 6:54am

I come from a very long line of T2 diabetics -- my mother's whole family. My doctor is pretty positive it's T2. A change in diet worked "miracles" for my blood sugar levels and neuropathy.

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Permalink Reply by Kim on March 27, 2012 at 5:48am

Do you eat a lot of fruit and do your blood glucose levels stay low when you eat fruit or drink milk or are wheat products the only thing that elevates your blood sugar? That may be something to take into consideration. As for giving up "cupcakes and bread" and no longer being insulin dependent, I don't eat much of either but can't escape the insulin as a Type 1.

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