Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lauriero on May 16, 2010 at 7:51am

I don't think the effect is wasted--Byetta seems to lower my blood sugar regardless of my meal timing. I've taken it before heading out to a restaurant only to find the wait is an hour long or something. I still eat a small meal and seem to have okay sugars afterward, so I suspect that the timing optimizes the way Byetta works, but doesn't completely mess you up if you miss on timing.

I'm curious about the Intermittent Fasting idea, though. My doctor is pretty adamant about 6-8 small "food events of 150-300 calories" per day. Doesn't skipping meals mess with your sugar levels?

Permalink Reply by Doug on May 16, 2010 at 7:52am

Have you discussed this practice with your Doctors?
How are you maintaining your glucose during your fasting?

Permalink Reply by Tony S. on May 16, 2010 at 8:26am

Recently I had a severe upset stomach, possible food poisoning after eating in a restaurant. It was severe enough I didn't want to eat the next couple of days. I also stopped medications, including Byetta. Lots of dehydration, so I drank water, ginger ale and diet 7-up. What happened was the number swings went way out of control, like a reading of 333. When I hit a low on Day 2, I started medicating and eating again with some plain rice and a banana, then toast. When I talked to my health adviser, they said the reason for recommending so many "little meals" was to prevent the wild numbers swings, the highs and worse, the lows.

I was advised to use a modified, more sensible Atkins diet to lose the weight, rather than fasting. No bread, pasta, starchy carbs. I've also heard what works for many people is just giving up bread, plus walking.

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on May 16, 2010 at 8:30am

I've talked to my endo about this sort of thing. I have constantly elevated fasting numbers. I eat a very low carb diet, with "begrudging" carbs during what I term my "Byetta Meals." I am on three meds. Fasting does not result in lower blood sugar and never a hypo, but on the other side at least it does not go high like it does with exercise.

My endo suggests that I am overweight and my diabetes will be much better if I lost weight. Being 5'11", 200lbs and 15 % bodyfat, I have few options for losing weight that won't result just losing lean body mass. My endo knows I am using IF. He actually suggested the Medifast starvation diet, but that is "crazy."

I certainly appreciate Tony's comments. I have for years followed a low carb diet. I don't eat bread, pasta or starchy foods. I don't have swings when eating. If I don't eat carbs, I don't get postprandial spikes. I can lose weight by calorie restriction, but it tends to result in a loss of lean body mass. I usually eat 6 times a day, mostly protein and fat. But using calorie restriction alone to lose weight has been inneffective, my metabolism just slows down. Intermittent Fasting does seem to work.

Permalink Reply by Lauriero on May 16, 2010 at 12:54pm

I was told by a nutritionist that the elevated fasting levels can be reduced by having a late night snack. Once I started doing that, I found my morning levels did go down. I think the rationale is that when you haven't eaten for a long time, the body calls for sugar into its system creating higher fasting levels.

It sounds to me that you don't have much fat to lose. It seems that instead of focusing on weight loss, focusing on muscle gain (ala Dr. Bernstein http://www.diabetes-book.com/about.shtml) would be something to consider.

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on May 16, 2010 at 5:13pm

Lauriero, all great suggestions. I have tried basically everything. Snacks do nothing for my Darn Phenomenon (DP). If I drink heavily I can suppress my DP, but that is hardly a healthy solution. I totally agree that muscle gain is the best target, both for T1 and T2. I am a Dr. B fan from many years. I undertook barbell training over three years ago and am by far stronger than I have ever been.