Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on July 13, 2011 at 6:34pm

If I were you, the first thing I would do is ask my doctor for antibody tests. Being underweight and continuing to lose weight are NOT typically associated with Type 2. Whereas they are typical of Type 1. And if you really are Type 1, then you need insulin, not the orals you are on.

Even actual thin Type 2's may do better on insulin, simply because thin Type 2 is NOT the same disease as obese Type 2. (Even if the medical profession doesn't know that yet). What you need is what will keep you healthy, and struggling to maintain your weight does not strike me as healthy.

Talk to your doc about the tests, and let us know what happens! :-)

Permalink Reply by Boo Mayhew on July 14, 2011 at 1:27am

ahhhhh, I understand what you're saying, but think that my weight loss has more to do with the fact that I've only just started taking care of myself and my diabetes ... for the first year to be honest, I didn't much care if I lived or died having lost my husband, but now I do want to live. The DASH diet has helped me maintain my weight, but it doesn't take a lot to knock me down psychologically ... so was hoping these milkshakes might give me a little boost. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me :-)

Permalink Reply by picklebird on July 19, 2011 at 1:51pm

I think I finally figured out how to maintain my weight and stop losing, but it does look like I'm still dropping a pound a month. Now working on whether I shouldn't bother to have tight, tight control (below 100) as it seems every day my 2hrpp for dinner is always over a 100 even if I had only FIVE grams of carbs. I want to test the theory that I only "need" meds when the 2hrpp for both lunch and dinner keep climbing and I don't need it if it just hits between 100-110. OH, and I'm now one year old PWD, happy D day to me, as of July 10.

ANYWAY, I'm interested in those milk shakes, too. Please put in a recipe.

Permalink Reply by Boo Mayhew on July 20, 2011 at 5:03am

well done Picklebird. "Happy" D day ;-)

the milk shakes are very high carb (no recipe sorry) and are in a big can (powder form which is mixed with cold water).

I have stopped losing weight by using the DASH diet which has made me feel really healthy and am much more energetic now too ...

isn't it weird how some of us do well on low-carb and some on 50% carb/high carb? And medical consultants are also divided on which is better ....

Permalink Reply by cjg on February 12, 2012 at 1:50pm

Do you know any articles that talk about thin type 2? My doctor seems baffled about my situation, since my sugars have not improved with loss of 30 pounds. They spike after meals to 225 and then plummet to the 70s or even the 60s.

Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on February 15, 2012 at 12:25pm

I am convinced that thin T2 is one of 3 things. It could be misdiagnosed LADA, which could be proved by getting antibody tests (not that expensive), or it could be undiagnosed MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young -- Google it), which can be diagnosed by a strong family history and by genetic testing, although that's pretty expensive, and is not common, or it's another disease which hasn't even been noticed or described by the medical field. This type would be antibody and genetically negative, and so far as I can tell, NOTHING is known about it.

I've taken to calling the third form Type Weird, because it's NOT classic T2, although it can affect people who are initially overweight (not usually obese?) but when they lose weight, they observe no improvement in their diabetes. T2 drugs sometimes work and sometimes don't, and insulin is often the best choice of treatment, but as usual, YMMV.

I personally have called myself Type Weird for years, because I'm CLEARLY not classic T1 OR T2, and I never had the testing necessary to confirm either LADA or MODY (and at this point, it's not worth it to me). I was on Glucotrol, a sulfonylurea for 5 months and it did absolutely nothing for me, and then I went on insulin and never looked back, so I never tried metformin or any of the others, and at this point refuse to do so, because I have enough GI problems as it is.

I had a coma in Sept. 2010, for various reasons, including major depression, bingeing on sweets, and not taking enough insulin (i.e. didn't omit it completely, but didn't take enough), and in the hospital, the T2 protocols didn't work for me at all, and my BG was going up and not down. The CDE had to fight with the hospitalist to get him to use T1 protocols. (There's no such thing as Type Weird protocols!). Then I started getting better.

So, for reasons of safety, we decided that I should tell medical folks that I'm T1, because I need T1 treatment protocols, regardless of what else is going on medically. And in fact, my diabetes acts more like T1 than T2, and so I'm comfortable with the oversimplification, even though I KNOW it's not quite the whole picture. I truly don't fit precisely into any of the known boxes, so I decided to go for proper treatment, and not worry about labels.

I wonder if you might consider trying insulin. What that would do is prevent the spike, and if your pancreas is not overstimulated by the high, it won't secrete insulin inappropriately which is what is causing the lows. I don't know if you've tried other meds, or what their effect is, but seems to me you must be uncomfortable! Good luck!

Permalink Reply by cjg on February 15, 2012 at 5:48pm

Thanks, Natalie. This is really helpful to hear about. Your situation sounds a lot like mine. Lost 32 pounds, no improvement in symptoms. Until recently I have always been at the upper end of normal BMI; now I'm a little below normal. For the last week I've been eating more carbs to keep the lows from hitting and have definitely been feeling better. The 2 hour pp readings have not been as high as they were earlier on this amount of carbs.

My c-peptide levels are high, so apparently I don't have LADA. I will have to read up on MODY. I looked at it superficially and dismissed it because I am 57. But my mother did have symptoms like mine apparently. She's not around any more to ask about it and she apparently refused to take medication for it.

I will ask about insulin when I can get into an endocrinologist in April. (I went to one who was a terrible match for me -- I felt emotionally battered and could not stop crying, so won't go back to him.) Will have to drive 90 miles to see the new guy.

I tried metformin for a month and it made the lows worse and was terrible for my gastro problems. So currently I'm not on anything.

Anyway, thanks for chiming in. I really appreciate the company in Type Weird.

Permalink Reply by eddyboy247 on July 14, 2011 at 7:50am

try stop eaten any food that contain oil or fat, then eat beans with a lot of vegetable more has well has fruit that does not have sugar contain..these meant work better for you i just did few weeks when i was told by the doctor of my diabetes, it was really high then if you know what i mean 410 instead of a normal 70-115. but right now its about 156 in just 3 weeks.
Please don't stop doing exercise, even if its for few minutes it helps.

Permalink Reply by Boo Mayhew on July 20, 2011 at 5:05am

thanks Eddy, that's great advice, actually it's similar to the DASH diet I'm on .... very low sodium and low fat (esp saturates) but plenty of grain, fibre, fruit and veg (and dog walking ;-)

Well done on your results, that's wonderful!

Permalink Reply by Knightshade on December 24, 2011 at 12:38pm

I use Whey Protein shakes as part of my daily diet to help control my blood sugars without medications.

I found that I have to be fairly selective on what brands I can buy....
Many have added sugars as a sweetener,
but a few use sucralose (Splenda) - and end up being only 3g of carbs per scoop.

For a shake, I typically mix 8 ounces of water, 1 ounce of heavy cream and a scoop of protein shake.
If my blood sugar is running just a little bit lower than I like (mid 70's), I might use milk instead of water.

I've tested pp's after drinking a shake, and never seen a spike from them.

Overall, I follow a low carb diet - and eat 6 times (meals/snacks) a day.
In a typical day, I target somewhere around the following:
~2600 calories
Carbs 100g (400 calories ~15%)
Protein 160g (640 calories ~25%)
Fat 175g (1575 calories ~60%)

My blood sugar has been in good control - between 75-115 at all times lately.
(Well - aside from some poor judgement the day after Thanksgiving while eating out, the squash that I ate must have been sweetened with brown sugar.)

So far as weight gain....
It is hard for me to say if it has any impact there....
I changed my diet and exercise routine so much that I've been loosing weight (body fat) all year....
That said, the rate of loss has slowed - and I'm actually up 1 pound in December.

Permalink Reply by cjg on February 12, 2012 at 1:48pm

My dietician gave me this recipe. I have not tried it because I don't like bananas in things. It is not quite a milkshake, but might help you gain weight. Probably to gain weight you should use regular tofu, not low fat.

6 oz Crystal Lite - orange or strawberry flavor
1/2 banana
6 large frozen strawberries
6 oz low-fat tofu
1/4 c yogurt, plain, nonfat
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Total carb: 30 g, protein 17 g

Permalink Reply by picklebird on February 16, 2012 at 10:28am

comment to Natalie--wow, I'm so sorry you have another setback. You are one of my favorite posters on Tudiabetes because your insights are so useful!

About your Type Weird, at least as for myself, I think thin Type 2 can come out of having low muscle mass and perhaps jump started by having had a bad infection. In my case, lung and heart lining. (I'm fine now, that was nearly two years ago.)

I'm still losing weight, but very slowly. Since A1C is about the same, slightly lower, and i can live without meds now more often than before, my doctor would say I'm improved. But to me, I see I gotta eat less carbs to get the same results. So I don't know if we can call it improved if you gotta peddle harder.

About body building milkshakes, I've tried a few, such as Muscle Milk, and I just HATE the taste of them. I just got a new one off of Dr. Oz but I'm having trouble finding tofu in my area. What can I sub for tofu?