A question for pre-diabetics

KicknKnit · 02-11-2010, 04:29 PM

Hi.. I'm hoping someone here can answer a question for me.

My partner was told by her doctor that she is prediabetic. She is testing her BGL every morning since we have both been on the South Beach Diet. It has been a little over three weeks.

She is upset that her blood sugar is still high and hasn't dropped yet. I'm wondering if anyone here has an idea of how long it might take for a low carb diet to affect her blood sugar? I think she thinks she should already see a huge improvement.. but I'm thinking she needs to give it more time. She is very frustrated and I'm seeking information that will (hopefully) help her stick to it for a bit.

Does anyone have any insight?

Thank you!

Ruthxxx · 02-11-2010, 05:14 PM

How high is "high" and is she testing first thing in the morning? I am diabetic and cutting carbs too much actually lowers my morning readings. South Beach is not a low carb plan if it's done by the book. Beans, veggies and dairy in Phase I should keep things stable and her level should be getting lower.

KicknKnit · 02-11-2010, 05:50 PM

Ok.. so we had a good talk and I got some details

She takes her BGL in the morning when she gets up before she eats (i'm usually out walking the dogs)

She has been at 100 for over a year.

The first week on Phase 1 of South Beach she was at 89
Ever since then she's been at 100

So, I'm looking back at week one and we ate a LOT more leafy greens, more beans and more veggies in general.

week 2.. not as many veggies... and mostly salads for greens.. I don't know if she is eating beans as much as she should.. I've been all about bean soup.

Week 3... this was a rough week since I was cat sitting and we haven't had nearly enough veg. and we added in fruit.

diabetic z · 02-11-2010, 08:13 PM

Howdy. I'm a type 2 and have noticed my fasting reading will be in low 100's if I don't eat a protein snack just before bedtime. Your partner may be experiencing a Dawn Phenomenon were the liver dumps glucose in response to low sugar levels when sleeping. You may want to have her try eating a small protein snack (1 to 2 oz). I usually eat a low fat cheese stick or slice of lean lunch meat. Just my 2 cents.

fatmad · 02-12-2010, 08:35 AM

I would also recommend a good beginners book like diabetes for dummies to give you a good idea about the various ways blood sugars can be affected, and you can work on tweaking the diet to help get the sugars in line. Also, it would be recommended to test at various times of day and get a pattern. (not a lot of testing on one day , but at various times over a week, the book explains it well)

KicknKnit · 02-12-2010, 08:47 AM

Thank you everyone...

you know... we were having ricotta with stevia and vanilla before bed pretty consistantly that first week... and we haven't been AS consistant.. I'm wondering if that is possibly why the first week she had a lower BGL?

I'll definately check out a diabetes for dummies out of the library.. that would be helpful for me to understand, too.

CJZee · 02-12-2010, 09:13 AM

A friend of mine is diabetic, and she has told me the site "Blood Sugar 101" is really great for basic info.

ennay · 02-13-2010, 08:21 PM

Also.... it can take a long time. How long can depend a lot on your body and chemistry. Dont get caught up in trying to stay in Phase 1 because you saw lower blood sugar numbers in Phase 1.

Phase 1 is fairly low in carbohydrates and if you stay there too long, especially if you are active you can throw yourself into a situation where after weeks of very low sugar intake the body kind of "goes to sleep" and forgets what to do when it DOES get carbohydrates.

Another reason that if you follow the diet properly you not only ONLY stay in phase 1 for 2 weeks but you add 1 carb at a time to transition to full phase 2. Phase 1 gives your body a bit of relief from the sugar and lets things calm down. Transition slowly reawakens the body's response to carbohydrates. Phase 2 gives you a healthy well rounded diet that is very diabetes friendly and you can stay in it for the long haul.

As long as you are merely "prediabetic" I would not go crazy trying to force the blood sugar into a healthy range. Instead, focus on making the long term lifestyle change of diet and exercise. As you lose belly fat, the body will slowly revert.

You can be healthy for a long time in the lower stages of pre-diabetic and it is better to focus on long term behaviors rather than a quick fix at this point. I like to think of the numbers like a slope. <100 is level ground, you can move with ease. 100-105 you are starting to get a bit of an incline. Maybe like 1%. You have to work a little bit to stay in the same place and if you dont watch it you will move slowly down the health slope. By the time you get to 115-120 you are working against a pretty heady slope to stay in place and you will move faster to bad health if you dont keep moving and working. 120-125 is when the slope gets too steep for most people to handle without a bit of help and now you are getting to the damage causing zone...where a quicker fix may be in order to hoist you back from the ravine.

KicknKnit · 02-14-2010, 01:35 PM

Thanks everyone!

We read up a bit on that Blood Sugar 101 page and some info about the Dawn Phenomenon.. so she tested her BGL 2 hours after eating dinner. It was 89! and dinner was open faced sloppy joes with black beans on whole wheat buns, sweet potato fries and garlic sauteed broccoli.

I suspect that the morning BGL may actually be that Dawn Phenomenon