p.a. I was reading some posts by some people who are wheat/gluten sensitive and they experienced some of the things I experience lately but never thought of it as being caused by wheat/gluten. Funny thing is that when I first heard about this a few years back I asked my doctor about it. He assured me that I only needed to give it up IF I had celiac disease.

What I read by one person here on 3fc is that she has learned that if you don't get the problem taken care of while you are sensitive to it that you run the risk of having celiac disease.

I'm not saying doctors are bad as they only know so much. But we listened to the Dr. Wallak last night and he shows poof of things he says. In fact, some of the things we now know about some things is because he sued FDA to get the truth out about some things. He said that in February 2012 that the FDA sent an email to all of the doctors telling them to STOP prescribing statin drugs and telling their patient to go on cholesterol lowering diets because by instructing them to do so raised those patients chances of becoming T2 diabetic by 50% and their chances of developing Alzhiemers by 100%.

Our doctor keeps trying to get DH to take statins, so we are going to see if we can find a copy of the FDA letter to take to our doctor when we go next time.

I am definitely going to start eating more Paleo/Primal and I'm going to start taking colloidal minerals. I took those years ago and they helped me a lot. In fact, I found that the mineral vanadium (I think it was) lowered my fbs an I felt great when I took them. He says you have to get the minerals replaced in your body before you even think about vitamins because if you don't have the right minerals in your body you don't absorb the nutrients you need from your food.

What he says makes so much sense to me and explains why I have a weight problem. He says obesity is not caused by overeating or lack of exercise and he uses athletes as an example to prove it. I did not know the average life expectancy of athletes is 56. He had told the medical field 58 and they wanted to prove he was wrong and they learned it was 56. All these things are documented and comes out every now and then. He shows the articles etc in his lectures.

It is so much worth changing so I can feel better. Strange thing. He started out as an agriculture biotech, became a veterinarian and then from what he learned there he decided he could help people with what he learned as a vet taking care of animals. So at 40 yrs old he went back to college and got his degree to be a primary medical doctor. He says when he treats his patients who are obese and he says he has treated people 100's of lbs over weight that they lose on average between 1/2 lb to 2 lbls a day with sagging skin. We are going to watch the rest of the video tonight because he says he will show some of them in this video we are watching. I think what will make this easier for me now is that DH is interested in doing this too.

If I have any problems with my doctor, I will see about changing doctors. I know there are doctors in their clinic who eat paleo plan because he has told me about them. So I'm not sure I'll have any problems with him. Besides he knows that I am always researching to improve my health. Like DH said last night. FDA sent out an email for the doctors to stop pushing statins and how many doctors read their email since they get so many of them.

Carol Sue Hope you are feeling okay.

Yesterday I felt worse and today I feel better. It's improving very slowly. I think on some days I feel very cold and that's when I feel terrible.

When I started hearing about the statins raising the risk of Type 2 DM I checked online and mine was not on the list. I take Lovastatin, which is a very old drug. Since my cholesterol went way down I cut my dose in half on my own. I'm sure my doctor wouldn't approve. I pay him to be my advisor, but I'm still the boss of my body.

I have also heard that you don't need to avoid gluten unless you have celiac disease, but what's the harm in eliminating gluten? I would not eat processed foods that say the gluten is removed, though, just avoid the obvious gluten food, or cut back. This is just me though, everyone makes their own choice. By eating low carb, Paleo, Primal, you are automatically eliminating gluten.

Those videos sound very interesting, Trish.

I read of the reactions some gluten sensitive people have when eating wheat and I definitely have those symptoms. We went to eat at Golden Coral. Although I did not eat any dessert, I did eat some breaded fish. We left and went to Sam's then ran by the house to put the groceries up before we went to pick up a friend for DH to check out her car. Between an hour and a half to 2 hrs after eating. By the time I got to my friends house, I had loose bowels.

I read that when one person on a gluten free diet eats gluten she has a reaction within a couple of hrs of either bad cramps or diahrea. Knowing how my body reacts to gluten/wheat, I don't think I will have any problem switching to a gluten free or paleo type way of eating. I am actually afraid to eat anything made with it.

DH and I were at the store last night and he had me to go ahead and purchase some almond flour to replace regular flour in our diet. When I told him that he didn't have to do some of the things I plan to do, he said "I'm taking Invokana and all this diabetes medicine you know". So he let me know he wants to make the changes with me. We are both giving up wheat.

It is nice to have him in my corner and I tell you what has blessed me the most is to find out that my problem really is not my fault. The more I'm learning about the minerals then I'm convinced that getting the right vitamins and minerals will help me get my system working properly.

Dr. Wallak has products to help you lose weight quickly that sounds good, but I am not a person who will drink meals. I plan to get his 90 Essential nutrients product and then eat simi-paleo/moderately low carb. The weight probably won't come off as fast as it would if I used his plan, but it will come off and I believe my body will heal nicely.

DH has decided that he is going to refuse the statins and he will agree to sign some sort of paper to relieve the doctor of any responsibility if anything were to happen to him because of it. I've got to see if I can find a copy of the email the FDA sent the doctors about them before we go to the doctor again in a month.

Catch y'all tomorrow.

Trish, DH refuses statins and he didn't have to sign anything. Every time DH goes to the doctor, he tells him he should take a statin and DH refuses. The doctor enters that information in his file. DH has had a heart attack 22 years ago and has had several stent procedures but does not want to take statins. That's his right to refuse it.

It will be interesting to see how the gluten free diet works for you. I hope it helps you. I get loose bowels for reasons unknown but I know it's not from wheat, as I don't eat much wheat after reading Wheat Belly. I got it twice after eating avocados so I quit eating them and I used to get it when I ate the salad bar at a local restaurant, so I quit eating that. I even got it from there when I had a side salad with my meal, so I think it's some preservatives they put on their salad to keep it from wilting. Otherwise, I haven't learned what caused it in some other instances.

I am always wary of people who push supplements on you. I feel that they are just trying to pad their wallet. I don't take any supplements except the Fish Oil prescribed by my doctor. I tried taking Probiotics but saw no difference after a couple months so I stopped wasting my money. Everyone is different.

I do have Celiac and avoid gluten like the plague. If I accidentally eat something, 2 hours later I throw up for about an hour straight, then feel awful for 3 days. Totally not worth it. Gluten free eating does naturally eliminate a lot of carbs from my diet, though I do use gluten free pasta on occasion.

Hi Watercolor. Welcome to the diabetes thread. I don't know much about Celiac. Is it similar to IBS? Sometimes I think I might have IBS because I get loose bowels pretty often, but I've never been diagnosed. I always just stay away from foods that cause it, and I don't think it's gluten in my case.

I wanted to share something that I was reading last night and I'm going to try. I accidentally fell upon an old thread about Resistant Starch. What these people were doing was boiling a potato, letting it cool naturally, then refrigerating it for 24 hours. Then you peel it and make potato salad with it and eat it. Check your blood sugar before and also at 1 hr, 2 hr, and 3 hr. Not only did they not get a spike, but BS was only slightly elevated at 1 hr, and actually lower at 2 hr and 3 hr. So they are saying that this helps lower blood sugar. I decided to test this theory. Last night I cooked 4 small potatoes, knowing that as soon as they were cooked, DH was going to want to eat at least one of them, and I was right. So I have 3 small potatoes in the refrigerator. Tomorrow I will make potato salad with one of them and do the test with my meter. One woman had great results when she ate 1/2 C of potato salad, but not as good when she ate 1 C. Also, they were using red potatoes and I have russets, so that might also make a difference. If this is successful, it will be great for me, because I really miss potato salad and would be happy to have some once a week or so. It only works if the potatoes are cooled in the refrigerator and eaten cold. Some people tried cooling them, but then reheating them. Results weren't good. So you can't reheat them and enjoy mashed potatoes or fried potatoes.

They were discussing only the potatoes, with just a slight mention of beans and the resistant starch they contain.

I wonder what changes in the potatoes? I've been lucky , I can 'get away' with eating a small portion of potatoes without it rising my bg. But, I am on meds though that help. I normally buy the little baby potatoes, then nuke 3 and I'm good.
Ive been eating full fat cheese, sour cream, butter ( not much it's measured) and I have another 3 month check up so I will see how this higher fat affects my cholesterol....it's been good for losing weight.

Hi watercolour,,,,my old co-worker was celiac,,,,wheat is in everything!! She was like you she got very sick. She was very limited to what she could eat. Welcome to the diabetic forum.

Watercolor :welcome3: and thanks so much for sharing how gluten/wheat affects you. I am trying some gluten-free products but reading to be sure there isn't any wheat in them. I have noticed that they do slip it in sometimes to them. I'm afraid to eat wheat because I was having diarrhea within an hr or 2 after eating it. I agree that eating wheat/gluten just isn't worth it. I've been diarrhea free for about 3 days now.

I really don't want to go VLC unless I have too. Hopefully giving up the gluten/wheat will be all I will have to do.

I found a gluten free diet on line and am using it as my guideline for the moment. I will adjust as needed as I learn more about this way of eating. I have 2 books Wheat Belly and Live Without Bread. I noticed on a lc website that some of the gluten-free eaters read them. I also saw a book for dummies concerning gluten-free diet too. I also noticed that a log of gluten-free eaters follow a Paleo plan.

I would appreciate anything else you might want to share or suggest as this is a whole new ballgame for me.

Thanks.

Trish, I don't think you will have a hard time with this. The more whole foods you eat the more certain you will be that you're avoiding gluten.

My grandson had to be on gluten-free for a while until they found out that wasn't his problem. The hardest thing was not allowing him bread. He couldn't have a sandwich unless he had it on gluten-free bread and he hated it. When they found out he no longer had to follow gluten-free they took him straight to McDonald's and got him a hamburger! He was so happy to be able to have a sandwich with regular bread. LOL

Remember back when I was having a reaction when I took my third Metforin of the day and would be throwing up in the middle of the night? Well I recently went back to taking the third Metformin, but after a few days instead of throwing up I have been in the bathroom with loose bowels. So I have decided that the third tablet just give my body more than it can handle and I have stopped it again. The doctor told me I could just take 2 a day if 3 was too much, but I was going to try to get back to it. The next time I go I think I will ask him to prescribe 2 1000gm tablets per day instead of the 2 850 mg I am taking. That will give me more meds, but not more than my body can handle.

Here it is November and my weight has stayed the same, again. I am not going to start a new thread by months anymore. Unless this thread becomes more active I think we could go about 6 months before reaching 500 posts so we can just continue on.

I just read a book written by a man who lost 75 lbs eating all the foods he liked, but just less of them. To me, that's similar to calorie counting and WW, but he didn't count anything...he just knew he was eating smaller portions. It made him happy that he didn't have to give up his favorite foods. That's fine for someone with no medical conditions, but certain things like diabetes and celiac need to have restrictions on some foods that you just can't eat.

p.a. I too can eat small portions of potato and also pasta and not get a blood sugar spike. You have to be diligent to do that, as these foods tend to be trigger foods for many, and they cannot stop at a small portion. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, they had me on a diet where I was allowed all foods, but the portions were so small, actually what they were supposed to be, not what Americans are accustomed to eating. Oops! I forgot you are in Canada, but I think Canadians probably have some portion distortion, also. My blood sugar stayed very good as long as I stuck to that plan, but eventually, my portions crept up. They even gave me regular pudding instead of sugar-free and the dietitian said that was OK because the portion was small and it didn't exceed the 15gm of carb rule for snacks. I would have preferred to have sugar-free and use those carb grams for something else.

This morning I logged into an online OA meeting. I just observed. It was interesting, but I don't think it's for me. I eat too much, but I don't think I am a binge eater. It was set up like a chat room, but it was organized so that only one person was talking at a time. They have rules, such as you aren't allowed to mention a specific food because it might be a trigger food for someone who's participating.

Carol Sue I started an OA group in my home about 40 yrs ago in South TX. I used their strict "gray sheet" back then which was extremely low carb. However, it was so low carb that I did have cravings and would have times that I would cheat. I quit because I decided that I didn't need to always be saying "I'm a compulsive overeater" although I have to say I did enjoy the meetings. That is the only reason that I wouldn't go to their meetings now. I had never thought about it until one day my then SIL asked me why I always referred to myself as a Compulsive Overeater. I explained to her why. Then she said, "I don't think you are a compulsive overeater. I'm with you a lot and you do not compulsively eat". Then I realized that she was right. I have always been able to go hours without eating and I don't normally eat just because someone else is eating. Although I do think the "gray sheet" forbade food we've learned that we can have on some moderately low carb plans, I do still like the idea of the plan. They did stress 3 meals a day which we now know that when following low carb plans sometimes you need a low carb snack or 2.

As for me doing a low carb woe, I miss sandwiches sometimes too, but I can make the 1 Minute Muffin that a lot low carbers use for that. I won't need it too often.

I noticed on another site that some are using the 72 gram carbs a day from Life Without Bread. I plan to start reading that today and will probably lean toward the plan.

I knew a woman once who was tiny and she said she had weighed over 200 lbs at one time. When I asked her how she lost weight, she said she only ate one spoonful of each food served. I could do that for a while, but it doesn't last too long for me. It is just too easy to add another spoon etc until I'm back to eating too much. I think that is great if people can do it. However, I know me well enough to know that if portion control doesn't work that would never work for me either.

Well, I managed to lose and keep off .8 lbs last month. It is time to get this under better control. I consider all not lost as I have obviously figured out how to stop gaining, but now I must learn how to start losing.

I have a book on Insulin Resistance. It says to cook pasta exactly the amount of time specified on the box and the let it cool down. Never said how long, but it does need to be cold. Then after it is cooled you can eat it with any sauce you want. I don't remember anything about potatoes, but your info Carol Sue will be helpful since my gluten plan does allow me to have potatoes. I like potato salad.

Ok, here is my first report about the potato salad. This morning when I got up around 6 AM I had 1 egg and one slice of my sprouted grain toast with butter. I did not test, and I did not take any meds. Then around 11 I remembered about the potato salad. I had 3 small potatoes that had been in the refrigerator for over 24 hours and 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped celery, onion, radishes, parsley flakes salt and mayo. Before I ate it I checked my bs. It was 186. Even though that was a little high, I still didn't take any meds because I didn't want the meds to effect the test with the potato salad. I ate the potato salad along with a couple slices of braunswauger for lunch, around 12:30. I didn't measure, but I eye-balled 1/2 cup. I just remembered to test again and it has been 1.5 hr. 166. So my blood sugar has gone down 20 points since eating the potato salad!!!! It will be a couple hours before I eat dinner and I will try not to snack between now and then. I am sure my BS will continue to go down. I will still not take any meds. I am so curious to see what my BS will be in 1 more hour and 2 more hours. I will report in later.

Trish, years ago I printed out a copy of the gray sheet but never actually followed it. The thing about this online meeting (chat room) is that they were mostly discussing their concern about making it through the holidays. I really don't have a problem with the holidays. I rarely gain, and if I do it's a pound or two, and on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day I eat a good meal and try some of most everything, but don't over do it, and anyway, I don't think 1 meal really causes a big problem. I know that some people start eating junk food on Thanksgiving and don't stop until New Year Day, but that's not me. I have always been aware of the fact that danger lurks in holiday eating and kept a tight rein on it. As I understand it, a Compulsive Over Eater is someone who can eat a whole cake in one sitting, then have ice cream with it, and do this all right after having a big dinner. I have probably had some days in my life when I went hog wild, but it's not usual for me. My meals are just bigger than they should be.

This is getting more interesting by the minute. At 2 hours, my bs was up to 177. I was a little disappointed, but remember, I started out in the 180s, so I'm still down a bit after eating potato salad!! At that point, I ate a couple more forkfuls of the potato salad, and now, at 3 hours my bs is back down to 163. I will test again before dinner to see where I stand, but I have to take my meds at dinner so this will be the end of today's experiment.

I intend to make this potato salad every few days and continue testing out the theory. Hopefully the next time I will be starting out with a lower BS.

Carol Sue That is interesting about the bs readings with the potato salad. My readings are always higher the 1st 2 hrs and then goes down at 3, 4 and 5 hrs. That is how I learned that I would probably do better eating every 5 hrs instead of every 3 or 4.

I am enjoying reading Life Without Bread. I like that he puts the plan at the beginning and then explains everything in the following chapters. I always hate how books give you all the medical jargon for chapters before telling you what to do. The thing is that he doesn't really say don't eat bread. He just says eat no more than 72 g a day and recommends not to have too much of certain carbs. I think this is very doable whether I am gluten/wheat sensitive or not. I think I will start this tomorrow but I will still avoid eating wheat/gluten foods. I think the reactions I've had before just isn't worth going through. Plus, I'm taking the Metformin 500 again and some of my problems could be a combo of the two. I guess this will be my experiment for a while.