Fasting blood sugar stuck at high level

[starchette]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to post a quick update. (I don't want to be that person who posts and never follows up!)

Fasting blood glucose (FBG) is pretty much the same as before.I made it through Thanksgiving pretty well, no cheating except for a small taste of dessert that day.

I'm down to 115 lbs (still well within normal BMI). I think the weight loss is due more to following the diet strictly than a symptom of the diabetes. Good news is that I have lost most of my visible belly fat. Bad news is that would still refer to myself as "skinny fat", i.e., not much muscle.

Otherwise, I still have no adverse symptoms. I've replaced my glucometer and got new test strips and they didn't make any difference, so I'm pretty sure my FBG numbers are accurate.

The one thing I haven't done yet is to increase my exercise--to be more active, more often. It's a challenge due to time constraints, but I know it's necessary. My goal for the next month is to develop a more rigorous exercise habit.

I'm also going to get a new c-peptide test to see if that has changed.

Will update when I have more information to share!

[starchette]

Hi everyone,
I'm back with an update.

I continued with MWL, but it wasn't changing the numbers. I cut out more foods that seemed to result in high fasting numbers: I cut out most grains and most fruits after breakfast. It got to the point where I was eating mostly beans and non-starchy vegetables. I was having difficulty getting enough calories.

My blood sugar did not budge. FBG was consistently over 200. I am not comfortable with my blood sugar staying this high for such a prolonged time.

So this week I saw my doctor and got a prescription for metformin. Lab tests were ordered but I haven't heard anything back about them yet. I've been instructed to log my daily FBG.

The metformin is working. This morning, my FBG was 130. It hasn't been that low in months. I hope this is a sign that I am still producing insulin. (I've heard that metformin doesn't work for Type 1 diabetes, but I haven't investigated this.)

I didn't want to take meds but I'm glad to have the support of metformin for the time being.

[wandalevy]

Hello All,

I am brand new to this forum and basically to the McDougall program. My husband and I have been doing the WFPB way now for 2 months. I have seen tremendous strides in all the issues I have had, except my Diabetes, type 2, and my FG has been very high. It has certainly opened my eyes to what I am doing wrong after reading these posts. Thank you for sharing. I am a very petite woman to begin with, 5'1" and 98lbs. I am 55 and for the past 4 years I have lived in a lot of stress from a business we had owned, and I have just been unable to gain my weight back. I am usually around 105. So I researched and found Dr. McDougall's Program and my husband and I started it. My sugars have been all over the place...68-568 and then my glucometer just reads HI, the numbers are all in between those numbers as well. The average is probably around 400. I feel like as long as my numbers remain high, I can't gain weight. I have been eating extra avocado and lots of nuts, and I drink all the nut milks. My question is do I stop all the avocado's and nuts and the nut milks? Or can I keep the nut milk and stop the rest...no oils at all. That is the only oils that I get, the nuts and the avocado's. I am at a loss as I have not been doing this long and I need some of your expert help please?

Wanda

[Lyndzie]

Hi Wanda.

I think it sounds reasonable to remove the high fat foods. Would you mind recording your food for a few days and posting it? Little tweaks can make a big difference in results. Also, are your blood sugar readings from the morning? Unless you are using insulin, it is not advised to measure otherwise.

Good luck!

[starchette]

Hi Wanda,
You do sound a lot like me: 55 years old and petite with really high numbers! I am also doing great in all aspects except my glucose numbers.

I have noticed that my fasting glucose numbers are higher on days after I've eaten fattier foods like nuts and avocado. So you might want to minimize consumption of those or cut them out completely for a while, to see if it helps. Most of the guidelines I have seen for plant-based diabetes diets recommend 10-15% of calories from fat.

Was your diabetes under control before you changed your diet to plant-based? Or did you change because it got out of control?

The reason I'm asking is that if you have LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults), your numbers may be high no matter what you eat, due to a lack of insulin. Excessive weight loss is one symptom of LADA. A C-peptide test can tell you if your body is making enough insulin.

I'm certainly no expert, as I'm experiencing a similar puzzling situation as you are. But I've asked my doctor for a C-peptide test so I can find out whether my diabetes is a lifestyle/diet issue or an insulin production issue. Either way, I plan to continue on a low-fat plant based diet to maximize my insulin sensitivity.

Regarding the numbers: Non-fasting glucose tests might tell you if a certain food or activity caused your blood sugar to spike; but the most important number is the fasting glucose, because that's the baseline.

[starchette]

Hi everyone, I'm checking in again.

First, the lab results. These were all taken several days after I changed from regular whole-food-plant-based to McDougall MWL, as described in my previous posts on this thread. (I also wanted to add that these tests were done before I began taking Metformin.)

A1c 11.9
Total Cholesterol: 154
HDL: 45
LDL: 86
Triglycerides: 131
Blood pressure: normal
BMI:22.07

All good, except for the A1c. (HDL is slightly low but I'm not concerned about that.)

Unfortunately, they didn't order C-peptide testing this time. I was told that if I want further testing, I will need to see an endocrinologist. So I'll probably just order the test myself to get the information I need, and then I'll decide if I need to see yet another doctor. (Sigh.)

I asked my doctor about the possibility of LADA due to my weight loss and my history of being able to control my diabetes without meds (until recently). And my pretty good cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. But she still thinks I am insulin resistant. I detailed all the things I've described here on this thread, and she still thinks I am probably eating "too many carbs."

So...
-I'm still on Metformin, because it's working to keep my blood sugars in a safer range.
-I'll continue with dietary and exercise efforts.
-Within the next few weeks, I'll order myself a C-peptide test.

[wandalevy]

Wow, I am so sorry I have not been back on here since I posted. I have been not eating the avocado's and the nuts and really watching what I was eating with no oils. We eat a lot of potatoes and beans and rice and corn tortillas, along with lots of veggies. But I will start posting my daily meals. I do take my test in the am and in the pm. I still am taking my insulin as I get freaked out when my sugar gets over the HI on my monitor...as I am freakishly skinny, like I barely have any muscle on my bones! So it was too the point that I really had could not balance when doing beginners yoga! I used to compete in body building. So this really looks scary. So I need help. Again I will start posting my daily meals and continue to pray. I am due an A1C the 20th of this month and my Lipids, so I will get those done as well. I appreciate all your advice and look forward to learning how and what I am or I am not doing correctly. Thanks so much for your help and advice.

Wanda

[starchette]

Hi everyone, I'm just back for an update.

All is going well.There seems to be some progress. It's slow, but I feel better about everything.

I'm still on Metformin, but I haven't had to increase my dose. And my fasting glucose numbers are going down (yay!) as long as I stay within MWL eating guidelines. They've gone from over 150 (on meds) to below 120 (on meds). There have been a couple of times when I've eaten restaurant meals and the next morning, my numbers were not good. So yeah, MWL works.

On a couple of occasions, I tested my post- (compliant) meal numbers, and they were pretty scary. But I know McDougall discourages checking throughout the day. Since my fasting numbers are on the right track, I'm going to refrain from worrying about spikes and focus on the food.

Speaking of food, I'm keeping my meals ridiculously simple; some would say they are bland or boring. But I'm learning that "boring", for me, is the key to compliance. Easy to shop, easy to prep, and easy to cook.

I suspect I will have to continue to take Metformin for a while. But I'm hopeful that I can get my numbers down enough so that I can eventually stop taking it.

[starchette]

Hi everyone,
It's a month later and I'm back for an update.

I'm still on Metformin but my fasting blood glucose is down in the 85-100 range and stable.

However, I haven't been doing the MWL. A couple of weeks ago, I started testing frequently after meals. I know this isn't recommended on the McDougall program, but I don't care. I decided that I wanted to figure out how individual foods were affecting me.

I found that I tolerate fruits much better than starchy foods, especially grains. So my current diet is heavier on fruits and veggies. Starches that I still eat are usually starchy veggies, legumes, and rice. But I have found that I have to limit my portions of starch. You could say that starches have become a "yellow light" food for me rather than a "green light" food.

This is fine with me, as I prefer having more fruits in my diet. And I'm no longer having huge spikes after meals.

While transitioning to a more fruit-heavy diet, I allowed myself to have some higher-fat foods. I do think I'm probably having too many saturated [plant] fats, so I'll be working on cutting back on fats while (hopefully) slowly increasing the starches. And maybe, eventually, I'll be able to live without the Metformin. I'm feeling more confident about that now that I've been able to stabilize my glucose levels.

I think my current diet probably resembles the Mastering Diabetes plan more than the McDougall plan. And that's fine with me. Both plans are low-fat and plant based, which I still believe is the key to success.

[Poison Ivy]

@ starchette, thanks so much for following up. Often, ppl will post and never return to update and you are left wondering did this person ever find a solution to their problem. Following up like you are doing is so helpful to others who maybe having similar issues. I am glad the metformin is helping and please continue to update from time to time. I have subscribed to this thread.

[starchette]

Hi everyone,
Well, another month has gone by and I'm doing well!

I continue to test my fasting glucose daily. It's been very stable at 90-100 but this morning I hit an all-time low of 68. This is actually below healthy levels so I will be contacting my doctor tomorrow about reducing my Metformin dosage.

I am still eating a fruit-heavy diet. But it's not all fruit. I usually have fruit and nuts for breakfast, a veggie sandwich (on Ezekiel bread) or rice & beans for lunch, and veggies or beans with a fruit & greens smoothie at dinner. Last night I skipped the smoothie and i think that's what enabled the low fasting number. (Note to self: skip the fruit at dinner.)

As my blood sugar has stabilized I've been able to incorporate moderate amounts of grains in my diet. Testing is how I determine how much I can tolerate. If my fasting blood sugar is too high, I cut back on grains the next day.

I haven't increased my exercise (in fact I'm not getting much exercise at all) and I haven't gained weight.

I'm still working on decreasing my fat intake. This is the hardest part because I love avocados, olives, and nuts. But I think that fat reduction is the key to getting off meds completely.

[Poison Ivy]

Thanks for the update. This is great news. It sounds like you are doing well. How much Metformin are you on?

[starchette]

Hi!
I am now on 500 mg daily. Previously I was on 1000 mg.

[Poison Ivy]

Hi!
I am now on 500 mg daily. Previously I was on 1000 mg.

Ok thanks.......please continue to update, esp. if you are able to get off the metformin.

[starchette]

Will do!

I also want to record my fasting BG today: 94.

That's good but it could have been lower. I ate an apple last night with dinner. Old habits are hard to break!

My next goal is to get my fasting numbers consistently in the low 80's and at that point I'll see if I can stop taking the meds altogether.