Diabetes/Atkins help!

[geetey]

My Dad is doing the Atkins diet (in week 4 right now) and has diabetes. His doctor has given him just a few months to try and get his level in order or start insulin. Today for the second time he has felt lightheadedness/blurred vision. For those who have experience with diabetes and Atkins (Lisa... Katholyn... ), could this be related to Atkins? Any suggestions would be VERY welcome! My dad has a horrible headache right now and is going to bed.

 

[nativetxn]

Is he checking his blood sugar several times a day? It is possible that his blood sugar is getting too low.

If his blood sugar is getting too low he will want to add more veggies and perhaps some fruit to bring it back to normal limits.

 

[LisaTx]

I've heard of people getting light headed when their blood sugar gets too low, like Katholyn said. Has he checked his sugar when he had the symptoms? Is he on any medication to control his sugar. If so, and it's causing his blood sugar level to drop too low, he might need to talk to the Dr. about adjusting the dosage.

I'm not sure about the blurred vision. Vision problems are a complication of diabetes and all diabetics are urged to have a thorough vision exam at least yearly. I'd try to get him to have his vison checked.

I hope he feels better tomorrow.

 

[geetey]

Thank you! He is taking oral medication - glucophage. 2 pills a day, I believe. His doctor said to come back in 3 months to get his levels rechecked (2 months from now) though. He knows Dad is using Atkins & additional exercise to try and get things in order.

I think he needs to go in and have the doctor run a check on things now. I will let him know about adding more veggies. He typically goes 5 hours (or more) between eating, so I suggested he have a snack of nuts or cheese @ the 3 hour mark. Maybe that will help as well.

Thanks again for your guidance! My dad and I thank you!

 

[karebear1]

I had to adjust my meds after the first few weeks on Atkins. After 3 weeks on Atkins my meds were cut in half. A few weeks later- they were cut in half again. I actually ended up taking 1/4 of what I was taking in the beginning- that's a good thing! So be aware that the changes may happen quickly and often until they find a balance with what he is eating now. Make sure he's taking his blood sugar readings when he gets light headed and then have him visit his MD with his bs readings recorded. Also have him write down what he's eating and what his bs readings are in response to what he's eating. All of that info will be helpful in what the Dr. will re-prescribe for your dad. Good luck.

 

[geetey]

Hi Karebear!! How are you? I have missed seeing your posts around here.

Thanks for the advice. He is going to the doctor on Saturday to get things checked out. Being a rather stubborn man he only checks his blood sugar levels once a day (if then). Even though I live 350 miles away from him, I seem to be the only one he is listening too. I love him though so I am going to keep helping this not-so-old fart get better! He is doing really great though, and I am really proud of him!!!

Here is a picture from May 03 of Dad with my ds. He has lost 15 pounds so far! Yeah Dad!

 

[nativetxn]

{{{HUGS}}} <b>karebear1</b>! I've missed you bunches, hope you know that. It's great to see you here.

Geetey, if your father listens to you explain why he needs to take his blood sugar more often than once a day. At least until he gets his meds and diet balanced. He may be able to get off the glucophage eventually if his diet is keeping his blood sugar low.

Atkins certainly got my hubands blood sugar down to normal again. It's been a blessing

 

[karebear1]

Thanks for the welcome back Terry and Kathy. I haven't really been gone- just lurking and not being such a big mouth. It's good to be back to say hi to old friends though. Thanks. Hopefully we'll see you all in '05!

 

[geetey]

Originally posted by nativetxn
Geetey, if your father listens to you explain why he needs to take his blood sugar more often than once a day. At least until he gets his meds and diet balanced. He may be able to get off the glucophage eventually if his diet is keeping his blood sugar low.

Atkins certainly got my hubands blood sugar down to normal again. It's been a blessing

I will do that, Katholyn. I am fighting a battle here because even his doctor doesn't tell him to do it more than once a day. In fact, I found out that the nurse said he doesn't need to come in to get his levels checked yet because the extra meds won't hurt him. Argh! Is there a specialized doctor he should be seeing instead of his internist?

 

[nativetxn]

No, his internist is the one to see. But he needs to know that extra meds <i>can</i> hurt him. At least it isn't insulin (that would be scary for sure)

Wouldn't he like to get off the meds? Perhaps that will give him the incentive to test more than once a day. I told my husband when we began that he had to check at least twice a day. When his sugar got closer to normal he was checking 5-6 times a day because he just loved seeing his blood sugar at a low number.

Well, if your father won't test more than once a day then he won't. You can try to convince him, though. If the extra meds won't hurt him then testing more than once a day won't hurt him either

 

[karebear1]

If he tells his dr. that he has lost 15 lbs. is eating low carb and is experiencing light headedness and blurred vision- and he has logged his blood sugar numbers so they can see they are falling too low- then they should have him in to change his prescription. He must tell his Dr. that he thinks his doasge is too high for him now with his new way of eating. The nurse is wrong to say he can't have too much medication. Ask to talk to the Dr. - and be sure to tell him what the nurse is telling your dad! That is ridiculous! ( The test the nurse is probably talking about is the A1C test. Daily blood glucose monitoring gives us our daily fluctuating blood sugar readings. A1C indicates the body's average glucose level over the past 2-3 months.) If your dad is having dizziness because his blood sugar levels are too low- then his medication's should be lowered. It is dangerous to a diabetic for his blood sugar to go too low. If his medication is too strong for him- he needs to have the dosage lowered. Whether it's time for him to have his A1C test or not. That is why it's important for him to record what he eats and what his glucose readings are. Even if he just does it for a week- it will be enough evidence for him to go to his Dr. and request lowering his prescription. He should be able to go into his Dr. and show what he is eating and what his recorded blood sugars are in response to what he is eating.
I see a GP for my diabetes management- but Endocronologists are specialists for diabetics that use insulin. One thing I can tell you for sure though- there are all kinds of thoughts out there about diabetes. While one nutrionist or Dr. says one thing, the other will say something different. The best thing your Dad can do for himself is to do a little research on his own. Knowledge is a powerful thing.

 

[geetey]

I love it!! Thanks for giving me more ammunition. I haven't been happy with the doctor's rather cavelier (IMO) attitude towards my Dad's testing. Dad was testing several times a day and tracking it. Based on what the dr. saw, he told my Dad he could test every couple of days and be fine. It has definitely gotten Dad out of the habit of testing himself. Now he will have serious incentive to start doing it more than daily because he really wants to get off/cut back his meds!

He is currently reading the Atkins New Diet Revolution and has a carb counter book. Slowly he is getting there. I am trying to support him as much as possible.

Thanks again to both of you for your help!! Now we know what to do this next step. Back to daily testing and journaling for him!

 

[LisaTx]

Trey and I both thought our GP was a bit cavalier about Trey's diabetes. It was a huge deal to us when he was first diagnosed. The GP just wrote him an RX for glucophage and said go take a class about it. Didn't tell him how to get a monitor or anything. Luckily his boss was diabetic and helped us out a lot. We took the class. It was a joke. We were told to follow the food guide pyramid very strictly. Well, you can guess how well that worked. Even with the glucophage, Trey's blood levels were not under control.

Eventually his rx ran out and he didn't want to go back to the GP so unbeknownst to me, he just quit taking it.

I got him started on Atkins thanks to reading about Katholyn's DH and made him an appointment with an endicrinologist. By the time he got in with the specialist, his levels were already so good that he didn't have to start the glucophage again. He's managing it solely with diet.

It's probably not necessary for Trey to go to a specialist, but we were just so unhappy with the way our Dr. handled things at first. We really like the new Dr. He asks lots of questions and explains everything in detail. He makes sure Trey has the proper equipment.

I'm not saying your dad's regular Dr. is not the one to go to, just that there are other options if you're not happy with the way they handle things. It does sound like he might needs his meds reduced. I can't imagine the nurse being so flippant with your dad.

Hope all goes well with his visit today.

One more thing, make sure he checks his levels at different times of the day, not just the same time everyday.

 

[nativetxn]

How did it go for your father at the doctor's yesterday? Was his blood sugar good? Did they change the dosage of glucophage?

 

[geetey]

They didn't run a test, Katholyn, but said everything looks good. Dad is going to start taking his sugar levels and adding it to his food journal (he was already tracking his food & carbs) so he will have a record, as Karebear suggested. Then it's back to the office again!

Thanks for asking!