Less insulin! ...and weight

So here's my problem right now: I'm having trouble getting enough calories each day and my sugars are crazy low all the time.

I haven't stepped on a scale but I can tell by the way I look and how my clothes fit that I have lost some weight. I haven't changed much besides my diet (like Mitch). You have to eat so much REAL (Paleo) food to get the same amount of calories that you get from things like rice and bread, which are missing from my diet now!

I also hardly take any insulin before meals and dropped my evening basal rate last night because I couldn't get my blood sugar to go above 60 (even after eating 35 carbs! "eat 20 carbs and retest after 20 minutes" is standard for getting your blood sugar back to normal range...). Kelli kept me company on the kitchen floor at 11pm as I ate some honey and drank some juice. She's been super helpful lately whenever my sugar gets low.

I think the rest of my basal rates need some readjusting as well. I'm told that needing less insulin is a good thing, so hopefully these symptoms are indicators of progress!

My next endocrinology appointment is on Monday (4/12) so I am anxious to see what my doc thinks about all of this and if he can help.

I started "Diabetes Solution" by Bernstein a couple nights ago and am going to compare his solution to the Paleo Diet. I might need to find some middle ground between the two.

"Two cavities" was the verdict I received at the dentist yesterday. :( I am looking forward to seeing if this is my same verdict at my next visit when I have been on this diet for a while!

-Andi

A little background

Hi! My name is Andi, sister to Mitch, and I am 27 years old. Here is a picture of us from this past July.

This is primarily our blog about nutrition and health (giving The Paleo Diet a try), so let me give you a little background on my health situation.

I have had type 1 (juvenile) diabetes since I was 10 years old. I've always taken fairly good care of my health, exercising regularly (I play/have played on hockey, soccer, and lacrosse teams), eating well (I thought...), and checking my blood sugars multiple times per day. I've managed to keep my A1c around 7 for most of my life, so I thought I was at a pretty low risk for complications. But about a year ago I was diagnosed with a diabetes complication called "gastroparesis" which rocked my world. I couldn't eat much solid food and consequently lost 30 pounds in 3 months! I tried EVERYTHING to get better - i.e. Reglan, Ethromyacin, a low fiber gastroparesis diet, better control of my blood sugars, etc. - and nothing seemed to help. That is, until I found Eastern Medicine. The combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs helped get my digestive system working again. I slowly got off of my all-liquid diet and can now eat most things, especially if they are cooked. I also switched over to an insulin pump, which allows me more control and flexibility over my life with diabetes.

Despite all of this moving forward, I went to the doctor this past month and found that my A1c has risen to 7.7! People in normal health tend to have an A1c of 4.0-6.0. Upon receiving this info, my primary care doc recommended a book by Richard K. Bernstein, MD, called "Diabetes Solution." I have not read it yet but have heard it is very similar to the book I just finished called "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain, PhD. I picked this book up at Vitamin Cottage recently after hearing my acupuncturist talk about what a great thing the Paleo diet is. And what I've learned is that the Paleo diet can get your A1c down to the 4-5ish range or even CURE some newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics!

That's right, the Paleo diet can cure some newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics!

I never ever thought I would put the words "cure" and "type 1 diabetics" in a sentence like that. But check out Michelle's blog about it to see an example of what I mean: http://michellestype1diabetes.blogspot.com/

That's a pretty powerful story. And that is why I have decided to give this Paleo diet thing a try.

-Andi