New information on Dawn Phenomenon

The issue of Dawn Phenomenon which I suffer from greatly has finally been explained to me by both Dr. Fung and by Professor Noakes.
The issue of course goes back to excessive carbohydrates in the diet and the accumulation of hepatic fat around the liver and consequently the pancreas.
The hepatic fat causes glucose dysregulation in the liver causing it to constantly dump glucose into the bloodstream which causes a chronic elevation in blood sugars.  It also causes beta cell disfunction which only adds to the problem.
That's it, that's what I have, that's what my major problem is.

The only way to quickly reduce the hepatic fat is to use fasting and hypocaloric therapies.
I am currently employing these therapies.  I was doing only the intermittent fasting but now I am doing intermittent fasting with extreme calorie restriction.  Since I am experiencing weight loss which is typically very difficult for me, I believe this therapy in time will work.

My recent blood work shows that my triglycerides have dropped 300 points down to 210 since August.  And I'm down 33 lbs since the beginning of the year, slow but going in the right direction.

Some Intermittent fasting and new meds and sups

I've been told I'm impatient.  My liver is extremely insulin resistant and no longer sensitive to the amount of glucose already in my system so it likes to glucose dump... especially in the morning.  That's my dawn phenomenon theory.
I did a 60 hour fast last weekend and only two 16 hour fasts since then.  When I do longer ones (24+ hours) my morning BGs are better.


Supplements:
I have added a few supplements to my morning regimen.  L-Carnitine for lowering TG, LDL, BG and raising HDL.

L-Carnitine supplementation reduces oxidized LDL cholesterol in patients with diabetes

It also helps with appetite...not that I had an issue with that to begin with, not since being Keto.

I also added Chromium Picolinate 

" a 1997 study involving 180 type II diabetes patients in China, is a classic: it documented “spectacular” results in diabetes patients who took 500 mcg chromium picolinate twice daily. After four months, nearly all of the diabetes patients no longer had traditional signs of diabetes. Their blood sugar and insulin levels dropped to near normal—something that medications could not achieve. Even more importantly, the “gold standard” diagnostic measure of diabetes—blood levels of hemoglobin A1c (sugar-damaged proteins that age cells)—also dropped to normal."

from here:  Supplementation with Chromium Picolinate: Therapeutic for Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes


Medication:
The original Metformin was going right through me and it took a lot of observation to confirm that...Now I'm on a different Metformin and I have to wait to see if it does any good.  Could take a few weeks.

I don't like to wait.  It's already been 6 months and though I have brought my A1C down quite a bit, I feel like I should have more readings below 100 but they are few and far between.

Just want to say how sick of "conventional wisdom" I am.  Especially the "Low fat high carb diet" myth... Its all a bunch of rubbish!

Recommended reading:
Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis
Keto Clarity; Your definitive guide to the benefits of low carb, high fat diet by Jimmy Moore
Cholesterol Clarity; What the HDL is wrong with my numbers? by Jimmy Moore

Recommended viewing:
Dr. Jason Fung - Insulin Toxicity and how to cure type 2 Diabetes
Dr. Jason Fung - How to reverse diabetes naturally
Also, catch Dr. Fung's series "The Aetiology of Obesity" a six part series.  It's outstanding!

Still not losing weight...not really.  That's discouraging.  I'm trying to work on the thyroid, but since its not something I myself can measure, it's hard to know which direction to go in.

Oh yeah....and Scurvy!

I went to brush my teeth the other night and it was like all the skin on my gums slid off and started bleeding.  I was horrified!  I looked it up and best guess was SCURVY!! or Vitamin C deficiency.
Soooo I got some supplements, took about 4,000mg a day and the problem disappeared and pretty quickly too.  So I've added C to my list of supplements as well as some gut flora for good measure (having indigestion).
I thought that was worth mentioning as my research found that it was somewhat common on a ketogenic diet.  I am careful not to take it with some other meds to prevent non-absorption...
Anyway, I thought that was worth a mention...

I Found The Fasting Guidelines....I apologize to Dr. Fung

So I'm an idiot, and I owe Dr. Fung an apology.  I looked for fasting guidelines on his website but apparently looked in the wrong place and a helpful guy on FB later pointed me in the right direction.
So now I'm very excited to have those guidelines!

The bad news is, I fasted four times last week.  I had very low appetite during my eating windows and while my diet remains strictly keto, I still lost NO weight.  It's just always something!  AND....on fasting days my BG is good but on days that I eat they are too high.  Today, two hours after breakfast of eggs and cheese, my BG was 161...I was so shocked and disappointed that I tested it again and it was exactly the same.

Is this because I'm not triggering an insulin response?  I know I keep asking that question.

I was delighted to find that in Dr. Fung's fasting guidelines he allowed coffee with cream and coconut oil!  I can do an abridged version of my Bulletproof coffee.  I feel like if I can have that I can get through a pretty long fast!  I'm going to start another fast tonight after dinner and I'm not going to set an end to it mentally, just go until I can't take it anymore.  :)

I really want my A1C, triglycerides and all other abnormalities to be in line when I go back to the Dr. in December.  I want my weight to be lower as well.  It's time to get back to the gym.

Dr. Jason Fung...My Hero!

Look up Dr. Jason Fung on YouTube and watch his videos.
All the frustrating contradicting information and weight loss techniques that we are told will work but year after year dont work... all the information we've been brainwashed with...
Dr. Fung explains why it's all WRONG.

If these lectures don't change the way you live your life than you don't care about your health.

I have started doing intermittent fasting along with my strict ketogenic diet.  My only problem is that I'm not sure what the timing should look like.  I want to make sure I am fasting for long enough periods of time.
So far I have been doing breakfast, then lunch then fasting for 30ish hours until dinner the next day, eating dinner, then breakfast and lunch the following day.  So there is actually a 12 to 14 hour fast between dinner and breakfast the next day.
Are these fasts long enough to re-sensitize the insulin receptors in the cells?

Today is my second 30 hour fast and my sugars are in the 130s in the 25th hour.  I'm hoping that is because there is no insulin response.  The liver is pumping out some glucose generated by the proteins I ate yesterday but fasting is suppressing the insulin response?  I don't know, I'm not a biologist I'm just my own guinea pig.

I'm journaling to see what affects these fasts are having on my BGs and weight.  I need to determine if my fasts should be longer.

Dr. Fung does not go into detail about fasting and feeding intervals and timing.  That's unfortunate for those of us who don't have much faith in the conventional medicine and medical resources we are forced to work with in our geographical areas.

Dr. Fung, you can't treat everyone.  Throw us a bone and publish some fasting and dietary guidelines for the rest of us.

Average BG levels:
June 149
July 145
August 141
September 130 (so far this month)

Making Progress...

I guess this has become a "Conquer Diabetes and Hypothyroidism" blog.  I guess that's because it's what I'm dealing with and having to go "rogue" to beat.
I bought KetoStix and found that I have indeed gotten into Ketosis.  I think I've been there for about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.  Interestingly I have lost 3.5 pounds!
That doesn't seem like a lot at all but where I have not had any weight loss in MONTHS, this is a huge loss and in a short period of time.

Its VERY worth mentioning that my average blood sugars are down 15 points to 130.
I still have Dawn Phenom...but it's getting lower.
If I didn't have Dawn Phenom, my average would be a lot lower.

I have added Cod Liver Oil to my list of supplements.  My Doctor finally got back to me about my not wanting to take the medicine she gave me for triglycerides.  She said we would review it in December but that I should take a dose of fish oil between now and then.

My goal is to bring all my cholesterol markers into alignment before my appointment.

Also noteworthy, my complexion is greatly improved.

I also find that I'm eating much smaller portions and often skipping meals.  Just not hungry.

I had some bullet-proof coffee today and used a really good quality coconut oil and it actually made my coffee delicious.  I also use heavy cream and Sweet Drops in my coffee, so it really seemed like an indulgence.  Didn't need to eat breakfast because of it.

Feeling Empowered.

Ketogenic....I thought I was, but I think now I was not.

In my last post I was completely frustrated and it got worse before it got better!  I was additionally becoming frustrated because my BG numbers were creeping back up...I tried to figure out what was going wrong with me.
I realized that with that big scary triglyceride number I started to eat less fat and more lean proteins.  The power of fear is amazing...that shadow of a doubt that can derail you... But I was so low carb, even though I was eating less fat...somehow that protein was making my glucose readings worse and I could see that my A1C was going to be worse at my next Dr. visit not better.
The other day I was on my Kindle...in the book store on my kindle and not sure what I was even looking for...ANSWERS...I knew I was looking for answers but how do you search that?
The book store always puts recommendations at the top based on books you have purchased and things you search for and there was a recommendation for KETO Clarity by Jimmy Moore and Dr. Eric Westman.  I read the blurbby thing that says what the book is about and thought "What the heck" and downloaded it.

http://www.amazon.com/Keto-Clarity-Definitive-Benefits-Low-Carb/dp/1628600071

After reading a the intro/forwards and a few chapters the light bulb went off.  TOO MUCH PROTEIN!!
DOH!
Freakin' Glyconeogenesis!  My body was turning my proteins into GLUCOSE because I'm NOT in ketosis, though I thought I was, I'm still burning glucose for fuel not ketones.  DAMNIT!
And shame on me for backsliding!  I read in Wheat Belly that I should be eating a high percentage of fat, but maybe all the books I've read since then muddled me and caused me to waver.  The light bulb hadn't really clicked with me on how to get into ketosis with that book, I mean that really wasn't the point.  It made me give up all grain which was the point now wasn't it?  So that's why I had a eureka moment with this book...it all came clear!  All the pieces to the puzzle fell into place...  Like a ton of bricks!  Like a slap to the forehead!
 I had an answer, a solution and a guide!   (clouds parted, rays of sun shown down, angels were singing).  I started right away by cutting the carbs to as 0 as I can, cutting the protein way down and upping the FAT!  And the first day after doing that I already saw dramatic results...BGs like 100, 101, 105.... Where they had been 120, 122, 125....and that's just the first day.  My goal is to get a reading below 100 which I have failed to do since my April diagnosis when I started testing.

The best thing about this is that I have hope again and I have a path.  The low carb served me well in getting my A1C down to 6.6 but I want sub 5!
I want off meds completely.  I want to dump excess weight.
So bacon and cream cheese, beef and mayonnaise, butter and egg yolks, avocado and cheddar cheese...
Challenge accepted.

I really want a ketone tester and thinking about the ketone breath tester...  I have to make sure I get into ketosis and stay there!

and I want to send out a big FU to our government for the guidelines they send out year after year that are killing our population.  I'd like to tell them where they can shove their "Healthy Whole Grain".

Frustrated- Depressed

On follow-up with my doctor I had more blood work done.  Turns out I lowered my A1C to 6.6 from 9.1.
That's so great!  Yeah, but my triglycerides are over 500 now.  WTF??
So....I hadn't even had a chance to celebrate my A1C and I now was angry with a pit in my stomach about my triglycerides.  Doctor prescribed new meds for that.  I'm not taking them.
I am reducing my red meat intake and started doing more cardio at the gym which I had cut out in order to do more strength training.  I'm trying to do 30 minutes of elliptical and 30 to 45 minutes of strength training now.
The other BAD news was that despite the super low carb diet...and we're talking ketogenic here...and going to the gym...I lost NO weight.  Never have I ever made so many dietary and lifestyle sacrifices/changes for so little reward.  I'm not scoffing at my lower A1C but I know much of my problems would vanish if I could just lose 20 pounds.
And it seemed like the moment my Dr.s appointment was over I started getting really high fasting blood sugar readings again.  I mean, I already had a pretty bad case of Dawn Phenom but this is worse...like 50-60 points higher than usual worse.

Differences in my diet since the Dr. are these:
Less red meat, more chicken/fish and trying to cut back quantities even further....
could that be raising my BG levels?

Thinking it may be stress or sleep related I started taking Holy Basil to lower stress and thus cortisol levels... which is great and this morning my numbers are still high, but down from yesterday by almost 20 points.  This might be a random reading and may go up tomorrow.  But while writing this I realize it could also be that I'm trying to eat less fat and less food in general in response to not losing weight and the high tri-Gs.

So I just cant seem to find any resources for people with Hypothyroid AND Diabetes to lose some weight.  Maybe because it can't be achieved.  Maybe I have to spend 10 hours a week exercising instead of 5.
Maybe I can get liposuction and have a good excuse for it.

So my Thyroid meds got upped but they don't seem to be doing anything for my metabolism and neither is any of this exercise.

If anyone can help me, feel free to reach out.

Super Low Carb (or VLCHF - Very low carbohydrate, high fat) is Working for me!

Since the day after the day after my Diabetes education class I have been eating a very low carbohydrate diet (between 20 and 30 clean carbs per day).  As a result, I have lost 4 lbs. and my fasting blood sugars have dropped 60 points.  CRAAAAZZY!!  I have been researching articles on the benefits of vlchf diets in managing bg levels and all evidence including my own self experimentation point to it being the answer.

One thing I should mention is that since being very low carb, my appetite which used to be ravenous, is now mostly non-existent.  This is the key to weight loss on a low carb diet.  My portion sizes are about 1/4th of what they used to be and I usually feel completely satisfied before I finish eating.  I'm pushing my self away from the table realizing BEFORE the food is gone and I am not only satisfied but I am no longer interested in finishing even if its DELICIOUS!

This makes me REALLY mad at these educators and the ADA.  I can only imagine the number of people with Diabetes that have followed the advice of these educators only to find they are unable to manage their bg, and resign themselves to a life of worsening symptoms and affects, upping of meds and deterioration of overall health until their untimely demise.

Who's lining their pockets?  The department of agriculture?  The pharmaceutical companies? Both?
The controversies of the high carb low fat, low carb high fat diets have been ongoing for a hundred years and based on my research we are no closer to solving the mystery for the general population of the world now than we were then.  Personally I have come full circle, the high carb low fat diet did work for me when I was in my early 20s.  Since then, not so much and I managed to get to my largest when I was a vegetarian.

There are tons of books, articles, blogs and health studies out there.  Do your own research.
I'm no expert and I'm no doctor, but I know that lowering carbohydrates in my diet is working for me, and I'll keep you updated on my progress.
So though my information is not new, its new to me and I'd like to figure out a way to bring it out to more people.  People should know that telling your diabetes education nurse, also diabetic and morbidly obese, that she's wrong about needing to eat 210 starchy carbs a day, is OK.

Middle finger to the American Diabetes Association and the NCBDE

So yesterday I read an article which stated that the ADA acknowledged the fact that people with Diabetes are better off eating a low carbohydrate diet and when pressed for why they continue to have their educators teach a high carbohydrate diet (a staggering 210 Carbs per day...) they said it was because they believed that people could not maintain a low carbohydrate diet long term and they believe that 45 - 60 total carbs per meal is actually a reduction in carbohydrates for most people.

In my class it wasn't represented that way.  The nurse saw that I was not eating 200 carbs a day and said that I was not eating enough only because it didn't come near the guidelines for what she was taught to teach.  She didn't understand that those guidelines originate from a desire to have people realistically decrease their carbohydrate intake.
She told me that if my bg level went down while sleeping (because I didn't have a bag of popcorn before bed ...24+ carbs and glycemic index of 72) my liver would release sugar into my body which is why I was having high morning readings....it wont take a rocket scientist or much time to prove that wrong.  What if there is no sugar in my liver to release into my bloodstream because I'm not eating 210 carbs a day!?

And why would the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators not try to teach low carbohydrate diets to diabetes patients?  I highly doubt our being cured would put them out of business with as many high carb eaters stepping up to the diabetes plate every day.
Shame on them and the ADA for not believing we can be strong enough to take our lives and our health into our own hands!  We are not children...well not all of us.  

Tuesday I managed to choke down 100 carbs as I stated in my last blog.  As a result, my fasting bg the next morning was 204.  Yesterday I consumed <30 carbs and this morning my fasting bg was 30 points less than yesterday.  I'll be tracking it all week as I shoot for a carb intake of <30.  My liver still has a hangover from Tuesday's binge so after the poison is released from my system I believe that the number will go way down.

I can barely contain my outrage at the gross lies being spread all over the country by people who are supposed to be experts, by people who are supposed to be counseling the sick and the dying!  What a bunch of crap!  After I cure my own diabetes, I'll have to get my blood pressure problem under control which I only developed over this past week!

"Diabetes Education" or "How to kill yourself slowly while making insulin producers rich"

I recently took a Diabetes Education class meant to teach me how to get my blood sugars under control.
I had to fill out a "Sample Diet". which is an example of what I might eat in a day.  I should mention that a few months prior to my diagnosis I made the decision to cut grain out of my diet, especially wheat while starting an exercise regimen.  It took a really long time but I managed to lose about 25 lbs.

Anyway, the nurse doing the education class looked at my example diet and said "well I can tell you you aren't eating enough carbohydrates".
This confused me and as I looked at the book she gave me printed by the American Diabetes Association, I was dumbfounded by all the grain foods and sugar foods they listed there.  WHHAAAAAT?
I told her I would not eat grains because the elimination of grains lifted the perpetual fog in my head along with a bunch of other crappy health symptoms I had been having.
She told me I should be eating 210 grams of carbohydrates per day...and that doesn't include the carbs in Milk, Cheese or non starchy vegetables!!!   (Carbohydrates in non-starchy vegetables apparently don't count.)
Why don't I just put a pistol in my mouth and be done with it?  I was stunned!  It would normally take me more than four days to eat that many carbohydrates...which I only figured out when I thought about what I really eat in a given day and started a new food journal.  I was too dumbfounded to even argue, or maybe I was just being polite...either way, I needed to digest the information, which was probably about a 75 on the Glycemic Index...
Well I tried it for a day, I could only make myself consume about 100 carbs including the carbs in some brussel sprouts (which I really wasn't supposed to count).... and the next morning my fasting blood sugar was so high I almost had a heart attack....or went into some kind of sugar coma!

I think the ADA needs to learn about the Glycemic Index and educate people based on that.  Why would they recommend these blood sugar spiking foods to people with insulin resistance and damaged pancreas'?  Pharmaceutical company lobbyists??  I mean how many people fall for this?
How is it that the NURSE believed this garbage, I mean she was smart enough to get her RN!  How could she be so duped!

So lets talk about the glycemic  index.
Here is the definition of the GI according to http://www.glycemicindex.com
The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating.

With pure glucose being at 100, anything below 50 is considered to be in the healthy range:
My educator was recommending, grains, peas, corn, corn tortillas, beans and white potatoes to me to make sure I got all my 210 carbs in.
Lets look at the GI and see how solid that advice is.

Recommended foods:
GI for Baked potatoes:   85
GI for Whole Wheat Bread: 71
GI for Corn Flakes: 93
Cream of Wheat: 74
Grape Nuts: 75
Corn Tortilla: 52
Corn on the cob: 60
Peas: 51
Rice:  White: 89  Brown: 50

Here are the GI numbers for what I usually eat:
eggs: 0
Low fat cheese: 0
low fat plain yogurt: 14
Butter: 0
Blueberries: 53
Raspberries: Little to no carbohydrate and low GI ( all I could find)
Grilled Chicken:  0
Ground Beef: 0
Almonds: 0
Pecans: 0
Walnuts: 0
Cashews: 22
Turkey: 0
Ham: 0
Fish: 0
Bacon: 0
Tomato: 38
Broccoli: 10
Spinach: <10
Bananas: 52
Silk Almond Milk: 30
Coconut milk: 40

The GI for a Snickers bar is 55:
You are better off eating a Snickers bar than eating any of the following:
Baked potato
Wheat bread
Corn Flakes
Cream of Wheat
White rice
Grape nuts
Corn on the cob

Would you tell someone with diabetes they should eat a snickers bar to help control their blood sugar??
Of course NOT!!  Then why would they tell me (and the other diabetics taking their "Education class") to eat any of the things I listed above which were recommended to me?

Growing a spine and speaking plainly is the new "Black"

How tired am I of the politically correct, beat around the bush, mince words, candy coating candy asses I'm made to deal with in every day society!?  Like Rip Van Winkle tired...before his 20 year nap!
Why can't we seem to get anything done anymore?  People don't express their opinions without censoring them and so all the time that we have to take to decode what they really mean is wasting our lives away.   The "We don't want to offend...." mentality is cutting through my very last nerve and all I want to know is where are the brave plain speakers?  Am I the only one brave enough to express whats on my mind?  When did we become a society of coddling candy asses?

Not everyone should get a TROPHY!  LOSERS don't get trophies!  This is how we learn disappointment. This is how we learn to redirect our disappointment to motivation to WIN.  This is how we motivate kids to succeed!

  Kids SHOULD ATTEND FUNERALS!  This is how they learn that death is REAL!  This is how they learn that death is a natural part of life.  This is how they understand that death is permanent!  Maybe if they understood that, they wouldn't be shooting each other.  Did it ever occur to anyone that the problem isn't gun control, its the lack of parental guidance and the perception of youth that death isn't real, its surreal.  Why would you shelter your children from death...real death?  If you do, YOU ARE A MORON and you aren't doing your children or our society any favors!

I'm not saying we should not have tact, I'm a big fan of tact... really I am.  I spent many years developing my own tact.  But sometimes the situation demands plainness and telling it like it is.  The Emperor is NAKED people!!!