6 Months Into Peating, I Get Diabetes

[whodathunkit]

@artemis, it took guts to post this here. Most people would go away after something like this and just never come back. Kudos to you for having a stellar pair of 'nads!

That said, I'm sorry to hear this and send you very best wishes for continued good progress and stability. I've been fighting the blood sugar fight for a long time, and while my sugars have never been that high, can sort of understand what you've been through. It's a ruff row to hoe. You do what you have to do to manage and hell what anyone else thinks about it.

 

[artemis]

The fact that you were able to go for a year without insulin really speaks to your good health

That's what the doctor said. She couldn't believe that I had been going for so long with such high BG, and in DKA.

Your insights are invaluable, Tarmander. Thanks for taking the time to post. Although it's not exactly easy to hear, I appreciate you being candid and honest about it. And yes, it truly does feel like the insulin has brought me back to life, literally.

Anything to watch out for or be mindful of? Anything you remember happening leading up to your symptoms and diagnosis?

Same as what Tarmander said, just suddenly started needing to drink massive amounts of water, especially at night. Which of course meant I'd be up all night peeing. It's kind of crazy, to think you're dehydrated despite drinking gallons of water, and you're wasting away despite eating more than ever.

What preceded these symptoms, by about 6 months, was that I went from a typical paleo-style low-carb diet to a Peat-inspired high-carb diet. As I think I said earlier in this thread, I never ate much fruit, or drank milk, or ever drank anything containing sugar, until then. I also stopped taking estrogen, which I had been taking for 8 years. I don't really think that had anything to do with it, but I'm just thinking about all the changes I made, pretty much all at once. I also started taking all the Peat-y supplements: vitE, B's, pregnenolone, progesterone. I actually felt quite good on the diet for about the first 6 months -- gained a little weight but my clothes still fit the same, so I assumed I was gaining some muscle. Then all of a sudden everything went to $h*t, and fast.

 

[whodathunkit]

Also, just curious, if you don't mind saying (and if you do mind, that's fine :)), what tests did they do to determine the state of your beta cells? Wondering because the possibility of auto-immune beta cell death is something that has been on my mind for some years. Again, if it's something you don't want to share, please don't feel obliged.

 

[Tarmander]

Your insights are invaluable, Tarmander. Thanks for taking the time to post. Although it's not exactly easy to hear, I appreciate you being candid and honest about it. And yes, it truly does feel like the insulin has brought me back to life, literally.

Your welcome :). I hope you stick around and update us now and then.

I also stopped taking estrogen, which I had been taking for 8 years.

This is actually pretty interesting. IIRC Peat has talked about estrogen and its relation to autoimmunity. I know most type 1s I know experience estrogenic symptoms. I am not saying that caused it, but it is kind of interesting...

 

[artemis]

it took guts to post this here. Most people would go away after something like this and just never come back.

I was going to do that. I know that my situation is rather inconvenient to have hanging around here. Believe me, it's been VERY inconvenient for ME! But, you know, I have nothing to hide. If someone else benefits from reading about my experience, then I would be glad I posted. And I really like everyone on here and value everyone's opinion, and who knows, someone might have some insight into how or why things could have suddenly gone so wrong with me.

what tests did they do to determine the state of your beta cells?

I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I don't even know exactly what tests were done to determine this. I've been wondering this, too. I did get a copy of my basic blood work, but the results of that particular insulin test weren't back yet, and I never did get a copy of that. She just told me at the next visit that it was a 2. I will ask for a copy at my next visit. I'm usually very curious and pro-active about that sort of thing, even had my own blood work done independently a couple of times recently, but I don't know, I was just so exhausted and defeated at those first couple of visits with this doctor, it was like I didn't even care much about anything, I just wanted some relief, to feel normal again.

 

[Westside PUFAs]

A blood test for C-peptide is the only way to determine if you have T1D.

Check out Robby from Mindful Diabetic, he helps people reverse type 2 and manage type 1 on a fruit based diet: Mindful Diabetic | Reverse Type 2 Diabetes & Manage Type 1 with Grace

He has helpful videos on injecting insulin, he is type 1.

 

[Peata]

So yeah, I guess I do have "diabetes" after all. After struggling to get ahead of it on my own for over a year, and living with BG numbers around 350, I finally gave up and went to see a regular doctor, an internist, and she put me on insulin, which I knew she would. My insulin test number was a 2. I just could not go on trying things that weren't working. I was steady losing weight in spite of eating like a horse, constantly. It was very scary to watch my body disappear before my eyes.

I wanted this way of eating to work for me. I really did. I jumped in head first. I was infatuated with Dr. Peat and all of his work, and didn't even consider for a moment that it might not be right for me. After a year of denial and struggle and worry, I must now conclude that it was a disaster for me. I now must inject insulin into my stomach every day, probably for the rest of my life. I know that it's what I need at this point -- as much as I fought it and hate to admit it, my body reacted so positively to the insulin from the very first day, both from a muscle-testing standpoint and just overall feel ... it was like pouring some water on parched ground.

The doctor said I don't fit into any category. I was making lots of ketones for a long time, was actually in diabetic ketoacidosis. That fact, along with the unintentional weight loss, means I am definitely not a type 2. Yet here I am 53 years old and just getting this diagnosis, no one in my family has ever had diabetes or anything. She says to stop beating myself up about it, that you can't "give yourself diabetes," but I just have to wonder. I made some pretty drastic changes to my diet, and I can't help but think that if I never did any of that, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn't be on insulin now.

I wasn't going to post this update -- I don't want to cause any controversy or anything, I know this way of eating works great for most people. It just didn't work for me. It didn't seem right to post, but then it didn't feel right not to, either. So that's my update, I'm now insulin-dependent! Woo-hoo!!

Sorry this happened to you. I appreciate you making the update, as I feel it's important to not just hear the success stories. I can understand the wondering - "did I do this to myself", etc. when you're just trying to do what you hoped was right.

 

[tara]

my body reacted so positively to the insulin from the very first day, both from a muscle-testing standpoint and just overall feel ... it was like pouring some water on parched ground.

Sorry it got to that, but glad the insulin seems to be doing you so much good. I have no doubt you did the best you could figure out all along, and you can be proud of yourself.

I wasn't going to post this update -- I don't want to cause any controversy or anything, I know this way of eating works great for most people. It just didn't work for me. It didn't seem right to post, but then it didn't feel right not to, either. So that's my update, I'm now insulin-dependent! Woo-hoo!!

Thanks for the update .

I'm glad you came back to update us @artemis. Please don't blame yourself or feel like a failure. I know it's hard but we're all human and sometimes things happen beyond our control. I think we can all look back at times and wish maybe we had done things differently too. Peat has given us lots of excellent information and things to try out to help ourselves but no one person could ever have all the answers for every person and every situation. There are way too many variables. You should be proud of yourself for trying so hard! Just because you weren't able to cure your diabetes with a Peat inspired approach doesn't mean you can't benefit from his work. Forum member @Tarmander is on insulin and still incorporates Peat's ideas into his lifestyle. I'm happy you're feeling better.

+1

I appreciate you making the update, as I feel it's important to not just hear the success stories.

+1

Go @Tarmander.

 

[whodathunkit]

I appreciate you making the update, as I feel it's important to not just hear the success stories.

+2 :)

 

[Rafe]

Good news that this thread is winding up on a high note thanks to the generosity of most of the posters. @artemis I don't think it's terrible to get a diagnosis that helps with metabolic progress and stability at whatever level the organism can tolerate. I find RP uniquely qualified to help me judge my metabolic reality (stressed, run down, heading in the wrong direction for example, but also, tools and knowledge are available and pretty cheap if I trust my level of understanding & it is getting expected results). I trust him also b/c he appears to me to be about staying radically in the realm of what is really happening rather than what we wish might be happening or what medical ideology needs to have happen in order to support authority. How each of us makes use of conventional medical practice is as unique as how we apply RP principles. (It's interesting that most of the arguments arise about food interpretation, much less about, say, how to breathe.)

In evaluating who and where I am and the environments & generations I come from, I have to see that my organism may always need support in a particular way. Maybe some for the rest of my life. For me it will probably be thyroid supplement & avoiding rutted thinking. For you and Tarmander, blood sugar use. Each organism has unique challenges in compromised environments.

Conventional diet "wisdom" holds out some ideal to go after. RP takes the organism for what it is, where it is. Correct me if my understanding is wrong, but I suspect it's RP's radical empiricism (I think these are actually his words) that generates so many fitting interpretations of his nutritional views. Having a diagnosis and taking a treatment don't kick you out of the family.

 

[poilochio]

Whatever "Peating" is, I obviously did it wrong.

Maybe I changed my diet too fast? I never ate or drank sugar my whole adult life, or drank milk, or ate fruit. Then, last November, I started with this WOE. Started drinking milk, eating fruit, using sugar in my coffee, having a Red Bull or Coke now and then (never more than one a day, though). Then around April/May, I started getting symptoms of high blood sugar. It was pretty bad, like around 500 for awhile. I didn't want to go the traditional route of doctors and insulin. I tried to deal with it on my own, by using all the things I've read about that are supposed to help, like mega-dosing aspirin, B-vitamins, and other things I'm forgetting. None of that stuff made much difference. I ended up in the emergency room (husband and daughter dragged me there) because of constant vomiting. They gave me a prescription for Metformin, and I have been taking that. It didn't lower the numbers, but it did somehow make me feel much better. I want to get off of it, though. I have lowered my fasting BG from 363 to 160 over the past 6 days, by cutting all carbs. No sugar, no starch at all. I'm so relieved that it's coming down so fast!

I'm just wondering how it went so wrong for me, yet you all seem to be able to handle all this sugar and not have any problems with blood glucose. A naturopathic doctor who I've seen a couple of times recently told me that she sees this a lot in women over 50? (I'm 52). No diabetes in my family, but I have always had problems with LOW blood sugar in the past.

So I guess I'm just putting this out there as a cautionary tale -- might be wise to take it slow as far as changing one's diet, and maybe adding sugary food/drink is not such a great idea for some people.

I still love Ray, and have learned so much from him, and from all of you, and will continue to follow most of the dietary guidelines, but the whole sugar thing didn't work out for me at all.

Whatever "Peating" is, I obviously did it wrong.

Maybe I changed my diet too fast? I never ate or drank sugar my whole adult life, or drank milk, or ate fruit. Then, last November, I started with this WOE. Started drinking milk, eating fruit, using sugar in my coffee, having a Red Bull or Coke now and then (never more than one a day, though). Then around April/May, I started getting symptoms of high blood sugar. It was pretty bad, like around 500 for awhile. I didn't want to go the traditional route of doctors and insulin. I tried to deal with it on my own, by using all the things I've read about that are supposed to help, like mega-dosing aspirin, B-vitamins, and other things I'm forgetting. None of that stuff made much difference. I ended up in the emergency room (husband and daughter dragged me there) because of constant vomiting. They gave me a prescription for Metformin, and I have been taking that. It didn't lower the numbers, but it did somehow make me feel much better. I want to get off of it, though. I have lowered my fasting BG from 363 to 160 over the past 6 days, by cutting all carbs. No sugar, no starch at all. I'm so relieved that it's coming down so fast!

I'm just wondering how it went so wrong for me, yet you all seem to be able to handle all this sugar and not have any problems with blood glucose. A naturopathic doctor who I've seen a couple of times recently told me that she sees this a lot in women over 50? (I'm 52). No diabetes in my family, but I have always had problems with LOW blood sugar in the past.

So I guess I'm just putting this out there as a cautionary tale -- might be wise to take it slow as far as changing one's diet, and maybe adding sugary food/drink is not such a great idea for some people.

I still love Ray, and have learned so much from him, and from all of you, and will continue to follow most of the dietary guidelines, but the whole sugar thing didn't work out for me at all.

Hey Artemis

Fellow typ1 diabetic here.. since about 3 years aswell
I too have been 100%peating for a good 5 years before getting t1d.

I also am not blaming the peatish diet for coming down with t1d.

I got it after a bad flu.

I now take 16 units of longlasting insulin and varios shots of short acting insulin a day.

If i eat starches even with insulin bs goes sky high.
Fruits are way better for me after the correct amount of insulin bloodsugars are back to normal after 3 hours.

Ok buddy your not alone.

Hope one day there is a cure

 

[whodathunkit]

I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I don't even know exactly what tests were done to determine this.

Honestly, I don't think it matters much at the point you were at. If your sugars are that intractably high for an extended period of time, you just need to bring them down and the tests searching for "why" don't matter that much. Even if insulin had turned out to be only a short-term intervention, you needed it at the time. I hope you can one day figure out exactly what went haywire, though.

Another question for you, if you don't mind answering (and if you do, then don't feel obliged :)):

Did have you had any symptoms of auto-immunity or hyper immune function in your life before low carb or Peating? Meaning, stuff like eczema, arthritis, allergies (food/pet/pollen), etc. Also stuff like extreme reactions to certain foods. Pardon if you already said than in the thread and I missed it. I read the whole thing but have brain fog issues and got a little distracted in some places.

 

[artemis]

Having a diagnosis and taking a treatment don't kick you out of the family.

Thanks, Rafe. I do like it here. I learn a lot from the conversations on here.

Ok buddy your not alone.

Thanks, poilochio. At what age did you get the diagnosis?

Did have you had any symptoms of auto-immunity or hyper immune function in your life before low carb or Peating? Meaning, stuff like eczema, arthritis, allergies (food/pet/pollen), etc. Also stuff like extreme reactions to certain foods.

No allergies or reactions to foods. The only thing I can think of that I have heard could possibly be classified as an autoimmune type condition is that I had really bad and painful endometriosis. That, along with ovarian cysts, was the reason I had a hysterectomy 8 years ago.

 

[poilochio]

At 33 years old i was diagnosed
After loosing about 10kilos in one month finally went to the doc.

 

[SQu]

Good luck Artemis. Don't go anywhere!

 

[artemis]

Good luck Artemis. Don't go anywhere!

Thanks, SQu. And everyone else who posted. Definitely feelin the love!

 

[moss]

Hi Artemis just read your posts.

Middle age is the great equalizer......

We are the same age and I too am currently confronting a health issue - adhesive capsulitis. Whilst it is not life threatening nor the end of the world, it is extremely painful and waring and a sobering time and I ask myself the 'how & why' questions. I have been eating and living a 'Peat inspired' way for a number of years now and mostly with great benefits. What I can say without a doubt, what has contributed to where I am right now, is STRESS. (not inferring that is for you).
As a consequence, for the last couple of month's I have changed routines and given myself permission to stop, time to re-focus and get back to things that I am passionate and I do have the believe I will heal fully and it will take a little time.
Tarmander and others have given you some great support and suggestions.

Most importantly, you have nothing to be apologetic for!
I wish you well and glad you are feeling better.

 

[artemis]

Hi Artemis just read your posts.

Middle age is the great equalizer......

We are the same age and I too am currently confronting a health issue - adhesive capsulitis. Whilst it is not life threatening nor the end of the world, it is extremely painful and waring and a sobering time and I ask myself the 'how & why' questions. I have been eating and living a 'Peat inspired' way for a number of years now and mostly with great benefits. What I can say without a doubt, what has contributed to where I am right now, is STRESS. (not inferring that is for you).
As a consequence, for the last couple of month's I have changed routines and given myself permission to stop, time to re-focus and get back to things that I am passionate and I do have the believe I will heal fully and it will take a little time.
Tarmander and others have given you some great support and suggestions.

Most importantly, you have nothing to be apologetic for!
I wish you well and glad you are feeling better.

Hi moss, thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry to hear about your shoulder problem...it sounds painful. From the little reading I did on it, it seems that it often resolves on its own after a time? I'm hoping that is the case for you, anyway.

 

[artemis]

adhesive capsulitis.

moss, did you see this from marikay?

I started following Ray's advice when I was just about to turn 50 and was suffering from a frozen shoulder (progest E fixed it immediately and permanently).

 

[moss]

Yes I did, thanks very much artemis

And I take Progest-e (more than one drop) currently and I when I initially saw marikay's post I promptly smothered Progest-E on shoulder, waiting for a miracle, sadly not my experience.
I am currently experimenting with a few supplements and also testing IR light and when I have more conclusive results I will post.
I've tried most of the physical therapies and none have been helpful.
What has been the stand out is Feldenkrais. Awareness through movement.