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**Desertthorn** · October 18, 2004, 05:09 PM

Thanks for your post. I was wondering where you were and how your son was getting along. Your doing the right thing, know thy enemy and it will be conquered.

**Tala** · October 18, 2004, 07:15 PM

Hello. It seems we have a lot in common. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 a couple of years ago, and it seems we are on a never ending roller coaster, though with my daughter, her sugar is high more than low. Before diabetes, she ate a wonderfully healthy, varied diet and never had a weight problem. It seems like the diabetes, with its focus on food, is creating an eating disorder for us both :P . I'm looking to Atkins and South Beach to make some long term healthy changes to help her get her blood glucose under control and for me to lose weight.

I'm curious, do you find that the ADA diet is ridiculously overloaded with carbs - usually the excessively refined kind?

**4myself4mykids** · October 18, 2004, 10:10 PM

:nod

and after 8 yrs of dealing with all that, I decided to forge out on my own and disregard their "diet" and try this. It's helped me tremendously! I've decreased my insulin to less than 1/5 of what I was taking and dropped one avandamet. I'm still taking about 35 U of insulin ( 2 shots instead of 4, with much lower dosage ea time) now and one avandamet instead of two. I feel better than I have in years!!!! Can't wait until the end of Nov when I go to the Dr and see what my labs say!

**Tala** · October 19, 2004, 05:32 AM

you are type 1? Right now, I can't imagine only 30 units of insulin in 2 injections per day. DD is taking an average of 45 - 60 units of novalog + 41 units of NPH over the course of a day. May I ask how much of this you attribute to Atkins diet?

**4myself4mykids** · October 19, 2004, 07:34 AM

No, I'm type 2, so there would be a big difference as my pancreas is still functioning fairly well. I was taking 92U of novalog(70/30)/day, then when I went to see her she wanted me to increase it by 36U at lunch and "possibly" another "20U or so" at bedtime snack in 2 weeks when I faxed her my diet and blood sugars. But she really wanted me to have an insulin pump placed and I just refused.

I take my 2 week diet log in for her to review ea appt and the whole time she was reviewing it (I'd only taken in 11 days that time because I'd forgotten when I was supposed to start) she kept saying, not enough carbs, not enough calories, too high of blood sugars.......UGHH! Need more carbs, need more insulin. I tried to ask how that makes any sense, if my body isn't processing the carbs why in the world would we increase carbs which in turn will increase insulin! (Vent!!! sorry, it just frustrates me!)

I DO NOT want an insulin pump, so I got online and started checking out about pumps and alternatative diabetic diets and found a lot of info about Atkins and/or low carb diets being the answer for many diabetics. Unfotunately, I have seen nothing about Type 1 children, and would think you would need to find a pediatric diabetic specialist who is Atkins friendly, but I really don't know how you would manage finding such a physician, because from what I understand it's hard enough to find an adult Dr who is Atkins friendly.

One thing I want you to understand....and I don't recommend this for anyone else!!!! My Dr does not know I am adjusting my own insulin yet. To her knowledge I am taking over 150 U a day at this time. This isn't good or possible for most people, but I have been thru 2 diabetic pregnancies and was taught how to adjust my insulin by a paranatoligist based on my pre & post prandial blood sugars. I have used that knowledge without medical authorization, and when I go back at the end of Nov if my labs aren't just spectacular (or really if they even are!) she has the right to "fire" me as a patient for disregarding her medical advise. I'm hoping that if she sees this has been successful for me and I'm losing weight and keeping my blood sugars down, that she will see there are alternative things that work instead of the blasted ADA diet where they're trying to cram carbs, carbs, and more carbs down you.

I apologize if my post wasn't appropriate for this thread. I had just read from the mom who has a diabetic child and 2 high sugar pregnancies and was trying to prevent Type 2.

**Tala** · October 19, 2004, 08:27 AM

Originally posted by 4myself4mykids

she kept saying, not enough carbs, not enough calories, too high of blood sugars.......UGHH! Need more carbs, need more insulin. I tried to ask how that makes any sense, if my body isn't processing the carbs why in the world would we increase carbs which in turn will increase insulin! (Vent!!! sorry, it just frustrates me!)

I can SO relate. I've been asking that question since shortly after my daughter was diagnosed, and I've given up on finding a doctor who will listen. At one point, with her former doctor, he even hospitalized her for 3 days just to prove to me I was wrong, and HE ended up getting proved wrong. Unfortunately, knowing we need to make changes to our diet, and getting a teenager to cooperate when the doctor disagrees with me right in front of her are two different issues.

I did have a pleasant suprise last month when her new diabetes dietician started talking high glycemic vs low glycemic. Maybe the medical community is starting to wise up.

**HOTMAMMAWANNABE** · October 19, 2004, 08:42 AM

childrenwithdiabetes.com

Thank you for the responses. I do feel his diet is filled with bad carbs and it seems to keep getting worse. They want him to have so many carbs each day/each meal and it is hard to get that much into a 4 year old. Atkins wont help him because he absolutely does not want ketones, but it will help me avoid type 2. My babysitter does Atkins and has lost 70+ pounds. Her doctor is very pleased with her.

If you guys want a great site to talk diabetes on Childrenwithdiabetes.com has a great chat room. As for now..thank you for the support and I am sure I am on my way to a much better weight and much reduced chance of diabetes.

**4myself4mykids** · October 19, 2004, 08:51 AM

Best of luck to both of you and your children!

**-->b_boop<--** · October 21, 2004, 12:36 PM

hi everyone:

I am a type 1 on atkins and its working out awesome! no spikes, no blood sugars above 10, RARELY one below 4, (this is awesome for me ) and when I do go low its due to excercies, so as long as I plan ahead and turn down my basal rate, everything is awesome.

I am on less than half of the insulin I was on post atkins. The only insulin I take is in my basal rate in my pump, so no spikes there either. I was on the same type of meal plan as your son, HotMamma, for about a year before I got my insulin pump. IT IS THE BEST THING I EVER DID, getting my pump, if your insurance comany covers it or you can afford it, I reccomend it for everyone with type 1!

Just so you know, there are actually two different types of keytones.

The type that are dangerous to your son and I, and anyone else with diabetes, are the type that lead to ketoacidosis, and these are the type that we usually have before we are diagnosed and it makes us very very sick. they are because our body cannot burn the carbs that we are eating because of a lack of insulin, so the body burns fat instead. but those carbs are still there in our systems, and the body tries desperately to get rid of all of the sugar, so it spills into our urine and the liver and bladder dont like that so we pee all the time to get rid of it, this makes us thirsty ALL the time because we are dehydrated.

The other kind, that we get on atkins, is ketosis, Not ketoacidosis. in ketosis, as im sure u kno, our bodies dont have any carbs to burn so we burn fat instead.

Im sorry if I have just repeated a bunch of stuff you already learned from your doctor or diabetes educator, but I know from experience with my parents that when they hear the word ketones they freak out and dont realize that theyr are different types.
*phew* what a long post.

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