We see the new Endo on Oct 16th.

Thanks so much for the blog. My daugher (6) was diagnosed Sept 10. My husband and I are crossfitters (now), but have been into various types of excercise for years (weight training, powerlifting, etc.). About a week after our daughters diagnosis, we realized too that we were feeding her injections and it seemed like we should clean up her diet and then see where we were at.

We (all 3 of us) went Paleo. And the next thing will amaze you, but her blood sugar readings began to drop like a stone, and we began to reduce her insulin injections in order to avoid so many lows. The poor kid was spending more time in the nurses station eating food to bring her blood sugar up than she was in class. Eventually, we had to stop giving insulin completely, as even 1 unit of Levemir would cause her to have lows all day long.

She has been off of insulin for a couple of weeks and we continue to test her blood every 2 or 3 hours. We have located a new Endo who we hope is open to working with us on her diet (previous guy actually said – “feed her whatever she wants and give her insulin accordingly”).

Perhaps this is the infamous ‘honeymoon’ phase, or she was misdiagnosed (the previous endo did not do c-peptide or antibody test – only looked at her and said “shes 6 years old and thin, she must be a type 1″) but I will tell you that her improvements began the very DAY we started the Paleo diet.

Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone!!!

A Cross Fit Mom.

As for some of the comments from people saying their endocrinologists promoted high-carb diets… I recommend a new doctor. I’ve had diabetes since I was 4 (I’m now 25) and not one of the many endocrinologists I’ve had was a proponent of using MORE insulin unless absolutely necessary. Even in cases where my basal rate needed to increase, the goal was always to achieve better responsiveness to insulin and bring my blood sugars back to a more even keel.

It seems irresponsible to offer a specific daily carb amount for a Type 1 diabetic to maintain when you have limited knowledge of diabetes and no actual background on the subject. A paleo diet may very well be a great option for a diabetic, but I would hope that anyone reading this article does their research before altering their lifestyle based solely on your unsubstantiated opinions.

Additionally, it’s proselytize, not “prostylitize.”

Type 1 diabetics need to be able to control their sugar levels. The islet cells within the pancreas produce insulin, which controls blood sugar levels. When an individual suffers from diabetes their islet cells are damaged and cannot produce the necessary insulin their body needs.

Mary

-Josh