Morning Guy’s, as the initial post points out I am new to your excellent site and getting more desperate as time goes by.
So diving straight in……

Bit of my History, Type 2 diabetic after gratefully receiving a Kidney Transplant but I was put on to prednisolone and hey presto I developed Type 2 Diabetes.

I was told by the Doc the sugar increase was because of this steroid I was placed on?

This is my first question has any of you Guys tried the BSD after having a transplant and if so may I ask what success or failure did you experience?

Currently for no apparent reason my BS levels have risen dramatically from 9.5 to 17 and I am extremely worried.
Would you say I am now beyond help with the BSD approach?

Hoping for some feed back,

Very best regards,

Nigel.

I can’t comment on the transplant situation, you should really consult your GP or a dietician but the blood sugar readings should take a tumble on this plan if you get the go ahead.
We have had folk with readings similar to yours getting remarkable results.
Try just cutting the bad carbs out for a week or so to see how you react and then worry about the calories would be my advice, but ONLY when you have medical advice to go ahead.
Best of luck!

Not sure if this is helpful or not, but have seen a few references to physiological insulin resistance on other low carb forums which may explain some people’s higher blood sugars. It appears that this is actually a good thing, if the explanation I have copied below (lots of other references come up if you google it)is correct. It looks like you need to get your HbA1c tested to more reliably tell you if this low carb way of eating is benefiting you.

Physiological Insulin Resistance is better called “Adaptive Glucose Sparing”. Why would your peripheral tissues be primed and adpated to remove glucose from blood if… there isn’t any glucose in there to speak of?

No, those tissues adapt. Glucose transporters fold back inside the cell from the surface, instead the cell becomes more adept at taking in fat which is circulating. You literally become adapted to sparing glucose for use by those cells which absolutely require it. Some brain cells, red blood cells and testes require glucose because they do not have mitochondria!

Yes, FBG can easily rise above 100 mg/dl. But: FBG is a metric which is useful for day to day and hour to control and monitoring of blood glucose in diabetics. If you have physiological insulin resistance, you are literally at the opposite end of the risk spectrum to a diabetic:
•You will have an extremely low HbA1c value
•Your liver and kidneys will be very sensitive to the effect of insulin, even though muscle tissue isn’t
•You will almost never suffer hypoglycemic events

It takes a few days of eating carbs to return to the normal state for healthy people. This is why the term is “physiological” and not “pathological”. It is not a disease state, it is a healthy response to carbohydrate restriction.

Hi Nigel, unfortunately I haven’t heard of anyone on the forums having the identical problem so can’t point you to a suitable posting.
I have a friend who had a kidney transplant over 30 years ago but she hasn’t followed this diet as she does not have T2.

I hope you have an understanding GP/consultant who is prepared to think out of the box. Dieticians seem to mostly churn out the low fat/high carb stuff but you may be lucky enough to find one who will take this diet seriously.

I know, from my friend, that once you have had the transplant and not having the dietary restrictions of dialysis that all food, other than salty food and alcohol, was on the menu.

I can’t see a problem with cutting out starchy carbs but would seek proper medical advice first. As Bill says, there are people on these forums who have seen dramatic reductions in their blood sugars and you don’t want T2 on top of the meds you take to maintain your transplanted kidney.

Hoping for good news for you 🙂

Good morning Bill1954,

Thank you for replying to my initial post.

Fortunately I booked early this morning to see my GP so my appointment fits in well to ask about the BSD.
As you kindly point out I too can’t see why this wont fit in well my my current problem of trying to lower my BS levels.

Thanks again for your advice.

Best regards,

Nigel.

Good morning Keje,

Thank you also for your helpful advise too.

Sorry my fault but as I previously pointed out I am a Type 2 Diabetic and not Type 1 insulin dependent.
The other reason I am concerned about my levels is because I have now been referred to Hospital for retina eye tests and am keen to try and sort this out.

Having said that your info gives me lots of research to catch up on.

Best wishes,

Nigel.

Good morning Hashimoto,

Thank you for your valuable advise.

On a separate issue it’s great to hear about your friend, please pass on my congratulations.
My Transplant was in November 1999.

Yes my Consultant is a great person and very forward thinking, so I am very lucky.
I really can only see good in this BSD and will take medical advise first.

Best regards,

Nigel.

Hi Nigel, my friend has done very well considering she had her transplant so many years ago when the drugs used were not as good as they are today. She is a positive person – as you sound to be – and that contributes to a healthy long life post transplant.
Wishing you the best possible outcome
Judith

Nigel, as a long term retinopathy sufferer, unless you have noticed black streaks in your vision, I wouldn’t worry too much about the eye tests.
If you have been recently diagnosed then it will be a preventative measure.
It’s much better to catch these things early while they are treatable with laser rather than having the op

Hi Nigel, yes I really admire your determination in taking control of your own health and hope your GP is helpful. I’m not an expert but believe physiological insulin resistance is nothing to do with type 1 but a phenomenon that can affect anyone on a low carb diet (whether diabetic or not) and actually seems to indicate more efficient fat burning. Maybe you need to ask for a HbA1c test which appears to give much more accurate assessment of where your blood sugars are at. My apologies if this isn’t relevant to you and just confuses things more!

Hello Judith,

Yes they have made excellent steps these days in medication and will continue to do so.

Definitely believe in thinking positive and having goals to achieve, never be down and look froward to good times.

Thank you again,

Nigel.

Hello Keje,

My most recent HbA1C test was 58, this is in the new digital format I believe?
It’s all relevant to me and makes me think longer and harder to get some form of resolve to this problem.

Kind regards,

Nigel.

Hello again Bill1954,

All replies are gratefully receive thanks and I am sorry to read of your retinopathy.

No I haven’t noticed anything odd with my vision and on a recent visit to the opticians he also gave me the all clear, no pun intended.

Best regards,

Nigel.

Hello Nigel,

I have only just joined the forum and immediately started to look for someone with the same problem as I have. I had a liver transplant in 2002 and developed type 2 diabetes a few years afterward. One consultant told me that this was common in transplant recipients, but did not say exactly why. I do not take steroids (did so for only a short while post-transplant) but having done some internet research it would appear that one of the immunosuppressants I take, Tacrolimus (Prograf commercial name) is the cause of the diabetes. I have tried reducing my carbohydrate intake with some favourable results but am now finding it almost impossible to control my BS, with levels like 17 as you mention common (24 the other day).

I am waiting for my next consultant appointment to discuss this as I’m not terribly confident of GP advice. In the meantime, it is causing much anxiety, so I can understand your own.

Paul