I started the BSD after reading Dr Moseley’s book and asked my diabetic nurse for support who suggested I still take my lantus but don’t take any novorapid with food. I am a type 2 diabetic on insulin and thought this diet would help me get off medication. After 3.5 weeks I felt so weak and wobbly that I went to my GP who sent me straight to A&E with Ketoacidosis and stayed in for 3 days on 3 drips, insulin, glucose and potassium. I lost 1 stone in week one which was stored fat and muscle and fluid. I have not found any warning in the book or on this website of this potential life threatening condition I found myself in after following this diet so wanted to warn anyone who tries it to check ketones and insist on regular health advice throughout.

Hi Type 2
You have been very unfortunate indeed. Sorry to hear that & hope you are much improved now?

It does say in the BSD book, page 116, to read the book all the way through to the end, before you start.
TALK TO YOUR DR. “If you are on medication it is particularly important to have their buy-in as they should be involved in monitoring & tapering off your medicines”. Page 117

Caution – discuss with your doctor if any of the following apply:
You are on insulin or a diabetic medication other than metformin – you may need to plan how you reduce your medication to avoid too fast a drop in blood sugar. Page 117

All of the cautions should be read & understood before embarking on this diet.

If you observed all that was advised, you are indeed unlucky to have suffered in this way. Your posting will act as a suitable caution to everyone, so thanks for that

I have some mild retinopathy & read the caution re that. My then GP did not want to know at all about my starting this diet, 12 weeks ago. ” Eat potatoes & DON’T test” was my GP’s advice on diagnosing me 3 years ago!

I am Type 2 Diabetic on Metformin. I decided, taking full responsibility for myself, that I would try this diet to see if I could reverse my Diabetes. The prospect of that outweighed any reservations I had. Also I trained as a nurse ( 47 years ago) so knew I had to be vigilant whilst on this diet.

I do hope you are well. I also hope your GP & nurse can & will learn from your unfortunate experience re the 8-week blood sugar diet.
We need all medics to be fully informed & on board with our efforts & this ground breaking diabetic diet. We need to change the treatment of Type 2 Diabetics & give everyone hope & a chance to reverse this deadly disease
My best wishes to you
Eureka

It, is true that the book does not list this potential life-threatening condition, and it is good to hear expressly what the risks are – especially since the attitude about diets is that (in general) they are harmless. Not enough food, and not enough insulin are two of the risk factors for DKA for any diabetic but especially Type 1 diabetics (which is why the suggestion to confirm that you actually are Type 2), or (much less common) insulin dependent Type 2.

That said, in defense of the book, it does explicitly state in the “Before You Start,” section that if you are on insulin or a medication other than metformin that you should “make sure you discuss your plan with your doctor” and that it is “particularly important to have your doctor’s buy-in, as he or she should be involved in monitoring you and tapering off your medication as needed.” Since the book was written by someone familiar with the health care system you are using, and it didn’t say “diabetic nurse,” or “member of your health care team,” I would have read the suggestions as literally meaning doctor.

I’m glad you caught your problem in time – and if you haven’t had a check to confirm you are Type 1, rather than Type 2, you might want to see if your doctor is willing to do further tests. (I’ve had friends whose Type 1 diagnosis came about because they had been diagnosed with Type 1, but later landed in the hospital with DKA, which is a presumptive indicator of Type 1 diabetes).

[Not trying to pile on, but I was apparently drafting my comments at the same time Eureka was, so when I hit post I see she made very similar comments that snuck in before mine.]