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I am trying to understand for my mum

M

mandyreid

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2
Hi
I am trying to understand how to help my mum, she is 79 and struggling with her diagnosis
She went untreated for two years (somehow her results were missed) so when she was given the diagnosis formally (about 4 years ago) everything seemed to be on the assumption that she was two years down the line and knew what it was all about so I think she has missed out on lots of information.
She is not overweight and although relatively fit and healthy she does very little exercise.
She is on medication ( this is constantly changing so wont mention it as for my question it possibly isn't relevant) and takes this daily once or twice depending on what it is.
So, when she wakes she takes her blood levels, usually around 9 o'clock and usually around 9, she then eats something like porridge and then will take it again before lunch and if it is still around the 9/10 mark she feels this is 'about right' and so wont eat then begins to feel unwell so goes to bed...she has don't this today and so took her blood test again and it is still 10, so now she hasn't eaten since 9 this morning and isn't keen to eat again till her evening meal when she will take more medication which she thinks is the balance, ( eating highers/medication lowers)
I feel that she is making herself ill and that all the while she went undiagnosed although she was diabetic she didn't know and so carried on here everyday life as usual, eating normally, not worrying, even the odd cream egg ( or three) didn't seem to bother her, now she has been told she has completely become obsessed with what and when she eats and actually seems to be suffering more and depriving herself of food, at 79 it all seems unfair that she should have here life dominated by this and every mouthful worried about.
I don't know what to suggest to her so hope to get some real life advice rather than the pats on the back that the health professionals seem to give her, without understanding how much of her daily life is being affected by blood tests and worry.
Any/all advice / meal suggestions accepted...thank you
 
Hi @mandyreid,

I am pleased that you are trying to help mum.
Medications are usually given to build up in the system rather than taking them when your blood sugars are high.
It might be a good idea to mention her medication regime as people will advise you.

There is some basic information that the forum provides and I will tag @daisy1 to provide it for you.
Mum needs to be able to eat her meals throughout the day and keep away from junk foods, including cream eggs. An occasional one as a treat is OK but three at one sitting will raise her blood sugars considerably.

Carbs are the ones that she will have to eat smaller portion of or restrict and until she does some extensive testing she will not know which ones are problematic for her.
Some people can eat porridge, some people cannot unless they add seeds and nuts to it. Others just cannot tolerate it regardless of how they dress it up. It is the same with bread, rice, pasta and cereals.
Once you read the information provided and have had a good look around the forum then come back with any questions that you may have. We are here to help.
 
Thanks I will check out that link.
Just to add, she doesn't eat cream eggs now, quite the opposite, now she restricts everything she eats.
My point was that when she had diabetes and didn't know her it as no one had told her health/lifestyle was more relaxed and her eating was unchanged (she ate what she wanted when she wanted it) and didn't seem to be as troublesome as it is now that she is on medication and watching what she eats.
Thanks for the reply
 
Well done for helping your mum.

She obviously has a meter, so ask her to use it to test out her meals rather than random testing that means very little. If she tests immediately before she eats then again 2 hours after her first bite, she will see what that meal has done to her levels and will be able to adjust the food for the next time. The rise needs to be as little as possible, and anything above 2mmol/l is not good. She should also try to keep her levels down under 8 or thereabouts at all times, preferably a low lower.

Missing meals isn't good because our livers produce glucose naturally and send this into our systems if it thinks we need food for energy. These liver dumps can be quite significant, so eating 3 meals a day evenly spaced is a good way to go.

Have a go at the testing before and after, write down the levels and keep a bit of a food diary. Patterns will soon emerge and she can learn from them. She may well find porridge is going to be a big no-no, but could swap it for a boiled egg, eggs any which way, bacon and eggs, yogurt (unsweetened of course) with 3 or 4 berries added (raspberries and strawberries are best)
 
mandyreid said:
Hi
I am trying to understand how to help my mum, she is 79 and struggling with her diagnosis
She went untreated for two years (somehow her results were missed) so when she was given the diagnosis formally (about 4 years ago) everything seemed to be on the assumption that she was two years down the line and knew what it was all about so I think she has missed out on lots of information.
She is not overweight and although relatively fit and healthy she does very little exercise.
She is on medication ( this is constantly changing so wont mention it as for my question it possibly isn't relevant) and takes this daily once or twice depending on what it is.
So, when she wakes she takes her blood levels, usually around 9 o'clock and usually around 9, she then eats something like porridge and then will take it again before lunch and if it is still around the 9/10 mark she feels this is 'about right' and so wont eat then begins to feel unwell so goes to bed...she has don't this today and so took her blood test again and it is still 10, so now she hasn't eaten since 9 this morning and isn't keen to eat again till her evening meal when she will take more medication which she thinks is the balance, ( eating highers/medication lowers)
I feel that she is making herself ill and that all the while she went undiagnosed although she was diabetic she didn't know and so carried on here everyday life as usual, eating normally, not worrying, even the odd cream egg ( or three) didn't seem to bother her, now she has been told she has completely become obsessed with what and when she eats and actually seems to be suffering more and depriving herself of food, at 79 it all seems unfair that she should have here life dominated by this and every mouthful worried about.
I don't know what to suggest to her so hope to get some real life advice rather than the pats on the back that the health professionals seem to give her, without understanding how much of her daily life is being affected by blood tests and worry.
Any/all advice / meal suggestions accepted...thank you
Click to expand...

You state that your mother feels unwell, and goes to bed. At what time does this tend to happen, and how long is that since she would have last eaten?

Whilst I empathise it is unfortunate that your mother feels her life is dominated by her diabetes, but the harsh facts are that in many ways it needs to be that way, until she gets a handle on what adversely affects her. Once she knows that, she can avoid those foods, and begin enjoying her life a bit more.

I don't know if your mother lives with you (or vice versa), or how involved you or she wants you to be, but I would suggest if your mother can collate some detailed records of what she is eating and drinking, and her testing results, some things are likely become clearer in the shorter term. If your mother isn't a computer or tablet user, her records can easily be a small note book she keeps with her.

Good luck to you both.
 
@mandyreid

Hello Mandy and welcome to the forum :) I'm glad you are helping your Mum and I hope the replies you have had will help her. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful while looking after Mum. Ask as many questions you need to and someone will come and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Hi and welcome. Yes, can you give us a bit more information if you can on her medication including diabetes medication. Also is she on any steroids?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. Its great to see you being pro-active about your mother's diabetes, hopefully you will find some helpful information from our many knowledgeable members.
 
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