Spiralling Health Problems

[svalentine60]

@svalentine60 I find veggies on their own too dry too. The good news is that you can put butter on them. Don't be afraid of the calories, just try it. As long as your carbs are low enough the fat will be fine and it will also fill you up so that you don't need to snack or stay hungry.

T

Ungrateful? Incredibly gracious of you I would have said @svalentine60 ...

Thank you Mike x

 

[Diakat]

Losing a child is never easy, it is natural to want to talk about her - and perhaps talking can help you move on from the grief. My grandmother lived for over 20 years after my mother died and still spoke about her. We are not supposed to outlive our children and the pain must be intense. However, she would probably be appalled that you are harming yourself with high sugars because of the grief. Hope the GP can help a little.

 

[rhubarb73]

Firstly - you have nothing to apologise for. You are finding this (and everything else) difficult and that is natural and understandable.
There is a lot of hope buried in your posts; let's bring it to the surface:
i) You WANT to get better. You clearly do, and are starting to do many of the things that will help you. Well done.
ii) You are seeing and feeling the benefits of adjusting your diet - remember how that feels to be in less pain.
iii) you are testing and that is giving you valuable information - not all your food choices are good choices, you know that, but the test results are telling you that which will help you make better choices.
You are making some mistakes, we all do. You are acknowledging them and coming to share and ask for more advice.
Keep coming back. We are all behind you.
Andy was half-right - You need to have more faith: IN YOURSELF.
You can do this - you have already started. You won't get it right every day.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi,

My diet has been terrible up until a few days ago. I would usually have things like egg, bacon, fried bread etc for breakfast. Or scrambled egg on toast. I was constantly (and still am) hungry within 15 mins of eating no matter how much I'd eaten. I told my doctor i was constantly hungry and never felt full. They said sounded like an eating disorder and i should go to a self help group for it. I didn't think it was a disorder of that kind and literally feel that its my body doing it not my mind. But got no help with that. So the above for breakfast usually. Then i would eat on and off during the day. Nothing to me to have half a packet of digestive chocolate biscuits and a cup of tea. Cream cakes which i get an real urge for. Dinner at around 5pm ish if i can last that long and that will always consist of processed foods like, pies, birds eye prepackaged stuff. A lot of things like spaghetti bolognese or chicken tikka home made with poppadoms and nan bread etc. Often take aways. Chip shop or indian. A really poor diet. The more I ate the hungrier i was. I have often gone to the supermarket and bought a huge bar of chocolate or other sweet things. I've basically ignored being diabetic for years. With that has come such fatigue and depression. I guess a typicals days diet up until wednesday last week would be (And this is embarrassing)

Sausage, egg, tomato, bread and butter for breakfast or scrambled egg on toast
Mid morning would probably find something sweet like biscuits
Lunch could be anything from a sandwich or if i'm out macdonalds, burger king etc
Dinner at around 5pm which could be spaghetti bolognese, curry, processed pies, birds eye stuff etc
Very hungry again by 9pm so would go down and have cheese on toast, sandwich, things like that
I would then often wake in the middle of the night hungry and go down and get yet another snack.

This week I've eaten differently and it has made a difference in my sugars but not by a huge amount. I actually have been taken my sugars for once and writing down what I've eaten but its hard to stick to and on a low income with a student son in the house its difficult for me to buy separate food for myself. Since posting the other day this is what I've eaten and my sugars.

WED 8TH
Weight 12st 7 3/4
Sugars 13.2 on waking. No food all day until 5pm. Before eating took sugars which were at 8.2. But then had pizza.

THURS 9TH
Weight 12st 7
Sugars 11.7 on waking
Sugars 11.2 at 1.30pm with no food all day.

FRID10TH
Weight 12st 6
Didn't take sugars on waking
Sugars 9.9 at 14.23pm just before eating lunch of chicken and kale
Sugars 9.8 two hours after eating.
8pm Very hungry so ate some cheese, sliced ham and one tomato.
10pm Sugars at 8.7

SAT 11TH
Weight 12st 5 1/4
Sugars in morning 9.4
Ate at 1.30pm. Two pieces of white toast buttered with a slice of ham on each
3.30pm sugars gone up to 13.3
4pm Chicken breast and brussell sprouts. (Dry and horrible with no sauces, gravy etc)
Sugars at 8.3 2 hours later.

SUN 12TH
Weight 12st 4 1/2
Sugars 8.7 in morning
1pm sugars 9.9 still not eaten but they've gone up for some reason.
Sugars taken at 1.25pm just before eating 7.4 (Lowest its been in over a year)
1.30pm 2 buttered wholemeal toast. two scrambled eggs and two grilled bacon.
10.3 sugars taken two hours after eating at 3.30pm

(Thats where it has all gone to pot today. I suddenly couldn't stop myself from eating. Nothing sweet in the house thank goodness but was so hungry i ate beans on two slices of toast and 2 corn on the cobs with lots of butter. Now am sat here full of guilt and angry that i've been quite good for days and ruined it with high carbs. )

Thanks for the help.

Your breakfast seems fine, save for the toast! And believe it or not, if you order a big mac or a big king xl, but ask them to hold the bun... Just end up with the meat, added bacon & cheese, salad and tomatoes, and voila, it *is* low carb. So you can still resort to fast food joints, just don't have the buns with the burgers! (And nix the fries). Have cheese, eggs, olives, nuts, greens, have bacon, have pork scratchings... It's all low carb and won't spike you.

As for mental health; stress impacts bs too, and negatively so. I lost my first fiancé to suicide, 21 years ago. No-one knew how to reach me in the years following that, how to talk about it... I didn't want to be reached either, I just wanted to be where he was! (Almost succeeded too). Everything was black, void, empty. Grief does horrible things to us when we can't work through it. And it doesn't ever really go away, not entirely. But I'm married now and far as I can be with anxiety and a clinical depression, sortof happy. Doug's still important to me, I still love him very much. But I also know he never would've wanted me to hurt as I did. (I think he honestly believed I'd be better off without him. No idea how loved he was, clearly. But depression lies; it told him he was worthless. All the while, he was my world. All too litterally). In any case... After a while I found a grief group made up out of widows, online. We talked, we cried, and eventually, laughed together. I couldn't attend counseling because of my anxiety, but that group was my way to tell my story, let other people know Dougie existed and that he was loved. And it just became a part of who I am. No-one can take that from me; he's a part of me now. Maybe finding a place like this one here would help, but for people in your shoes rather than diabetics? People who know how grief over a child especially, can consume life. And how you need to talk about your daughter without encountering predjudice or judgement, or avoidance... Might help, both with your pain and your bloodsugar. I'm not going to compare my grief to yours, losing a fiancé is very different from losing a child. But I know extreme grief, and stigma, and I just thought I'd mention what helped me back then. As it might help you now.

Big hug,
Jo

 

[rolypolypudding]

Hi,

Have finally decided to get involved with the forum because i seem to making a mess of everything while trying to do it alone and have felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed of my spiralling diabetes type 2 and other health problems due to my own actions. I'm 57, divorced and live with my student son whose 22. I was told i had pre-diabetes a few years ago. Maybe around 5 or 6. Doctor just said i was prediabetic and he'd test me again in a year. Didn't say anything else. What i could do etc to stop becoming diabetic and i knew nothing so off i went and continued to have 4 sugars in my tea and high sugar content junk food on a daily basis. Was then diagnosed diabetic a few months later and again not given much info but given 500mg of Metformin to take a day which kept my sugars at a normal level for quite a while. I have had other health and mental health problems for a few years. I have a severe anxiety disorder, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc. My sugars just kept getting higher. I told my diabetic nurse and doctor many times i was struggling. That i felt constantly hungry even directly after i had eaten. That for some reason i couldn't stop eating sweets, chocolate, white bread etc daily. Nothing much was said so each time i came away feeling alone and on a downward spiral. It got worse and worse. My daughter died at xmas 2015 suddenly and my world collapsed and i feel just as bereft today, every minute of every day. My sugars continue to spiral and i would call myself an emotional eater. My sugars are often on average 12 and upwards when i wake up and haven't eaten since dinner the night before. I now take 9 tablets a day consisting of Metformin, Levothyroxine, Ramipril, Beta blockers, Avarstatin, sitagliptin, Amlodipine. I'm only 5ft 3 and should weigh around 9.5 stone. I weight 12st 7. I have tried every diet known to man and last a whole day sometimes. I've been in a lot of pain lately and my doctor thinks it is likely gallstones but of course my anxiety makes it worse. I have pain in the abdomen, swollen stomach and sore stomach a lot, upper back pain etc and am waiting for a scan which is frightening me because my anxiety makes me think it is something far worse (How can gallstones cause so much constant pain in lots of places etc). I decided yesterday to start intermittent fasting after watching a documentary. Lasted all day yesterday until the evening when i had four slices of high fat pizza. Started again today and at 11am went and had pate on two pieces of white toast. So you can see my struggle. I have no idea how to improve my health, how to lower my sugars. Healthy foods that i enjoy are in the main too expensive for me and everyday I am aware that with all my health problems already at my age, that i am unlikely to see old age unless i do something now. Sorry for the ramble but I do feel a bit better having said it all out loud even if it is online x

 

[old sparky]

Hi,

Have finally decided to get involved with the forum because i seem to making a mess of everything while trying to do it alone and have felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed of my spiralling diabetes type 2 and other health problems due to my own actions. I'm 57, divorced and live with my student son whose 22. I was told i had pre-diabetes a few years ago. Maybe around 5 or 6. Doctor just said i was prediabetic and he'd test me again in a year. Didn't say anything else. What i could do etc to stop becoming diabetic and i knew nothing so off i went and continued to have 4 sugars in my tea and high sugar content junk food on a daily basis. Was then diagnosed diabetic a few months later and again not given much info but given 500mg of Metformin to take a day which kept my sugars at a normal level for quite a while. I have had other health and mental health problems for a few years. I have a severe anxiety disorder, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc. My sugars just kept getting higher. I told my diabetic nurse and doctor many times i was struggling. That i felt constantly hungry even directly after i had eaten. That for some reason i couldn't stop eating sweets, chocolate, white bread etc daily. Nothing much was said so each time i came away feeling alone and on a downward spiral. It got worse and worse. My daughter died at xmas 2015 suddenly and my world collapsed and i feel just as bereft today, every minute of every day. My sugars continue to spiral and i would call myself an emotional eater. My sugars are often on average 12 and upwards when i wake up and haven't eaten since dinner the night before. I now take 9 tablets a day consisting of Metformin, Levothyroxine, Ramipril, Beta blockers, Avarstatin, sitagliptin, Amlodipine. I'm only 5ft 3 and should weigh around 9.5 stone. I weight 12st 7. I have tried every diet known to man and last a whole day sometimes. I've been in a lot of pain lately and my doctor thinks it is likely gallstones but of course my anxiety makes it worse. I have pain in the abdomen, swollen stomach and sore stomach a lot, upper back pain etc and am waiting for a scan which is frightening me because my anxiety makes me think it is something far worse (How can gallstones cause so much constant pain in lots of places etc). I decided yesterday to start intermittent fasting after watching a documentary. Lasted all day yesterday until the evening when i had four slices of high fat pizza. Started again today and at 11am went and had pate on two pieces of white toast. So you can see my struggle. I have no idea how to improve my health, how to lower my sugars. Healthy foods that i enjoy are in the main too expensive for me and everyday I am aware that with all my health problems already at my age, that i am unlikely to see old age unless i do something now. Sorry for the ramble but I do feel a bit better having said it all out loud even if it is online x

Hi there you have joined a great forum for people with Diabetes, I was sceptical at first, as like you I have quite a few issues, but I joined here (on the advice of my GP)
I have not looked back, my depression and anxiety is virtually under control and by going on a low carb intake, I wouldn't say diet as thats the wrong word, I do not take sugar in my tea but perhaps one in coffee,
I used to be quite active but old age takes its toll, My levels were quite high as was my BP and cholesterol but now with all the helpful advice on here My cholesterol is 5.1 my BP 145/79 and my BG levels about 6.8 I am now 72 and apart from sciatica and gout I can still sort out a few jobs around the house and get involved with my grandchildren. (although I do not ride motorcycles or scuba dive anymore)
I know its easy to say but try to cut down on the sugars, get yourself a free testing kit and keep a diary you will see how you are doing on a weekly basis, I was testing myself every day and even got paranoid about it, but now once a month just to see if I am going in the right or wrong direction. Listen to the advice on here and you cannot go wrong.
Good luck and stay well.

 

[Magz2004]

Read the 8 week blood sugar diet by Michael Mosley it will explain the fatty liver, hunger etc and give you hope.

 

[Lisaleo]

Hi guys am also new to this forum and reading this thread has been like my own questions that the original lady posted, iam type 2 and am on insulin my doctor has not really told me about wat to eat so learning about not having carbs is new to me, so thank you to the lady who started this thread, well done to you because by doing this it's helpful to others like me, now I don't wanna take over with my own questions but I desperately need help with this low or no carbs is there somewhere we can see on wat foods are safe to eat and maybe meal ideas and can it be in plain easy so it's not hard to understand cause it can be really difficult to understand all that is good and all that is bad, an am sure the information that anyone can provide here will help more than me, it's good to see another person as well who is asking the same sorta questions so really thank you to the person who started the thread and I really hope you get the help on here, ur not alone believe me x

 

[Tumbleweed2017]

I do try to talk to my son but he is being treated for depression and after 3 years of uni has only one small module to complete to finish and get his degree. He says he doesn't want to do it. He has little patience or empathy for me and can be quite unkind. But i know this is the depression because he is a lovely young man normally. Just not someone who is much interested in me.

Your son might benefit from a low carb diet. Lots of people are using a ketogenic diet (low carb, high fat diet - LCHF) and have discovered that massively reducing carbs and sugar intake, although hard for many sugar addicts to begin with, has an amazingly good effect on lifting depression for many people.

I've picked up loads of tips and recipes from the Low Carb Program linked to by this website :

https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/

It contains loads of recipes for people to download.

I also use DietDoctor :

https://www.dietdoctor.com/

I'm still a newbie at all this, but it is starting to make sense now.

 

[Paul_Harris]

Thank you very much for the fast replies and for making me feel welcome. I will look around the forum and take in the advice you've given me.

Hi @svalentino, I like you I suffer from diabetes type 2, & what your going through, as I also suffer with C.O.P.D & osteoarthritis & had to have an emergency herna operation too on top of all that. During Nov 2015 & March 2016 I in & out of hospital with breathing problems 8 times & a couple of hypo's which I had to be put a life support machine a couple of times in that period. The trouble is I lost over 4 stone in weight, but once I got through all that I put all the weight back on plus a little more. I now have gone onto a diet give me by the consultant at the hospital, & now I've just over a stone again. I also suffer with blood pressure & a couple other things too. Can I say to to try & cut down the sweet things such sugar in tea & coffee & cakes etc, I know it sounds hard but you try & be & think positive. I'm sure that your family & friends can & will try to help out with this. I forgot to say I'm 70 y/o & try to stay active with a couple of clubs I'm involved with. Thoughts are with you. Hope you don't think that I'm having a moan. Paul Harris

 

[pyotrr]

Hi @svalentino and @Lisaleo

You can do this! Take control with calm assertiveness.

This is what to eat and what NOT to eat in pictures :

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/foods

I know it works because I have lost 32lbs since 22nd April.

Good luck!

 

[TriciaWs]

That is a lot to cope with.
I am an emotional eater too. When I was told I had prediabetes a while ago I managed to get it under control, but slipped back into my old eating after.
Then my annual blood test this year went up from normal to diabetic.
I was lucky, my new GP offered support for me to go back on the low carb diet instead of metformin, my diabetic nurse is OK (if not fully supportive of low carb at first) and the dietitian offered a little advice while I taught her about low carb!
Plus my GP gave me a phone number to get an appointment with IAPT to talk about my eating patterns.
I'm a member of the lowcarbprogram - they offer support, meal plans, and a food diary to calculate fats/carbs/protein. And now the sign-up fee can be covered by a prescription.
Within two weeks back on lowcarb my blood sugars were back in the normal range - so I know if I stay firm I can avoid diabetic complications without the drugs. That is a huge incentive.
As for the comfort eating - I have low carb pancakes with fruit sometimes, or low carb cake, and at night I have 1-2 squares of 80% chocolate. Apart from that I find a square of cheese with often shuts up the craving.

The only problem for you might be gallstones - I had my gallbladder out a few years back but before that I had to really limit the amount of fat I ate. It was really annoying to find out that previous low fat diets probably caused them! (Yoyo dieting can cause gallstones.) If you want to go low carb, you really need to good advice on how to do this.

 

[Padraic1308]

Hi,

Have finally decided to get involved with the forum because i seem to making a mess of everything while trying to do it alone and have felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed of my spiralling diabetes type 2 and other health problems due to my own actions. I'm 57, divorced and live with my student son whose 22. I was told i had pre-diabetes a few years ago. Maybe around 5 or 6. Doctor just said i was prediabetic and he'd test me again in a year. Didn't say anything else. What i could do etc to stop becoming diabetic and i knew nothing so off i went and continued to have 4 sugars in my tea and high sugar content junk food on a daily basis. Was then diagnosed diabetic a few months later and again not given much info but given 500mg of Metformin to take a day which kept my sugars at a normal level for quite a while. I have had other health and mental health problems for a few years. I have a severe anxiety disorder, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc. My sugars just kept getting higher. I told my diabetic nurse and doctor many times i was struggling. That i felt constantly hungry even directly after i had eaten. That for some reason i couldn't stop eating sweets, chocolate, white bread etc daily. Nothing much was said so each time i came away feeling alone and on a downward spiral. It got worse and worse. My daughter died at xmas 2015 suddenly and my world collapsed and i feel just as bereft today, every minute of every day. My sugars continue to spiral and i would call myself an emotional eater. My sugars are often on average 12 and upwards when i wake up and haven't eaten since dinner the night before. I now take 9 tablets a day consisting of Metformin, Levothyroxine, Ramipril, Beta blockers, Avarstatin, sitagliptin, Amlodipine. I'm only 5ft 3 and should weigh around 9.5 stone. I weight 12st 7. I have tried every diet known to man and last a whole day sometimes. I've been in a lot of pain lately and my doctor thinks it is likely gallstones but of course my anxiety makes it worse. I have pain in the abdomen, swollen stomach and sore stomach a lot, upper back pain etc and am waiting for a scan which is frightening me because my anxiety makes me think it is something far worse (How can gallstones cause so much constant pain in lots of places etc). I decided yesterday to start intermittent fasting after watching a documentary. Lasted all day yesterday until the evening when i had four slices of high fat pizza. Started again today and at 11am went and had pate on two pieces of white toast. So you can see my struggle. I have no idea how to improve my health, how to lower my sugars. Healthy foods that i enjoy are in the main too expensive for me and everyday I am aware that with all my health problems already at my age, that i am unlikely to see old age unless i do something now. Sorry for the ramble but I do feel a bit better having said it all out loud even if it is online x

 

[ivan 2]

There is a rule of thumb, or golden rule.
FORGET CARBOHYDRATES.
It`s not difficult to find online what`s forbidden for us with type 2.
Very simple rules: NO CARBS.

 

[MICHAELD11]

Thanks everyone. Amazing advice very quickly after posting. I didn't know about low carbs etc so that is something i will put into practise right away. Thank you very much for the help and i'll let you know how i get on.

Hi, the best bit of advice I can give you that hasn't been touched on, is keeping a food dairy and testing
BG at meal times. When you do a dairy and test you will quickly see which foods are having an affact. A

 

[StevePayne]

Hi svalentine60

Only just seen your message, so all I can say is: what everyone already has. You are in the right place, reading this lot. We've been there and taken the advice. Welcome aboard, it'll not be long before you are typing encouraging messages for others

Cheers, Steve

 

[Clairem81]

A huge hug to you for all that you've recently gone through. And it is 'recently' - my mum passed away 20 years ago from diabetes complications and I will always be grieving for her. I had a miscarriage just over a year ago and it exacerbated diabetes in me, as chocolate biscuits and crisps were my comfort food and at the time, comfort food was more important than anything. But then diabetes things got mixed in with depression and being deaf and I didn't know which was which - sleeping a lot, lack of balance, general not feeling good, difficulty driving at night.

As stated above, be kind to yourself. Every day. There will be days that don't work - just hopefully not every day. Many people here do cut out carbs, myself included, and it's hard because carbs are addictive. I'm happy to not eat pasta, potatoes, cereal, but bread, chocolate, biscuits have been a struggle because they are easy to just grab. Changing that habit doesn't necessarily involve eating what some people think of as 'healthy' (salads) - I tend to eat omelettes, fry-ups, lots of meat, bacon (I count bacon as its own food group!), cheese, low-carb jelly with double cream and high-cocoa chocolate grated on top. Make sure you do eat - if you don't, you'll be hungry and more likely to reach for something high carb, as you've found out.

Hi I'm new to the forum but can i ask when did you become deaf as i have a genetic condition of which not much is known about which is predisposed to both deafness and diabetes.

 

[Kishorebatra]

Your main aim should be to control your diabetes, don't worry about your weight as that is often resolved once blood glucose normalizes.
Start your day with a satisfying breakfast, but with only a small amount of carbohydrate. Plan your meals and get rid of the things high in carbohydrate as they cause hunger.
Once you can stop the roller-coaster ride of high carb, high insulin response, low blood sugar, hunger and more carbs you should find it a lot easier - but bread potatoes rice and all things sugary are not your friends and should not be trusted in your diet.

Very true my fasting sugar was 3 month ago 110 now 78 only I have left white rice potatoes

 

[svalentine60]

Hi @svalentino, I like you I suffer from diabetes type 2, & what your going through, as I also suffer with C.O.P.D & osteoarthritis & had to have an emergency herna operation too on top of all that. During Nov 2015 & March 2016 I in & out of hospital with breathing problems 8 times & a couple of hypo's which I had to be put a life support machine a couple of times in that period. The trouble is I lost over 4 stone in weight, but once I got through all that I put all the weight back on plus a little more. I now have gone onto a diet give me by the consultant at the hospital, & now I've just over a stone again. I also suffer with blood pressure & a couple other things too. Can I say to to try & cut down the sweet things such sugar in tea & coffee & cakes etc, I know it sounds hard but you try & be & think positive. I'm sure that your family & friends can & will try to help out with this. I forgot to say I'm 70 y/o & try to stay active with a couple of clubs I'm involved with. Thoughts are with you. Hope you don't think that I'm having a moan. Paul Harris

Thank you Paul.

 

[svalentine60]

Hi svalentine60

Only just seen your message, so all I can say is: what everyone already has. You are in the right place, reading this lot. We've been there and taken the advice. Welcome aboard, it'll not be long before you are typing encouraging messages for others

Cheers, Steve

Thank you x