Strokes and diabetes

[kateincornwall]

My husband saw the cerebrovascular consultant at Plymouth Derriford hospital on Tuesday , I was with him . He had suffered what was at first thought to be a bleed on the brain but following loads of tests and scan , it was declared to have been a stroke as the right hand side of his body has been affected . This wasn't so obvious to us at first as he is disabled with poor mobility but the tests showed clearly what the results of the stroke had been . We now await MRI on brain, heart and neck muscles, he has been given blood thinning medication, plus statins , the whole team were very kind and patient with him , and me too . Thing is , I am a bit cross . My husband is T2 , diagnosed two years ago and given metformin , the nurse he sees gave little help re diet etc . and due to his mobility issues, its hard for him to exercise . I see a senior nurse at the same practice and have found her to be vigilant and helpful , so , when my husbands usual nurse was on maternity leave , he was switched to my nurse who immediately raised the issue of his massively high HbA1c which had been 86 . She prescribed Glicazide but because Paul had already undertaken a low carb diet , it proved too much and he then had hypos so it was stopped, his sugars are now very much reduced and he is on the right path at last . Thing is , the cerebrovascular consultant is 99% certain that Pauls stroke was caused by an elevated BS over a fairly long period of time, he cannot say 100% but seemed pretty convinced , so understandably , I am angry that his former nurse said nothing whilst his blood sugar levels were so massively high for some times . I know there is little we can do , and thankfully, he should make a full recovery in time , it was not a major stroke but enough of one to cause speech problems and confusion as well as some loss of control . Just goes to show that we cant always rely on others , glad to say that my nurse is now taking care of him very well indeed . Sorry, needed a rant .

 

[Winnie53]

Hearing what happened to your husband brings up feelings of frustration for me. If I'm understanding correctly, his A1C of 86 is the equivalent of 13.3 mmol/L (or 239 mg/dL) which is where I was in early February when my diabetes was uncontrolled. Glad he's going to be okay. Hopefully, he'll do better now that he's receiving care from your nurse.

We're in the middle of a bit of a health scare with my husband too. I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now, and I've decided I want to begin going to his doctor appointments for a while. Not because I don't trust him, more because I want to have the opportunity to ask questions and to participate in the decision process.

I wonder, because he's disabled, would it help if you helped him track his blood glucose readings? That's been such a good motivator for me.

 

[kateincornwall]

Thanks for your reply Winnie53 , my husband has signed a confidentiality form which now means that his Doctor and nurses can speak to me directly and I can have full access to his medical records , this helps enormously as the stroke has left him with a shocking short term memory and a degree of confusion , maybe this is something you could think about too ? Hope your husband will be alright , a worry aren't they ?

 

[Winnie53]

Kate, I prefer to address health issues and challenges with diet and supplements. I read, but am unable to fully understand studies, so here's my work around when developing a plan of action: I find and listen to smart people who are specialized in the area I'm trying to learn more about...

Call me crazy, but I always start with Amazon, though I do other internet searches too.

In your case, I'd go to http://www.amazon.com or perhaps, http://www.amazon.co.uk/ in your case and do a search on "stroke". Then I'd start clicking on titles that look interesting. First thing I try to figure out is "What is the author's education background and experience?" I particularly like authors who discuss studies and who reference their work.

Then, I start reading the reviews, beginning with the negative reviews and comments and work my way to the average and positive reviews from there.

Occassionally, reviewers will mention other books or treatments that worked for them, but as I read, I'm constantly evaluating how credible I think the person is, what I think their agenda is, also whether or not the person is saying things that make sense to me within the context of my experiences and what I've learned so far.

I'm not looking for "quick fix", I'm looking for strategies that result in steady progress over time.

This takes me hours, sometimes more than one reading session. But if I pick the right book or books, it really moves me forward in developing a plan of action in partnership with my or my loved one's healthcare professionals. Some books are available used or through my local library.

Now that your husband is taking a blood thinning medication, he won't be able to eat or will need to limit specific foods due to the vitamin K issue. I've also read that it's important to supplement with CoQ10 because statins block the CoQ10 pathway. Do your own reading on this and talk to your husband's doctor.

I remember years ago talking with one mom whose son was badly injured and included a brain injury. At first they didn't know if he'd make it. But he did and they began feeding him through a tube. After a while, the mom, frustrated with her son's lack of progress, began to question the nutritional quality of what he was being fed - (please note, what she did next was against the advice of her son's healthcare professionals; she was told there was a risk of causing an infection which could be very serious) - so she began blending, I think fruits and vegetables, don't remember though, and feeding it to him through his feeding tube, while at the same time keeping the foods, blender, and work area as clean as possible. The transformation in her son was amazing. He began recovering and making progress. I share this only as an illustration of the power of food.

Some people are lucky and have someone in their life who will do this research for them. Never hurts to ask. If you don't have time, perhaps a consultation with a nutritionist would be helpful, whose expertise is broader than diabetes. For a referral to a nutritionist known to be helpful, sometimes a call to a nearby stroke or brain injury education and support group can be helpful. They might know one that's well regarded.

Keeping you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers Kate.

 

[jenrose]

I am not surprised you feel angry about his blood sugars being so high for a long period of time, I would assume they were high to begin with and I would have thought the nurse would of seen him at regular intervals with him having mobility problems and so unable to exercise ? I am glad he now has a different nurse and have found this forum so that you can inform him of about high carb foods and learn more about his diabetes but so sorry he had the stroke and hope he recovers more over time.

 

[kateincornwall]

I am not surprised you feel angry about his blood sugars being so high for a long period of time, I would assume they were high to begin with and I would have thought the nurse would of seen him at regular intervals with him having mobility problems and so unable to exercise ? I am glad he now has a different nurse and have found this forum so that you can inform him of about high carb foods and learn more about his diabetes but so sorry he had the stroke and hope he recovers more over time.

Thank you for your kind reply , I am still very angry indeed but moving forward now and concentrating on him continuing to improve