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help and advice needed!

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wolves74

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Hy all my wife was diagnosed with t2 7 weeks ago and she has been told to diet and take metaformin, the reason i need help is that I'm feeling under hyge pressure to keep her on the right tracks! She has list weight and reduced drinking alcoholand she gas done really well and I'm so proud of only problem is that on nights like tonight she wants ti go to town to celebrate a friends birthday and obviously drink as a normal 34 yr old would do but this worrys me to death as last weekend she went on a hen doo and suffered badly the next day with what apparantly was a hypo, so therefore im nagging her about tonight which is causing her to hate me! I don't know where to turn as im not coping well, I dont want her to suffer conllications but I dint want to ruin her life either, I feel so stuck her doctors are not helpfull and everywhere i get info from seems to contradict the other so i feel that I can't help her, for example an introductory magazine told us if sge suffers from High bs and is on metaformin she can not have a hypo this appears not true. I feel si desperate and don't know what to do so i wrote this to see if im on my own. Thanks anyway Dave
 
Hi Dave,

Long term the odd night out isn't going to cause too many problems as long as your wife is generally well controlled then the odd spike isn't such a bad thing, even diabetics need to let off steam (as long as it isnt a regular thing :) ).

As far as hypos go everyone can have a hypo even non diabetics, regardless of medication. Metformin is generally not associated with causing hypos, however your wife may experience either a full blown hypo or hypo symptoms.

In short alcohol being high in carbs will cause sugar levels to rise quite rapidly, and because they are fast acting when you stop drinking your levels can also drop very quickly, so last time your wife had a drink and she was bad she was either as you say having a hypo or it may have been a false hypo.

A false hypo will occur with a blood sugar level above that of an actual hypo and you can experience some or all of the symptoms of an actual hypo, generally this is due to running high blood sugar for a few days and then getting back in control, or if levels drop rapidly from a high to normalish reading.

You didn't say if your wife monitors her levels if she doesn't I would strongly advise that she does, if she does and her levels were around 3.5 then she probably did have a hypo.

I pretty much stopped drinking after diagnosis as it makes controlling levels as a type 2 even harder and it can be hard enough in normal circumstances but if your wife is going to drink then I would advise that she doesn't drink too much and have something to eat before and during the evening so that her levels dont drop suddenly once she stops consuming alcohol.
 
Thank you! You are lovely there is a lot to understand and to take in! I'm sure it will get better with time I'm just so worried about pushing her too far at this stage she recently bought a monitor but she was advised not to by doctors but everyone including her optician says she should. Am sorry to winge on here but I do feel quite desperate and confused.thank you though
 
Hi Dave

I am also a type two. Like your wife I was fanatical at the start (three years ago) - right food, exercise etc.

But it is important to note that you control the disease it should not control you. So in my case I am not so rigid any more; my blood scores are fine and the HbA1c is 6.4.

Its ok to have treats every so often - binging is not good.

Your wife is lucky to have one who cares.

Ceara
 
Welcome to the Forum,

Here is the advice Ken and I give to new Diabetics, hope it helps your wife .

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
I am on Metformin (among other medications) and I always advise against drinking and medicating, but not all have the same atitude towards that issue. As for Metformin and Alcohol, it is usually not necessary to completely avoid alcohol while taking metformin. However, drinking large amounts of alcohol while taking metformin is not recommended (due to the risk of lactic acidosis which can be life threatening). Be sure she asks her doctor if it would be okay to drink alcohol while taking this drug. Her doctor understands her particular situation and is in the best position to factor in all of the variables (including other medical conditions or other medications she may be taking) before giving recommendations about metformin and alcohol.
 
Hello Dave
Some people have actually found that alcohol can stablize ther scores :D If you take a backseat for now ( encourage her to use diet mixers rather than alcopops lager or beer ) Then next morning get her to test :idea: keep a record of these day after levels. Don't nag or winge at her as that night out time is her night off from diabetes . If you really want to assist her get involved with the diet side of it :D
Hope this helps JF
 
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