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Hi from Helen.

Garth's Wife

Garth's Wife

Newbie
Hi to everyone on the forum, my name is helen but that was taken,
I am new here. My husband (by common law) (5 years) has had type 2 diabetes for long before I knew him. He also has aspergers (which is a real thing even though it is no longer a diagnosis) He's very intelligent but also Very emotionally withdrawn, even with me (common to aspies) So he does binge eat, especially at night. His doctor (and He) noticed his blood sugar suddenly went a little higher, actually he started testing himself again, and she started adding bloodsugar meds one after the other. Actually she is not a doctor but a prescribing nurse. For the last month he has been in so many different kinds of pain this formerly VERY strong physically man can barely go outside and spends a great deal of time in bed. Its very sad. Only last night I read about the effects of insulin and other diabetes drugs on the body and what they will do and what the eventual outcome will be. I want to get him OFF of all of them. ASap. hIS Jaw and neck muscles hurt, his joints are constantly "killing" him, and his stomach is never ever right but very painful and nauseaus. I DO need every bit of advice on how to get him off these meds safely now or little by little. hE IS 52 and still has a lot he wants to do. I never dreamed the drs were prescribing such sh__. pArdon my half deleted french.
GARTHS WIFE (hELEN)
 
Hi and welcome. First, diabetes itself rarely exhibits the symptoms you are seeing unless it is very advanced and neuropathy has started. It would be useful to know more exactly what medicine he is on. Januvia is normally well tolerated with a few exceptions; I was on it for 2 years. It stimulates the pancreas to produce a bit more insulin after a meal. You mention other injectables in your info and I assume these aren't insulin as you don't list that. They may be Byetta or Victoza if diabetes related. These commonly do have side effects so do read the leaflets. These injectables are normally prescribed it you have high blood sugar and are greatly overweight. To try to get out of a vicious circle your partner needs to seriously reduce the carbs in his diet and make up with protein and fats as well as veg and non-tropical fruit. If he is able to get the weight down then the meds may be reduced. Is he on statins? These can cause serious symptoms in a few people similar to those you mention. Statins have nothing to do with diabetes and if these have been prescribed, do discuss coming off them with the nurse for a trial period. Note that insulin itself is a good medicine to have. It's only action is to reduce blood sugar and has no harmful effects other than possible hypos if too much is taken. Note that my comments assume your partner has no other 'hidden' health conditions so I can only guess as an amateur.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum Helen. Sending you a big hug, you must be stressed to the max at the moment. It may be a long journey but I'm sure with your determination your husband will benefit greatly from your help. There is a wealth of information on the forum, I find it good to use the search feature to look for specific threads or to just browse through all the different forums as there are just so many. You should look into the LCHF way of eating as it might be beneficial for both your husband and yourself. The hardest part will undoubtedly be trying to curb his binge eating which will be a challenge in itself. I personally like sweet treats every now and again so I keep lots of low carb baking in the freezer so if I feel like a muffin or slice I can still eat it with minimal effect on my BS. I will tag @daisy1 to post you some great information to read.
 
@Garth's Wife

Hello Helen and welcome to the forum :)

To add to the advice given above, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It should help you on the diet side. Ask as many questions you want and someone will 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.
 
Thank you very much Daisy. The only types of Diabetes I knew about were type 1 and type 2. When I read that a lot of doctors and other people do not look favorably upon insulin type treatments, because diabetes is a insulin resistant disease, I was really confused, and worried. My husband hasn't had sugar in two days now and he is cutting back on his meds. Maybe this is the worst idea ever, but he is on FIVE meds, three pills and two injectibles all at just about full strength, and his sugar cravings were getting worse and worse. When I read a little about pendulum of insulin meds causing low blood sugar I started to understand. I just thought he was in a big hurry to get away from me! He feels a lot better today already, he was in five different kinds of severe pain, and soon he will be ready for an exercise regime. I don't have diabetes, but was on psychological medications for over ten years and got to an enormous weight. I finally kicked them all, feel so much saner, and my body can move again. Got a total gym and a protein shake and lost 28 pounds in two months. I am almost ashamed to say I had gotten up to 384 but there was absolutely no losing weight with abilify or geodone, so take care of yourself and keep your sanity by being happy. Those drugs do cause metabolic syndrome, along with a lot of others, and they cause diabetes.
 
Hi @Garth's Wife, he needs to see a doctor, preferably one who already knows him, NOT a prescribing nurse. It sounds to me like he may have another health issue, and even relatively minor ones can cause his blood sugars to rise. Sue xxxx
 
Hi Helen, if you haven't already done so, you might want to get tested for diabetes too.

I agree that AAP meds like the two you mention do cause metabolic issues in many people, and should be used with a lot of caution because of that. I don't believe they cause those issues in everyone though. Just people with other risk factors like family history or pre-existing obesity.
 
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