Hi & Help

[belladub]

Hi folks,.

I am the wife of a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic,.
I have reached a ridiculously high level of frustration with my other half, who, god love him, does try, but I do not think he is getting all the help he needs.
He has been in a really bad mood for the last few weeks due to not knowing what he can and can not eat. He has an appointment with the dietician, but that is not for 6 more weeks, and in the mean time, I have been scouring the internet for eating plans but getting branded products mostly american everywhere I go.
I do all the cooking at home and I would not use premade food for the rest of us, I prefer to prepare fresh every day, there are the exceptions obviously, but I don't see how giving my husband pre made food is going to help him much.

I am propobly making him sound like an old useless man, he isn't he is only 42, a big tall strapping guy, who just seems to have been bowled over by this disease. His feet are constantly numb, his energy levels are rubbish, and he tries really hard not to touch the BOLD groups, but he just looks so bloody miserable.

If anyone could suggest menu planners that actually make sense (some of them I read were like how to build a nuclear arsenal) I would be greatly appreciative.
I could just be looking in the wrong places,.

Many thanks

Bella

 

[cugila]

It's not menu planners he needs.....in any case what is good for me might not be good for him. We are all different and how we react to different foods is an individual thing. Something he needs to work out. What he needs is just some basics and good solid advice in how to deal with the Diabetes, plenty of support too. He will get all that on here, I hope he gets to see what we say.....?
Here is the advice we hand out to newly diagnosed Type 2's. Have a read and see what might be helpful.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.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.

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.

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 affect 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 !!

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

Ken / Sue.

 

[Cowboyjim]

I sympathise... but in reverse... I have the T2 and test my wife's endurance too many times than I should but we soldier on.
I too have looked around for helpful menus and books etc. Most are either wrong or inconvenient. There's four of us and we're not rich or american so accommodating my dietary requirements can be a pain.
I concur that self-testing is important as is not believing everything you are told especially by the well-meaning NHS. Likely your appointment with a dietician will not yield the best results either. Read around this forum to find out others' experiences.
I have a three part approach: metformin, diet (low carbs) and exercise. I have a meter but I don't use it every day but each to his own. Your hubby should get one and see what his levels are when he feels tired. Likely it will be high, maybe double figures. That means a change of direction. The aforementioned methods should bring down the levels and make him feel less tired. There will be positive reinforcement which should improve his mood.
As to meals I think you find some good advice here but no week-long plans AFAIK. These are something you have to arrive at by personal trial and error. There's no one size fits all but some general points help us all. So as they said above reduce your bread, pasta, rice, floury things etc as well as some fruits and of course sugary things. But I find you can have some of all of these provided it isn't too much. For example try a chicken curry with a bit of rice, maybe a popodom and small naan. Then add some broccoli, cauli etc. But likely no bombay potatoes for example. Tandoori chicken is OK for many. The sauces can be the problem. Then I take a metformin and do my cross trainer for up to 10 mins mild effort within the next hour or so, maybe a walk. For pud have double cream on strawberries or other berries.
Hope this helps but remember, this is my opinion... the fundamental thing to get over is that while DM is a life-changer it can be kept under control. Do a little a day and the improvement will encourage you and him. ATB! 8)

 

[Shax72]

Hey Hey,

I've been diabetic since 1984 - I'm 38 and have struggled with control over the years. At the minute all things are quite well settled apart from the odd bad day.....stressy at work and home !!!! I always found that with high BM's - a bowl of tomatoes lowered the reading drastically along with a few pints of water. Dont ask me if it will work with everyone, the water will work because it means you are flushing your system. My old Specialist was suprised at the tomato claim, but as a kid it worked !!!

 

[Synonym]

Hi Belladub and welcome.

This is a brilliant place to get help and information so have a really good read around the various threads and ask whatever questions you need to ask as there is usually someone around who can help. 8)

 

[Ardbeg]

Hi folks,.

I am propobly making him sound like an old useless man, he isn't he is only 42, a big tall strapping guy, who just seems to have been bowled over by this disease. His feet are constantly numb, his energy levels are rubbish, and he tries really hard not to touch the BOLD groups, but he just looks so bloody miserable.

Bella

Hi Bella,

Yes I can empathise with your other half; been there, done that & got the T shirt.

As has been said above, there is no magic bullet or "one size fits all". What seems to have worked wonders for me was simply sticking to a low carb diet. I've cut out all sweets (chocolate, Mars bars, etc) completely; same with pasta and pizza. I used to live on these things but strangely it wasn't that hard to give them up. I also detoxed for about 6 weeks and no booze :shock: I'm back on it now though, but only red wine (mostly) or sometimes whisky or vodka and Pepsi Max.

Foodwise it's plain and simple. Plenty of fish, white meat and red meat, accompanied by either veg or salad. After 6 months my blood has come down from 11.2 to 6.3, so I guess I must be doing something right.

Stick with this forum and you won't go far wrong; there is a wealth of knowledge and experience on here that you can tap into.