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I am worried about my husband !

F

Flow2512

Member
Good evening all, The doctors have said that my husband has type 2 diabetes, he has been on metformin for a couple of years now, but the doctors keep saying they want his sugar levels to be under 7, otherwise they want to give him either more tablets, as well as the metformin or statins.

We have tried very hard, this last couple of months, to cut out sugar, we don’t eat take aways or lots of pastry type foods, but he is old fashioned in his eating and likes meat, potatoes and veg, he doesn’t like chick peas, rice, pasta, or linguines !

He is 74, still works nearly full time and in an active job, when we started, to try and cut more sugar out of his diet, he weighed 11.07 and is 6’1” and as of today he weighs 10.08, he has never been overweight and definitely doesn’t need to lose any more weight, but whatever I seem to feed him, seems to set the GCM off, and after meals, it raises up to 12 and beeps at him continually until it comes down below 10,
Is this ok, to go so high ? Or what should the readings be ?
Nobody has ever explained, what the readings should be, the doctor kept saying, they would let us both go to a ‘Desmond course’ but it’s never come off .

My husband had a very bad accident, about 7 years ago and he broke all his ribs, punctured lung and damaged his liver, etc., so that is why we think, he has diabetes, because of his injuries affecting his pancreas, so I want to understand, if this is the case, then no amount of us controlling food and sugar, is going to help ?
I’m so sorry, for such a long post !
 
Hi @Flow2512 ,

Welcome to the forum.

Your husband sounds a little like my dad back in the day who retired thrice & was T2.
I’m no doctor. But I can’t see how smashed ribs can mess up the pancreas unless you mean his abdomen was crushed?
I’ve busted a few ribs in my time…(big fuss about my spleen at the time.)

It’s great your husband has a CGM to measure what his blood is doing..
Does he also use insulin???

I’m going to tag in some respected T2 members (I’m type 1.)

@KennyA @Rachox @lovinglife there will be many more…
 
Thanks for the tag @Jaylee . Hi @Flow2512 if your husband wants to avoid more medication, just a few tweaks to his diet will help. Stick with the meat and veggies, but cut out the potatoes. Try to go for over ground veggies like cauliflower, cabbage and brocolli, avoid root vegetables. This will cut down on his carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates turn to sugar when digested.
I agree with Jaylee that his diagnosis is unlikely to be connected to his injuries. I tried to blame all sorts for my diagnosis but soon came to realise that it didn’t achieve anything and I needed to look forward and sort it out.
Also to mention that other things that can put up blood sugars are stress, poor sleep and statins. All add to the puzzle, but good he has a CGM so he can learn what affects him and enable him to make adjustments.
 
Thank you for your reply, he got crushed between two trucks, which did A Lot of damage, to his insides.
I do feed him well, it he is losing weight and he cannot continue to lose weight, he has lost around 1 stone, over the last two months, and wasn’t overweight to start off with !
but I don’t know what to give him, that doesn’t spike him, to put weight on him ?
 
As your husband is not on medication that can cause hypos, he could benefit from lower carb diet. So less potatoes bread, highly processed foods, and increase veg, meat, leafy veg, and, (this is a surprise to many) fats , such as cheese, olive oil, nuts, seeds.
There is some info in my signature at the end of this post you and he may find useful.
 
Flow2512 said:
but I don’t know what to give him, that doesn’t spike him, to put weight on him ?
Click to expand...
If you reduce carbs you do reduce calories which in your husband’s case is not wanted. The carbs need to be replaced with more protein and fats. Little things like adding some butter or grated cheese to his veggies or larger portions of the meat element of the meal.
 
Flow2512 said:
he got crushed between two trucks, which did A Lot of damage, to his insides.
Click to expand...
Crickey.. I’m sorry to hear that.

Stressing again i’m not a doctor or any form of HCP. & although 12mmol is above what it should be but not massively high. Still above what it should peek at.
Loosing out on rice or pasta isn’t doing any harm. Above ground veg & possibly subbing spuds for celeriac could help?

Is your husband thirster than usual with the weight loss? Maybe needing to pee more..??
 
Hi @Flow2512 welcome to the forum. Your husband sounds as if he is tall and thin if I'm reading your numbers correctly. And he is active. There are many thin diabetics. We often read on the internet about weight and inactivity, but unfortunately those two factors can vary considerably There are members here who are lean and fit and have raised blood sugars. I'm one of them.

If you don't mind me asking what was his last HbA1c result?

How high your blood sugars go is generally dependant on the type of food you eat. If I have something like bread, it shoots up. It can go into the mid teens. Fruit like grapes or fruit juices, such as orange juice, can shoot your blood sugars up. They do for me, but we are all different.

Has he experimented with different food to see what sends his blood sugars up high, and what sends his blood sugars up moderately or barely? The type of food we eat has a big impact on blood sugars. Medications too can also play a part in blood sugar regulation. The best example is cortisol, a steroid which is used for a number of health problems can have a significant effect.

As for his pancreas, I would think, if it is related to his accident, then he would have had issues soon after his accident, however, I am not a Dr, so if that is a concern then a medical professional is the way to go.

If your husband's diabetes is caused by the type of food he is eating then there is plenty of things he can do. Joining the forum would be very useful for him, then he will be with members who have gone through, and going through the same things he is going through. If you are the main person who cooks, then if you look through some of the food forums you will see lots of great diabetes friendly recipes and ideas to try.
 
Hi, just to say I am no expert, but noting my personal experience reducing excessive glucose spikes. I also don't need to lose weight, but do need to cut down on carbs, but not cut out entirely, which left me losing weight and feeling hungry.

If your husband is keen on potatoes, a preparation that works for me, to reduce spiking, is boiling then cooling new potatoes and reheating them, normally sautéed in olive oil.

A favourite is a Spanish omelet with potatoes and veggies like red pepper, kale or spinach and onions sautéed, then egg added and topped with grated cheese. Put a lid on the pan and cook at lowish heat for about 5 minutes for a 2 egg omelet, allowing the cheese to melt.

I also freeze sliced sourdough bread, then defrost and toast it. A small portion works for me, if with butter or avocado, say, and otherwise few carbs.

The theory is, reheating cooked potatoes and toasting frozen bread increase resistant starch, lowering the GI. Obviously you have to experiment, to see if it works for him. Good luck.
 
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Pipp said:
Would your husband be able to join the forum and ask questions for himself, @Flow2512 ? It could help him to get control of his blood glucose levels, if he has some reading and conversations with members.
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No, he won’t, he isn’t into ‘technology’ that’s why I have joined, to try and help, as I do all the cooking !
my biggest need, is to make him his meals, but so that he can gain weight, as we have been cutting out all the sugar and cutting down on carbs, etc but he is still losing weight and he is getting too slim, he wasn’t overweight and never has been.
 
He does pee a lot, especially at night, sometimes, he is up 4-5 times a night, he doesn’t seem thirstier, and I know he doesn’t drink enough, I. Forever giving him a bottle of water, to take with him!
 
Cut the carbs, up the fats and protein. Skip the potatoes, pasta, bread etc, add in extra above-ground veg, meat, eggs, full fat dairy, fish and poultry. If he wants to stop losing weight. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some. Remember, everything is better with bacon.
 
Has your husband ever been tested for type 1 or type 3c diabetes @Flow2512

I'm not medically trained, but with him continuing to lose weight and weeing a lot, it would be worth getting checked out, if he hasn't already been.
 
Do you happen to know his HbA1c results @Flow2512 ? I know I asked you in an earlier post, but it would be helpful to know where he is at with his blood sugars . If his HbA1c is high and he is losing weight, and on a low carb diet then he might want to push for a C-Peptide test. A C-peptide test is an indicator as to how much insulin his body is producing. If you don't know or prefer not to say as it's his results not yours, absolutely no worries.
 
Hopeful34 said:
Has your husband ever been tested for type 1 or type 3c diabetes @Flow2512

I'm not medically trained, but with him continuing to lose weight and weeing a lot, it would be worth getting checked out, if he hasn't already been.
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I have to admit.
I’m not one to jump to conclusions regarding the status on an official diagnosis.
However. I’d be interested in a settlement with a C-peptide with what’s actually happening in the insulin production department?
 
Sorry to hear your husband is having a tough time. Testing is good as you can get an idea what you can or can't eat.
Also he just needs to change his thinking. Not easy I know.
Put on the plate what he can eat. Since being a type 2 I have some strange recipes. eg spag bol without the spag!
Roast dinner with out the potatoes. I do have occasional carrot and parsnip.
It might seem unbearable at times and difficult eating out. Try a cafe who does cooked breakfast, no bread or beans.
The very best of luck. Once he gets his numbers down he will see it is working.
I put on weight eating too much cheese!
 
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