mum with type 2

[paganlass]

hi i am looking for sum advice about my mum. she was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 yrs ago and she still hasnt cum to terms with it. she now has to take insulin injections 3 times or more each day. i dont kno how she went from manageing it with diet to insulin but since she went on it she has been really ill! she cannot stand due to the wobbles ( as she calls them) she alwys feels sick and she still cannot understand the insulin to food ratio. she has been on insulin for about a year. what i want to kno is how to help her. the doctor and the dietitian are useless! she is getting worse and her blood suger ranges from 17 to 23 and that we are told is high. what should it be?? please help we are at the end of our tether!
thanks p.

 

[IanD]

Sorry to hear that, P. Our blind friend Sarah has type 2 for over 10 years - she was threatened (yes threatened) with insulin if her BS measurements didn't improve. (Finger measurements around 10, HbA1c=9) Once a day insulin worsened her control to 10-20 - HBA 11-12. The district nurse comes in every day, measures the BS & writes it in the book. They don't seem to care, & they rebuke her if I do a measurement & write it in the book. If they knew anything about diabetes, they would welcome additional readings.

How can we help? You are not alone in feeling frustrated.

Readings above 10 are too high - in fact above 7. Complications started for me with HBA of 6.8.

What does she eat? A reduced carbohydrate diet would be a good start. But if she is elderly & ill, carbs are the easy way to eat & lead to more trouble.

To be able to advise, we need to know more about her,
age & general competence
BS readings - overnight fasting, 2 hours after eating, & at bedtime
Her diet
Her last HbA1c
what other medication is she on

 

[paganlass]

thanks ian. at least i kno someone is out there. i took my mum to the doctors today and asked him about her insulin ect and he didnt have a clue! she was told initially to take her bloods just after her insulin, which i now kno is wrong ( only thro reading this site) so her levels where always sky high the other day it was 27!!. i have now looked at this site and found she is to take it b4 the insulin and 2 hrs after eating.she has done this today and her levels have been 11.7 all and 11.9 tonite which is really good for her, she also feels much better.i have told her that the amount she eats has an affect on the amount of insulin she must take. she has been taking too much insulin for too little food and visa versa i think?? she also takes metformin. she didnt even kno why she had to carry glucose tablets!
but i didnt kno that too many carbs can cause problems i thought diabetics had to eat more carbs than the rest of us!
i kno i have a lot to learn i just hope i can learn it all b4 its too late.
p.

 

[ChocFish]

Hi paganlass

I feel really sorry for you and your Mum, it truly sounds as if she has been given all the outdated, wrong advice that the NHS has been handing out for far too long now. Read the posts in this thread, you might pick up some advice that suits you too, its a personal thing really, finding ones own path through all the maze of advice and picking out the bits and pieces that work for you/your Mum.

But do not worry, it is never to late to make a fresh start, you have found this forum now and both you and your Mum will find lots of help in here I am sure of it, try and get hold of the book by Dr Bernstein The Diabetes Solution and also there are some books by Dr Charles Clarke, they are actually reduced in price from amazon at the moment, here is the link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books/s?ie=UTF8 ... ARK&page=1

Your Mum will begin to feel better once she has managed to reduce her bg and keeps them stable, but you must be patient, it will not happen overnight and also its possible that at first she will feel a bit odd because her body will be used to having really high bg levels.
Just keep coming here to this forum and you will find that there is so much really good support for you.
All the best
Karen x

 

[paganlass]

thanks karen, i do feel better now ive found this site. since i took over helping mum her bg levels are coming down! and your rite she does feel a bit odd and i said it probably because her body has to get used to the lower bg level. so thanks to this foram i/we are finally on the rite track! i feel much more positive and so does mum.i kno we probably have a ways to go but at least i can look on here for help.
p. x

 

[totsy]

hya paganlass,
glad the forums helping, any more questions just ask,you will get lots of good advice here

 

[paganlass]

thanks totsy, im realising just how much help there is on this site. much more help than i got at mums docs this week he didnt even seem to kno anything bout diabetes!!
p.x

 

[hanadr]

Hi paganlass
Are you able to go to the clinic with your Mum?
If her GP hasn't refered her, you'll have to organise that first.
If she's not managing, She needs help. It looks like you will be the one to get it for her.
could you also steer her towards a lowered carb diet.
I don't know her age, but perhaps you could remind her that in Grandma's day, they knew that too much, bread, potatoes, rice or pasta wasn't good for you.
Is she mentally well or could she be suffering from depression? That would make her unable to cope.

 

[paganlass]

hi hanadr, i am going to go with her this next visit to the hospital diatitian. i didnt kno that i could before. she doesnt have any mental problems but she has baan very depressed about not gettin it right.she has no help from medical professionals and her appointments are 6-9 months apart and i think that is ridiculous! ive started her on a low carb diet today and already she is seeing the difference its amazing. and her bloods have gone down aswell! im stunned. thanks!
p.