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My mother recently diagnosed with Diabetes I am not sure how to handle this!

saaraj

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
My mother who is over 60 years old now has been diagnosed with Diabetes. She happened to have gone for a checkup and then got her sugar tests done with the automatic machine. Sugar levels detected were high. Now she is under immense pressure of taking care of her health amidst the other health ailments like knee pains and all (more on that later).

I must tell you that I am from India and my mother lives in MH state.

In our locality the Ayurveda doctors are highly regarded. I am not sure if Alopathic treatment will have any side effect on her body as she is already consuming lots of medicines for other ailments like knee pain, etc.

Shall I resort to herbal medicines (Ayurveda) for her? Any suggestion?
 
Hi @saaraj ,

A warm welcome to the forum.

I'll tag in @daisy1 with an information sheet.

There will be more advice & thoughts along soon.!
 
@saaraj

Hello and welcome to the Forum To help you to help your Mother, here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 well over 245,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Sorry to hear about your Mother, you must be very worried. I have not heard of any herbal remedies that would help with Diabetes except perhaps for cinnamon and turmeric but perhaps there are some in Ayurvedic medicine, putting the question to Google or any other search engine would give you more information, I'm sure. Perhaps use the search function on this forum for more advice. I hope that your Mother can get her blood sugar levels under control soon and that she feels better for it. Best wishes.
 
I read a story from an Indian man with type1 diabetes, so different from your situation. But maybe it is helpful to read, as there might be similarities like the ayurveda approach or maybe some cultural aspects. I'll post a link (hope that's allowed, have been looking for the forum rules but can't find them) and I hope you and your mother will be well! https://beyondtype1.org/sugar-diagnosed-diabetes-india/
 
Jaylee said:
Hi @saaraj ,

A warm welcome to the forum.

I'll tag in @daisy1 with an information sheet.

There will be more advice & thoughts along soon.!
Click to expand...
Thanks Jaylee, first I am glad to see there were few responses tomy post when I logged in back to check the status of my post. I am hopeful to get some insights from the tips and experiences of the fellow forum members.

Thanks again for the warm welcome...cheers!
 

Thanks a lot. Yes we are concerned with the issue of her health (well it is more of her since she is a sort of self dependent person and now she is feeling that she will be dependant on someone else for treatment and other daily chores due to pure health) . My mother herself tried to do some research over internet on how to control Sugar levels using organic diet and exercise, etc. I am helping her to do the further research. I am willing to share the experiences and information we learn here in this fourm to help fellow diabetes patients to get benefit from.

Thanks for all your support and replies...it helps a lot..cheers!
 

Hey, a BIG thanks. The website that you shared is really inspiring. The author of that article is a young guy living in the UK and he himself is a diabetic patient. That site could be a good inspiration source and hub of information for people like us...thanks again for sharing that.
 
Thanks for all the response friends. I was studying about the diet for diabetic people and I came zeroed in on fruits to be eaten if you have a diabetes. So below fruits are known to be safe and healthy.

1. Pomegranates
2. Bananas
3. Berries
4. Grapes
5. Oranges
6. Watermelons
7. Papayas
8. Guava
9. Avocados
10. Peaches
11. Apricots
12. Apples
13. Pears
14. Pineapple

These fruits are filled with nutrients anti-oxidents, fibres, various vitamins (A, C, etc.). Their regular consumption can help you keep your blood sugar levels under control. Natural way of dealing with diabetes, isnt it?
 
Hi @saaraj, yes fruit is healthy, and your blood sugar levels will be under control - if you don't have diabetes.

Alas, having diabetes means your blood sugar levels are affected by fruit, other than berries. It's all about the carb content. Most of us 'spike' (ie have high blood glucose levels) after eating fruit, other than berries. And even then diabetics treating with 'diet and exercise' will portion-control those berries, if they have a low carb count in their diets.

The only way your mother will know is if she does the 'eat and meter' and finds out how she is personally affected by each fruit. It may be that she can take it, without 'spiking'.

I myself love fruit, and have some gorgeous peach and plum trees in the back garden. I deal with it by remembering my childhood with joy, when I ate fruit with abandon, and allowing myself now one piece of fruit off of each tree, per season. I do eat pineapple pieces, ie portion controlled, rather more often. Tiny amounts of banana, ditto. (I would probably have one banana per year, and never a whole banana at once!.) One small orange. Then go for a long walk and do wall press-ups after. That kind of thing.

Avocados - AOK. Many folks in this forum would be lost in food-land without them. Lemons and limes - AOK.

It's all about the carbs.

Saaraj, my daughter too had a hard time when I first got diagnosed. We dealt with our feelings by talking about it a lot, especially in the first year. It has gotten less and less our focus as I have gotten better and better. This is good. She has been a fantastic support to me on my own diabetes journey. I can't imagine my life with this dysfunction without the wonderful support I had, and have, from her (along with my partner). I am very keen that she doesn't also get T2D, and we have gone on now to focussing on her prevention! Which is nice for me as a mother.

I think it is wonderful that you are so caring of her, and finding out about what diet she should eat now. And fantastic that you found this forum!
 

See https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb for which food and fruit is low carb.

You should avoid bananas and grapes as they are very high sugar. Berries are ok as are avocados. The issue is not if the food is "healthy", but does it raise your blood sugars. Most fruit does raise your blood sugar quite a lot.
 

Hi saaraj
The only fruits on your list that I would eat regularly are berries, avocados and occasionally half an apple, or half an orange, pomegranate or half a pear. I also enjoy a few cherries.

All the others impact my blood glucose far more than I like.

However, there are a lot of other fruits that I have in my diet that I can eat regularly, and without blood glucose spikes.
These include tomatoes, courgettes (zuccini), aubergines (egg plants), red, yellow and green peppers, chillis, okra.
They are all highly nutritious, and often have better nutrition than sweet tropical fruit, as well as having less sugar.
If I am going to eat sweet fruit, I keep it to small portions, after a meal, and often put cream on top, since this helps to slow the speed the sugars get dumped into the bloodstream.

I would suggest that if you are going to give your mother any sweet fruit at all, that you give her very small portions, and test her blood glucose at 30 minutes, and 45 minutes, to see how high her blood glucose goes. Fruit is a very quick digesting food, and if you test her blood at the normal 2 hours, you will have missed the spike completely.
 

Anything but ... learn from here, not websites that promote this rubbish. Ask when you need to of course, but this is garbage other than the exceptions listed by others
 
How I do it: Many carbs = higher blood sugar. No carbs = eat as much as you want. Few carbs = eat but don't overdo it. If you want to know how many carbs in a food you can just google 'carbs banana' or 'carbs fish' or whatever and google will give you a number. If you google lots of different foods you will get an idea of what foods have a lot of carbs and what foods don't. Allow yourself mistakes! Good luck and try not to get overwhelmed with information!
 
 
Very touchy reply (especially the part where you said you have trees in your backyard where you recall your childhood. You have that luxary . Secondly your daughter is too caring and that is a good support you have.) Now coming to the point - I agree that its all about Carbs and if we consume some excess carbs then we should do some workout or walk to digest it. I will do the same with my mother. Thanks again for the detailed reply...I really appreciate!
 
Agreed, I agree with you that not all fruits are good for diabetics (especially those containing high sugar content), and thanks for sharing the website for reference. I will surely go through it. Cheers!
 
 
Thanks for the reply. Your though of - "Many carbs = higher blood sugar. No carbs = eat as much as you want. Few carbs = eat but don't overdo it" is indeed logical. I will do some research on it. One other member has shared a link on this and I am going to refer that too. Meanwhile thanks again for the communication.
 
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