My needle phobic hubby

Hypoglycemia and Hypergylcemia can only be checked by blood glucose testing. Tagging @daisy 1 for new member information for you.

More information here http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glu...?utm_source=top&utm_medium=dd&utm_campaign=dd

Good afternoon dawnny47 blood sugars to low is hypoglycemia blood sugars to high is hyperglycaemia if you're husband starts feeling hungry shaky sweaty this can mean his sugars are going low but that's how I feel your husband might have different symptoms after all everyone is different hope this may help and good luck with the needle phobia.

Dawny47 said:

Sorry one more thing again , is it important with diabetics to eat breakfast or is it ok not to ?

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It is ok not to eat breakfast if not hungary or any other meal.

Dawny47 said:

So is there any indicators for hyperglycaemia ?

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Thirst, frequent urination. The same symtoms for diabetes.

Dawny try not to worry, make slow changes and get your partners agreement as ultimately he has to want to make the changes.

Part of the problem with carbs is they make you want more. So yes he will crave them. But it doesn't take long after changing for it to stop. Luckily cheese isn't too bad (as far as I know) . It certainly doesn't seem to affect me. High cocoa chocolate in small amounts seems OK too, and doesn't make me crave more.

Dawny47 said:

So is there any indicators for hyperglycaemia ?

Thank you so much everyone for helping me , haven't got a clue what to do x

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Apart from frequent loo trips you can become hot and sweaty and become very irritable and aggressive

I have almost completely lost my taste buds for sweet, sugary things after a year with low carbs and high-ish fats. Which, if you'd known me before diagnosis is a shock to the system.. I do still very occasionally have some cake, but on the whole, I am happier with nuts or one piece of 90% dark chocolate as a snack now. Berries and cream when I feel like pudding, which is now rare.

Dawny47 said:

Wow thank you so much for all of your responses this is all really helpful .

My hubby is awful for sweet things. He loves chocolate , puddings, diet lemonade , full fat coke, but the worst of all is cheese, he will eat at least three blocks a week. I have been at him for ages about his weight and the way he feels i.e falling asleep all the time especially in the afternoons, dizzy, sweaty, but he does crave sugar. The weight is the problem and we know this it's just I want to put him on the right diet that is not going to make his sugar worse. So from what I am reading high fat low carb is the way to go? I think I can manage to get him around to the finger prick test .

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hey cheese is a very fine kind of food for diabetic... it is usually almost without any carbs,,,, so let your husbond eat cheese and also very fatty cheese without telling him not to, it is one of the kinds of foods that really do not raise ones blood glucose,

nuts and avocadoes and eggs and bacon are really also very fine foods for a diabetic and pork scratchings as treats and 85% dark chokolade in smaller amounts are like 10-25 grams are also a fine little treat...

actually coffee with cream is better for him than coffee with milk... and a little handfull of berries with whipped cream is also a good treat... the fat makes the release of the sugar slower and then helps the fruit sugar not to spike the blood as much

when one can not eat much carb one need to eat proteins and fats instead... so please do not restrickt him on fats...

Diet lemonade should be fine. Look for the amount of carbs on the bottle, most diet drinks are zero carb.

Freema said:

here is a link to the absolute best finger pricker which is the one I have myself https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/finger-prickers/fastclix

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I use the Accu-check one myself - its quick and doesn't hurt any more than a pin. I have found that I since my HBAC1 has come down I don't need the setting up as high.

Dawny47 said:

Wow thank you so much for all of your responses this is all really helpful .

My hubby is awful for sweet things. He loves chocolate , puddings, diet lemonade , full fat coke, but the worst of all is cheese, he will eat at least three blocks a week. I have been at him for ages about his weight and the way he feels i.e falling asleep all the time especially in the afternoons, dizzy, sweaty, but he does crave sugar. The weight is the problem and we know this it's just I want to put him on the right diet that is not going to make his sugar worse. So from what I am reading high fat low carb is the way to go? I think I can manage to get him around to the finger prick test .

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Losing the weight will improve his insulin sensitivity - I've been able to come off my meds since losing 3 stone - the meds were driving my fasting levels down too low (3.8 at the lowest) and the dietician quite rightly pointed out that. Sugar unfortunately is addictive - might I suggest a herbal remedy which have helped me? Glymnena Sylvestre - it affects how your brain "tastes" sugar. I was the same - a sugar addict, loved all thing sweet. If I hadn't used this herb, I would have really struggled - now I find that I don't crave sugar, and when I smell something sweet - I don't get the instant memory of how it tastes.

Either way - good luck.

Dawny47 said:

Ok so that's what I am aiming for , zero or low carbs, and zero or low sugar ?

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You will struggle to get zero carbs. Different targets suit different people. I'm personally just trying to avoid as much as possible and won't have anything if its going to have more than ten grams of carbs in a portion, as a general rule.

Sugars are carbs, just that they are even easier to get into the blood. If you look at the food labels they say xxg carbohydrates of which xxg sugars. So if something is zero carb it won't have sugar in there. The thing to watch is stuff that you think won't have carbs can be sneaky, so make a point of reading, reading, reading.

Unfortunately he's going to feel rough for a few days. It's like going cold turkey - coming off a drug - which is in essence what carbs are - addictive and your body is always going to complain when its deprived of something! You did exactly right - a full English without the bread is a good meal. Eggs are good - you'll get to find new ways of cooking them and they are ideal if he gets the munchies late at night. Just don't use a lot of milk (again hidden sugars i.e. lactose). Also try some cheese - a couple of slices of this tend to be my late night go to. It'll take time for his levels to come down - my level at diagnosis was 29 (its supposed to be between 4-7). Shall we say ouch?! The problem is that we are all so used to having the instant hit of carbs - its the ups and downs in our sugar levels that they produce that don't help when trying to get off them which is why you feel hungry quickly after eating them. Oat cakes are good also if you need to nibble.

As to the lemonade - try him with the diet one - try for no sugar, but if not, low is okay. Also try some flavoured water - most of these are sugar free - and you can get a good variety in flavours.

Unfortunately your first time shopping is going to take a bit longer than normal - become a label reader - watch out for carbs and sugars (they show them as 2 different things - which is a bit sneaky). Go for as low carb as possible - wholemeal bread isn't too bad - but even that can vary in the amounts from the different brands. Its a bit of a rude shock to the system - but you are doing the right thing and being very supportive and helping him.

By the way, if you ever get to the point of being able to use the lancet to get a blood drop out of him - use the end of a pad of a finger - not the thumb - ring and little fingers are good and heal quickly. You don't need a lot - just enough for the strip to grab and give a reading.

Hi dawnny47 sounds like he got someone very supportive looking out for him well done to you it can only get better hope he starts feeling well soon big hug