My sick neighbour

[DeejayR]

Long post, sorry, getting my thoughts down and seeking yours in return.
One of my neighbours, who is in his 60s, has asked me for advice on getting a blood glucose meter because his surgery has told him his blood sugar is very high, but he doesn't know the figure. He has always seemed a healthy and fit man but I think he has been on corticosteroids for some time, although I don't know why (yet).
He is obviously unwell. His face and neck are swollen and red and his vision is impaired so that he has to have a prism on one spectacle lens to help him see straight. He has oral thrush. He says his immune system is failing. He cannot shrug off infections and cuts don't heal. He can't walk far without becoming exhausted. His doctor and whatever specialists he has seen seem unsure what to do, although his GP has arranged for his feet to be checked, so they must be thinking of diabetes as a side issue if not as the main cause.
I've given him details of the Codefree meter and his wife a list of the foods I prefer to eat and those I try to avoid, to give them an idea of where sugar lurks as carbohydrate.
I plan to be on hand to advise on diet and testing, and ignore the rest. I'm assuming for the moment that his high BS is a result of the drugs he's on. Whatever, I think getting his BS down must be a good idea. What do you think?

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

I fancy you covered the basics.. Certainly wouldn't do any harm to lower the carb intake..
Start with the BS control & take it from there.!

 

[satindoll]

Hi DJR, You are a kind soul, and yes I agree this man needs help, as Jaylee says start with the basics and work your way up, we know cutting the carbs can have a drastically good effect on the rest of our problems,
From my own experience, take care you don't get too emotionally involved, but I applaud your kindness.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

Well, I found out I was a diabetic through the use of oral steroids (prednisone)

At the time, I was taking them to treat a rash on my back diagnosed as pityriasis rosea. Normally, the rash is gone in 2 months, but mine lasted for about 7. A week after being diagnosed with diabetes and getting my blood sugar under 28(not a typo) my rash went away.

Not only that, but here in the USA they've started putting some post-surgery patients on CGMs (diabetic or not) to help detect infection and avoid delays in the recovery/healing process.

Why is all of this relevant?

It sounds like your neighbor is going through something very similar to what I went through 3 months ago. I'm less than half his age (27) and for me, it was absolute hell.

The steroids will cause a blood sugar increase which slows the healing process down. High blood sugar provides an optimal environment environment for rashes which seemingly makes a need for steroids. Not only that, but high blood sugar will make him feel tired and cause vision issues as we all know.

For me, it was a vicious circle and every change made it worse for me.....until I finally got my blood sugar under control which fixed everything.

 

[ladybird64]

I was on a corticosteroid, Prednisolone for many, many years, nearly thirty. I was lucky that I didn't have diabetes long before I did, this med has so many side effects (plus it makes you hungry as hell) but is invaluable in treating many conditions.
I think you have the right idea about dietary tips, and testing, although I would be careful about advising a massive change in diet as you don't know exactly what his health issue is. General advice sounds great, caring but not intrusive. He's lucky to have a caring neighbour like yourself.

 

[DeejayR]

Whoa @everybody this is all a great help, thanks.
My neighbour has given a lot to his family and the community over the years (hours babysitting the grandchildren, hours in the cold with a collecting tin ) and it's about time he got something back.

 

[Brunneria]

@DeejayR you are a lovely man.

If he has high bg and signs like thrush and infections, then a change in diet is a no brainer, but i think a gentle transition would be much easier on his stressed body than a bout of lc flu.

Can you suggest he changes one meal at a time, or halves, then halves again, his carb portions?

 

[TorqPenderloin]

@DeejayR you are a lovely man.

If he has high bg and signs like thrush and infections, then a change in diet is a no brainer, but i think a gentle transition would be much easier on his stressed body than a bout of lc flu.

Can you suggest he changes one meal at a time, or halves, then halves again, his carb portions?

It's a no brainer until it kills him.....

This is the exact kind of thing that you should NOT be doing....making assumptions and giving medical advice.

While I agree that many of the signs point to diabetes, what if that's not what it is? What if it's being caused by an infection from his surgery? What if he has cancer?

At that point, you're telling a man in his 60s with a very weak immune system who also recently had surgery to make SIGNIFICANT dietary changes. That could quite literally kill him.

It IS NOT and SHOULD NOT be your place to diagnose him or recommend any sort of treatment. This sounds like a very delicate situation and he certainly needs to speak with a doctor about the situation.

 

[Brunneria]

It's a no brainer until it kills him.....

This is the exact kind of thing that you should NOT be doing....making assumptions and giving medical advice.

While I agree that many of the signs point to diabetes, what if that's not what it is? What if it's being caused by an infection from his surgery? What if he has cancer?

At that point, you're telling a man in his 60s with a very weak immune system who also recently had surgery to make SIGNIFICANT dietary changes. That could quite literally kill him.

It IS NOT and SHOULD NOT be your place to diagnose him or recommend any sort of treatment. This sounds like a very delicate situation and he certainly needs to speak with a doctor about the situation.

Thankfully i trust Deejay's judgement of the situation far more than i trust yours.

And shouldn't you be barking your opinions at Deejay, rather than me? Especially since, if you had actually read my post carefully before launching into your rant, you would have noticed that i was suggesting Deejay urges his friend to cut carbs slowly and carefully rather than doing it rapidly.

 

[fred1234]

Yes steroids save lives but they do play havoc too. I got diabetes through maintenance dose of steroids. They push bg up, make you hungry, cause cataracts, deafness, skin issues,bruise easily, all sorts of problems, but hey ho don't know if I would still be here without them. So I take them and try hard to control bg. YOur neighbour requires medical input, advise is call very well and off course it helps, but at the end of the day medical input is also invaluable. Nice to have such a good neighbour.

 

[lynne99]

I became diabetic through taking prednisolone for PMR. I was in my 50s and I am now on insulin and back on the setroids for another bour of PMR. If he takes it slowly and eats plenty of other food stuffs then a low carb diet should not do any harm. Prednisolone is designed to reduce your immunity so any inflammation or autoimmune disease can start to be controlled. I am in full agreement that he should see his doctor and discuss, but it does help if some one cares like Deejay does. Good on you.

 

[Jaylee]

This is the exact kind of thing that you should NOT be doing....making assumptions and giving medical advice.

Looks like dietary advice to me..!

 

[mrspuddleduck]

Hi @DeejayR just a thought not a diagnosis! From what you describe it could be circulatory (that would account for the foot exam too), so heart, copd, cancer, alcohol, asbestosis (right age for discovery), etc etc - quite a lot of variables. They docs must have an idea what's wrong to put him on the steroids in the first place! Is he on any other medication? Personally I'd try to find out why the steroids first, as much as I totally understand there may be a diabetes issue going on, it may be secondary to something more urgently in need of treatment and focussing on something like blood sugars may just help him detract from dealing with the real problem (sorry I havnt said that well, hope you understand what I mean!) I think maybe you need to get more info out of him first before making your judgement on how to help him.
As an aside, I was always told that steroids can not cause diabetes! That they cause a temporary hyperglycemia but patients on long term steroids who become diabetic already had a predisposition to diabetes and the steroids 'kick started' it. That was from an Endo but gave no idea on the research or whether it's actually true!!
Good luck @DeejayR , Sue xx

 

[Pinkorchid]

I was on a corticosteroid, Prednisolone for many, many years, nearly thirty. I was lucky that I didn't have diabetes long before I did, this med has so many side effects (plus it makes you hungry as hell) but is invaluable in treating many conditions.
I think you have the right idea about dietary tips, and testing, although I would be careful about advising a massive change in diet as you don't know exactly what his health issue is. General advice sounds great, caring but not intrusive. He's lucky to have a caring neighbour like yourself.

My husband took prednisolone for about 3 years and last year developed T2 and his doctor said probably because of the steroids m
My mother like you took it for over 30 years for a chronic chest condition until she died age 88 but she never got diabetes strange isn't it how differently it affects people

 

[eddie1968]

Long post, sorry, getting my thoughts down and seeking yours in return.
One of my neighbours, who is in his 60s, has asked me for advice on getting a blood glucose meter because his surgery has told him his blood sugar is very high, but he doesn't know the figure. He has always seemed a healthy and fit man but I think he has been on corticosteroids for some time, although I don't know why (yet).
He is obviously unwell. His face and neck are swollen and red and his vision is impaired so that he has to have a prism on one spectacle lens to help him see straight. He has oral thrush. He says his immune system is failing. He cannot shrug off infections and cuts don't heal. He can't walk far without becoming exhausted. His doctor and whatever specialists he has seen seem unsure what to do, although his GP has arranged for his feet to be checked, so they must be thinking of diabetes as a side issue if not as the main cause.
I've given him details of the Codefree meter and his wife a list of the foods I prefer to eat and those I try to avoid, to give them an idea of where sugar lurks as carbohydrate.
I plan to be on hand to advise on diet and testing, and ignore the rest. I'm assuming for the moment that his high BS is a result of the drugs he's on. Whatever, I think getting his BS down must be a good idea. What do you think?

Good basics and the fact you care for your neighbour touched me. I was on Corticosteroids post surgery for months and put on a lot of weight and developed diabetes, sounds like the same scenario.

 

[DeejayR]

@mrspuddleduck Right with you there Sue, I have a plan now and what you say makes total sense. I'm just a simple T2 so I won't be jumping to conclusions. As Geoffers T says in his signature, if I tell you anything about dealing with diabetes that I haven't tried myself then I'm almost certainly talking cobblers.

 

[mrspuddleduck]

@mrspuddleduck Right with you there Sue, I have a plan now and what you say makes total sense. I'm just a simple T2 so I won't be jumping to conclusions. As Geoffers T says in his signature, if I tell you anything about dealing with diabetes that I haven't tried myself then I'm almost certainly talking cobblers.

He's very lucky to have you, as both a neighbour and a friend! Sue xxx

 

[Totto]

@DeejayR you are a lovely man.

If he has high bg and signs like thrush and infections, then a change in diet is a no brainer, but i think a gentle transition would be much easier on his stressed body than a bout of lc flu.

Can you suggest he changes one meal at a time, or halves, then halves again, his carb portions?

Very sensible advice Brunneria. Regardless of the cause to the poor man's problems a lower carb diet would probably help and as far as I remember this was OPs idea too.

I want to add OP should urge his neighbour to get properly checked out regarding diabetes.

 

[DeejayR]

Swift update ... my neighbour is much happier, albeit no nearer a proper diagnosis. I think he enjoys taking pills. The main thing is he feels more aware of what's happening to him by regular testing. I don't think he has changed his diet much apart from avoiding obviously sugary things. He may be in denial for now but that's his choice.
He and his wife will spend much of Christmas on the road ministering to their needy family so I can't be involved in that. I just hope when it's all over he can get back to some sort of programme.
Thanks for your input.

 

[DeejayR]

About a week ago my neighbour, who was staying with his family over 100 miles from his home, got a phone call from his GP telling him to stop ALL meds at once since the latest blood tests had revealed they had made the wrong diagnosis. Whatever it was.
I'm seeing him tomorrow so I should discover more.