Partner has diabetes

Here's a link to your previous post and the replies..

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/partner-has-diabetes.115877/

You say your partner has lost a lot of weight .. was that without trying? i.e. no diet?

Hello @myracat Welcome to the forum.

There is a 'Food and Nutrition' area on the forum, it's a good place to look round and get some ideas.

I cook for my family so tend to make things like spag bol, roasts, salads and I eat everything except the carbs, so they don't miss out

Has he bought his own meter yet?

These are an essential tool in self management of diabetes, and by testing before and 2 hours after a meal he will see what that meal has done to his levels and be able to tweak the food accordingly.

Some people can manage a small portion of porridge whilst most of us can't, especially if made with milk.
His lunches are not good at all - bread, hula hoops and cake will all be pushing his levels up and doing him no favours.

Do urge him to get a meter, and then eat to what it tells him.

myracat said:

Bulk biker, he lost loads of weight which was one of the reasons he went to the GP, what with the constant drinking of Diet Coke and water and the constant peeing he was driving me mad but insisted he was fine even though he looked like a skeleton

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Your partners' story sounds much like mine.. I wasn't of a large build before but lost 2 stones in weight prior to diagnosis. I felt great for it but I was drinking gallons of water and craving milkshakes... and my eyesight was terrible and variable from week to week.
I was told by my dietician to eat potatoes and rice/pasta as part of a balanced healthy diet.. this seems to conflict with the findings of many diabetics on this forum. It's well worth a read around on this site for ideas and experiences with a low carb high fat diet.. obviously we have to be mindful of eating good fats rather than bad fats.

myracat said:

Bulk biker, he lost loads of weight which was one of the reasons he went to the GP, what with the constant drinking of Diet Coke and water and the constant peeing he was driving me mad but insisted he was fine even though he looked like a skeleton

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In that case I would maybe ask the doctor for a c-peptide and a GAD test as rapid weight loss can be a symptom of late onset Type 1 rather than Type 2. Best he gets himself checked out sooner rather than later.

As a type 2 - probably for some time, I put weight on hand over fist whenever I ate any amount of carbs.

From what you describe your partner might be lacking insulin rather than being insensitive to it, so getting that sorted out would be urgent - however, if he can't cope with carbs for whatever reason then reducing them will help. Pasta is just as much carbohydrate as potato, I'm afraid - meat with the natural fat, oily fish if he likes it, low carb vegetables and perhaps the Lidl protein rolls would be the way to go, but that weightloss would concern me greatly - if he continues to lose then pester your GP to see if your partner needs insulin.

bulkbiker said:

In that case I would maybe ask the doctor for a c-peptide and a GAD test as rapid weight loss can be a symptom of late onset Type 1 rather than Type 2. Best he gets himself checked out sooner rather than later.

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It could also be the thyroid being hyperactive. I had this eighteen months ago and lost 1 stone in weight. Get a blood test for your thyroid hormone levels,

myracat said:

I think he's waiting to be given one on the NHS?

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He'll have a nice long wait, then.....

myracat said:

Well afaik the blood tests showed he was T2 diabetic the same as his mum and (blind) grandma

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But which blood tests did he have? If he didn't have the C-peptide and GAD tests the doctor is only assuming he is Type 2, which is a common mistake of doctors. Severe weight loss is not a symptom of Type 2, but of Type 1, and is related to a lack of insulin in his body. Insulin is needed to cope with any glucose he consumes or his levels will rise and rise.

You could ring the surgery and ask the receptionist for a print out of the test results from before Christmas. You should be given these. Then you can read for yourself which tests he had. People here will help you understand the results if you can't work it out.
Meanwhile, keep him away from carbs for the sake of his future health. (and your sanity!).

I had the same advice - but diabetics can't cope with carbs - why doctors and dieticians can't see what is in front of them I do not know.
I can't eat legumes, starchy vegetables or grains - but show me a steak, pork chop or roast chicken and vegetables with butter or a salad with oily dressing or mayonnaise and I'm fine. I eat meat with the natural fat as that provides energy - contrary to popular belief it is carbohydrate which causes many health problems, not fat.
In countries where the average level of cholesterol is low, the death rate is higher, and the reverse is true - so to have a good chance of a long life, do not lower your cholesterol.
It is actually fine to have bacon and eggs for breakfast - Dr Atkins was right.

Deespee23 said:

He'll have a nice long wait, then.....

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It's far better to buy your own and also the test strips. The gp's are not good at giving out

myracat said:

Well, I'm not the food police! I can't tell him what to eat, they've told him brown pasta, brown rice, granary bread, salad, vegs meat etc
Personally I've dieted for years, slimming world, weight watchers, 5:2 etc
They're taking blood samples monthly and then he sees GP after to get results, he has an apt tomorrow morning.
He needs at least 3000 cals/day (physical job) obviously he used to eat chocolate etc to keep the calories up, if he goes low carb where will he get his calories from?
They've also said he should eat more baked beans and pulses but he's not keen
Very confusing and conflicting information

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If he buys a meter he will soon stop eating pasta, rice, bread, baked beans and pulses. or at least seriously reduce the amounts. They are doing him no good. That dietary advice is fine for non-diabetics, but not for diabetics. They told us all the same thing, and initially we followed their advice until we saw our levels rising and being given more and more medication. All carbs turn to glucose once inside our system, including the wholemeal varieties, and this is exactly what we do not want.

For the extra calories he can eat more protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese etc) plus extra fats such as all dairy (except milk), food fried in butter, lots of butter on his veggies, bacon and eggs, real mayonnaise or olive oil on his salads..

Have a look at this
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

If there is a Lidl near you, they sell high protein rolls that are very low carb and extremely filling, packed full of fibre. Sliced in half and toasted with a lot of butter are delicious. They also freeze well. There are other low carb breads around, such as Burgen and Livelife, but nowhere near as filling.

Instead of a takeaway meal deal for lunch, he could take a packed lunch with cold meats, tomatoes, boiled eggs, cheese, salmon or tuna, cold low carb sausages, plain unsweetened yogurt with a few raspberries added, whatever he likes. It's his choice, but if you are the one that does the shopping and cooking, you can be food police to a large extent.

As he sees the doctor tomorrow, he could do with asking for print outs of his results, and an explanation of which tests he has had, and if no C-peptide or GAD then he can ask for them.

myracat said:

Thanks for the advice, he's been given slow release Metformin now plus statins (!), for the cholesterol. He cannot eat eggs as he is allergic which includes mayonnaise. I'll definitely get the Lidl rolls, are they in the fresh bread section (I do low carb mainly so avoid those areas)? Thank! Plus he drinks loads of milk and they've told him to go up to full fat to get the calories in

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What a shame about eggs. They are such a basic standard for us,
Milk is full of lactose - yet another form of sugar. Skimmed and semi skimmed are worse for us than the full fat milk, so if he has milk then full fat is best, but it will raise his levels and do him no favours.

Yes, the Lidl high protein rolls are in the fresh bread section. They don't look very appetising - dark brown, triangular, full of seed. Currently 29p each. They have 9g carbs per 100g. (and 289 calories per 100g) I think they are better toasted, although others eat them raw. Some people find a short time in the microwave improves them.