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Problems!

fumanchu

fumanchu

Well-Known Member
Messages
393
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only
After about 14 years of being diet-controlled, husband is starting to hit problems. His BG is creeping higher and he can't seem to stop it - plus today he was at a Falls & Faints clinic, tested for diabetic neuropathy - and his feet and lower legs are very numb. And his BP was high and his heart is starting to struggle again slightly (triple bypass 3 years ago). He is pretty shocked by this and upset at the thought of going on medication after hearing awful things about side effects. So could I ask what drug works best for most of you - and what one would you steer clear of? He is also asking if you think it's possible to tighten up the LC and do some damage limitation?
 
I can't help with the medication, but what really helped me sort out my diet was testing after meals. I bought a blood glucose tester and checked my levels - discovered that I can get more carbs out of peas and beans than should be in there, so really cut back on them.
There is so much wrong advice about 'healthy' choices which are high in carbs that it can be difficult to achieve good results.
 
Resurgam said:
I can't help with the medication, but what really helped me sort out my diet was testing after meals. I bought a blood glucose tester and checked my levels - discovered that I can get more carbs out of peas and beans than should be in there, so really cut back on them.
There is so much wrong advice about 'healthy' choices which are high in carbs that it can be difficult to achieve good results.
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This is true, he had stopped testing regularly after all these years, just fedup of it all I think, and this is the result. Maybe shocked him back into doing it and I'll nag him!
 
fumanchu said:
This is true, he had stopped testing regularly after all these years, just fedup of it all I think, and this is the result. Maybe shocked him back into doing it and I'll nag him!
Click to expand...

Maybe couch the testing in terms of "let's see if there's anything we can do for ourselves before medications come into play"?
Thing is, if he has established cardiovascular issues, it is important his blood pressure runs in an acceptable range, and unfortunately, high blood sugars aren't heart friendly.

Not all medication side effects affect everyone taking them, so trying something doesn't mean it's a gateway to some form of side effect misery.
 
If you can persuade him to test, then maybe you can keep a food log with readings so that he can see which meals are benign, and which need caution over or smaller portions.

We cannot really advise on medication issues since he is on other meds that may or may not be compatible, so that is info the doctor has. As a fellow triple bypass survivior I find my heart meds push my glucose levels up and if I forget my morning meds, my bgl in the evening is always at least 2 mmol.l lower than when I take the meds in the morning.. But heart meds are important and not for playing about with. I reduced my carb intake to compensate for them now.

Personally I am using Gliclazide to good effect, but it does not work if someone has high insulin resistance. I used LCHF to reduce my IR, and the Glic kicked in and did what it says on the packet. So that might be an option, but he will need to tighten the LC diet before trying it.

Edit to make correction "higher" changed to "lower"
 
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At moment I've turned to low carbs, no bread, pasta, rice etc higher protein, berries mainly and green veg and I've found in short space of time my levels have gone from 20s into 5-8 and feel so much better sooner he does it and cuts processed foods and sugars can all help.

I know all about foot issues had amputations on parts of both feet and suspected charcot foot I wished I didn't let it do this far before doing something about it.
 
6 toes said:
At moment I've turned to low carbs, no bread, pasta, rice etc higher protein, berries mainly and green veg and I've found in short space of time my levels have gone from 20s into 5-8 and feel so much better sooner he does it and cuts processed foods and sugars can all help.

I know all about foot issues had amputations on parts of both feet and suspected charcot foot I wished I didn't let it do this far before doing something about it.
Click to expand...
We found some foods he didn't realise were putting his numbers up - 80% dark choc was one of them. His numbers are going down now, thanks to great help and advice on this forum
:happy:
 
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