Recently diagnosed husband - looking for advice

[Poppylane]

Hi,

My husband was diagnosed very casually last week with type 2 diabetes, prescribed metformin and sent on his way without any info about what it means etc (I had to ask “so does he have diabetes?”. The doctor was very lovely but we left with no information, when I asked her when should I check his blood sugars she said that there was no need as it just caused more stress… which I don’t see how that helps when I’m trying to work out his diet and what makes his blood sugar spike and what doesn’t etc.

He is going for a CT scan on Monday as he developed it quite quickly so they just want to “rule stuff out” but he has had sleep apnea for years, a lot of stress and there’s slight history of diabetes in his family so fingers crossed it’s just these (because all of his other bloods were perfect and he doesn’t have any other symptoms apart from originally losing weight and widdling a lot). We found out online that because he’s on metformin and might have to have dye he has to stop his metformin for 48hrs before and 48hrs afterwards, the doctor didn’t say anything about this.

This morning his fasting reading was 7.6 which is the lowest it’s been for two weeks, yesterday during the day it dropped to to 6.1 after a meal and a walk… which is so much better than the 15.3 readings. I have been cooking all of his meals from scratch and measuring everything out (well, as much as I can), for breakfast he’s having omelettes or porridge with flaxseed and peanut butter, lunch is the more carby meal with sweet potato etc (we tried wholewheat pasta but his blood sugar spiked afterwards quite a lot so might look at chickpea pasta instead) and in the evening he’s having fish/chicken salad, a few berries and yogurt and chamomile tea before he sleeps. Today he had cinnamon water in the morning before eating, tonight he’ll have ginger and saffron tea when he gets back from work (he’s off his metformin until Wednesday so trying to find natural ways to help). We’re also trying to go for a walk after every meal, especially at night.

I know this is a lot of info, sorry, I was hoping someone could have a glance and see if we’re managing it the right way as we were given no info at all. I’m trying to keep his carbs under 130g a day but in doing this his protein intake is quite high, is this ok?

 

[KennyA]

Hi,

My husband was diagnosed very casually last week with type 2 diabetes, prescribed metformin and sent on his way without any info about what it means etc (I had to ask “so does he have diabetes?”. The doctor was very lovely but we left with no information, when I asked her when should I check his blood sugars she said that there was no need as it just caused more stress… which I don’t see how that helps when I’m trying to work out his diet and what makes his blood sugar spike and what doesn’t etc.

He is going for a CT scan on Monday as he developed it quite quickly so they just want to “rule stuff out” but he has had sleep apnea for years, a lot of stress and there’s slight history of diabetes in his family so fingers crossed it’s just these (because all of his other bloods were perfect and he doesn’t have any other symptoms apart from originally losing weight and widdling a lot). We found out online that because he’s on metformin and might have to have dye he has to stop his metformin for 48hrs before and 48hrs afterwards, the doctor didn’t say anything about this.

This morning his fasting reading was 7.6 which is the lowest it’s been for two weeks, yesterday during the day it dropped to to 6.1 after a meal and a walk… which is so much better than the 15.3 readings. I have been cooking all of his meals from scratch and measuring everything out (well, as much as I can), for breakfast he’s having omelettes or porridge with flaxseed and peanut butter, lunch is the more carby meal with sweet potato etc (we tried wholewheat pasta but his blood sugar spiked afterwards quite a lot so might look at chickpea pasta instead) and in the evening he’s having fish/chicken salad, a few berries and yogurt and chamomile tea before he sleeps. Today he had cinnamon water in the morning before eating, tonight he’ll have ginger and saffron tea when he gets back from work (he’s off his metformin until Wednesday so trying to find natural ways to help). We’re also trying to go for a walk after every meal, especially at night.

I know this is a lot of info, sorry, I was hoping someone could have a glance and see if we’re managing it the right way as we were given no info at all. I’m trying to keep his carbs under 130g a day but in doing this his protein intake is quite high, is this ok?

Hi and welcome.

Unfortunately it seems to happen to some people that there's a diagnosis followed by ...nothing. I'm going to tag one of our members who has a very useful "first steps" advice sheet - @JoKalsbeek , can you oblige please?

Here's my basic take on it. As background, I was eventually diagnosed as T2 over five years ago having had increasingly bad diabetic symptoms for around ten years. My approach was to cut carbs as far as I could. I've been on and around 20g carb/day since. Result, last diabetic level reading January 2020, normal BGs (36) in under four months, and in the years following I've lost around 90lbs. So you'll see why I recommend trying low carb! Of course, not everyone's system reacts the same way and there can be no guarantees.

The thing about being type 2 is that by definition we have a problem dealing with carbohydrate - particularly the glucose that is produced when the carb is digested. We don't process it well, and as a result glucose often gets stored as fat, and surplus glucose is left floating around in the body - not just in blood but in sweat, lymph, saliva, tears, etc. That can cause damage to both nerves and capillaries, and is best avoided.

Carbs will raise everyone's blood glucose, that's what they do. It's normal, and happens to non-diabetics and diabetics alike. The difference is that a non-diabetic system will deal with that extra glucose inside about two hours, while a diabetic system might struglle to do that, resulting in raised blood glucose for lengthy periods. The only way to find out how well your system is coping with the carb in your food is to test before eating, and then again at +2 hrs. If the glucose level at +2hrs has not dropped to within 2mmol/litre of the starting value, and is under 8.0mmol/l, there were too many carbs to handle at present.

I found it easier to eliminate carb - bread, pastry, rice, pasta, cereals, root veg, beer, anything sugary (eg most fruit) - than anything else. But I did have a number of painful symptoms that I wanted rid of as soon as possible and I wasn't prepared to hang around. Not everyone will feel the same way. If you reduce carb in the diet, you still have to get energy from somewhere - and that means raising intake of fats and proteins.

This forum is a great resource - you might want to take a look at the "Success Stories" section, to see how various people have managed things. And you're allowed to ask as many questions as you like.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi,

My husband was diagnosed very casually last week with type 2 diabetes, prescribed metformin and sent on his way without any info about what it means etc (I had to ask “so does he have diabetes?”. The doctor was very lovely but we left with no information, when I asked her when should I check his blood sugars she said that there was no need as it just caused more stress… which I don’t see how that helps when I’m trying to work out his diet and what makes his blood sugar spike and what doesn’t etc.

He is going for a CT scan on Monday as he developed it quite quickly so they just want to “rule stuff out” but he has had sleep apnea for years, a lot of stress and there’s slight history of diabetes in his family so fingers crossed it’s just these (because all of his other bloods were perfect and he doesn’t have any other symptoms apart from originally losing weight and widdling a lot). We found out online that because he’s on metformin and might have to have dye he has to stop his metformin for 48hrs before and 48hrs afterwards, the doctor didn’t say anything about this.

This morning his fasting reading was 7.6 which is the lowest it’s been for two weeks, yesterday during the day it dropped to to 6.1 after a meal and a walk… which is so much better than the 15.3 readings. I have been cooking all of his meals from scratch and measuring everything out (well, as much as I can), for breakfast he’s having omelettes or porridge with flaxseed and peanut butter, lunch is the more carby meal with sweet potato etc (we tried wholewheat pasta but his blood sugar spiked afterwards quite a lot so might look at chickpea pasta instead) and in the evening he’s having fish/chicken salad, a few berries and yogurt and chamomile tea before he sleeps. Today he had cinnamon water in the morning before eating, tonight he’ll have ginger and saffron tea when he gets back from work (he’s off his metformin until Wednesday so trying to find natural ways to help). We’re also trying to go for a walk after every meal, especially at night.

I know this is a lot of info, sorry, I was hoping someone could have a glance and see if we’re managing it the right way as we were given no info at all. I’m trying to keep his carbs under 130g a day but in doing this his protein intake is quite high, is this ok?

Hi @Poppylane , and welcome,

I'm sorry about the diagnosis, and how it all went... Sadly, that is the general story for a lot of us, though thankfully, not all of us. Crickets, tumbleweed, a lot of nothing is common though. And discouragement like "checking blood glucose is too stressful", or as I was told, I "didn't have the spine" for low carbing, etc... Sometimes we just have to take the reigns and decide how to manage our own health. For me, having the support of my husband in everything I wanted to try was invaluable, so.... While a meter is one of our most important tools to get blood glucose control, our spouses having our backs makes all the difference in how we deal with the trauma of a life-changing diagnosis. So thank you for being there for him.

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html is what @KennyA meant for me to share, and I hope it'll help some. The aim of 130 grams of carbs a day might be right, might be wrong: his meter'll let you two know whether he can handle it, or whether 100, or 80 would suit better. Personally I have to stick to a ketogenic diet (20 grams of thereabouts), but that's in part due to menopause, and I assume your other half doesn't have that problem. So just take the time to figure out what is just right for him. It doesn't have to be perfect overnight. I'm nine years into this now, and I still make changes sometimes. It's an ongoing project, since our bodies and our needs change as we go.

He's got you. And a meter. I think he'll be okay.
Hugs,
Jo

 

[Outlier]

Just to say you are a wonderful suppportive pro-active wife, and with your help, your husband can make good positive progress despite the lack of information and help from the professionals. I am another who encountered this - there are many of us, and for balance, a few who have received useful help from the medics so I mustn't tar them all with the same brush. The best help is that which we drive for ourselves, and this forum has been so supportive for me, and continues to be. Stay with us, ask anything - no question is stupid or too small - if you want to ask, we can help, and if we don't know, we'll say so. Welcome.

 

[OrsonKartt]

Hi,

My husband was diagnosed very casually last week with type 2 diabetes, prescribed metformin and sent on his way without any info about what it means etc (I had to ask “so does he have diabetes?”. The doctor was very lovely but we left with no information, when I asked her when should I check his blood sugars she said that there was no need as it just caused more stress… which I don’t see how that helps when I’m trying to work out his diet and what makes his blood sugar spike and what doesn’t etc.

He is going for a CT scan on Monday as he developed it quite quickly so they just want to “rule stuff out” but he has had sleep apnea for years, a lot of stress and there’s slight history of diabetes in his family so fingers crossed it’s just these (because all of his other bloods were perfect and he doesn’t have any other symptoms apart from originally losing weight and widdling a lot). We found out online that because he’s on metformin and might have to have dye he has to stop his metformin for 48hrs before and 48hrs afterwards, the doctor didn’t say anything about this.

This morning his fasting reading was 7.6 which is the lowest it’s been for two weeks, yesterday during the day it dropped to to 6.1 after a meal and a walk… which is so much better than the 15.3 readings. I have been cooking all of his meals from scratch and measuring everything out (well, as much as I can), for breakfast he’s having omelettes or porridge with flaxseed and peanut butter, lunch is the more carby meal with sweet potato etc (we tried wholewheat pasta but his blood sugar spiked afterwards quite a lot so might look at chickpea pasta instead) and in the evening he’s having fish/chicken salad, a few berries and yogurt and chamomile tea before he sleeps. Today he had cinnamon water in the morning before eating, tonight he’ll have ginger and saffron tea when he gets back from work (he’s off his metformin until Wednesday so trying to find natural ways to help). We’re also trying to go for a walk after every meal, especially at night.

I know this is a lot of info, sorry, I was hoping someone could have a glance and see if we’re managing it the right way as we were given no info at all. I’m trying to keep his carbs under 130g a day but in doing this his protein intake is quite high, is this ok?

Sorry to hear you received the same piffle as I did ten years ago. I had hoped it might change

I think a lot of the issues now is that once we were told that 5 a day was the way to health and for lots of us it’s not

Personally I do best with no fruit or veg which sounds strange but it’s true

You are doing the best thing in self monitoring with a meter. Stick to it and best of luck


By the way you may find that all the things you once felt a little guilty about eating , lashings of cream and butter, lots of meat etc. are now the most enjoyable and beneficial to your other half’s well being. It was the case with me and lots of others here.