Some questions about diabetes

[curiousone]

I have a friend who is diabetic and I have a few concerns hope you don't mind me joining your site

I do not profess to understand diabetes but my friend does the following which i am sure cant be good for him...

1. He eats many high sugar products in one day i have seen him eat a whole large vanilla fudge bar, a packed of iced gems, drink normal pepsi, and also eat baked beans on toast for at least three lunches a week. And yet when it comes to meal times he does not eat a proper meal even when cooked for him he will eat say half a sausage and about 6 chips but will then have an ice lolly. He takes sugar in his tea. He certainly does not stick to regular meals

HE has tables for his problem they begin with g something like glucosphate i think and when i asked him for some paracetamol the other day in the same cupboard there must have been 30 unopened boxes of these tablets dating back over a year. Yet he seems to not have any problems. Can you get diabetes and then not have it any more.

He has been diagnosed by a doctors as he gets all the usual things free cause of the condition, he also get dla for this?

I just want to have a better understanding of this condition and see if I can help him I would hate anything to happen to him he is my husbands best friend.

thank you x

 

[louiseb]

I dont really know what to say but i will try to answer to answer some of your questions
firstly it is not possible to have diabetes then it dissapear when you are diagnosed that is it yo have diabetes for life. the only thing is with change in lifestyle i.e more excercise and reduced carb diet and weight loss it is possible for some type 2 diabetics to control diabetes with diet alone but this will never be the case with a type 1 who needs insulin to survive.
secondly your husband's friend's diet is very bad for a diabetic it is not just obvious sugar that you should avoid but you also need to cut back on carbohyrates like rice,pasta,bread and potatoes, it is possible for some diabetic to have good blood sugar control with a reduced carb diet and not need to take mesdication.
as for not taking the medication well it is possible for some diabetics type 2 to control diabetes with diet alons although by the sound of his diet that is highly unlikely. also I think the tablets you are talking about are metformin but they have another name glucophage not sure if that is the correct spelling.
im very surprised he is getting DLA for type 2 and just taking metformin which is amedication that does not even cause hypos I think he must have other problems related to diabetes like neurophathy or something.
basicaly all you can do is try to talk this man and steer in a better directipon regards diet but he doesnt want to change nothing will make maybe you cold show him this forum this is a great resource for steering you n the right direction.
ultimately nobody can help him if he wont help himself he is an adult and makes his won choices im sure he is aware of the complications uncontrolled diabetes can cause.
but I will say he is very lucky having friends like you and your husband looking out for him. try talking to him bt if hes doesnt listen there is not much more you can do.
good luck all the best louise

 

[curiousone]

Thank you for your kind and frank reply.

the bit i really dont understand is that he seems all the time to be totally fine for instance when he stays with us he can work in my garden for hours as long as he gets his cups of tea.

He has an acid problem which he takes tablet for and also a slight back problem which he takes tramadol and sulphadol for when required. Though his original doctor has retired and the new one did a review the other week, cause our friend rang up moaning that the doctor had downed the dosage of his painkillers saying he could overdose or something. Sadly our friend (i will call him Fred for ease), will take no notice of us we have both tried to talk to him. We live a distance from him and it is hard to watch him all the time I am just trying to gain a higher level of understanding of diabetes so that hopefully i can tell my husband what i learn and he can talk to our friend more knowledgeably and hopefully help him more so any more advice would be gratefully received thank you

 

[louiseb]

do you know if your friend is type1 or type2?
most likely is type 2 if he taking metformin or glucophage.

 

[louiseb]

here is some good general advise regarding diabetes

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!
If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l. ( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l (Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.

 

[louiseb]

the bit i really dont understand is that he seems all the time to be totally fine for instance when he stays with us he can work in my garden for hours as long as he gets his cups of tea

in answer to this question if your friend is not taking medication that induce hypos i.e blood glucose below 4ml then it is unlikely that he would be unwell by going low even if he is not eating. especailly as he is drinking tea with sugar in as you stated in last post he takes sugar in his tea.
infact he might have the opposite problem most likely be hyper i.e high blood sugar levels.
especailly if he is not eating regualarly breakfast is the most important meal to anybody but especially a diabetic as everybody can suffer from what is known as dawn phenomenon but diabetics will be affected more, where upon waking the liver begin dumping glucose and will continue to do so until you have something to eat so blood glucose can increase greatly.

maybe if you want to help your friend you cold enter the competition on here for a free blood glucose meter if he doesnt already have one as testing your blood is extremely important to manage diabetes and maybe try to persuade him to back and discuss his diabetes with the doctor.

 

[curiousone]

He has been diabetic for at least 4 years now, so he should know what he is doing perhaps its us worrying too much last time he did blood sugars in front of my husband my husbands were higher than than "Fred's" which we didn't understand.

He is type 2 i believe.

Perhaps I am just not understanding this condition which i dont,

I know most of his day is spent sad in a chair reading or on his computer he has 1 piece of toast about 10am for breakfast then he will start eating iced gems, chocolate, those cluster things in the red packet he east a lot of pasta so i dont understand how he can we so "well" if he is doing all this wrong
sorry dont know how to word this any better. I jsut dont want to turn up one day and find him well you know x

 

[louiseb]

if he has been diabetic for 4 years and still leads this lifestyle then maybe he is just in denial and is ignoring his diabetes in which case it will probably take him to develop diabetic complications before he gets the wake up call he needs.
however maybe he is just not aware and still doesnt completely understand diet and lifestyle implications on diabtetes the info i gave you in my last post about newly diagnosed diabetics that is writen by the moDS from this site is a great place to start perhaps you could print this and give a copy to your friend.
the other thing is that inform your friend that are specialist diabetic course you can attend that your health care team can send you on and you take a friend with you get him to ask his gp about it.
the course for type 2 is called desmond and the course for type1 is called dafne

 

[k9kitty]

Hi there,
I am so sorry your friend is doing this to himself, it must be frustrating for you to see.
I was diagnosed in April and take Metformin and use a reduced carb approach to keep things in check. I had diabetes symptoms for a good 18 months before being diagnosed and now suffer the consequences which are non too pleasant. . The first thing my doc asked me after diagnosis was 'you eat 3 meals a day'. I find Fred's food intake a very scary.

It can be a big shock to have a diagnosis of diabetes and some people go into complete denial, (this is not happening to me, sort of thing) and carry on regardless. I wonder if Fred is doing this.

What bothers me a bit is the GP checks. Most of us have to have a special blood test HA1c to tell our doctors what the average blood glucose reading is for the last three months. It is an indicator of how well the diabetes is being managed. Has Fred had this done regularly during the four years, if so, the doctor should be discussing the results with him and looking at the effectiveness of diet, medication and lifestyle with him? My medication can cause kidney problems with long term use and depletes vitamin B12 for example, so blood tests can keep an eye on this

I share a flat with a sufferer of schizophrenia another difficult health problem where good management is needed. We go to our blood tests together and get each others medication from chemist, discuss problems taking it etc. I also have to encourage him to take his medication at times by reminding him what will happen if he doesn't, this causes an argument but works. I wonder if helping Fred in this way might be useful too.

I think the suggestion to find a desmond course is very helpful. I also wonder if there is a local diabetes support group in your area and perhaps your hubby could encourage Fred to accompany him. Meeting other diabetics who have suffered complications or being exposed to information about foot and sight problems etc, might make him reconsider his diabetes management.

There is good information about type 2 and diabetes in general on this website so do have a look. A book I found useful was 'The first year, Type 2 Diabetes by Gretchen Becker', but there are others with good information. Other forum topics may have reviews of books, medication and other things.

Sadly at the end of the day though, it's up to Fred to manage his diabetes and take charge of it.
I hope he does very soon.