South African teaching English in China

[ultraman]

Good day, everyone. I'm a South African male, 50 years old, and have been teaching English in China since 2024. I was diagnosed in January 2025 and spent a week in a hospital here in China because my diabetes was completely out of control. I was getting hungry every 2-3 hours after meals and had a dry mouth. Anyway, they put me on new medications, and it has been changed twice by another hospital. I am coping better with my diabetes now. However, I still have a dry mouth and can't seem to find a solution besides people telling me to control my blood sugar levels. I eat from the college canteen because I don't cook for myself. I'm trying to cook scrambled eggs for breakfast now to avoid cereal, which spikes my blood sugar. If you have any suggestions on meals I can eat for lunch and dinner here in China, let me know please.

 

[KennyA]

Good day, everyone. I'm a South African male, 50 years old, and have been teaching English in China since 2024. I was diagnosed in January 2025 and spent a week in a hospital here in China because my diabetes was completely out of control. I was getting hungry every 2-3 hours after meals and had a dry mouth. Anyway, they put me on new medications, and it has been changed twice by another hospital. I am coping better with my diabetes now. However, I still have a dry mouth and can't seem to find a solution besides people telling me to control my blood sugar levels. I eat from the college canteen because I don't cook for myself. I'm trying to cook scrambled eggs for breakfast now to avoid cereal, which spikes my blood sugar. If you have any suggestions on meals I can eat for lunch and dinner here in China, let me know please.

Hi and welcome

When you say you were diagnosed, what type of diabetes is it? It helps people to reply if they know a bit more about your condition - what your HbA1c is, what medications you're on (advice about cutting carbs needs to be tailored to whether you're on certain meds, for example) any other relevant factors.

I have had the dry mouth thing myself, it's called xerostomia. Interestingly mine didn't start until just after my BG became normal again. I suspect this was because the damage done by high blood glucose takes a bit of time to have effect, and doesn't immediately repair itself. Not had any instances of it for a few years now.

I found that a low-carb diet of meat, dairy and above-ground green vegetables worked well for me. I aim for about 20g carb/day. I'm still reluctant to say you should give that a go in the absence of more info about your condition. Unfortunately I have no real idea what your food options in China might be.

 

[ultraman]

My blood sugar is between 7-8 mmol/l fasting and around 8-10 mmol/1 after lunch and dinner. My HbA1c was 6.3 on 30 April 2025.

I'm currently on Saxagliptin once per day at breakfast, Rosuvastatin once per day at dinner, Mecobalamin 3x a day, and Pancreatic kininogenase enteric-coated tablets 3x a day.

My weight is approximately 75 kg, and I'm 1.85 m tall. My weight is fairly stable.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

I am NOT a medic! But......
There is a school of thought (that I like) that says with all that medication you're on, you are treating the symptoms rather than the condition itself.

I have no idea what assistance is available where you are, but, having read on here, and listened and read dietary and medical experts on various outlets, I suggest you really need a proper, honest appraisal of where you're up to both with the condition and how to tackle it. Lifestyle changes can go a long way (all the way in many cases, but nor all) to alleviate symptoms and even reverse the condition.

BUT, I stress, you need to speak to people who really know what they're talking about.

Me? Low carb, good diet (similar to Kenny A's above) and loads of exercise.

 

[ynwa_lfct1]

Good day, everyone. I'm a South African male, 50 years old, and have been teaching English in China since 2024. I was diagnosed in January 2025 and spent a week in a hospital here in China because my diabetes was completely out of control. I was getting hungry every 2-3 hours after meals and had a dry mouth. Anyway, they put me on new medications, and it has been changed twice by another hospital. I am coping better with my diabetes now. However, I still have a dry mouth and can't seem to find a solution besides people telling me to control my blood sugar levels. I eat from the college canteen because I don't cook for myself. I'm trying to cook scrambled eggs for breakfast now to avoid cereal, which spikes my blood sugar. If you have any suggestions on meals I can eat for lunch and dinner here in China, let me know please.

Totally unrelated to diabetes but how do you find China? Is it good for healthcare? I have seen videos on YT and everything looks very efficient. I would love to go - I have only ever stopped through on a flight to Australia.

 

[ultraman]

Yes, the healthcare is excellent. I've been to two different hospitals, and the doctors were very thorough. I was treated with traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.

Totally unrelated to diabetes but how do you find China? Is it good for healthcare? I have seen videos on YT and everything looks very efficient. I would love to go - I have only ever stopped through on a flight to Australia.

 

[ultraman]

I am NOT a medic! But......
There is a school of thought (that I like) that says with all that medication you're on, you are treating the symptoms rather than the condition itself.

I have no idea what assistance is available where you are, but, having read on here, and listened and read dietary and medical experts on various outlets, I suggest you really need a proper, honest appraisal of where you're up to both with the condition and how to tackle it. Lifestyle changes can go a long way (all the way in many cases, but nor all) to alleviate symptoms and even reverse the condition.

BUT, I stress, you need to speak to people who really know what they're talking about.

Me? Low carb, good diet (similar to Kenny A's above) and loads of exercise.

I walk 30-40 minutes a day. It's not to easy to get to a gym for weight training. What other exercises do you recommend I can do at home?

 

[Jo_the_boat]

I walk 30-40 minutes a day. It's not to easy to get to a gym for weight training. What other exercises do you recommend I can do at home?

Chair exercises? Resistance bands? Exercise bike at home or rowing machine? You don't have to go to a gym to lift weights.
It's not all about exercise anyway, though I think (non-medic I hasten to add) it's a huge help, it's lifestyle in general, including diet, good sleep, less stress, no smoking, keep your weight down, have some red wine (joking!) - though I do! I drink wine in my cycling helmet, just in case of accident!

Walking is great by the way. You're obviously wanting to get on top of it, so best of luck.