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Stressed wife needs advice

E

ermintrude

Newbie
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2
Hi,
My husband has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and as yet hasn't had an appointment with a dietitian and doesn't have a Dr's appointment for another 2 weeks. I do all the cooking and do understand the basics of what he needs in his diet but am faced with a very fussy eater,who doesn't eat fish,salad,eggs,veg (only peas and carrots),fruit (only apples) and can't eat heavily spiced foods either. We don't eat much in the way of fried food,chips,red meat or creamy sauces so do i carry on as before or is there anything else i can do to help his diet??
I'm trying really hard not to make an issue out of this but at the same time want to make the changes that will help him
Thanks
 
Hi, Ermintrude, :)

Your husband is very lucky to have you, being fussy may be a good thing.
You will get lots of help shortly.
If and when you get bg meter, you will find it will be a good device to help control things.
I would take it quite simple at first until you get to understand things a little better.
NHS have a problem due to cost saving etc;

You will soon also find out that different foods may affect your husbands Diet.

Hope all goes well and welcome to the forum.

Roy,
 
It's good that you don't eat much fried food as that can really slow absorption down and cause sugar levels to go high.
I am type 1, but it is best to probably keep doing things as normally as possible, but be sensible with sugar amounts. You may find that if you go changing lots of things, some might be unnecessary!
Carbohydrate changes to sugar for energy naturally in the body, so it would be good to check the carbohydrate amounts in servings of things, just to get some idea of which foods that you would normally eat, contain more or less carbs.
Hope this helps, as I said I'm type 1, which is slightly different, but may still help you. Just avoid things with large amounts of sugar content.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Until you have information that a meter can give you I suggest the following.

The four things that are likely to raise blood sugar the most are sugar, flour, rice and potatoes. As a stop gap you can limit the portions of foods containing any of those. In the case of sugar there may be a case for more direct action like no added sugar and no fizzy/sugary drinks.

When you get a meter you can test before a meal and two hours after it and if you don't like the readings you get make a note of what was in the meal and alter it for next time. Keep doing this until you know what you can safely eat.
 
For a Type 2, you need to avoid things with a large carbohydrate content, not just sugars. Type 1s have to give themselves all their insulin, so they are able to alter their insulin dose to cover what they've eaten. Type 2s may have a sluggish or weak pancreas which still produces some insulin; often we have insulin resistance too. We have to manage our carbohydrate to suit our insulin production.

Very simplistically - carbohydrate turns to glucose on digestion; insulin is produced to push this glucose into the muscle cells, which use it for energy. These cells can get resistant to the action of insulin, leaving the blood glucose high = Type 2 diabetes. Then it gets stored in the fat cells instead - a double whammy!

Daisy1, who welcomes all the Newly Diagnosed, will be along soon with some information about diabetes, which I'm sure you will find helpful. There are two easiest rules-of-thumb: - change over from "white" things - bread, pasta, rice - to wholemeal/brown; and eat above-ground vegetables rather than below ground. Onions and leeks are okay. Some people can't eat apples; I can manage the occasional small one.

If you've got a fussy eater you may have a few problems. In your place I would buy myself a Carbohydrate Counter book - a handy, pocket-sized one is in the Collins Gem series, available from Amazon or via all good book shops. A better one is the Calorie Carb and Fat Bible, which is anything but pocket-sized, but much more comprehensive.

Eat just as usual for a week, but sit down with the book and try to work out how many carbohydrates your husband is eating every day. Then look for ways to reduce this. Fix a daily total; some people manage very well on 130g/150g of carb daily; others (me included) need less. Many people on this forum find that the amount of carbohydrate recommended by the NHS dietitians is just too much. If my pancreas can't cope with carbohydrate, it seems to make sense not to give it too much!

After you've both decided on the amount of carbs he should eat, the first and easiest thing to do is to remove all the obvious things from his diet (cakes, biscuits, puddings, breakfast cereal). Don't worry too much about this - there is a very good Low-carb section on the forum which has some good recipes for all occasions, including treats, once you've got things sorted.

The most important thing for you to get is a blood glucose meter and strips on prescription. Some Health Authorites won't let Type 2s have them; others are okay. Basically, by testing his blood glucose levels (BGs) just before and 2 hours after each meal, you can tell which foods he can tolerate and which spike him too high. The BG reading 2 hours after should be no more than about 1 or 2 points higher than the before one (eg - 5.5 before; 6.5 to 7.5, 2 hours after). If the after is too high, then he has eaten something that spikes him; cut that food out, or reduce the portion (eg one or two small new potatoes instead of a heap of mash!). I

If the GP or nurse is reluctant to give you a meter and strips, say you want to manage his diabetes by diet, controlling his carbohydrate intake, and may you have a 3 months trial with the meter to see how you get on. Say you understand that NICE guidelines recommend that people with Type 2 should be educated to encourage self-management of their diabetes, and you think a meter would help.

That is, if his GP will speak to you about it. Sometimes they won't, but I think they should, since you'll be managing his diet. Go in with him to see the GP.

If you are unlucky enough to live in an area that won't prescribe them to Type 2s, it's worth getting one yourselves. You can get the meters free - look on this site for info, and look on line. The test strips are expensive, if you test before and after every meal, but once you learn what he can and can't eat, you'll need to test less.

I've rambled on again; hope I haven't confused you! Ask as many questions as you like - There's usually someone around to help.

Viv 8)
 
Hi ermintrude and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information which Viv mentioned which we give to new members. Carry on asking questions as there is usually someone who can help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Thanks you all.. I was beginning to feel lost in the world of sugars,carbs and fats. I know the effect diabetes can have on the body and working in a mortuary makes you super aware of the dangers that could be around the corner if it's not managed properly. Which is i think one of the reasons i was in a bit of a tailspin panic because he also has high cholesterol and a stomach condition .. Good to know i can come here for advice..
 
Switching from white rice to brown rice, from normal pasta to whole meal pasta and from white bread to whole grain bread usually makes a difference. Obviously avoid the sugary foods and drinks too. Go easy on things like cheese as they have a lot of fat and do simple things like cut excess fat of things like ham or bacon. Cholesterol and triglycerides will come down as will blood sugar levels. When you see the doctor and when you get a meter, you can start being more selective and test different foods. There's an awful lot you can do with choosing the right foods, taking some regular exercise after meals, just short spells, and losing some weight too. You start to feel better soon too, more energy, more alive.
 
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