Type 2 Diabetic with foot ulcers.

[NevUK]

Hi there,

"New Kid on the Block"! I am currently trying to get rid of three ulcers (2 under right foot and 1 under left), I get so far near the "healing" status and for some beknown reason it flares up again. It usually starts with cellulitis of either leg having a fever and being very ill.

I have been unemployed for four years, since I had the ulcers, and the benefits paid out are not great, therefore I am having to rely on my parents to help me once in a while, which makes me feel guilty, but as they have said to me if we have the money we will help you and its not your fault.

I also have had several hospital stays which the ulcers have calmed down to warrant a discharge from hospital after a course of intraveanous antibiotics and once they found MRSA in my blood culture (not in the usual swabbed areas), which freaked me out a bit and extended my stay.

The doctors, podiatrists and nurses all say the same thing "Rest as much as you can", I rest the majority of the day, I live on my own, I have to do my own shopping, cleaning and transport myself to my appointments. The adult social services haven't got the manpower to help.

All this has put me on a low ebb and a dark place, so much so that I said to them "The only way I will rest more if I get admitted to hospital and complete the antibiotic course intraveneously or I swallow alot of pills then I will be resting 24/7" The reaction was "We know your resting your feet as much as you are you just having keep at it".

Just a short note as to what I have had to deal with over the last 4 years.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Enclave]

Hi Nev, sorry to read about your foot problems, could I ask if your controlling your blood sugars with diet and medication or just relying on medication.. One of our members here is doing a great job of controlling and healing his leg ulcers with a change of diet to help with his medication to keep his blood sugars under control.
I will tag @daisy1 who will be along later with lots of info for understanding your diabetes

 

[daisy1]

@NevUK

Hello Nev and welcome to the forum How are your levels ? Keeping them under good control can help you. Some members who suffer from ulcers will hopefully be along soon to exchange their experiences with you. In the meantime, here is the information we give to new members, mentioned above by Enclave, which I hope will be useful to you. Ask more questions and someone will come along and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[mo53]

Hello @NevUK . Sorry to hear your having such a tough time. Don't give up hope. The suggestions about change of diet are brilliant. It is worth thinking about.m

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Hi there,

"New Kid on the Block"! I am currently trying to get rid of three ulcers (2 under right foot and 1 under left), I get so far near the "healing" status and for some beknown reason it flares up again. It usually starts with cellulitis of either leg having a fever and being very ill.

I have been unemployed for four years, since I had the ulcers, and the benefits paid out are not great, therefore I am having to rely on my parents to help me once in a while, which makes me feel guilty, but as they have said to me if we have the money we will help you and its not your fault.

I also have had several hospital stays which the ulcers have calmed down to warrant a discharge from hospital after a course of intraveanous antibiotics and once they found MRSA in my blood culture (not in the usual swabbed areas), which freaked me out a bit and extended my stay.

The doctors, podiatrists and nurses all say the same thing "Rest as much as you can", I rest the majority of the day, I live on my own, I have to do my own shopping, cleaning and transport myself to my appointments. The adult social services haven't got the manpower to help.

All this has put me on a low ebb and a dark place, so much so that I said to them "The only way I will rest more if I get admitted to hospital and complete the antibiotic course intraveneously or I swallow alot of pills then I will be resting 24/7" The reaction was "We know your resting your feet as much as you are you just having keep at it".

Just a short note as to what I have had to deal with over the last 4 years.

Thanks for reading.

Hi and welcome

I've had a fair bit of cellulitis and while the IV ABs work well, I found the oral ABs also worked well. I was on them for 3 months. Are you on them now?