Worried!!!

[Dippydolly]

So hubby has been T2 for 10 years slowly numbers have been rising! Earlier this year he managed to bring them down to about 67! Now he's lapsed again and yesterday I tested his blood it was 18!!! He's on metformin 2000 and pioglitzone 15mg per day his cholesterol is fine and his blood pressure but getting him to low carb is hard as he loves his bread and potatoes he will drink water no problem and whilst at work all day just snack on fruit it's at night he won't behave how do I get his levels down ( as gp says it's insulin next) and he doesn't want that

 

[Prem51]

It's not a good idea to snack on fruit which will have high sugar content.

 

[Guzzler]

You can start by getting him to give up the fruit. Most fruit is very high in sugar (fructose) and will spike most people with Dabetes. The fruit that has berry in the name is ok in very small quantities and as part of a meal. The bread and potatoes are a different matter. They are, along with rice and pasta, the starchiest, carb heavy foods and they can be hard at first to give up. If he absolutely must have bread try Burgen bread or the triangular protein rolls from Lidl. And again, the least harmful potatoes are the new potatoes. But this will only work to lower his bg, giving them up might mean he avoids insulin. Good luck.

N.B If you're hubby is on blood glucose lowering medication he needs to discuss any changes in diet with a HCP as lowering bg too fast while on gliclazide for example could cause hypos. Good luck.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I agree about the fruit snacks. Fruit is full of sugar, and should never be eaten as a snack. It needs to be eaten as part of a meal, preferably a low carb meal and covered with cream or a plain full fat yogurt. Also, the type of fruit matters. Berries such as strawberries and raspberries are best in small quantities, maybe a small apple. Tropical fruits like bananas and grapes are the worst for raising BS levels.

Do you have a Lidl near you? They sell low carb rolls called high protein rolls (in the fresh bread section). Sliced in half and either toasted or zapped briefly in the microwave they are delicious. There are also low carb breads in some supermarkets - Hi-Lo and LiveLife and Bergen are 3 of them. Just read the nutrition labels and choose carefully.

Posts crossed with @Guzzler

 

[Freema]

Lidl have some protein Rolls that are low in carbs and that taste fine for sandwich ... fruit is not a fine meal for diabetics and if High like he is it is no go ...
Give him some berries with cream instead and buy a lot of nuts to snack on and pork shratchings

 

[Dippydolly]

Ok so what's best for him to take to work to eat?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Ok so what's best for him to take to work to eat?

Anything low carb. Boiled eggs, cheese, a few nuts (moderate quantities), plain unsweetened yogurt (full fat preferable), packed lunch with cold meats, chicken thigh, cherry toms, eggs, salads.)

 

[Freema]

a chicken salat is a fine meal for office.. or an avocado, or some hard boiled eggs with mayo

 

[SimonCrox]

A slightly different tack - GP says insulin next. He is on decent dose metformin; he could have more of the Pio, but there is a high risk of weight gain. he could have a gliptin tablet or an SGLT-2 tablet which do not cause hypos or weight gain. he could have a GLP-1 RA injection. So there is a lot more to help him than just insulin; But as you say, diet is crucial.
Best wishes

 

[DCUKMod]

Ok so what's best for him to take to work to eat?

@Dippydolly - What does he take to work now? It would also be useful to know if he works in a clean environment. I only ask the latter question, as I recall, oh, ages ago, someone asking for lunch suggestions for someone whose hands wouldn't always be clean when it came to eating time.

 

[Dippydolly]

Yes he has a clean work place , I tested his blood when he came home from work today and it was 8.6 ! So I have made him a salad for work tomorrow think I may have to try baby steps with him

 

[DCUKMod]

Thanks, @Dippydolly - If your husband isn't too keen on salads, and I know that for my OH, it isn't usually his first choice of food, maybe think about a sort of tapas based lunch box. Maybe cooked chicken drummers, decent quality chipolatas, little cubes of cheese, vegetables and a LC dip, say perhaps sour cream or avocado based, cooked chorizo. Any of that, plus a bit of decent (I do home made, but allegedly the Tesco Everyday brand) Coleslaw is fairly decent on carbs.

Loads of those things can be prepared in advance and frozen, to be brought out the night before or in the morning they're to be eaten.

I'm just posting a link here to ditchthecarbs.com . She often does digest posts with lots of ideas, including for lunch boxes: https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/ultimate-healthy-lunch-box-ideas/

 

[Dippydolly]

So last couple of days I have tested his bloods when he has come home from work before his tea and it's been between 8.1 - 9.1 hopefully we can get him going in the right direction

 

[Dippydolly]

If his levels keep at between 8-11 range what will the gp suggest he goes on he's already taking 15mg pioglitazone so if this isn't working what else can he try?

 

[Bluetit1802]

If his levels keep at between 8-11 range what will the gp suggest he goes on he's already taking 15mg pioglitazone so if this isn't working what else can he try?

This is the NICE recommended pathway for increasing medication
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng...in-adults-with-type-2-diabetes-pdf-2185604173

 

[Resurgam]

The Lidl protein rolls are on offer at the moment, four for a pound - they don't spike me, though I can only eat one - they can be sliced into two or three and they make a substantial meal with meat filling - or cheese. They freeze very well.
You could try substituting radishes boiled in several changes of water as potato substitute, or mashed cauliflower or celeriac - celeriac can make chips too. It is well worth looking for substitutes or alternate ways to cook various dishes.
I still use Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution for reference and there are loads of meals, menus and recipes in there.

 

[Dippydolly]

Hi update he has been given a bigger dose of pioglitazone 30mg he goes back in March for a blood test I was worried that he would really put weight on with the bigger dose but he seems to have lost some (don’t know how with just having Xmas) so will have to see if they work