Husband newly diagnosed

[tartanheart]

So husband diagnosed with type 2 diabetes yesterday after feeling shocking for a few weeks, Hbac1 was 105!

Have the GI Gl book arriving tomorrow, any help gratefully received.

He has not been asked to test sugars, is that usual. He has a repeat appointment in 3 weeks

Feel a bit like we are in the dark as to what to do now.

My DP was diagnosed about a month ago. His reading was 80. He joined me on low carb bootcamp, has lost about a stone and his readings have dropped to 52ish. We've kind of been left to it. No dietary advice or anything has been given, but he's heading in the right direction. for you, it's a worry isn't it?

Sorry, not an expert, but the Michael Mosley 8 week blood sugar diet seems to get good results for this. There's a lively MN thread. Plus the MN bootcamp thread has lots of low carb recipes (no calorie counting there).

justmuddling do you have to check blood sugar level? Thanks for your response. It is a worry, but I guess at least we know what we are dealing with now.

Diana thanks, will have a look. We have the GI and GL book nurse recommended, but any further help will be good.

Have you watched that programme on itv about people with diabetes going on very low calorie diets (cambridge etc.). Its something to do with losing weight very quickly can put diabetes into remission. I am very borderline. I have bought the shakes and will be starting after my hols.

Type 2's aren't normally advised to check blood sugars unless they are on insulin or some oral drugs that can make you go low. Doing an HBA1C every six months or so will give him an idea of how is doing.

I've just started the blood sugar diet by Dr Michael Moseley. There's lots of science/research that supports it. I think it's worth doing if you have diabetes.

Thanks, I wasn't sure about the blood sugar levels, that makes sense.

Not sure a very low calorie diet would suit him as he has a very very physical job.

My Oh is type 2 and has been for 10 years, he doesn't test his blood and never has it been a requirement. He has to follow a healthy diet and is on Metformin twice a day. Diabetic nurse check once a year and diabetic eye check once a year. A good source of information is www.diabetes.org.uk

Also it's worth knowing he can now get an exemption card so he won't pay for his prescriptions now he is diabetic so get one sorted too www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prescriptions.html

Sending hugs

You can only get an exemption card if you're on medication for your diabetes.

It concerns me that people with type 2 aren't encouraged to test their blood sugar. I always used to as it gave me an idea of how I reacted to different foods and allowed me to control my blood sugar that way.

Op - what they'll probably be doing is seeing how a low GI diet improves his blood sugar for a few months, then test his blood again. If it's still on the high side they'll consider medication to help it further.

No, DP is on no medication, doesn't need to check his blood sugars. TBH the Dr told him he was type 2 diabetic, and to go home and look up the Diabetes UK website for information. He has had an appointment to check his eyes though. But, that's as much medical advice he's had. We're trying to find our own way to 'treat' it.

He's on metformin, one a day for a week, then two, for a week, then 3 for a week. Will look at exemption card.

Metformin can cause stomach problems. If he has them and they don't settle after a few weeks, ask for him to be changed to slow release version. Many people say that these are easier/cause fewer problems.

There are obvious things in your diet to change, such as reducing refined carbohydrates and increasing exercise is often worth doing.

Some people swear by low carb diets, the blood sugar diet is popular and can bring down blood sugars.

If you do all these many people can get better control over blood sugar. Some will need additional treatment though.

There are several different meds for diabetes that work in different ways, so they'll try different ones to see which suits you best.

@Itscurtainsforyou they've done big trials showing that type 2's checking their blood sugars regularly doesn't make much difference to their overall control. Obviously to you it did but as there is no benefit to the majority it's not recommended. Different when you're on insulin obviously.

It probably depends on a lot of factors I guess. I was diagnosed as type 2 in my 20s (diagnosis now been "upgraded " to type 1) so for me, getting full awareness & control of something I'd be living with for 60+ (I hope!) years was really important.

Obviously checking blood sugars then doing nothing in response to the reading will not make any difference to overall control.

However, checking levels immediately before eating then again 2 hours after the first mouthful and taking notice which foods cause the greatest reaction then avoiding those foods can actually put diabetes into remission!

I know this from personal experience. HBA1C in March was 103. After 3 months doing the above it has reduced to 46 with no medication at all. My blood pressure is also so improved that the GP has reduced my dose of blood pressure medication.

The secret is very low carb and intermittent fasting.

For inspirational reading, education, help and support do visit diabetes.co.uk. NOT the .org.uk one!!

Please DM me if you have questions and need help. Why should we accept that diabetes is an incurable, progressive disease that eventually needs more and more damaging medication when we can take control by diet and put it into remission! My health has improved so much, I,d really like to help others too.

I don’t test my own blood sugar levels each day as I didn’t think it would be a very useful approach but post diagnosis I started using an app (myfitnesspal) to track my carb intake each day in particular as well as calories and fat intake. I also did quite a lot of reasearch on the web about how to reduce refined carbs in my diet and managed to alter quite a few of my recipes to reduce these, plus stopping eating cakes, chocolate and cereal entirely as these were the worst carb offenders in my diet. I kept the odd treat in my diet but as low on carbs/fat as I could find as I wanted to find a balance of dealing with the problem but not making eating a miserable experience either! Your husband should get a referral from his surgery to a diabetic nutrition session as well as a referral for a specialist eye test.

I had a level of 99 so similar to your husband (v high) and just had my retest results yesterday, dropped down to 51 in 3 months with the change of diet and Metformin (hoping that at my next check up I can stop taking the medication).

Like others, I found the diabetes.co.uk website very useful

I've found that a low fat diet has helped me. I need to do this for medical reasons as eating fats upset my stomach. I'm also careful about what type of carbs I eat and stick to small portion sizes.

Like any diet though it gets effing boring at times