Head in the sand diabetic sister. Now side effects too. How can I help?

[glitterbiscuits]

It's my step sister but we used to be really close until she moved abroad
No one really knows how long she has been diabetic. Maybe 10years? No more than that as I think it was gestational diabetes that didnt properly resolve.
She's 52 and about 6 stones overweight. She never has been offered any medication at all. I'm not sure she has a GP as they move a lot!
At all family gatherings she eats... heartily. She's a care worker so eats erratically.
Today we found out she has tingling in her fingers, arms and possibly legs.

Is this for life? Other than weight loss what advice are diabetics given?
Would vitamin B help ( thinking B is for nerves?)
I'm going to try to encourage her
Any advice welcome please.

Have a look at the diabetes.co.uk site which has excellent advice in the forums. Basically she needs to ditch carbs, which can be quite tricky to get your head round!

Thanks.

I'm just trying to hint at a few subjects. I thought if I could find some inspirational stories I may be able to steer her gently

There’s plenty inspirational stories online

www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/treating-your-diabetes/type2-diabetes-remission

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21656330

But first she needs to register with a GP on Friday, make an appointment and get meds now, if she needs them. Diabetes is a very serious illness - it’s the main cause of lower limb amputations in the Uk and it can also lead to blindness. So it’s not something to be ignored.

Here’s a tool to self diagnose type 2 diabetes

www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/

You sound like a very caring person and I hope she listens to you and seeks help.

Is she completely clueless? Or in denial?

Clueless you can do something with, denial not so much.

She's an adult she can make unwise decisions and if she's aware of the damage she's doing then you can't do much else. She's making a choice which is not for you to judge or try and change even if it is painful to watch. Until she comes to it herself you're not likely to make much headway and you'll end up frustration

If she's in denial then it's going to be very hard to address.

Could you join diabetes.UK or diabetes.Org and ask in their chat rooms for advice on what helped people realise, what helped them change?

She's likely to be damaging her body. Do you know if she was ever diagnosed with non gestational diabetes?
She should have had bloods done after the birth all those years ago.

I agree it's very likely to be diabetes but could equally be something else.

Embracing lower carb and healthy GI would be good for her whatever her diagnosis. You have to be quite determined, it's quite a lifestyle change.

What can help people is picking up a blood glucose monitor. They are easy to use.
She could get instant readings and this will give her the information she needs to make choices if she wants to.

Is this for life? Other than weight loss what advice are diabetics given?

That depends on the type of diabetes and severity of insulin resistance/lack of insulin made. It's not that simple as giving just a few suggestions. She needs a medical professional for that.

She sounds in need of rapid & assertive medical help to deal with the diabetes problem.

A multivitamin & mineral tablet can't hurt, esp one with decent levels of B group - she's likely to be low or deficient in many, particularly if she eats lots of refined & highly processed foods. (There are some decent chewables versions around if she prefers.)

However, please remember that she ultimately has to take reponsibility herself for this, it'snot all on you. Good luck, OP.

First ask her. This is her own health - she in all likelihood knows that she has diabetes, has declined medical intervention and doesn’t believe the complications will happen to her.

But be prepared that she will not engage - I have seen people refuse to cut down sugar intake whilst we have literally been talking about amputation being the next procedure we would have to do if things didn’t change.