Someone talk diabetes to me please!!!!!!!!

[ComeOVeneer]

dh has been to and fro from the gp with blood tests re high "sugar" levels. He had a glucose test (like when we are pregnant) fasting blood test then post glucose test (2 hours later). Fasting was slightly above a normal range, after was 17 (he told me normal was up to 8). He has been made a special appt with gp for 8.80am tomorrow.Does this mean he is diabetic, is becoming diabetic???? He has psoriasis and arthritis and is on a whole host of medication, so I am concerned it is yet another problem. TIA

He might be diabetic, he might have Impaired Glucose Tolerance (a sort of pre-diabetes). The criteria is 2 fasting blood sugars over 7 - if he has had a Glucose Tolerance Test they might be thinking he has IGT.

I hope the GP can give you more information.

Is pre diabetes treatable by a low fat/sugar diet and increased excercise type regime as apposed (sp) to medication?

COV, could he have high sugar levels brought on by his medication. Does he take steroids for his arthritis?

Forgive me if you have thought of that one.

'Normal' on the GTT is up to 7.8. 17 is rather a lot over that, so it doesn't look good. It seems high enough to be more likely to be diabetes than just impaired glucose tolerance IMO.

If type 2 (most likely) then it is largely diet controlled (low sugar, low GI, so lots of unrefined carbs), but tablets (metformin iirc) can be used in conjunction.

OK so he has diabetes. GP says she can't diagnose if type 1 or 2 fro this test he has to have furhter tests and see a specialist. SO what does this men now? Anyone with diabetes/a OH with diabetes, can you shed some light on how it affects your day to day lives? Feeling a bit shakey about all of this .

if he has just been diagnosed as an adult then it is extrememly likely its type 2 - which means he maybe just diet controlled - he will just ahve to watch his diet and many type 2 diabetis dont even check their BM ever
or he may be given oral medication - which is a small tablet a day usually
if it is type 1 then that is unusual as this is mainly from childhood
that is when you ahve to check your blood sugar levels (BM) a few time a day and inject insulin daily/twice daily and also adjust your diet

does he have any other health problems? is he overweight? kidney probs?

dont worry he will be given plenty of information and taught how to adjust the diet etc

Yes he could do with losing a bit of weight (not terrible overweight, perhaps 0.5 stone). He has psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and is on medication for that. I am just rather worried what this means longterm etc.

as long as he keeps his diet STRICT and in check and stays healthy with exercise he will be fine long term
(im not a doctor tho! but i have seen patients with long term problems with diabetes and it is usually cos they dont take care of their diet)

hope he gets on ok x

OK so what diet changes do we need to do? WHat are the "No-no" foods? I assume we are talking low fat, low sugar, plenty of fresh fruit and veg type diet.

yep thats it!
its best to have NO sugar but obviously thats very difficult. you can get sugar from the fruit
low fat too is important
cut down on salt and alcohol
and eat REGULARLY

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in March and it's not as bad as I feared. My diet was already low GI for meals, wholemeal carb, plenty of veg and lean meat/fish/pulses. I had to adjust the peripheral bits of my diet, things like cutting out my glass of juice with breakfast, no fruit yogurts, fruit only with a meal not as a snack, obvious things like no biscuits, cakes or sugary drinks.

I take Metformin 3 times a day with meals and it was a bit of an adjustment for the first month or so as it can irritate the digestive system and cause diarrhea. Now that I'm used to it I really quite like it, I don't have any blood sugar swings which is great, I used to sometimes go a bit low and shakey before I was diagnosed.

Dh has no breakfast (apart from a glass of orange juice, an actimel and a cup of coffee). He drinks no alcohol, he eats very little fruit. Doesn't eat wholemeal (bread is white as is pasta, rice etc). He does like loads of butter, cream etc given the opportunity and drinks a lot of coke zero. I think I am going to have be quite firm with him!

hmm comeoveneer that will need adjusting
best of luck x

Try and find him a low-sugar breakfast that he is happy to eat every day. Porridge is obviously a good choice but tbh I find it a bit gloopy and off-putting in the morning. A lot of cereals are quite processed and have added sugar, so things like corn flakes or rice krispies are not great. My favourite is Quaker Oat Crisp, low sugar but tastes ok and is nice and crispy. Shredded wheat, All Bran and Wheetabix are also quite good. Actimel is very sugary, if he likes yoghurty things then natural bio yogurt would be better.

I'm finally facing up to the fact that diet drinks are evil, especially if you have blood sugar problems. I love Pepsi Max but the more that I drink the harder it is to control my diet and blood sugar. I used to have one or two a week, but for the last two weeks of school holiday I was having at least one day to give me the strength to cope with a whingy child who was more than ready to go back to school. I felt so much worse and I was always wanting to snack in the evenings. Once school started I gave up completely and feel much better for it. (I still crave it a little though. )

The actimel was to conteract the effects of 3 courses of antibiotics to deal with a nasty ear infection a couple of months ago (now become a habit, so could ditch that). The other problem is I have no cotrol over what he has for lunch/during the day at work and often he has to order something in for dinner when he is working late. Food at home is bought and prepared by me so I ensure the bad stuff isn't in the house. I tend to cook fairly healthly, (grilled meat, plenty of veg etc) but he will add a big dollop of butter to veg/mash, will cook with cream, eats big portions etc. Think I will have my work cut out.

The cream etc isn't so bad if he doesn't have a weight problem, but being overweight isn't good for diabetes, so I would keep it as an 'everything in moderation' thing, rather than make him feel that he has to give up everything all in one go.

Switching to wholemeal bread/rice/pasta is important though, as white gives huge blood sugar peaks and troughs, which are bad for long term health.

He needs to be aware of the signs of having too low blood sugar, and make sure that he carries something sweet with him to have in case of a hypo, so ensure that he doesn't pass out from one.

If well controlled then there need be no long term health problems from it, but if poorly controlled then there are risks to kidneys, eyesight, poor feet and a range of other stuff that isn't quite springing to mind.

Have you had a look on the diabetes UK website too? They have a forum there as well which you may want to post on.

(Lots of diabetes in my family, including brother who has been type 1 since age 8, and I currently have gestational diabetes, which is controlled similarly to type 2).

Sorry to hear he has another thing on his plate. Diabetes UK have loads of info they can send you, their website is pretty good. Also you can ask the GP to refer him to the dietitian, and hopefully the specialist diabetic nurses can see him very soon and give him some good advice.

I don't think you should be trying to control his lunch etc anyway. It depends on your dh's personality obviously, but if you take responsibility for his diet then he doesn't have to and it might make him more likely to be 'naughty' when he's away from you. I'm a bit of a rebel against authority and I would probably behave a little bit like that if dh was trying to control any aspect of my life, even though I know it's not logical. It's perfect to do what you already do and have the right food available so it's easy for him to make good choices.

I don't think the cream/butter/big portion situation is an immediate issue, that can be worked on at a later date. You may find that if he gets his blood sugar under good control that his appetite drops a bit naturally. As he gets more involved in making sure his diet is good he may decide to drop some of the high fat stuff anyway.

If he doesn't like wholemeal bread then you could try using half and half for a while. Marks and Spencers do a delicious 50/50 bread that I use for ds's packed lunch.

I don't think you should be trying to control his lunch etc anyway. It depends on your dh's personality obviously, but if you take responsibility for his diet then he doesn't have to and it might make him more likely to be 'naughty' when he's away from you. I'm a bit of a rebel against authority and I would probably behave a little bit like that if dh was trying to control any aspect of my life, even though I know it's not logical. It's perfect to do what you already do and have the right food available so it's easy for him to make good choices.

I don't think the cream/butter/big portion situation is an immediate issue, that can be worked on at a later date. You may find that if he gets his blood sugar under good control that his appetite drops a bit naturally. As he gets more involved in making sure his diet is good he may decide to drop some of the high fat stuff anyway.

Pah! I'm still having problems uploading posts.

Thanks for all the advice. Have been looking at the diabetic website too. Your right I shouldn't be trying to control what he eats when not at home. He is a grown man, he needs to be responsible for himself. I think the diet issue really is a bit of fine tuning rather than a complete overhaul. Slight change in cooking methods, not so indulgent etc.

Bump for any other advice/help.

My DH has type 2 diabetes diagnosed 3 years ago when he was 25. We kind of manage it together because he is an adult and has to take responsibility for his health. if he "misbehaves" then he suffers for it and he is also realising that myself and DCs all suffer too. The best advice we recieved was from the diabetes nurse. She explained the importance of taking medicine at the right time, balancing meals, how to include a treat etc. I've also learnt to judge his blood sugar levels by his behaviour. It really isn't such a big deal once you get going- life is for living.
Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks whyme2. How much of an impact has it made food wise? Does every meal have to be super healthy, can he ever indulge? My concern with dh is because of the long hours he works he often snacks and eats take away type food (chinese/thai/indian etc ordered in to the office). It isn't always easy for him to eat healthily.

Bump for any advice from the evening crowd. Have bought a couple of advice books on Amazon, plus a couple of cook books, to get an idea of where to adapt our diet. I assume the easiest thing is to adapt the whole family's diet?