Diabetes

[dirtgirl]

Hi, I'm afraid I know nothing about diabetes, but when Googling for information about the Shark's Fin Melon I grew last year, I remember mentions of it being eaten in Asia by diabetics. I'm not quite sure how it helps, but if you read up on it, and want some seeds, then I am happy to send you some. I also thought I'd mention that you can grow your own Stevia Buy Stevia rebaudiana (Sugar Plant or Sweet Herb of Paraguay) HTH

[julesapple]

That's interesting. Wiki says "Across Asia eating this melon is also said to help people with diabetes. Several scientific studies have confirmed its hypoglycemic effect "

Wiki also says a fair amount about how the SFM is used in South America to make confectionery, so I wonder if their sweeties are a bit healthier than ours?

Jules

[dirtgirl]

Hmmmm, SFM sweeties made with Stevia? Could be a new project for you?

[julesapple]

Yeah......I might have to take a research trip to, maybe, Brazil or Darkest Peru?

Jules

[julesapple]

So, the diabetic clinic.

Firstly I'm not impressed that the nurse, herself a diabetic, was eating Rowntrees Randoms in front of the BH....

Information overload, our brains are spinning. The BH has a monitor, a big folder and he's booked to go on a day & half course for Diabetic Education. The nurse has over-ridden the doctor's instructions about starting Metformin one tablet mid-breakfast for a fortnight, then going up to two a day. This is annoying as BH is feeling very nauseous and dizzy since he started taking them. He says he will stick to the doctor's advice as she looked very carefully at all his other meds before making her decision and the nurse didn't even ask about them.

The nurse has recommended lots of exercise, swimming, cycling and brisk walking. We did make it clear that BH cannot do any of those things as he is disabled. As to diet he has to cut out absolutely all fat and all sugars. I think he's supposed to be living on pills, fresh air & water even though she can eat sweets! I did expect her to say that to be honest and there weren't any suggestions as to what he can eat, she just said there were recipes at the back of the book, stick to them. I've looked, there are four but I think he's going to need more variation.

He's got a monitor and sticks to prick himself all over to measure his blood sugar levels. I was concerned when she asked him to cut out the glass of semi-skimmed milk he has at bedtime to control his acid reflux caused by his painkillers. It's got 12.5g of sugar in it, but she would rather he asked the doctor for more drugs to control the reflux. I'm not sure he should be taking any more drugs than is absolutely necessary - and shouldn't side effects be a consideration balanced with a few grams less sugar? He has to take his nightly painkillers with food, but she's told him he shouldn't be eating after dinner at all. I think a trip to the doctors is needed to get these conflicts sorted out before he makes himself ill.

All though a lot of the information was helpful, we've been left quite confused over a fair few things she said.

Jules

[OverWyreGrower]

HHhmmmm, doesn't sound like she took any consideration of you OH's condition at all! I know diabetes has to be managed, but surely consideration of other factors (e.g. energy levels, mobility etc) needs to be taken into account?? Hope you manage to see the Dr and get some of the things cleared up...

[OverWyreGrower]

I've just had a quick Google... and Diabetes UK have recipes on their site Diabetes UK - Recipes

They have some 'snack' recipes, as well as main courses etc - might give you a head start, and give your OH some motivation?

[julesapple]

OWG Thank you so much. I've had such a long carp day today that the recipes on there nearly brought a bloomin' tear to my eye I kid you not. The BH would love most of those - going to surprise him with some of the fruit & nut bars tomorrow! Just browsing the baking section ( I love baking) and it looks sooooo good!

Jules

[donnakebab]

Hi Jules. You will probably get better information from the day course. I did. And as far as over-riding the doctor I'm pretty sure nurses don't have that power...even specialist ones of which she wasn't a very good example.

Chin up. X

[taff]

thats the problem really. You see one person, they give you advice and tell you things, then you have 20 more questions as a result of this advice, but you wont be seeing them for ages to ask, so you end up looking on the internet and scaring yourself silly.

You might want to write down any questions that occur to you now, so you can ask them all the next time you see someone.

It might be that they want to start off with a strict diabetic diet for a few weeks, because it might have an immediate impact on his health, rather than doing it slowly slowly. The glass of milk will affect his blood sugar levels when he sleeps, which is probably why she said stop taking it. Sh might have been having a crash which was why she was eating sweets.

[Buleste]

Metformin does make you feel all shades of crap at the start but it should wear off after a few weeks. I think you're right about the sticking to one a day and then going up to two. However if your BH blood sugar is high first thing in the morning before he eats anything (16+) then 2 probably is a better idea but be prepared for him to really off his food etc for a fortnight.

My mother was a Diabetes Specialist nurse and the cutting out all fat and sugar advice is extreme for a newly diagnosed patient. It's better to do everything in moderation especially as the metformin will be altering his appetite.

As for the glass of milk before bedtime I personally drink 500ml of fruit juice before I go to bed which contains more sugar than milk (120ml of fruit juice is recommended for someone who is having a hypo (low blood sugar)) and my sugars are fine. However if the doctor says he should cut it out then they will probably put him on Omeprazole which does work very well.

As for the nurse eating sweets well the truth is nurses love to snack and if you are a diabetic you don't have to cut out on sweets just don't scoff the whole bag in one sitting or if you do then just don't do it every day.

[julesapple]

This morning's BG level was 9.8 before breakfast. I think that's danged good considering the very first fasting test he had (fasting for 12 hours) was 14.8, and yesterday's test that the nurse did to show how the machine worked (taken lest than an hour after food) was 11.1. He's only taken 4 Metformin 500mg so far. He's still only taking one daily. Also, I read last night that the twice a day BG testing is supposed to be the patient's choice. Now, I can fully understand her asking BH to do it until the levels are stable because it makes sense to monitor it and know where you are, but she told him he was going to be pricking his fingers twice a day for the rest of his natural, where as my Dad only has it done twice a year at the clinic (and he's doing really well) I've tried the gadget myself this morning and my level is 5.1 (not bad considering I was very upset last night and ate three Picnic bars for consolation, as awful as that sounds)

The diet is a bit of a worry (again) the nurse had a hissy when he said he'd eaten two soft boiled eggs on two small slices of seeded wholegrain bread. I thought maybe the cholesterol in eggs, but she said no, that was far too much breakfast, the portion size was too big and then she went on to tell him not to lose weight too fast.

I'm also a bit concerned that this nurse was saying she wanted the BH 'maxed out' on Metformin and Statins. If his level taken this morning (after his milk last night) was a good indication of how fast it's dropping, why would he need more than the two?

We were told yesterday that BH has to tell the DVLA and our car insurance providers, but this has turned out to be not the case for Type 2.

It's all the contradictions I can't get my head around. I've made a list of things to ask the doctor about. I can't wait to get everything stabilised and sorted out, this is taking over at present.



Jules

[taff]

my mother checks her blood nearly every day, my father too, it's not such a big deal. She keeps a daily record of her levels in a notepad just for reference.
See if you can find a forum that does diabetes and ask your questions on there too. Someone might have more of an idea why she's maxing him out before you see the doc to ask.
She felt like cr@p when she first started taking the tablets too, and didn't take as many as she was told to