How can I support my wife who just learned that she has DIABETES?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Feb 14 2007, 06:19 PM) [snapback]390525[/snapback]</div>

My advice was aimed more at people at risk for becoming diabetic, rather than those already diagnosed.

Fruit juice is also highly effective at reducing risks of Alzheimers. High cholesterol and Alzheimers are strongly linked, another reason to get your cholesterol under control. OJ helps with that, for those who don't have daily concerns with blood sugar.

Harry

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(loveit @ Feb 15 2007, 01:00 AM) [snapback]390716[/snapback]</div>

Green vegetables are the only "good" carbohydrates.

Even whole grains are merely "marginally okay" carbohydrates. Yes, they're higher in fiber than refined, but not profoundly nutritious and come with the same carbohydrate load as the refined variety. There's nothing magical in whole grains that can't be found in green vegetables, at a much higher concentration and without the carbohydrate/caloric load of grains.

For real glucose/insulin control in a diabetic, grains should be severely limited or avoided altogether.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Feb 14 2007, 12:46 AM) [snapback]390037[/snapback]</div>

You didn't say if your wife is a type 1 or 2 diabetic, but for now I'll assume she's a type 2.

I have been a type 2 diabetic for about 3 years. I understand how you are feeling as I've been through the same things.

First, there is an excellent weekly program on MSNBC. It's on Sunday nights from 7-7:30 PM- (Eastern time) and focuses entirely on diabetes. Even the commercials are diabetic related. It is very informative, does NOT focus on the usual depressing gloom & doom that most other diabetes sources always talk about. I highly recommend it to you. They also have a web address that's full of support and interesting topics. The address is: www.dlife.com

Next: If you have health ins. see if it will pay for diabetes information sessions. I went to a local hospital for 3 sessions and they were very helpful and kind to me. Usually you can get a free diabetes meter from various sources. I have one that holds a 17 strip drum so it's extra easy to use. It's very important to see an M.D. every 3 or 4 months to have the A1C checked. That test gives an average number during that period of time. Anything under 7.0 is considered good. Also, any reading over 200 should not be ignored. If you get one check the numbers every hour until it comes down considerably. If this continues for 24 hours or more get your wife to the Doctor quickly. If you get a super high reading like 400 or more seek medical attention immediately! On the low reading side, anything lower than 70 is to be taken seriously. Buy some glucose fast acting tabs and have your wife eat a couple to raise the sugar level up somewhat. Orange juice and coca cola will do as well. I have seen diabetics come out of diabetic comas almost immediately after pouring some orange juice down their throat carefully. One 86 year old lady was talking and joking 5 minutes later.

Diet & Weight: You need to start reading labels on everything to see how much sugar & carbs are in the product. They are your wife's enemy, not fat. I buy products that are lower in those areas and many of them say "No sugar added" on the box. Depending on your wife's weight she may or may not need to lose weight. In my case I lost 90 pounds through change of diet, daily exercise, and a lot of sacrifice. And yes, I do have candy bars and other sweets on occasion. I have learned what and when I can do that without causing a problem. The average person's reading is right around 100. I shoot for that as an average.

Exercise: It's highly recommended that diabetics walk every day if possible for 30 minutes or more. I do this daily and I'm positive it keeps my sugar levels lower and consistent. Swimming is also on the high recommend list.

Checking sugar levels: You need to have a good meter to keep track of her numbers. I personally check now at random to see how I'm doing without the exact same routine.

Meals: It is recommended that type 2 diabetics eat 4 or 5 smaller meals a day vs. the traditional 3 larger ones. I personally eat whenever I feel it's time to eat. I also weighmyself at least 3 times a day to see how my weight is. I have a poblem with food. I love to eat and my weight is always going up and down depending on what I eat.

Lastly, It is very common for diabetics & their family members to be depressed especially in the beginning. I went through that phase. I also went through the feeling hopeless & helpless stages.

Through medication, proper eating habits, and exercise your wife will see positive results and feel better about the whole situation. I have learned to live with diabetes and I control it-it does not control my life.

Good luck & write me personally if you'd like. Tell your wife she is not alone. Daniel

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 05:00 AM) [snapback]390760[/snapback]</div>

While I agree that one should, ideally, avoid processed foods, to the extent possible, I think it is very dangerous to advocate a high-fat diet under the rubric of "paleolithic." Our evolutionary ancestors ate meat whenever they could get it, but they got it very seldom. Further, they ate an extremely low-caorie diet (due to the scarcity of food) and when they did get meat, it was very low-fat, because the animals also suffered a scarcity of food and were thin, and they ate the nutrient-rich organ meats.

Any food that contains excessive amounts of salt, sugar, or fat is probably unhealthy, with most animal fats and "tropical" oils and processed fats (such as partially-hydrogenated fats and trans-fats) being worse than most vegetable oils or fish oils.

While blood cholesterol levels are very largely related to heredity, so that some individuals can indeed eat large numbers of eggs and other animal fats, in general those fats are very clearly linked to blood cholesterol levels and the resultant atherosclerosis.

Any time someone tells me to eat large numbers of eggs, a red flag goes up and I mistrust anything else they say, even though the rest of their plan (e.g. a diet of unprocessed foods) may be very good advice. If you are severely undernourished, as our paleolithic ancestors were, then eggs are good for you, because you need the calorie-dense fat, and your arteries are probably very healthy. But if you are a healthy weight, eggs are unhealthy. And if you are overweight they are deadly.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Feb 15 2007, 10:47 AM) [snapback]390846[/snapback]</div>

Excellent point and I'm sorry I didn't bring this up. I assume you have Medicare. Medicare added diabetes self-management training as a new benefit around 2002. If your doctor believes you are at risk of complications from diabetes, he or she may order this service for you. At which point, the Medicare program will pay an RN or other licensed health professional to sit down with you and go over the steps you need to take to manage the disease. Ask your doctor. If the answer comes back as "you're not at high risk of complications, so you don't qualify", that's good news in and of itself, and if not, then you get the counseling. There's a brief description of the benefit here, along with links to sites relevant to Medicare benefits for diabetes care:

http://www.medicare.gov/Health/Diabetes.asp


Also, I'm sure you're aware of this, but if your doctor prescribes them, Medicare will pay for the meters, strips and other diabetes self-testing supplies, which you then purchase through a "Durable Medical Equipment" supplier (which is typically your local drugstore). The same website (www.medicare.gov) will list the DME suppliers in your area. The items that Medicare does and doesn't cover are listed in the publication at this URL:

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Searc...anguage=English

Also, in terms of web resources, absolutely the first place I go to learn about a disease is:
www.medlineplus.gov. This is a service of the national library of medicine, and for any given condition, will give you links to information that NLM staff have reviewed for credibility, typically by the major players in US health care. For example, you can read what the Mayo Clinic says, what information is available from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and so on. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that in terms of mainstream healthcare, there's no need to look anywhere else.

Finally, I just want to echo what others have said. This is a common problem among the elderly. The horror stories you hear about diabetes are all related to the complications that occur if you don't control it. Control it and the complications do not occur. Control it and it's just another pain in the nice person of getting older. My mother (now age 84) was diagosed a decade ago, with an astronomical blood sugar level (something above 350). At that level, she had all the classic symptoms (e.g., thirst and urination), and being an RN she knew she had diabetes. She finally went to the doctor and saw to it. Now there are some things she can't eat, 4 pills she must take every day, and that's it. Over the course of a decade, that has been the total sum of her inconvenience, starting from a disease state so bad that the symptoms of diabetes were unmistakable. Unlike so many other conditions related to aging, this does not need to be and typically is not a progressive disease. The medical literature focuses on the complications because they want to scare people into doing the right thing, which is to be serious about controling it, not because those are the inevitable outcomes of the disease. Bear that in mind when you read up on it.

 

I have been a diabetic since childhood, 32 years. I have juvenile diabetes, which is technically a different disease than what you wife has been diagnosed with, however, the risks associated with not controlling the disease are the same.

The good news is that, with poor control, many of the dangerous issues that can arise can take a long time to occur. This meaning that even if she failed to control the disease, you are looking at time before the onset of the "bad news" side effects. I am not saying to not worry about it, however, if you get panicked every time you get an elevated reading, the stress will be worse for you than the actual effecto of having an elevated blood sugar for a few hours.

Get a specialist. An Endocronologist. Get on the medications and see the Dr. regularly, especially until the medications are regulated. Then, do the blood sugars as prescribed. Contact the Dr when you see any trend of abnormal readings of high or low blood sugars - this can mean an adjustment in medication is necessary.

I have tried all of the "fad" type diets to help control the disease over the years. The simple fact is, as with most things in life, moderation is key. If I had one tip it would be to read up on and understand the "Glycemic Index" and how foods effect blood sugar. You will quickly learn that the more "white" foods (rice, bread, potato, pasta, milk etc) that you eat, the harder the disease will be to control. Once again, I am not telling you to never eat these, but many people eat a lot of this type of thing and you should moderate the intake. Most likely, you doctor will send both of you to an education course or a dietician - make sure you go and understand what they tell you.

Diabetes, fortunately, is a very controllable disease. It certainly will change your lifestyle somewhat, but educating yourself to understand it will be the key. Once you know what is going on, it will be much less scary and in no time at all will simply be a part of your life that requires very little concern.

Good luck.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Feb 15 2007, 11:42 AM) [snapback]390878[/snapback]</div>

I get similar warning flags when people tout a low-fat (especially for a compromised carbohydrate metabolism) or meat-free diet or egg restrictions (even the AHA has lightened up on their earlier restriction advice) or claim that humans are not omnivores.

You are grossly misinformed (as are most people, thanks to the popular media) about eggs, dietary cholesterol and tropical oils and how and what paleolithic man ate. By the way, organ meats, marrow and brain, all of which were consumed regularly with leaner flesh meats raw, are all very high in fat and cholesterol, and, as a mainstay, meat and eggs were eaten frequently and in large quantity for adequate and balanced protein intake. They didn't cook up beans and grains and tofu to attempt to balance their amino acids and pretend that they weren't omnivorous. This has been well proven in the bone and teeth evidence that can now be taken on scientific analysis as to what their nutritional profile actually was, not veg*n/PETA propaganda.

So, Daniel (Daniel), do tell us, how's that low-fat, vegetarian, egg-restricted diet working for your health these days?


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[edited to better deliniate two responses to two very different people who just both happen to be named Daniel]
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Feb 15 2007, 10:47 AM) [snapback]390846[/snapback]</div>

Daniel (Walker1): All excellent advice, best I've seen here yet, and from someone who lives it everyday!

I couldn't have said it better myself and bears repeating: You need to start reading labels on everything to see how much sugar & carbs are in the product. They are your wife's enemy, not fat.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 03:26 PM) [snapback]391044[/snapback]</div>

You have the wrong Daniel. Reply to the other one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Feb 15 2007, 04:14 PM) [snapback]391092[/snapback]</div>

Daniel (Walker1),

Actually I replied separately to both of you, but the PriusChat board smashed my two responses together into one post, something that is sometimes very convenient, and in this case rather annoying. I am not aware of anyway for me to control that "feature."

My comments to Daniel (the other one) follow where I quoted him, which was my first reply.

Then, my reply to your (Walker1) comments follow where I quoted you. You will see that my comments regarding your post are far more positive. And I will repeat them again here:

All excellent advice, best I've seen here yet, and from someone who lives it everyday!

I couldn't have said it better myself and bears repeating: You need to start reading labels on everything to see how much sugar & carbs are in the product. They are your wife's enemy, not fat.

 

Paleolithic humans didn't live to be 70s or beyond.

There are many ways of eating a healthy diet. There are different genetic backgrounds. This can be debated ad nauseum here, which does the original poster no good whatsoever.

The facts are, hemoglobin a1c of less than 7, ldl as low as possible, and blood pressure less than 120/70 all contribute to reducing the risks of microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes.

It takes a lot of learning, dedication, and change of habits to achieve these goals. Is it possible? Yes, as demonstrated day in and day out by numerous diabetics, some of whom have already posted their invaluable experience in this thread. Is it possible to screw up royally by going off on tangents? Definitely.

Thus, again for the original poster, the best way you can help your wife is to support her through this learning period, change your lifestyle for the better along with her (makes it easier to have a partner doing some of the same things too), and keep meticulous data of her "MFD" (aka glucometer and lab tests), all so that she, you, and her doctor can take control of her diabetes.

Good luck.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 12:26 PM) [snapback]391044[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(liverbomb @ Feb 15 2007, 06:03 PM) [snapback]391159[/snapback]</div>

Nor did the early agriculturists. Both groups were susceptible to diseases that modern medicine has controlled or erradicated. Totally different topic.

 

Yes, and modern medicine also shows that eating a low cholesterol/low fat diet improves lipid numbers. No one is arguing that watching simple carbs is not important. But suggesting that one also does not have to watch for fats/cholesterol is not a responsible thing to do, in light of modern medicine.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 03:19 PM) [snapback]391175[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(liverbomb @ Feb 15 2007, 06:56 PM) [snapback]391190[/snapback]</div>

Gram for gram, calorie for calorie, complex carbohydrates turn into just as much blood glucose as simple carbohydrates, albeit, it does take a little longer.

Modern medicine actually has never proven much of anything regarding cholesterol other than it is a risk factor for CHD. You do know the difference between a risk factor, and cause and effect, don't you?

And yet modern mainstream medicine has ignored carbohydrate restriction, because it obviously does not fit within their already entrenched low-fat dogma. Might the fact that there are no required nutrition course work for MD's have something to do with that?

The effect of dietary fat and/or cholesterol is really dependent upon genetics, with about 1% of the population affected by what is called hyperlipidemia or hypercholesterolemia. It is only these people and perhaps those who already have had CHD issues (either from genetics and/or eating a high-carbohydrate diet for years) who benefit from taking statin drugs. Unfortuately, this would not be large enough market for the most profitable class of drugs ever to be introduces, would it?

Of course, the liver will produce as much cholesterol as it needs so, again, it really doesn't matter how much one eats. In fact, the primary cause for the liver to overproduce cholesterol is chronically elevated insulin. And one guess where that comes from? That is why obesity, CHD, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and diabetes are now known as the Metabolic Syndrome, formerly known as Syndrome X.

Interesting to note that although my lipid panels where never really awful, they have significantly improved by switching from the low-fat/food pyramid nonsense almost 4 years ago, to a diet that is between 65% and 70% total calories from fat (only the best kinds of course, which I noted earlier, and only deliberately maintaining polyunsaturates to a required minimum), with about 25% total calories from natural saturated fats (both animal and tropical), with no concern whatsoever for dietary cholesterol intake.

Frankly, if anyone is being irresponsible here, it's anyone who simply repeats the media-fed status quo of low-fat/low-cholesterol without doing any research of their own.

 

I am glad you are not responsible for taking care of any patients. :angry:

fphinney, I urge you to and your wife to talk with her doctor and not get confused by stuff posted here.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 05:21 PM) [snapback]391209[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 03:26 PM) [snapback]391044[/snapback]</div>

And while you are reading ingredients, place anything back on the shelf that contains "partially hydrogenated oil."

It is scientific fact that trans fats raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, and are implicated in higher risk of diabetes.

Oh, and I do agree that exercise is important and does lower bad cholesterol and helps raise good cholesterol. My awakening occurred because I got plenty of exercise and had awful cholesterol numbers thanks to my penchant for consuming products with partially hydrogenated oils in them.

My cholesterol numbers are perfect now that I have banned partially hydrogenated oils from my diet, my memory is much better, and I am functioning and feeling much better.

I'm not the least bit worried about eggs or meat. I have identified the real culprit, trans fats.

Harry

 

Fphinney,

You've received much exellent advice on dealing with diabetes and there is no need to repeat that here. What I do want to mention is your relationship with your wife. You see my wife was diagnosed with diabetes about 20 years ago, and just as in your case, she was devistated. Well we went to diabetes classes (for lack of a better term), that is BOTH of us. And the main thing we learned is that the best way to beat this afliction to to treat diabetes as not an illness one family member has, but rather it is a family desease. By that I mean, it's not something that just your wife should be left to deal with. In our case, we both eat the same meals, do the same things, etc. just like a non diabetic couple, the only difference, my wife is the one wearing the insulin pump.

In our case if anything, it has brought the both of us closer together, and I'll bet it can do the same for the two of you. Remember this, you are in the company of 17 million in the US alone, you can still lead a normal life, and with a few changes in diet and carefull monitoring, should notice none of the complications you hear about. And for what it's worth, after 20 years with type II, my wife has not suffered any complications.

Keep us posted as to your progress, we're all pulling for you, and I'll just bet, the two of you will beat this.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 14 2007, 07:29 AM) [snapback]390155[/snapback]</div>

Sorry to hear about your grandson. Hope he does well long term (it sounds like he has a wonderful mother, and that sure helps!)

I have my cholesterol down to about 178 now using fish oil tablets and oatmeal, and I'm working on the trigycerides with the 1,000 mg of Niacin each night my doctor recommended. The statin drugs like Lipitor are not appropriate for me for some reason, and I'm fine with that. Not sure it makes a lot of sense, but I have a higher comfort level with fish oil and niacin!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(liverbomb @ Feb 15 2007, 08:55 PM) [snapback]391215[/snapback]</div>

If people ate the way humans were designed to eat--a paleolithic whole-food, nutrient-rich diet full of fresh meats, poulty, fish, eggs, green vegetables, nuts and seeds and shunned the invented foods of man such as pasta, breads, refined rice, sodas and processed oils including hydrogenated oils (transfats),--the vast majority wouldn't have to be "patients" in the first place.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 15 2007, 08:57 PM) [snapback]391216[/snapback]</div>

And right you are.

Historically, natural saturated fats have unjustifiably gotten a bad rap because until just recently, all scientific studies simply lumped hydrogenated oils (transfats), a man-made saturated fat together with natural animal and tropical fats.

Further, natural sat fat does not "clog arteries." It is, however, the raw material that the liver may use to produce, and potentially over-produce cholesterol. Cholesterol is an absolutely essential substance in the body. You would die without it. Your brain is mostly cholesterol. Your cell walls and the myolin sheath that protects nerves are all made directly from cholesterol. The real question is why do some people's liver overproduce cholesterol? The answer is that chronically elevated levels of insulin do. And it's doing so as a protective factor against the associated elevated glucose in the bloodstream. Insulin is a powerful hormone whose primary function is to quickly clear the bloodstream of toxic levels of glucose. But it also has other functions including suppression of release of body fat and in fact help store it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 15 2007, 05:23 PM) [snapback]391134[/snapback]</div>

I'm sorry, but I never used my first name before on this forum. Forget my name and use Walker. I am the type 2 diabetic.

 

I work as a teacher in local public schools. I especially like elementary ed. students. Last week I was assigned a 3rd grade class. There was a note regarding a girl who has type 1 diabetes. She has only been a diabetic for 6 months and is having a real hard time with her condition and some of her classmates.

I had to speak with her about going to the nurse's office so I asked her to come up to my desk. I told her I too am a diabetic and understand what she's going through. I also told her if she needed immediate attention to see me. After she went back to her seat some of the kids starting laughing and 1 of them blurted out "Jamie's a diabetic'! (Jamie is not her name)

This little 9 year old girl began to cry. I told the kids who were laughing it was not funny and then told them that I am a diabetic. It seems that some of them never have been told what diabetes is about. I decided to tell them just enough information to make them understand that diabetes is not some horrible thing that only happens to selected people.

I made it crystal clear that any one of them could get diabetes later in life, and to laugh at someone and hurt their feelings is mean, unacceptable, and is not tolerated by the school system.

The point of this is many people are totally ignorant about diabetes and think many untrue things about it. told "Jamie" that she will make it through this rough time in her life and to try and ignore kids who know nothing about diabetes. I ended our talk by telling her that there are many people like me who have diabetes and care about other diabetics. She smiled and thanked me. Hopefully, the kids will see her differently after I explained that she just has a medical condition no different from most others.

In any event, I felt like I helped resolve the alienation and pain this little 9 year old girl had been experiencing. I also brought it to the attention of other teachers and administration. They were appreciative and thanked me. I felt good inside that day knowing I made a difference in someone's life.