Advice Please

[Katie1234]

Hello
I wonder if anyone can advise me please ? My husband was diagnosed as having Type 2 at the doctors yesterday after having had an infection on his leg that just would not heal .Im quite worried about him but he seems to be in denial . The doctor said his blood test or something came back as 121 and that was high so has given him some medication called Metformin and a clinic appointment with a specialist nurse to discuss tackling his diet ? Could somebody explain the blood test thing as i dont quite understand it and perhaps point me in the right direction of trying to help him or at least have some idea of what to do diet wise as i feel a bit lost !
Thankyou Katie

 

[Amigo]

Hello
I wonder if anyone can advise me please ? My husband was diagnosed as having Type 2 at the doctors yesterday after having had an infection on his leg that just would not heal .Im quite worried about him but he seems to be in denial . The doctor said his blood test or something came back as 121 and that was high so has given him some medication called Metformin and a clinic appointment with a specialist nurse to discuss tackling his diet ? Could somebody explain the blood test thing as i dont quite understand it and perhaps point me in the right direction of trying to help him or at least have some idea of what to do diet wise as i feel a bit lost !
Thankyou Katie

That sounds like what’s called a Hba1c blood test Katie and it shows how much glucose has been in the blood over the past 10-12 weeks. It should be under 48 so that is quite high and could contribute to the infection because high blood glucose fuels and ‘feeds’ infection.
This test is different to the daily finger prick people use to measure and I doubt the GP will give him a testing kit. He needs to take the medication and reduce the carbs in his diet. This means reducing bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cakes, biscuits, cakes, pies, crisps and starchy food like that which converts to sugar in the body.
If he’s able to do any exercise at all, it really helps as does weight loss if he’s overweight. It’s really important to get his blood glucose down as it can cause serious long term health problems including the one he already has.

See the specialist nurse and try to get him to understand this is a serious condition that can’t be ignored. Good luck.

 

[Lilian]

First thing is not to panic. There is a course called the EXPERT course and if he is not offered to go on that he should ask about it, and you can go along with him. These are very comprehensive. Will explain everything in an easy to understand way. They even take you round the supermarket to show you what kind of things you should be looking out for. Unfortunately there are some 'specialist' nurses who are well informed and some still in the dark ages. Type 2 diabetes is more insulin resistance, so the idea would be that you do not have foods which will require more insulin. Carbohydrates require the most insulin, proteins require a small amount and fat does not require any insulin. So it is carbohydrates that should be reduced. Then there are the carbohydrates that are full of goodness and fibre, which should be chosen above those carbohydrates that have little fibre, and the worst is the refined carbohydrates. Please do not make the mistake a lot of people make when feeding someone with diabetes. Like giving them pure fruit juice thinking it must be better for them. In fact pure fruit juice is so full of sugar, without the fibre, it is quite bad for us. To give an example of a good meal and a bad one. A good meal could be some roast meat (with the skin on), cauliflower, cabbage and swede with some strawberries and cream for pudding. A not so good one would be meat pie, mashed potato, peas and corn with some stewed apples and custard. Also a little fat with a carbohydrate lessens the impact of the sugar so stops the blood glucose from rising too high too quickly. So some fruit (berries or lower) which is high in sugar taken with some cream, will lessen the impact. Look at the labels on any produce in a can or jar. Look at the total carbohydrate not just the sugar content. Some say no added sugar but the carbohydrate count still might be very high. Try and keep to as much real food as you can.

 

[gBax]

Hello Katie,
Sorry to hear about you poor husband. Certainly taking longer for wounds, etc, is a symptom of Diabetes. It is likely that his doctor did a blood test called HbA1c. This is a measure of his glucose levels over 2-3 months. It is an excellent test for diabetes. In the U.K. we express it as a % or mol/l. In the US they use mg/dl. You mention the level as 121. Therefore it sounds like his reading is being expressed as mg/dl. That would suggest he is in a range of 100-150, which would be a good level. This raises the question, what is the actual reading and what unit of measure is being used? The doctor must be fairly sure he has the signs of diabetes and starting him on Metformin is an excellent starting point. Referring him to a Diabetic Specialist Nurse (DNS) is also a good step. The DSN will take the time to explain to him the reasons why they believe he is either diabetic or pre-diabetic. If the DNS sees it as necessary they will involve a nutritionist to explain a suitable diet. I wish you both all the best and remember that if properly controlled there is no reason why you can’t live a perfectly normal life. I hope this helps and good luck. Geof

 

[Robin]

You mention the level as 121. Therefore it sounds like his reading is being expressed as mg/dl

I think it's more likely to be your first suggestion, that it's an HbA1c, expressed as mmol/l, which is the way the UK now does it. ( Doctors sometimes still quote the old %, but they're supposed to have been converted). Which is definitely a diagnosis of diabetes, and would warrant an immediate prescription for medication, together with education on diet etc.
( We don't know where the original poster lives, but as this is a U.K. site, I'd presume Katie was in the UK until told otherwise! I think the US values are a red herring.)

 

[trophywench]

I think it's mmol/L too - hence exactly why the GP put him straight onto metformin PDQ.

Katie - you and your husband need to understand that Metformin doesn't work quickly by any means - takes over 2 weeks, up to 3 weeks, to start having any effect whatever and will also apply every time the dose is increased. It builds up in the body gradually, and will only stay at whatever helpful level it achieves (and each person is different in how much they need) as long as that level is kept constant by topping it up every day from now on. So he needs to keep on taking the tablets, not just 'when he remembers' LOL

However - and this is why you need to see the nurse, and you should go along with him because after all two heads are always better than one when being bombarded with new information and being asked all sorts of questions at the same time! - there is what is referred to as a 'treatment triad' for ALL forms of diabetes - this consists of Drugs, Diet and Exercise - sometimes people can manage on only the latter two but at least at the moment your hubby can't.

You've probably already gleaned from the Press and TV that diabetics can get allsorts of complications if they don't control their blood glucose sufficiently and with sufficient dedication to keep carrying on and it's absolutely true - it not only can, but it also does - so the aim is to stop that happening however we can, BUT - the medical profession can only advise us, not make us do things - so an awful lot of effort needs to be put in by the patients themselves. So that means the Diet and Exercise parts of the triad are entirely down to US.

 

[Martin Canty]

To clarify, here in the States we express A1c as a % & BG levels as mg/dl...... so my last HbA1c was 5.5% & my FBG this morning as 120 (running about 30 high this morning as I feel I'm fighting a cold)

Katie, it is absolutely the worst thing for your husband to be in denial, D is a chronic condition but with the right attitude & some work controllable. I hope that meeting with the specialist will help him in understanding his disease, In the mean time please ask for any advice & suggestions for questions for him to raise with the specialist.

 

[Katie1234]

Hello again and thankyou so much for your replies thats very kind of you to spare the time to reply to me , We do live in the U.K Robin , I think i will have a good look around the posts on here as they seem more use than the G.P so far and i had not thought i would be allowed to go with Danny to the nurse appointment so thats good to know
Thankyou Katie

 

[trophywench]

Of course you can Katie! My husband accompanies me and vice versa - we can each act as memory jogger for the questions so when they ask me 'Have you ever had whatever' and I can't remember having it - Pete can say eg that I certainly haven't since 1998. However when I was diagnosed as an adult and they asked me what birth weight I was - that was a bit of a conundrum even for my mother, who told them one of us was about X and the other about Y - but which was which she hadn't a clue now ! LOL

 

[Drummer]

That Hba1c result is really high - but mine was 91 and it was down to 41 in 6 months and I wasn't trying all that hard - reducing carbohydrates is what it is all about.
Some advice from the professionals is dreadful - like eating potatoes and baked beans claiming that they have no effect on blood glucose so that Type ones don't have to bolus for them - that is correct their insulin levels to cover the extra carbs eaten. This is not the case.
I have lost a load of weight, feel so much better and the diabetes is pretty irrelevant now, after over a year from diagnosis - but I was back to normal after 6 months.
I try to have foods which are 10 percent carbs or less as the main part of my menu - with some slightly higher things in moderation, and it works a treat.

 

[Katie1234]

That was funny Jenny about your mum .... Thankyou Drummer obviously you have worked hard to get your result

 

[Drummer]

That is the most embarrassing part - it has been so easy for me. No sweating in the gym or out pounding the pavement at all hours, just eating lovely food drinking real coffee with thick cream, and seeing my numbers drop. I am over 40lb lighter and hardly realised I was losing weight until my trousers and skirts started sliding down. Even then, I thought that they were just getting old and the elastic was failing. Then I realised that I'd shrunk by almost a foot.
I am either one of the luckiest people on the planet or a lot of folks should be apologising for all the things said about Dr Atkins over the years.
I have joined a morris dance side, and a band, and am going teaching dancing and music, so I am rushing about all over the place - but that is because I can, not because I have to.