DIABETES PATIENT IN GHANA,WEST AFRICA.

[SOLOMON CARLOS]

Dear Sir/Madam,
Kindly help me with advice since the the treatment in Ghana is very poor.
i leave in GHANA,and suffering from diabetes with high blood pressure.My grand mum and mum died of diabetes and blindness and leg amputation.

 

[Docb]

Hi @SOLOMON CARLOS and welcome to the forum. We will do what we can to help but you no doubt realise that the experiences of most of our members relate to how things are in the UK. Life in Ghana is very different I imagine.

So to sart things off, what do you know about your diabetes, have you had any blood tests? Are there any immediate questions you have?

 

[Deleted member 27171]

Hi @SOLOMON CARLOS welcome.

I am sorry to read that your mum suffered with complications of her diabetes, no doubt this makes your own diagnosis all the more worrying for you. Are you fairly recently diagnosed?

As @Docb says, member experiences here will be in terms of treatment under the UK health system, but there are some things you can do regardless of where you are such as dietary modifications and exercise together with weight loss if relevant - though the available treaments and access to them may differ greatly between here and Ghana.

Are there any aspects of the condition you are particularly struggling with, or any questions you have?

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @SOLOMON CARLOS and welcome to the forum.
Actually the treatment for Type 2 Diabetes in the UK (USA and most countries) can also be very poor. The doctors tend to say that we need to lose weight (even when we may be normal weight in the first place) and encourage us to eat whole grains and fruit - both od which contain lots of carbohydrates, and it is carbohydrates that spike out Blood Glucose levels which in turn spikes our Insulin levels, which in turn makes us unable to use up our stored body fat and actually makes us store excess energy in the form of more excess body fat!

There are 3 basic routes that a T2 diabetic can go down and which one is best depends upon the individual:
1. Standard treatment with drugs. Once a T2 Diabetic needs more powerful drugs than just Metformin, they are on the route to needing more and more Insulin in order to control their Blood Glucose.
2. My preferred route - a Low(er) Carbohydrate way of eating (not Calorie restriction). This means eating much less grains (of all sorts), less root vegetables and less fruit. So because we still eat until satisfied, that means we eat more protein (meat, fish, eggs) and more (traditional) fats like fatty cuts of meat, cheese, cream, avocados, olives and use either ghee/butter, Lard, or Coconut Oil for cooking. Despite never starving we our Blood G;ucose drops (without medication0 and we lose weight.
3. Very Low Calorie diet (or Bariatric surgery). Basically starving oneself in order to lose weight and eat less energy so that there is no excess energy to turn into body fat.

The choice should be up to the patient, not the doctor.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @SOLOMON CARLOS

Hope you can find some suitable lower carbohydrate alternatives as part of your diabetes treatment plan. Reducing your carb intake will help any meds you are offered to act to reduce your blood glucose levels.