Hello!!

[VickyM21]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new here. I'm not the one with diabetes but my husband is being Type 2 Diabetic. He doesn't do forums etc so I'm enquiring on his behalf. He's 68 years old n was diagnosed type 2 3 years ago. Since then he has gone through an operation to have bowel cancer removed back in January this year which was successful. Unfortunately it has come back in the last couple of months which as you can imagine has been a real blow for us and we are now awaiting a further management plan. A blood test and CT scan confirmed all this back in May. The blood test also showed his blood sugar levels had rocketed to really high levels. When he came out of hospital he was recovering n I think was just eating all the wrong sugar laden foods. This latest health scare has prompted Him to start cutting out all the foods high in sugar obviously. We want to eat more fruit but what fruits are bad n good see so much conflicting information online when one says a certain type of fruit is bad and another says it's ok so what do we do? He's on Metformin twice daily and simvistatin for cholesterol management once a day and the GP has just prescribed Figrolax?? Is that the name? Would love some advice. Thanks.

Vicky

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, it is not surprising that his blood glucose has gone up with all that he and his body has had to cope with. What foods he has has to be suitable for his other conditions as well. As far as fruits are concerned berries are the lowest carb, with apples, pears, nectarines, watermelon somewhere in the middle and any tropical fruits and grapes somewhat on the high side. Portion size is important though.
I don't know how much information you would have had when he was first diagnosed but this link might be useful for you to make some good food choices. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Also the book or app Carbs and Cals is a good resource for information on carb values and portion sizes of a whole range of foods and meals.
You don't say if he needs to loose weight and if not then when reducing carbohydrates it is usually good to increase protein and healthy fats, but you may have to adapt if he has any restrictions on what he can eat following the cancer treatment.
I hope he is now on the road to recovery.

 

[VickyM21]

Hi Thanks!

Yes his weight has dropped from 143kg to 138kg. This is around 21st converted into stones n pounds is that right? His cancer surgeon when giving us the news about his cancer recurrence said she could see his weight had gone down but said this could be a possibility to the high blood sugar and was going to write to our GP to get his blood sugar checks increased. This we take it is now why the GP has prescribed this new drug for him in addition to the Metformin. He will stay on this new drug for a two months and then get his blood checked at the end of the course. We went shopping today and stocked up on individual tubs of fruit contains melon apple red grapes and strawberries. Just seen red berries and raspberries are good too maybe get some of those too. We are hopefully going to try to cut out red and processed meats because apparently these are high risk factors in cancer. We also like peaches and nectarines and hubby likes oranges but are these ok with type 2? We like veggies like broccoli cabbage lettuce peppers tomatos etc so I'm thinking if we can stock up on those n make our own fried chips etc. It's just trying to find that balance. Museli for breakfast instead of fried bacon sausage etc. I'll check that link you sent. Thanks again.

Vicky.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Thanks!

Yes his weight has dropped from 143kg to 138kg. This is around 21st converted into stones n pounds is that right? His cancer surgeon when giving us the news about his cancer recurrence said she could see his weight had gone down but said this could be a possibility to the high blood sugar and was going to write to our GP to get his blood sugar checks increased. This we take it is now why the GP has prescribed this new drug for him in addition to the Metformin. He will stay on this new drug for a two months and then get his blood checked at the end of the course. We went shopping today and stocked up on individual tubs of fruit contains melon apple red grapes and strawberries. Just seen red berries and raspberries are good too maybe get some of those too. We are hopefully going to try to cut out red and processed meats because apparently these are high risk factors in cancer. We also like peaches and nectarines and hubby likes oranges but are these ok with type 2? We like veggies like broccoli cabbage lettuce peppers tomatos etc so I'm thinking if we can stock up on those n make our own fried chips etc. It's just trying to find that balance. Museli for breakfast instead of fried bacon sausage etc. I'll check that link you sent. Thanks again.

Vicky.

Breakfast cereals are high carb and a low carb breakfast would be Greek yoghurt and berries with a very small portion of a lower sugar cereal like granola, all bran or a muslei but also bacon, egg, high meat content sausages with mushrooms or tomatoes would be better than most breakfast cereals.
If you do a google search for FOOD X and total carbs then you will see which fruits are the better choices. Berries like strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries are the highest carb of all the berries. Although these fruits are good you still need to be careful not to have too much
Butternut squash or celeriac or swede are things people use instead of potatoes as they are much lower carb.
When you say new drug do you mean the fibrolax as that is to help with constipation. The metformin is the medication which helps the body use any insulin it produces more effectively so helps alongside dietary changes to reduce blood glucose, but the dietary changes will have the most impact.
Some people do get stomach issues so he may not have a problem with constipation if you get my meaning, but some people have no problem.

 

[VickyM21]

Hi Again!

Sorry! It's Forxiga? Apparently it's a new type of diabetic drug. So, we can take museli in small portions? He's not a great yogurt fan but did like the Mueller Bliss corners. There's food he's going to have to avoid and eat for his cancer diagnosis and vice versa for the diabetes so he's fighting on two fronts. Is the Activia yogurts ok because they have something in them to aid digestion. Is just about anything ok 'in moderation'.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Again!

Sorry! It's Forxiga? Apparently it's a new type of diabetic drug. So, we can take museli in small portions? He's not a great yogurt fan but did like the Mueller Bliss corners. There's food he's going to have to avoid and eat for his cancer diagnosis and vice versa for the diabetes so he's fighting on two fronts. Is the Activia yogurts ok because they have something in them to aid digestion. Is just about anything ok 'in moderation'.

That medication removes excess glucose form the body via urine so it is important to drink plenty as that is how it works.
You should check the total carbs on the yoghurts as some if they have fruit purees or low fat can have added sugars.
I would only have about 15g of a low sugar cereal on my full fat Greek yoghurt and berries as I tend to stick with a low carb breakfast. Otherwise a typical breakfast would be bacon, egg and mushrooms or tomatoes, scrambled egg with smoked salmon, cheese on toast with poached egg, boiled eggs. I can tolerate 1 slice of toast (home made bread).
I do follow a low carb 70g per day with no medication but your hubby shouldn't go that low, many use the suggested less than 130g per day total carbs and that is a good starting point.
Just to say some people do follow other regimes, low calorie, shakes based as well as low carb.

 

[trophywench]

No, for the diabetes he needs to watch his intake of carbohydrates generally - so that's not only sugary or sweet things. Anything with flour in it, so pastry, and pasta. Veg - potatoes and parsnips are about the highest so don't overdose on those. Green leafy veg are the lowest, peas and beans and any leguminous veg come in the middle. Fruit - tropical fruits including oranges have the highest carb and berries generally the lowest, pears are higher than most apples.

With Forxiga I think you have to up your intake of water, as it causes 'spare' glucose to be passed out in urine - hence UTIs can be common - nobody wants them, and because of men's plumbing arrangements, even more important to avoid for blokes than us ladies. I was gobsmacked when I needed a urinary catheter after my hysterectomy as it took the nurse approx 5 seconds to insert it - whereas my dad had bladder cancer treated and woke up with a catheter, then when they subsequently removed it he jokingly said he thought it was the longest minute of his life. My husband had several in and out following prostate cancer removal and said it wasn't that bad actually BUT I know how sore my undercarriage has been in the past with UTIs so if a chaps equipment is equally sore and they then need to insert a cannula, the thought makes me wince. Far easier to drink plenty of water and avoid that hassle, I'd say!

 

[VickyM21]

Thanks again. I'm sure we will work our way round things. When he was diagnosed with Type 2 we started to work on it and it meant cutting down on everything `sugar based` and taking up regular exercise which consisted of going to the gym 3 times a week and playing badminton twice a week. But then of course Covid happened and lockdown came in and everything closed down including gyms and sports centres because of this. We did manage to do some online exercises at home though but that fell away after a while then at the end of 2020 his health troubles started and he was diagnosed with colorectal/bowel/rectal cancer in July 2021 (just last year) which apparently had been lying dormant for 3 or 4 years previous to that but had been localised and not spread. He now has to wear permanent stoma bag and this had made him slightly self conscious I think about going out doing exercise again plus he was just getting through his recovery from his operation in January and then got hit with this second diagnosis. He said himself though he now has incentive to give himself `a kick up the backside` in getting his health regime in order.

 

[VickyM21]

No, for the diabetes he needs to watch his intake of carbohydrates generally - so that's not only sugary or sweet things. Anything with flour in it, so pastry, and pasta. Veg - potatoes and parsnips are about the highest so don't overdose on those. Green leafy veg are the lowest, peas and beans and any leguminous veg come in the middle. Fruit - tropical fruits including oranges have the highest carb and berries generally the lowest, pears are higher than most apples.

With Forxiga I think you have to up your intake of water, as it causes 'spare' glucose to be passed out in urine - hence UTIs can be common - nobody wants them, and because of men's plumbing arrangements, even more important to avoid for blokes than us ladies. I was gobsmacked when I needed a urinary catheter after my hysterectomy as it took the nurse approx 5 seconds to insert it - whereas my dad had bladder cancer treated and woke up with a catheter, then when they subsequently removed it he jokingly said he thought it was the longest minute of his life. My husband had several in and out following prostate cancer removal and said it wasn't that bad actually BUT I know how sore my undercarriage has been in the past with UTIs so if a chaps equipment is equally sore and they then need to insert a cannula, the thought makes me wince. Far easier to drink plenty of water and avoid that hassle, I'd say!

Thanks for that🙂.He drinks a lot of orange juice (sugar free he makes sure any soft drinks are that) the concentrated orange (Robinsons) so he can dilute it with water and puts ice in it too. He has been drinking a lot of water due to having an immense thirst but this of course we found out this was because his blood sugars were high again. He knew this himself because this is what he was like at the beginning before he got his initial diabetes diagnosis. He used to do night shifts when he worked (he's retired now) and he said he could go through 3 or 4 bottles of cola, orange, Irn Bru etc a night. So surely there's no calories in water.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes you will have to be mindful of the food he can eat with having the stoma. I assume you have had advice about that.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for that🙂.He drinks a lot of orange juice (sugar free he makes sure any soft drinks are that) the concentrated orange (Robinsons) so he can dilute it with water and puts ice in it too. He has been drinking a lot of water due to having an immense thirst but this of course we found out this was because his blood sugars were high again. He knew this himself because this is what he was like at the beginning before he got his initial diabetes diagnosis. He used to do night shifts when he worked (he's retired now) and he said he could go through 3 or 4 bottles of cola, orange, Irn Bru etc a night. So surely there's no calories in water.

Welcome to the forum @VickyM21

Sorry to hear about your husband’s cancer re-emerging, and his diabetes diagnosis.

I wonder if part of the thirst might also be connected to the forxiga, which does encourage urination?

Sounds like you’ve made some great changes already!

For some of these food quandaries and ‘can he eat…’ questions, one strategy employed by several forum members is to use a blood glucose meter and check immediately before eating something and again 2hrs after the first bite.

Ideally by the 2hr mark you would see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L higher than the ‘before‘ reading.

This gives you a very direct way of assessing things which can vary from person to person like oranges, nectarines, peaches etc - and seeing what his reaction is. Then you can try smaller portions if you see bigger rises.

 

[VickyM21]

Hi Thanks For Your Reply!

He just started the Forxiga today. I've suggested a blood sugar monitor to him but I don't think he's too keen on using one. Its one of these things I'd get it for him and he wouldn't use it so it would be a waste of money. No the thirst thing has been quite recent again since his first operation back in January when he was recovering at home I think his whole diet just went to pot and he was more or less eating anything and everything all the `sugar laden stuff` he's not supposed to eat. Apparently you need a lot of fluid intake with Forxiga as it gets rid of the excess glucose through urine release. He's taking this along with Metformin so hopefully it'll get the blood sugar levels right down. The cancer thing has been a real blow because they were certain they got it all the first time but obviously not. Seems these wee microscopic cells that are hard to detect can still get through and this is obviously what has happened so `back to square one` as they say. Just need to see what can be done this time. I'm hoping if we can work on getting his blood sugar levels down this will be less to worry about and they can try and work on getting rid of or controlling or killing off the cancer cells.