Thanks for letting me join. My husband (57) recently had a clot in the nerves that control his eyes caused by high blood pressure. They wanted to prescribe him statins so he had a blood test to check his overall health including hba1c, and has just been told by text that his blood sugar is ‘high’ and he needs to make an appointment to discuss this which is booked for next week. Reading through some previous posts, I’ve told him to ask exactly what his hbac1 level is so we can go from there, so we obviously don’t know if he’s actually diabetic or at risk at this stage, but the word ‘high’ is a bit worrying. He’s overweight and has a very sedentary lifestyle so I've told him to get moving and that we need to make some lifestyle changes. I guess we wait and see what the GP says next week.
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Hi everyone!
- Thread starter Podge22
- Start date
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Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
By eating low carb, which will help with a lot of problems associated with type 2 diabetes he could be moving back into normal ranges fairly soon - though it would be wise, in the circumstances to do it gradually by reducing and replacing the high carb items a little at a time.
High blood pressure can be reduced by eating low carb, so if medication is being taken at the same time it needs to be monitored. Several people on the low carb forum I am on had falls - one quite nasty and life changing - as they went on taking tablets and were going dizzy on standing up or going up stairs.
I had a bad time on statins, so you might try diet before medication if the GP will allow it. It really affected my memory and I thought I was going senile. It has taken years to return to something like normal.
High blood pressure can be reduced by eating low carb, so if medication is being taken at the same time it needs to be monitored. Several people on the low carb forum I am on had falls - one quite nasty and life changing - as they went on taking tablets and were going dizzy on standing up or going up stairs.
I had a bad time on statins, so you might try diet before medication if the GP will allow it. It really affected my memory and I thought I was going senile. It has taken years to return to something like normal.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of your husband's problems with his eyes. I would wait until the appointment to see how high his Hba1C is and go from there but it is best to make gradual changes to diet especially as sometimes a quick drop in blood glucose which happens when dietary changes and or medication are introduced can cause issues with eyes and nerves which would be the last thing you want.
If you look at this link it might prepare you for the sort of questions to ask at the appointment and give you some ideas for modifying diet if it proves his blood glucose is high, how much change will depend on how high but if he needs to lose weight anyway then it is a approach than will help with that as well. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
Sorry to hear about the health issues your husband is facing but I like your use of the phrase " That WE need to make some lifestyle changes" as it will help him if you are also embracing the changes and likely do you good too. Are there any activities that you used to enjoy that perhaps have fallen by the wayside that you could take up again together.... dancing or walking or cycling or playing table tennis or gardening or swimming?.... It doesn't have to be overly exertive, just something to get your bodies moving a bit more and the blood flowing and the lungs working a bit harder. If it is something you both enjoy that will obviously encourage you to stick at it on the days when you/he are less motivated.
As regards dietary changes, there are two main approaches but some people are successful with mixing and matching...
The very low calorie Newcastle/Fast 800 diet is usually a meal replacement shakes based diet of 800 calories a day and is designed to make your body burn off the visceral fat around your liver and pancreas. It is a short term 8-12 weeks program where you are looking to lose about 15kg. If your husband is started on medication for diabetes then this may not be an appropriate course of action, so it is important to discuss with your GP or nurse. This program is promoted by the NHS in some areas so it might be possible to do the diet on the NHS but it can be self funded using any meal replacement shakes. Exante was one of the original manufactures used in the research program I believe but many people use supermarket own meal replacement shakes like Tesco's own brand. The key issue with this option is that you maintain the weight loss after the diet is over. Some people find that the period of shakes help them to reset their relationship to food, but some people find that reintroducing food means that they slide back into their old ways.
The other main option is to reduce the amount of carbs he is consuming. This is more a change of way of eating for life rather than a quick fix weight loss diet. It takes a bit of getting your head around at first but it can be quite enjoyable once you learn to experiment with different ways of using foods. For instance, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals are all high carb foods so you start by reducing your portion sizes of those and having more of the lower carb stuff. So one slice of bread instead of 2, but more meat/fish and salad in that one slice sandwich, or 3 scrambled eggs on your toast and add in some mushrooms and a tomato. I like omelettes because they don't need bread as a carrier or to soak up a soft yolk and I can vary the fillings and have it with a big plate of salad and a big dollop of coleslaw (usually cheese coleslaw because it is tastier)
Cauliflower can be boiled, drained well and mashed with a dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of mustard to replace mashed potato and used either like that or as a topping for cottage/shepherds/fish pie with a good sprinkle of cheese on the top. Cauliflower can also be grated and stir fried to replace rice with a curry or chilli or Chinese dish.
Celeriac or swede can be used to make chips.
I tend to have bolognaise sauce on a bed of courgette or broccoli or shredded cabbage, usually cooked with a knob of butter. You can get Konjac rice or noodles which are largely fibre and pretty well zero carb .... "Bare Naked" is one of the most well known brands. You do need to rinse them really well before you cook them as they come in a preservative liquid and usually a quick zap in the microwave for a minute is enough, so very convenient. Other people use egamame bean pasta which is lower carb than wheat pasta.
Don't be fooled into believing that changing to wholemeal bread, pasta, brown rice alone will work. There are almost the same amount of carbs in them than the white version. Yes, the extra bit of fibre is good but you can get fibre from much lower carb sources and ultimately, it is the carbs which count because they all break down into glucose in your digestive system and release into the blood stream, where as diabetics, out body has difficulty dealing with it.
Not saying don't eat any of these foods, but reduce portion sizes of these high carb foods and learn to use lower carb substitutes. There are low carb breads you can buy or make if you are a keen baker and in fact lower carb cakes and biscuits although I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners so I just really limit my intake of sweet stuff (I was a sugar addict pre-diagnosis, so limiting sweet stuff keeps me on the straight and narrow) and I now have a much greater appreciation for savoury and sourness and even bitterness as different taste experiences. It is almost like I now eat in 3 dimension whereas before I was just eating in 2 dimension or eating in colour now instead of black and white and I find sweetness in things I previously thought were sour.
Anyway, eating this way has had massive health benefits for me not just with my diabetes, so it has been well worth changing and I still enjoy my food, I just eat different things now and I certainly still have plenty of food treats, they are just not the sweet ones I used to indulge in.... far too often. I am also rarely hungry because I eat more fat and that fat gives me slow release energy rather than the carbs which were giving me a massive spike and then lull. Often I am happy with just one or two meals a day. Having 3 is unusual these days and I just don't miss those meals, particularly if I am busy and getting plenty of exercise. Interestingly, the more exercise I get, the less I need/want to eat.
Anyway, just wanted to outline the two main approaches and give you a little insight. There is lots to learn and 4.5 years down the line I am still learning and making mistakes, but mostly getting it right.
Sorry to hear about the health issues your husband is facing but I like your use of the phrase " That WE need to make some lifestyle changes" as it will help him if you are also embracing the changes and likely do you good too. Are there any activities that you used to enjoy that perhaps have fallen by the wayside that you could take up again together.... dancing or walking or cycling or playing table tennis or gardening or swimming?.... It doesn't have to be overly exertive, just something to get your bodies moving a bit more and the blood flowing and the lungs working a bit harder. If it is something you both enjoy that will obviously encourage you to stick at it on the days when you/he are less motivated.
As regards dietary changes, there are two main approaches but some people are successful with mixing and matching...
The very low calorie Newcastle/Fast 800 diet is usually a meal replacement shakes based diet of 800 calories a day and is designed to make your body burn off the visceral fat around your liver and pancreas. It is a short term 8-12 weeks program where you are looking to lose about 15kg. If your husband is started on medication for diabetes then this may not be an appropriate course of action, so it is important to discuss with your GP or nurse. This program is promoted by the NHS in some areas so it might be possible to do the diet on the NHS but it can be self funded using any meal replacement shakes. Exante was one of the original manufactures used in the research program I believe but many people use supermarket own meal replacement shakes like Tesco's own brand. The key issue with this option is that you maintain the weight loss after the diet is over. Some people find that the period of shakes help them to reset their relationship to food, but some people find that reintroducing food means that they slide back into their old ways.
The other main option is to reduce the amount of carbs he is consuming. This is more a change of way of eating for life rather than a quick fix weight loss diet. It takes a bit of getting your head around at first but it can be quite enjoyable once you learn to experiment with different ways of using foods. For instance, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals are all high carb foods so you start by reducing your portion sizes of those and having more of the lower carb stuff. So one slice of bread instead of 2, but more meat/fish and salad in that one slice sandwich, or 3 scrambled eggs on your toast and add in some mushrooms and a tomato. I like omelettes because they don't need bread as a carrier or to soak up a soft yolk and I can vary the fillings and have it with a big plate of salad and a big dollop of coleslaw (usually cheese coleslaw because it is tastier)
Cauliflower can be boiled, drained well and mashed with a dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of mustard to replace mashed potato and used either like that or as a topping for cottage/shepherds/fish pie with a good sprinkle of cheese on the top. Cauliflower can also be grated and stir fried to replace rice with a curry or chilli or Chinese dish.
Celeriac or swede can be used to make chips.
I tend to have bolognaise sauce on a bed of courgette or broccoli or shredded cabbage, usually cooked with a knob of butter. You can get Konjac rice or noodles which are largely fibre and pretty well zero carb .... "Bare Naked" is one of the most well known brands. You do need to rinse them really well before you cook them as they come in a preservative liquid and usually a quick zap in the microwave for a minute is enough, so very convenient. Other people use egamame bean pasta which is lower carb than wheat pasta.
Don't be fooled into believing that changing to wholemeal bread, pasta, brown rice alone will work. There are almost the same amount of carbs in them than the white version. Yes, the extra bit of fibre is good but you can get fibre from much lower carb sources and ultimately, it is the carbs which count because they all break down into glucose in your digestive system and release into the blood stream, where as diabetics, out body has difficulty dealing with it.
Not saying don't eat any of these foods, but reduce portion sizes of these high carb foods and learn to use lower carb substitutes. There are low carb breads you can buy or make if you are a keen baker and in fact lower carb cakes and biscuits although I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners so I just really limit my intake of sweet stuff (I was a sugar addict pre-diagnosis, so limiting sweet stuff keeps me on the straight and narrow) and I now have a much greater appreciation for savoury and sourness and even bitterness as different taste experiences. It is almost like I now eat in 3 dimension whereas before I was just eating in 2 dimension or eating in colour now instead of black and white and I find sweetness in things I previously thought were sour.
Anyway, eating this way has had massive health benefits for me not just with my diabetes, so it has been well worth changing and I still enjoy my food, I just eat different things now and I certainly still have plenty of food treats, they are just not the sweet ones I used to indulge in.... far too often. I am also rarely hungry because I eat more fat and that fat gives me slow release energy rather than the carbs which were giving me a massive spike and then lull. Often I am happy with just one or two meals a day. Having 3 is unusual these days and I just don't miss those meals, particularly if I am busy and getting plenty of exercise. Interestingly, the more exercise I get, the less I need/want to eat.
Anyway, just wanted to outline the two main approaches and give you a little insight. There is lots to learn and 4.5 years down the line I am still learning and making mistakes, but mostly getting it right.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Podge22
Glad you have found us!
It can be so helpful to have a friendly place to ask questions, vent, let off steam, and share experiences, successes and disasters too.
We have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and lots of people all muddling their way through the maze of options trying to find a set of diabetes management options that work for them - low carb, moderate carb, high carb, meds, gadgets, gizmos, exercise, weight management and everything else besides!
No question will be considered too obvious or silly, and there are no ‘right’ answers - just options to consider and try out to see if they work in your situation 🙂
Glad you have found us!
It can be so helpful to have a friendly place to ask questions, vent, let off steam, and share experiences, successes and disasters too.
We have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and lots of people all muddling their way through the maze of options trying to find a set of diabetes management options that work for them - low carb, moderate carb, high carb, meds, gadgets, gizmos, exercise, weight management and everything else besides!
No question will be considered too obvious or silly, and there are no ‘right’ answers - just options to consider and try out to see if they work in your situation 🙂
Thank you, that’s useful to know. We’ve not started the statins yet - exactly as you suggest, I think it’s best we know what his results are first, and then make small gradual changes as there’s a lot going on and I would hate to make things worse.
Thank you so much for this, completely agree with what you’ve said and I’ll have a read of the link.x
Thank you. Things are a bit difficult at the moment - we’re also looking after my housebound mum and my dog is on palliative care and is also diabetic and recently went blind so finding time to get out is hard, but we’ll find a way I’m sure.x
Thank you, it’s lovely that everyone is so supportive. Makes it feel much less scary.x
Hubby had his GP results this morning and his HbA1c was 46. He’s been referred to a weight loss group and a prediabetes group. Obviously been advised to lose weight by following a healthy diet with moderate carbohydrate and fat reduction, and to increase his exercise. He’s back again in 3 weeks to see how he’s managing and has a repeat blood test already booked for three months time. They want to give him the opportunity to manage through diet and exercise before starting any medication which we are grateful for. Unfortunately as he already has high blood pressure and cholesterol, and has had a clot in his eye, they still want him to take the statins so he can’t avoid those.
Hello@Podge22 and welcome to the forum.
You have been given loads of good advice in this forum already, so no need to cover them again. My additional thoughts are:
1. Exercise (beyond a bare minimum is much less important for Blood Glucose reduction than is the food that we eat.
2. Even though your husband is only near the top of the pre-diabetes levels, 'Moderate Carbohydrates' is probably not enough. It's likely he needs to reduce his carbohydrate intake, especially of things like baked goods, potatoes, grains, tropical fruit (berries are OK) and particularly reduce or eliminate fruit juice which, for Type 2 diabetics is the most unhealthy of the 'so-called healthy foods' Sugar wise it's like one of those energy drinks but with a few vitamins in it.
3. Since it's carbohydrates that are the problem, it isn't usually a good idea to reduce fat. Fat keeps you feeling satiated for longer (as does fibre), plus dietary fat will help the body transition into being able to use all that excess body fat. - Yes, we lose weight on even a fairly high fat style of eating provided we reduce the carbohydrates and only eat when actually hungry rather than just because the clock tells us that it's meal time!
You have been given loads of good advice in this forum already, so no need to cover them again. My additional thoughts are:
1. Exercise (beyond a bare minimum is much less important for Blood Glucose reduction than is the food that we eat.
2. Even though your husband is only near the top of the pre-diabetes levels, 'Moderate Carbohydrates' is probably not enough. It's likely he needs to reduce his carbohydrate intake, especially of things like baked goods, potatoes, grains, tropical fruit (berries are OK) and particularly reduce or eliminate fruit juice which, for Type 2 diabetics is the most unhealthy of the 'so-called healthy foods' Sugar wise it's like one of those energy drinks but with a few vitamins in it.
3. Since it's carbohydrates that are the problem, it isn't usually a good idea to reduce fat. Fat keeps you feeling satiated for longer (as does fibre), plus dietary fat will help the body transition into being able to use all that excess body fat. - Yes, we lose weight on even a fairly high fat style of eating provided we reduce the carbohydrates and only eat when actually hungry rather than just because the clock tells us that it's meal time!
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