Husband has diabetes but refuses medication

[Nicola82]

Hi there,
My husband was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in 2007. He is British Pakistani age 37 and most older relatives have diabetes. He took the medication which made him feel much worse. He put on weight, had no energy to exercise, was in pain and just generally felt unwell all the time which affected his work. He decided to stop the meds a few years ago but our doctor has been worrying about him since. He's refused the meds and appointments. I managed to persuade him to attend last week and his HBA1C was 103. He still refuses meds. I'm just wondering if there is any better medication than the glimepiride and metformin they offer? I am worried how long he can actually cope without meds? As his wife I haven't been given any information about Diabetes or what he should/shouldn't eat. Thanks for reading x

 

[Amigo]

Hi there,
My husband was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in 2007. He is British Pakistani age 37 and most older relatives have diabetes. He took the medication which made him feel much worse. He put on weight, had no energy to exercise, was in pain and just generally felt unwell all the time which affected his work. He decided to stop the meds a few years ago but our doctor has been worrying about him since. He's refused the meds and appointments. I managed to persuade him to attend last week and his HBA1C was 103. He still refuses meds. I'm just wondering if there is any better medication than the glimepiride and metformin they offer? I am worried how long he can actually cope without meds? As his wife I haven't been given any information about Diabetes or what he should/shouldn't eat. Thanks for reading x

It doesn't sound like he is coping without meds Nicola and I can understand your concern. Is he very stubborn and refuses advice on the subject?
Those levels can lead to diabetic complications. Have any members of his family developed diabetic health issues that would make him realise that he needs help?
He needs an urgent discussion with his GP because this really shouldn't continue long term and 10 years is too long. Alternatives need to be discussed and I wonder if slow release metformin might be a better option. However, he may even need insulin but I'm no expert on that so can't be sure it would be considered. Has the doctor ever mentioned it or referring him to a specialist? To be honest, it might actually be easier for him to accept. Others will advise on that with more authority.

In terms of his meals, I have a sense that he's not easily directed to do and eat the right things. He needs to bring his carb intake massively under control (is he overweight?), exercise and lose weight if necessary. Is his present diet high in carbs, i.e. breads, rice, potatoes etc?

Please urge him to see his GP again as he's putting himself at so many risks at this high level. Best wishes.

 

[Dave W]

Hello @Nicola82 ! You must be very concerned about your husband's refusual to take medication but I can understand his reluctance if what he was prescibed made him feel unwell. Unfortuantely I can't advise about alternative options for medication, but I'm sure someone on here will pop up with some advice.As it stands his HbA1c is far too high and he's risking complications in the longer term.
As far as diet goes, he really does need to reduce his blood sugar level and many people with daibetes manage to to this by adopting a low carbohydrate high fat diet. The carbohydrate foods we eat are converted to sugar during the process of digestion, so foods such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes are best avoided as the are very high in carbs. Foods such as meat, fish and cheese and some fruits are low in carbs. It should go without saying that 'sugary' foods are best avoided completely.
The NHS issues an "Eat Healthy Plate" (name may have changed recently) and this tends to be given to folk who have been diagnosed with diabetes, however many people think that the proportion of carbs in it are too high.
Two books that may help you are - Reverse Your Diabetes by Dr David Cavan and Carbs and Cals by Chris Cheyette & Yello Balolia. The latter is helpful in assessing the carb and calorie content of a range of foods.
Another very good source of advice about diabetic diet and foods will be found on the Diabetes (dot co) UK website aka -DCUK.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[Nicola82]

It doesn't sound like he is coping without meds Nicola and I can understand your concern. Is he very stubborn and refuses advice on the subject?
Those levels can lead to diabetic complications. Have any members of his family developed diabetic health issues that would make him realise that he needs help?
He needs an urgent discussion with his GP because this really shouldn't continue long term and 10 years is too long. Alternatives need to be discussed and I wonder if slow release metformin might be a better option. However, he may even need insulin but I'm no expert on that so can't be sure it would be considered. Has the doctor ever mentioned it or referring him to a specialist? To be honest, it might actually be easier for him to accept. Others will advise on that with more authority.

In terms of his meals, I have a sense that he's not easily directed to do and eat the right things. He needs to bring his carb intake massively under control (is he overweight?), exercise and lose weight if necessary. Is his present diet high in carbs, i.e. breads, rice, potatoes etc?

Please urge him to see his GP again as he's putting himself at so many risks at this high level. Best wishes.

Thank you for replying. The doctor has never mentioned referring him to a specialist or different meds available they are just saying they won't chase him any longer if he refuses the meds they are offering. I will look into what you advised. His family that have diabetes are on meds and it seems controlled. As for diet he eats whatever he wants and has probably too much carbs but that seems to be due to the food he has been brought up to eat, it consists of too much carbs and sugary food. When he was on the meds he gained a lot of weight but since beige off them he quickly lost it. I'm sure the doctor thinks he needs to lose more though. Thanks again for replying

 

[Nicola82]

Hello @Nicola82 ! You must be very concerned about your husband's refusual to take medication but I can understand his reluctance if what he was prescibed made him feel unwell. Unfortuantely I can't advise about alternative options for medication, but I'm sure someone on here will pop up with some advice.As it stands his HbA1c is far too high and he's risking complications in the longer term.
As far as diet goes, he really does need to reduce his blood sugar level and many people with daibetes manage to to this by adopting a low carbohydrate high fat diet. The carbohydrate foods we eat are converted to sugar during the process of digestion, so foods such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes are best avoided as the are very high in carbs. Foods such as meat, fish and cheese and some fruits are low in carbs. It should go without saying that 'sugary' foods are best avoided completely.
The NHS issues an "Eat Healthy Plate" (name may have changed recently) and this tends to be given to folk who have been diagnosed with diabetes, however many people think that the proportion of carbs in it are too high.
Two books that may help you are - Reverse Your Diabetes by Dr David Cavan and Carbs and Cals by Chris Cheyette & Yello Balolia. The latter is helpful in assessing the carb and calorie content of a range of foods.
Another very good source of advice about diabetic diet and foods will be found on the Diabetes (dot co) UK website aka -DCUK.

Good luck!
Dave

Thank you for replying Dave
I will look into the books you suggested as I really don't know what he should be eating but I'm not sure if he will like what I start to cook. Worth a try though. Thanks again 🙂

 

[Dave W]

This NHS publication about South Asian health issues may be of interest @Nicola82. Unfortunatly it tell you what your hubby ought to be eating though may perhaps enlighten you as to why he is diabetic.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/SouthAsianhealth/Pages/Overview.aspx

 

[Martin Canty]

adopting a low carbohydrate high fat diet

Hi Nicola, welcome to the group.....

I adopted a Low Carb High Fat diet about 20 months ago & thrive on it..... One of the major adjustments were to cut the sources of starch in my diet; I used to eat a lot of rice. By replacing the rice with green vegetables such as spinach (e.g. curry on a bed of spinach) I get highly nutritional meals without the carbs, often some of my old favorites just revisited.. These days my numbers are in the normal range & I feel better than I have in many year.

I wish you luck,

 

[Ditto]

Hello Nicola, welcome to the forum.

 

[Nicola82]

This NHS publication about South Asian health issues may be of interest @Nicola82. Unfortunatly it tell you what your hubby ought to be eating though may perhaps enlighten you as to why he is diabetic.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/SouthAsianhealth/Pages/Overview.aspx

Thanks Dave!!

 

[Nicola82]

Hi Nicola, welcome to the group.....

I adopted a Low Carb High Fat diet about 20 months ago & thrive on it..... One of the major adjustments were to cut the sources of starch in my diet; I used to eat a lot of rice. By replacing the rice with green vegetables such as spinach (e.g. curry on a bed of spinach) I get highly nutritional meals without the carbs, often some of my old favorites just revisited.. These days my numbers are in the normal range & I feel better than I have in many year.

I wish you luck,

Hi there, Thank you for your reply, I am currently looking into replacing his carbs or at least reducing them but not sure if he is going to like it!

Glad to hear you're feeling much better these days.

Best wishes

Nicola

 

[Nicola82]

Hello Nicola, welcome to the forum.

Hi there, Thank you for the warm welcome x

 

[Barbara W]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Hello and welcome 🙂

 

[Carolg]

Hello and welcome