Mum dx type 2 diabetes

[cazzy73]

Hi everyone, joined forum on behalf of my Mum. She is 70 next month. She was dx yesterday by GP. She had a non fasting glucose of 6.2 then a fasting glucose of 7.2 then she had glucose tolerance test which my Mum said GP said was ok plus her HbA1c was also normal. I myself have a high fasting glucose & impaired glucose tolerance. Mum due to see the diabetes nurse today.is there anything to ask. I told her to keep a food diary so they could see what she eats. She has already made changes to her diet when she knew there could be problem. She has porridge for breakfast, sandwich(wafer ham,tomato, leafs) plus various dinners. Doesn't add sugar to drinks, no fizzy drinks. Drinks water or coffee. See there is a thread on carbs what about glycemic index. Is there any questions she should ask the nurse? Plus how can I stop myself developing it as already at risk. I got no advice. I am ill so can not exercise but eat healthly & am size 12. Thanx from both of us.

 

[AlisonM]

Welcome to the forum Cazzy.

For both of you diet could be a key factor in managing your diabetes/pre-diabetes. Many medical professionals still cling to the notion that Type 2s should eat carbs with every meal, but in here we have a great deal of personal experience showing exactly the opposite is true. Eating fewer carbs can reduce blood sugar levels. It's not just sugar you need to avoid, carbs are turned to glucose by your body and are therefore almost as bad. If you both scrap things like spuds, rice, pasta and white/processed bread from your plates and replace them with alternatives, you'll not only bring down your numbers but also may start to feel much better.

I would also suggest testing your blood sugars regularly, many of our members have used this to discover how certain foods affect them and adjust their diet to include mostly things they can eat whenever they want without getting a spike in the readings.

1. One thing you must ask tomorrow is whether they will allow your mother a blood glucose meter and strips so she can work out what food is safe, what she can have sometimes and what she should avoid at all costs. If not, you should look into buying one. Let us know what they say and if they refuse, we can recommend some options for you.
2. Ask too if you and your mother can see a dietician and;
3. Ask about any training that is available such as a DESMOND course, these are aimed at helping T2s manage their dietary habits.

That should be enough to get you started, but feel free to browse around the forum, especially our Links and Reading sections.

 

[cazzy73]

Thank you. In the leaflet it said to have carbs but I thought the white carbs were bad. I don't really eat them anyway. But Mum being older potaoes seem to be a staple. So least I can tellher that. Is wholegrain bread ok one with bits. I will get her to ask again for a meter the GP said no. But nurse may suggest one. You can pick them up pretty reasonable can't you suppose we can both use it if I buy one as mine doesn't get checked v.often by surgery.

 

[AlisonM]

Wholegrain should be OK, but we all react differently, you may also be able to get away with wholegrain rice and pasta in small doses. I use sweet potato, or carrot and swede mash instead of spuds on stuff like shepherd's pie and bulk out meals with veg. Sweet potato can be mashed, chipped or roasted and I love it.

The eating carbs thing is a relatively new notion, until around 20 years ago (I think), everybody 'knew carbs' were bad for diabetics and I'm none too sure why that changed, but it's not so. Carbs and diabetes don't go well together, as the majority of our members on here will tell you. We don't actually need them in our diet either, we can be perfectly healthy with just the bit of carb that's in the rest of the food we eat.

 

[Andy HB]

If you definitely can't drop the spuds entirely, then consider new potatoes. In theory they are better than old potatoes and also, because they are usually smaller, they help portion size too.

My approach to my condition was to reduce the portions of carb per meal. By some people's standards it is still quite a lot though, but it seems to work for me. That's where the personal testing came in. I could see what was good and what wasn't. I don't test so much now (probably averaging a test once every 2-4 weeks).

Good luck with everything,

Andy 🙂

 

[cazzy73]

Thanks for help so far. Mum went to see nurse. He gave a couple books by diabetes UK. They are helpful & say careful with carbs change to sweet potato, balamati rice, wholewheat pasta & wholegrain or other non white breads. Plus it said follow glycemic index. But he told her to eat carbs with every meal. Plus he said no bananas, in book it says they are fine. Mum because her mind was swimming she forgot to ask about the glucose monitor. She is going to phone tomorrow & see if they will give her one. Plus she went into Asda & the monitor was £10 but test strips were £25 for 50 she never asked about the lancers. Does anyone know a better deal than that for a good monitor. Thanks

 

[AlisonM]

I agree with the bananas bit, they're pure sugar. Most fruit in fact is a dicey option because of the sugar content. Some folk like me, can get away with small amounts of berries such as blueberries, but fruit juice is a no no except on the rarest occasions.

You'll have seen from my other replies that I don't agree with the carb thing, carbs convert to glucose in the system which raises the blood sugars. Sometimes to a shocking degree. Reducing carb intake therefore, helps keep those pesky numbers in their place.

 

[Andy HB]

Bananas have never affected me much. But I do try to avoid them when overly ripe, so that the sugar content is not so high.

I also try to avoid the overly large ones.

Andy 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Bananas have never affected me much. But I do try to avoid them when overly ripe, so that the sugar content is not so high.

I also try to avoid the overly large ones.

Andy 🙂

I'm the same - having a banana sandwich has the same effect on me as a ham salad sandwich, which is weird as the banana clearly has a lot more carbs! But then again, I am a weird diabetic 🙂