Hi my husband has just been diagnosed with possible type 2 diabetes. Looking on how to help him change his lifestyle choices. He's been told he needs to lose weight ( he's trying and exercises every day at the gym) allthough its been a struggle lately he also suffers from mental health problems and this diagnosis has just tipped him over the edge. I hope we can get his health sorted so he can get some normality back.
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
-
Learn more about joining the Diabetes UK Support Forum team here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/volunteering-opportunities-why-dont-you-join-us.112862/
Newbie here
- Thread starter D14
- Start date
- Status
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum. Any support you can give I'm sure will help but he also has to be willing to take things on board and you may need to take things gradually and he will soon see that the needed dietary changes are not so bad, in fact can still be filling and tasty. The exercise will help and if that is something he enjoys then it will not feel like a chore but walking is also good.
Have a look at this link for some meal ideas which are low carb but based on real food so suitable for family meals as well. There are some do's and don'ts as well as some meal plans to suit various tastes and budget. https://www.freshwell.co.uk/
Would you like to clarify ' with possible Type 2' with a bit more information about what led him to seek medical attention and has he had blood tests done or is he still waiting. The results would indicate how much work he will need to do.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @D14 and welcome to the forum from somebody who also cares for somebody with mental health problems that tip over into affecting physical health. In a different age bracket to you, with different problems, but I am sure we will have common ground.
You ask how you might help your husband and my suggestion is to think about small steps in the right direction rather than trying to take huge leaps. As @Leadinglights says, dietary changes might be the most effective way of controlling both both blood glucose and weight and if you read around the forum you will find a few different approaches to doing this. When you have got that worked out then you have the possibly tricky problem of introducing changes to your husbands diet based on the options that come up in your research.
A bit more information on how your husband came to be diagnosed might help with suggestions together with any boundaries you might have to take into account in working out a way forward. There will be a way, you have just got to work it out and we will do what we can to help.
You ask how you might help your husband and my suggestion is to think about small steps in the right direction rather than trying to take huge leaps. As @Leadinglights says, dietary changes might be the most effective way of controlling both both blood glucose and weight and if you read around the forum you will find a few different approaches to doing this. When you have got that worked out then you have the possibly tricky problem of introducing changes to your husbands diet based on the options that come up in your research.
A bit more information on how your husband came to be diagnosed might help with suggestions together with any boundaries you might have to take into account in working out a way forward. There will be a way, you have just got to work it out and we will do what we can to help.
Hi he hadn't been very well the GP ordered tests, when the results came back to the GP wasn't sure which type he had at the time I posted this he was sure it was type2 but he said he couldn't rule out type1. But since I posted he's been admitted to hospital and they have confirmed it's type2 . His sugar levels are through the roof and they have gave him insulin to help bring it down.
Thanks he hasn't been feeling well for a while now. He's changed gp and they ordered bloods to go check everything over it came back his sugar levels were through the roof ( makes sense he had all the signs and symptoms) after I posted this he ended up admitted to hospital so they can get his sugar levels down. As I said on the previous comment the GP wasn't sure which type he had but the hospital have confirmed it to be T2 they want him to loose 10%of his body weight which equates to about 2stone. He has been trying for sometime to loose weight and actively goes to the gym and does weights and cardio, never a big eater allthough obviously it's Christmas so we have over indulged a.little bit. I do feel he struggles to loose weight because of his medication for his mental health
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Oh dear sorry to hear he has ended up in hospital but that maybe good as they will be able to sort out a regime for him and hopefully see a dietician, it may be useful if you can be there as it is hard for people to take everything in when in a stressful situation, take a note book to jot things down and knowing what insulin they are giving him will help people here help you.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome from me too.
I'm afraid I would be skeptical about them "confirming" Type 2 at the hospital in a matter of hours or even days. There is no specific test for Type 2. It is the most common Type of diabetes and a diagnosis is generally based on things like age and weight, but it is largely an assumption and can be based on incorrect or outdated ideas by medical professionals There are tests for Type 1 (antibody tests and C-peptide tests) but they take weeks to get the results back. There are also other more rare and complex types of diabetes than Type 1 and Type 2, so it is not a simple matter to confirm diabetes Type and we have a lot of members of this forum who were incorrectly diagnosed and spent months or years struggling to get the right treatment and support as a result.
It is good that they have started him on insulin straight away to bring his levels down, but I would be asking what tests they have done to establish what type of diabetes he has. I am guessing that they may say that he didn't have ketones, but I am Type 1 and I didn't have ketones, plus some Type 2s can develop ketones, so that is not a reliable test. Has he lost or gained any weight recently? Can you tell us the symptoms he was experiencing which caused him to go to the docs? Has he ever had gall stones or pancreatitis as they can lead to Type 3c diabetes, which many health care professionals don't even know exists.
Anyway, at least he is getting effective treatment to bring his levels down and hopefully that will make him feel better and he will be able to come home later today or tomorrow. There is a lot to learn in the early days of diabetes and it can be really overwhelming and unfortunately a lot of the advice can be quite contradictory, so I would encourage you to come to the forum for answers to any questions you have. Diabetes can be highly individual but we have a very diverse range of experiences here on the forum and we all learn from each other, so the practical knowledge here is almost certainly deeper than any one health care professional can know. Learning what works for your husband is key to managing his diabetes well and we all strive to become the expert in our own diabetes management. It is quite a unique condition in that we have much more input into our treatment than most other conditions, be that through diet or exercise or medication which may need us to make adjustments to it ourselves in some situations, particularly with insulin.
So there is lots to learn and some of it will seem almost like a foreign language at first but whatever you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask and keep asking until you do understand. We all know what it was like in the beginning and how overwhelming it was and can still be at times. Hang in there, it does get better.
I'm afraid I would be skeptical about them "confirming" Type 2 at the hospital in a matter of hours or even days. There is no specific test for Type 2. It is the most common Type of diabetes and a diagnosis is generally based on things like age and weight, but it is largely an assumption and can be based on incorrect or outdated ideas by medical professionals There are tests for Type 1 (antibody tests and C-peptide tests) but they take weeks to get the results back. There are also other more rare and complex types of diabetes than Type 1 and Type 2, so it is not a simple matter to confirm diabetes Type and we have a lot of members of this forum who were incorrectly diagnosed and spent months or years struggling to get the right treatment and support as a result.
It is good that they have started him on insulin straight away to bring his levels down, but I would be asking what tests they have done to establish what type of diabetes he has. I am guessing that they may say that he didn't have ketones, but I am Type 1 and I didn't have ketones, plus some Type 2s can develop ketones, so that is not a reliable test. Has he lost or gained any weight recently? Can you tell us the symptoms he was experiencing which caused him to go to the docs? Has he ever had gall stones or pancreatitis as they can lead to Type 3c diabetes, which many health care professionals don't even know exists.
Anyway, at least he is getting effective treatment to bring his levels down and hopefully that will make him feel better and he will be able to come home later today or tomorrow. There is a lot to learn in the early days of diabetes and it can be really overwhelming and unfortunately a lot of the advice can be quite contradictory, so I would encourage you to come to the forum for answers to any questions you have. Diabetes can be highly individual but we have a very diverse range of experiences here on the forum and we all learn from each other, so the practical knowledge here is almost certainly deeper than any one health care professional can know. Learning what works for your husband is key to managing his diabetes well and we all strive to become the expert in our own diabetes management. It is quite a unique condition in that we have much more input into our treatment than most other conditions, be that through diet or exercise or medication which may need us to make adjustments to it ourselves in some situations, particularly with insulin.
So there is lots to learn and some of it will seem almost like a foreign language at first but whatever you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask and keep asking until you do understand. We all know what it was like in the beginning and how overwhelming it was and can still be at times. Hang in there, it does get better.
Hi I'm not sure what tests they have done and yes your right they said he had no ketones. He has been extremely thirsty can't quench his thirst getting up alot to wee in the night, he has gained a bit of weight over the last year. And had been told he needs to loos 10% body weight he is on sirtraline and propranolol for depression and anxiety which is through the roof at the moment. He was on a different medication for his depression to help him loose weight as well but they changed it last year.
Hi just wanted to say thanks for the advice. We met with the consultant and he ordered more bloods to rule out type1 they are treating him as Type 2 but want to make sure. They said it will take a few weeks for the results to come back. He's now been discharged from hospital with a plan in place. Your advice has been great
- Status