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Hello - this is my first time on any forum and I'm asking on behalf of my 86 year old mum. She has only been diagnosed with type 2 in the past 4 weeks and I am doing my very best to make sure she has a healthy balanced diet - all that the nurse has said. However her blood readings are still very high - 27 yesterday! All the advice tells me she must always have either bread or potatoes with every meal and yet the glucose won't come down enough. I am very worried as her energy levels have plummeted - she's gone from an independent active person to someone who is very frail in a matter of weeks. Does anyone have any advice that we novices might have missed? She is on 2 types of medication which haven't seemed to make much difference.
Oh, no - not the same old Bad advice. Both potatoes and bread are full of lots of starchy carbohydrates which turn into glucose and thus raise the blood glucose levels. White bread is actually worse then sugar in many ways!
It's much better to minimise those and opt for low glycemic index alternatives, such as a few new potatoes or seeded breads.
The problem with diabetes is that food affects people in different ways and what is OK for one is not for another. Both the type and size of portions can affect you. It sounds like you have access to a meter so use that to try and discover what is affecting your Mum's levels.
High blood sugars can make people really tired but hopefully if your Mum's sugars come under control she will get her energy back. If your Mum's levels stay persistently high get her Dr to look at her again.
Hi Sharon, very sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis and the problems she is having getting her levels down. High levels can make you feel pretty awful and it's probably not helped by the side-effects that medication tends to bring. As the others have said, it is all about carbohydrates, so try to follow the principles of low-GI/low-GL (Glycaemic Index/Glycaemic Load - there are links to a couple of books in the link margie gave you) so that her meals convert to glucose in a more stable and gradual way. I would suggest testing before eating as well as after, as this will give you an idea of the actual rise in levels that the food is providing. Things should get better before too long, but I can understand that it's a concern at her age, so don't be afraid to go back to the doctor if her quality of life is being badly affected. Let us know how things go - I hope she is feeling much better soon - and please ask ANY questions you may have - we are happy to help! 🙂
Hello - this is my first time on any forum and I'm asking on behalf of my 86 year old mum. She has only been diagnosed with type 2 in the past 4 weeks and I am doing my very best to make sure she has a healthy balanced diet - all that the nurse has said. However her blood readings are still very high - 27 yesterday! All the advice tells me she must always have either bread or potatoes with every meal and yet the glucose won't come down enough. I am very worried as her energy levels have plummeted - she's gone from an independent active person to someone who is very frail in a matter of weeks. Does anyone have any advice that we novices might have missed? She is on 2 types of medication which haven't seemed to make much difference.
T2 diabetics have lost the ability to process the glucose produced by starchy carbohydrates ( bread, breakfast cereal, potatoes, rice, pasta ). So you need to eat those in moderate portions. Think of 15 grams of those as a Carbohydrate Portion (X-Pert Diabetes Course) and your Mum would probably need 8 of those portions a day. Perhaps more. You can test what portions of carbs she can eat with your meter.
The standard recommendation of Diabetes UK and the NHS is for ...
a Low GI, Mediterranean style diet ( lots of salad and good fats) with
--45-60 % of calories from Cabrohydrates depending on level of physical activity and work done
-- upto 35% of calories from fats including at least 25% from Good Fats ( Olive Oil etc)
-- 10-20% of calories from protein.
You should read Maggie Davey's Open Letter to Newly Diagnosed T2s in the sticky section that Marge has recommended.
An Australian member of this Support Group has just published a book for new T2s called "What on Earth can I Eat ?". Its based on his personal journey. Available on Amazon.
Hi Sharon and welcome to the forums. I'm sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis, but she's very lucky to have such a caring daughter looking out for her.
As the others have said, the advice to eat lots of carbs is not necessarily right. A lot of us find that bread and potatoes send our levels sky high. Best thing is to test before food and then again an hour or 2 hours afterwards to see which foods affect her levels the most. 27 is very high and from experience I know how bad those levels will be making your mum feel. Tired, thirsty, lethargic and somewhat depressed. I hope she gets better levels soon. It must be such a worry for you. XXXXX
