Sugars and weight out of control

[suzannag]

Hi all,

Apologies for the long and rambling post but i'm getting desperate and nobody around me seems to understand the difficulties I'm having with eating. I stopped smoking a few years ago for two years and i replaced cigarettes with sweets and cake etc. I put on 3 stone and became diabetic. I now have at 60 a host of various things they say was called condition X. Hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol etc. I am also being treated for a severe anxiety disorder and depression with Venlafaxine.

I was doing well up until around 5 years ago when my daughter died and my eating habits became worse. My sugars were good and being controlled by Metformin. My weight was dropping. I'm 5ft 3 and my weight dropped to 10st 13 from 14 stone. It is back up to 12st 4 now. However in the last year i have started smoking 20 cigarettes a day again and my eating, especially sweet things has spiralled out of control. I was put on something called gliclizide (Don't think it's spelt that way sorry) and have to take 2 in the morning and do around dinner time in the evening. I find even if i don't eat they make my sugars rise not lower and online it says is because of certain medications i am taking. However, nobody will listen to me. My eating habits are terrible and I eat more sweet things than a non diabetic does. The more people bash me over the head with how i should have will power and just stop the worse it becomes. I can be honest here because of the kindness of strangers and say that on any given day i can easily eat the largest dairy milk bar, sharing bags of chocolate, sweets, tubs of ice cream etc every day. I can't seem to stop and the more eat it, the worse i feel, which makes me eat it more. I'm in a circle i can't get out of. I haven't seen my gp as most of us face to face for nearly a year and a half, not even for my depression. All is done via email and i can't get across to them the trouble i am in. I'm 60 and feel i am running out of time. I'm left wondering will the cigarettes or the diabetes get me first. My breathing is terrible because of cigarettes but i know if i stop my eating will spiral out of control. My sugars are normally 15 ish on waking but after taking the new medication can go up to 29. the diabetes nurse i talk to over the phone just tells me off all the time and i try to explain how the depression makes me eat and how i crave sweet things. Can anyone advise me where to even start. I'm 60 now and don't want to be dead of diabetes related problems or lung cancer within 10 years.

On a final note i have been telling them for years that i physically never feel full. I haven't for years. I can eat a meal and be hungry again 30 mins later but they always just shrug their shoulders about it. I hope someone can help me to turn this around if it isn't already too late. Many thanks

 

[What the..?]

Hello Suzzanag, first of all well done for posting here. It probably took a lot of courage, at a time when you are feeling understandably low. It sounds like you have a few different health issues going on, and it is no wonder that you are feeling overwhelmed, especially as you are not having the support you need. Hopefully this forum and site can help you. Losing a child must be the worst thing anyone can have to go through, and I cannot begin to imagine the pain you've suffered - and it is no wonder you have been struggling.
I am sure people with far more knowledge than I will reply to you, to offer advice and understanding of the situation you find yourself in. And I am equally sure that by taking one small step at a time, you can tackle your problems, in a measured way. Above all you must not beat yourself up over any of this. You've obviously been having an awful time, for quite a while, with what sounds like little understanding or help from health professionals, which I think can be quite a common situation, but advice and support from people on this forum can work wonders to help you - one step at a time. Take care, and good luck.

 

[suzannag]

Thank you x

 

[Maca44]

All sounds familiar to myself and I feel for you as I used food in a similar way. Thankfully Venlafaxine worked for me very well but needed a high dose and when Type 2 came along I was able to make small changes to break the cycle so went low carb and cut out all the c**p overtime then improvements followed. I spent years waiting for someone to help me but over time I realized that no one can really help they can only guide and it had to come from me so your first step is coming here so stick around and slowly take things in then try little changes to your diet. From what you say, your well aware of the dangers but that didn't motivate me to change if someone said "Your lose a leg if you carry on the way you are" that just made me worse as the worry would make me eat c**p more so try and take a step back then plan a small change then once that's in place make another etc,etc.

YOU CAN help yourself and we CAN and WILL support you as best we can.

Take care

 

[DaveB]

Hi. I wouldn't expect the Gliclazide to help in your situation. As I'm sure you know you really do need to adopt the right diet. That almost certainly means reducing the carbs but you can still have proteins and fats which will also keep you feeling full for longer. So, it doesn't mean starving yourself but adjusting what you eat. You can snack on cheese, berries etc. I would still see the nurse to discuss other options to help, for example there are weekly injectables to help with weight and BS reduction.

 

[Leadinglights]

You really have got yourself into a vicious circle of eating all that sweet stuff which is making you feel hungry and then eating more of the sweet foods instead of something with protein and more fat which will help you not to feel so hungry. You can still have small portions of something 'sweet' just not all the time, regard it as a treat. There are some better things like protein nut bars which are lowish carb but are filling and sweet. You can make your own ice cream from mascarpone, frozen berries and a bit of sweetener. A square of dark chocolate again as a treat is OK.
Getting your blood glucose will be an important part of making you feel better, do seek help from your surgery, you may need to be insistent and persistent in your request.

 

[suzannag]

Thank you for all the advice 🙂 The GP called today as i sent an e consult. She has stopped the gliclicide and put me back onto Metformin which i was on when first diagnosed. I was on the weekly injections and doing well but then stopped smoking and the out of control eating began. I will try to make changes one step at a time and hope the metformin is better for me.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @suzannag

So sorry to hear about what you have been going through.

Don’t underestimate the magnitude of what you have faced over the last few years. Please don’t blame yourself. You have been coping as best you could, and you will have been working through intense emotions as you grieve not only for your daughter, but also for your lost health.

You have reached for comfort where you could, but now recognise that the support you were seeking has become self-destructive. This is an amazing step. Disordered eating often accompanies diabetes, especially where there are other areas in life where people feel out of control.

One technique which helps many people on the forum is to begin a food diary. Be ruthless, and brutally honest. Note down all your meals, snacks and drinks. And along side that keep a note of the amount of total carbohydrate (not just of which sugars). All carbohydrates will raise your BG levels. It might sound like a real faff, but if you can keep it up for a couple of weeks you willhave learned a huge amount about where the ‘glucose push’ comes from in your menu. You will certainly notice it in likely candidates like cake, biscuits and sweets, but you’ll also see it in ‘healthy meals’ where really large quantities can hide. It’s not that carbohydrate is inherently bad, or should be avoided entirely, but moderating your intake, so that your metabolism can cope better, is a very powerful strategy.

 

[Hepato-pancreato]

As someone who has an addictive personality i can recognise the familiar patterns of behaviour, that merry go round you just can't get off. Smoked since i was 7 and thought that was just something i could never stop. Roll on age 49 used the new phenomena of vaping and nicotine replacement spray. Start off by cutting down on real ciggies. Vaping, spraying, ciggies until you are just vaping. All the while changing your diet as you go. Don't sprint just cut down and switch unhealthy for healthy. Try drinking 2 litres of water per day, one its good for you to be hydrated and two it fills your stomach up. Dont beat yourself up if things slip sometimes just get back on the horse ( if you get my drift). Never to late to change my friend. Your a couple of years older than me like i said i was 49 when i quit the old ciggies. Who can miss bump starting your lungs every morning. Have quite a few health issues myself. Cancer being 2 of them. Yes base of tounge and liver cancer. One straight after the other. Good luck with your journey. Loads of different types of people on this forum, use it for knowledge, encouragement, ask questions someone will be able to help you. Biggest step you take is the fist one by asking for help. Best wishes suzannag.