the Tobe's better half having a hard time

[franksolich]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018952004

Well, it beats what the primitives are yapping about their latest obsessions.

For the record, <<<does not have diabetes, although in theory should, given the family history.  So much for "theory."

Tobin S. (9,377 posts)     Sun May 21, 2017, 02:33 PM

My wife is having a hard time adjusting to life as a diabetic.
 
She's been diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes. She also has neuropathy in her feet. That's what's giving her the most trouble right now. She doesn't want to take a medication for the neuropathy. I have heard that it can be reversible to a certain extent if you are vigilant with your diet. And that's the major obstacle for her right now.

We are both carbohydrate addicts. I realize that I'm going to have to get on the bandwagon, too, if I'm going to help her. I've done well with losing weight in the past year, but I've just counted calories. I'll still eat whatever type of food I like as long as I'm under my calorie goal for the day.

It's not that simple for my wife. She has to stay under a carb total for each meal and she has to spread the carbs out over the course of the day. A typical day might look like this: 35 carbs for breakfast, 15 carb snack between breakfast and lunch, 35 carb lunch, 15 carb snack between lunch and dinner, 40 carb dinner.

Also, my wife loves potatoes. I think she's suffering from not being able to eat them like she used to.

Right now her diabetes is partially controlled by metformin. We would like for it not to progress to insulin dependency. If anyone can point us to some good resources online that would be helpful.

Turbineguy (23,103 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 02:54 PM

2. My older cousin had the same difficulty.
 
He is a wine aficionado but limits himself to a half bottle per day. Apparently the diet and medication can be adjusted and compromises made. Perhaps your medical professional just said, "here's your diet" and that's it. I remember in the early days he complained about the extra work of having to measure and weigh things, but after a while, you just know what's right.

However, I'm an Engineer, so talk to your Doctor! 

Yeah.  Always best to talk with one's physician, not with one's fellow primitive.

left-of-center2012 (5,069 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 06:14 PM

13. "He is a wine aficionado but limits himself to a half bottle per day."
 
Doesn't alcohol turn into sugar in the body?

Probably.

JenniferJuniper (2,139 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 06:31 PM

16. No. In fact dry wines are low in carbs and
 
have the effect of lowering blood sugar. Although in my husband's case, there is a slight rebound the next day.

Also, people on insulin have to be careful about alcohol as it can cause dangerously low blood sugar.

Massacure (6,194 posts)     Sun May 21, 2017, 10:35 PM

23. No.

Most alcoholic beverages have carbohydrates in them, but alcohol is not a carbohydrate. Alcohol prevents the liver from releasing stored glucose into the bloodstream, which can cause low blood sugar in diabetics. As such, I was taught to not bolus insulin to cover alcoholic drinks, and to be careful with how much I drink. 

ret5hd (11,975 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 03:26 PM

5. All I can do is tell you what works for me (also a carb addict):
 
I don't know what kind of shape ya'll are in or how much time you have but this works for me. Just so you know, I am slightly overweight and I smoke...a lot. And I am also on metformin. I gave up trying to religiously avoid carbs...just quit trying. Useless. I'll eat a half potato rather than a whole one. I'll eat 2 slices of pizza rather than 3 or 4. But I got to have my delicious carbs.

First, I started walking... first a mile, then 2, then 4, now 6 miles a day. Takes me about two hours, just after daybreak. The secret for me is "my route" and music. I had tried this before and failed miserably. Then I found my route...I won't bore you with all the details but about half is downtown. I became social with a homeless guy and always stop, chat, and smoke a cig with him (I have to supply the cigs). I bring him things like socks or a razor if I see he needs it. I walk in front of the local JFK statue and give a salute. I get a espresso at a local coffee shop.

The other half of my walk is adjacent to downtown but it seems like out in the country. Keeps things changed up. And the music...the music that truly inspires you, not that exercise music you hear on every exercise video. For me it is a mix of industrial and 70's rock.

But you have to find YOUR route. And YOUR music.

Then I take a short "hard" walk around the neighborhood after my carb meal, 20 minutes or so. Hard...get the heart pumping.

Just recently I started feeling the need to change it up some. Don't want this to become a chore, I want it to be fun. The weather is starting to get warmer (meaning HOT), etc. So I joined the local Y. Indoor pool. Nice cool relaxing indoor pool. Completely different muscles than my "walking muscles", so I'm still getting used to it. But it's downtown so I can walk some, catch my homeless friend, then end it in a nice cool pool. 

left-of-center2012 (5,069 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 06:20 PM

14. Be careful wearing earplugs while walking
 
I keep hearing that can make you a target by muggers, etc.

Skittles (112,956 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 08:50 PM

20. you should NEVER keep your ears blocked while outside walking
 
it is extremely foolish

JenniferJuniper (2,139 posts)      Sun May 21, 2017, 05:09 PM

10. Sorry to say that is still a lot of carbs
 
My husband is Type 2 and the reality is carbs are the devil and if you really want to get control and push back or prevent complications you basically have to eliminate sugar, potatoes, pasta, rice (brown too), bread and even many fruits.

It's difficult, but if my husband - carb junkie extraordinaire - can do it, anyone can. Testing is key so she knows when she is more likely to spike and which foods are worse for her. For instance, strawberries in the morning spike his blood sugar too high. Strawberries in the evening are fine for him. It's also a great way to see how you are helping yourself when you get good numbers.

My husband's doctor says the goal of every Type 2 should be to keep blood sugar below 140 at all times. This is much lower than what the American Diabetes Association will tell you, but he says there is tons of evidence that lingering over 140 for any period of time starts to cause damage. So that's what he shoots for. 

Ta da.

<<<has monitored blood sugar for more than thirty years now.

<<<only one time ever had blood sugar over 100; it was 108, and got hysterical about it.

<<<adheres to the Danish and Dutch cuisines, dairy and eggs, white-meat poultry.

PoindexterOglethorpe (2,127 posts)    Mon May 22, 2017, 03:05 AM 

28. My younger sister was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
 
about five years ago.

She got serious about changing her diet and no longer has diabetes.* A while back I got into an argument with someone here who insisted that she still is diabetic. No, she is not. Although she does have "a history of diabetes" in her medical chart.

One of the things she said to me along the way was that the nurse she'd been referred to at the time she was diagnosed (and if your wife hasn't been referred to some sort of person like that, make sure she is), commented that almost no one ever follows the advice given by the diabetes consultants. Instead, they go on eating the same way as ever before, and remarked that my sister was highly unusual. 

*is that possible?

JenniferJuniper (2,139 posts)      Mon May 22, 2017, 08:20 AM

30. No one is "cured" of diabetes
 
Once properly diagnosed as one, always one. It's great that your sister is able to control her illness with diet, but if she started eating chocolate cake for breakfast regularly and a large order of fries with lunch every day she would spike into dangerous territory in short order. Which is completely unlike a non-diabetic who can eat this stuff and show only a short, small spike and then return to low numbers.

Don't let the "history of..." thing throw you off. My mother in law's records say she has a "history of COPD" and she's Stage 3. "History of" in medical records doesn't necessarily mean something is in the past only.

PoindexterOglethorpe (2,127 posts)      Mon May 22, 2017, 01:10 PM

36. She is no longer diabetic.
 
She continues to watch her diet pretty carefully.

In her case, at this point, she does not have diabetes. 

JenniferJuniper (2,139 posts)      Mon May 22, 2017, 01:22 PM

37. She does. She's controlling it really well so
 
her A1c and random blood tests may be perfectly normal. My husband's are.

But if she's not on any oral meds or insulin and she were to eat a candy bar and a coke with a bag of chips, or take a fasting glucose test, she would almost certainly test in diabetic range, assuming of course the initial diagnosis of Type 2 was correct. Non-diabetics can eat chips and candy and not test anywhere near diabetic range.

It doesn't go away. But it can be controlled to the point that all testing is normal. (Except the glucose test.) Any doctor who is telling her she is no longer diabetic maybe should be avoided, especially if he's saying this without giving her a fasting glucose test.

There is currently no cure for either type of diabetes. Hopefully there will be in the near future as it is an awful disease.* Controllable though, if one is very careful with food and exercise.

*it truly is; it's horrid.

<<<every day thanks God doesn't have it.

WinkyDink (47,261 posts)      Mon May 22, 2017, 01:46 PM

38. I've seen it with my mother. I've had older relatives go blind, get amputations, and DIE from
 
Diabetes 2.

NO POTATO, NO PIECE OF BREAD/PIZZA/CAKE, NO GRAIN OF RICE is worth your sight, your mobility, or your LIFE.

Oh, and amputations don't just happen. My mother died at 91 before her recommended one, but first her leg and foot skin broke down into oozing messes that I had to dress daily.

Walkers, wheelchairs, visits to diabetes doctor, kidney doctor, heart doctor,....

DON'T EFF AROUND WITH DIABETES.

I speak as a carb addict myself, but diabetes-free so far. 

^^^

[franksolich]

Didn't the late Las Vegas Leviathan, a quarter-ton diabetic, advocate a diet high in carbohydrates?

In case one's forgotten, he was the "Gentle Giant" primitive, and then later "Ege Bamyasi" or somesuch absurd screen-name.

[thundley4]

Is saying "carb addict" just another way of saying they're addicted to junk foods?

[docstew]

it is possible to "cure" oneself of type 2 diabetes, the adult onset one that develops because you are a fat, unhealthy, sack of human being. It usually involves losing many pounds of weight.

[YupItsMe]

Carbs are "of the devil"  I didn't even have a weight problem.  Topped out at about 175lbs at 52 yrs old and 5'9"   I wanted to lose the gut a bit.  Carbs had always been pushed on me my whole life because we were a big family with only one bread winner.  Potatoes and bread are cheap.  My dad never liked pasta or rice much.  Cut drastically back on carbs and lost 20 lbs in 3 months.  Unfortunately we can't choose where the weight comes off. I don't have six pack abs, but I cant keep my pants up.   Life is at least fair because womwn try the same thing and their boobs get smaller before their hips and ass.  Amyways the problem is carbs are cheap. That's why a lot of poor people are obese.   to replace the calories, I was eating a lot more meat and even vegetables are more expensive than carbs. 

[FunkyZero]

*is that possible?

No.
she still has it. Just like me, and always will.
My BG stays consistently around 80.. maxes out around 95 on rare occasions and I don't take any medications anymore. I am still diabetic and it WILL seek revenge as age progresses further. There is no escaping it. The only thing you can do is keep the BG level as normal as possible for as many hours of your life as you can.. that is what prevents further damage to your body.. eyes, nerves, organs, all of it. But make no mistake, it will get worse and I will be on the medication eventually no matter what I do. So will she.
The key is get your body weight under control, exercise, count the calories, and keep your carb/fat/protein balance at about 1/3 for each (or as close to that as reasonable). Zero carbs comes with other problem that you don't want. I get most of my carbs from apples for that reason. Ehem.. "things" that used to be in motion once a day will no longer be in motion... if you know what I mean. Carbs are required... small amounts of them.

[Mr Mannn]

I've just been diagnosed with type two myself. a cure through losing weight is a GREAT incentive!
I've only been serious for a few weeks and already none of my pants fit.

My secret? Heavy on meat and cheese. Serve veggies with dinner. Drink tea and crystal light.
eat carbs in the day when i will burn them. No carbs at night.
Snacks are celery and peanut butter.

Not having to inject myself is the best incentive I ever had with weight loss.
My point is, if you want to lose weight and treat this you will.

[SVPete]

Carbs are "of the devil"  I didn't even have a weight problem.  Topped out at about 175lbs at 52 yrs old and 5'9"  ...  Cut drastically back on carbs and lost 20 lbs in 3 months.  Unfortunately we can't choose where the weight comes off. I don't have six pack abs, but I cant keep my pants up.   Life is at least fair because womwn try the same thing and their boobs get smaller before their hips and ass.  Amyways the problem is carbs are cheap. That's why a lot of poor people are obese.   to replace the calories, I was eating a lot more meat and even vegetables are more expensive than carbs.

I've just been diagnosed with type two myself. a cure through losing weight is a GREAT incentive!
I've only been serious for a few weeks and already none of my pants fit.

My secret? Heavy on meat and cheese. Serve veggies with dinner. Drink tea and crystal light.
eat carbs in the day when i will burn them. No carbs at night.
Snacks are celery and peanut butter.
...

That's about it,become something like this:



Veggies and meat. Reasonably vigorous regular exercise helps a lot too. You don't have to go nearly nuts like me ; take care of your knees, hips, and shoulders.

[BlueStateSaint]

That's about it,become something like this:



Veggies and meat. Reasonably vigorous regular exercise helps a lot too. You don't have to go nearly nuts like me ; take care of your knees, hips, and shoulders.

You do realize that Ptarmy will be in this thread, H5ing you to no end, don't you?

[SVPete]

You do realize that Ptarmy will be in this thread, H5ing you to no end, don't you?

Heh! True bouncy ... my daughter had a stuffed animal of the fierce bad rabbit (or whatever it is called). One time she was in a dormitory situation, just back from the other side of the International Dateline and sleeping off jet lag. There were quite a few international students in the dorm. She was wakened by a young Korean lady shrieking. The lady had found the rabbit, picked it up thinking it was cute, and then saw the teeth.

[SVPete]

You do realize that Ptarmy will be in this thread, H5ing you to no end, don't you?

Rabbit and ptarmigan both taste like chicken, right?

[FiddyBeowulf]

*is that possible?

I was diagnosed with type 2 about 13 years ago and have been off the meds for 3+ years. A1C has been right around 6 for the last 2 years. The last A1C was taken in January, after deer hunting, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and a 7-day all inclusive trip to the Dom Rep.

How did I do it? Diet (60 carbs per meal or 180-200 carb per day) and exercise (walking and weight lifting) which I still continue.

The key for me is to actually look at the nutritional information for the food I want to eat or for menu items at fast food places. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I have had fast food within the last year.

[BlueStateSaint]

Rabbit and ptarmigan both taste like chicken, right?

Don't know about rabbit.  Ptarmigan, IIRC, is a close relative of the chicken, so the answer would be 'yes.'

[SVPete]

A couple of basic tips, nothing new:

* Minimize liquid calories - sodas, fruit juices, sodas, beer (sorry guys), and sodas. They don't fill you for long but still have to be burned off.

* Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store, usually where meat, dairy, and produce are located. The frozen veggies area is OK, too, maybe canned veggies (other than canning doing unspeakable things to most veggies).

[SVPete]

Don't know about rabbit.  Ptarmigan, IIRC, is a close relative of the chicken, so the answer would be 'yes.'

I've had rabbit, pheasant, and dove, and they taste similar to chicken, for a kid at least.