[P_Beck]

Good afternoon, I am new here and am hoping that maybe I can get some guidance on what i need to do. My husband (33 years old) went to his VA doctor on Friday to have fasting blood work done. He has recently been having "shaky" spells along with problems with his eye sight and always having to have something to drink. He has gained a lot of weight over the past 3 or 4 years and I was concerned that he may be diabetic.

Today he went back for test results and, forgive me I was not there and don’t know the exact terms for everything, and was told at his
AC1 (think that is what he said) was 9. He also said that normal for this was about 5 and the Dr. seemed very concerned. He is supposed to be starting an oral insulin and go back in 4 weeks.

I have never known anyone who was diabetic, but know that diet is a huge part of regulating it. I do all the cooking in our house, and sadly all the things I am good at cooking...are not good for me.

I guess what I am looking for is some guidance in what he can and can’t eat. I am assuming things like sodas, tea, candies and cakes...anything with sugar would be off limits now? Are there other food he should avoid? Or maybe things that he should eat? I know that he is not going to be super informative when telling me the things he was told at the Dr. office, and want to make sure that I doing everything i can to aid his health. Thank you!

 

[CindyLouWho]

Good afternoon, I am new here and am hoping that maybe I can get some guidance on what i need to do. My husband (33 years old) went to his VA doctor on Friday to have fasting blood work done. He has recently been having "shaky" spells along with problems with his eye sight and always having to have something to drink. He has gained a lot of weight over the past 3 or 4 years and I was concerned that he may be diabetic.

Today he went back for test results and, forgive me I was not there and don’t know the exact terms for everything, and was told at his
AC1 (think that is what he said) was 9. He also said that normal for this was about 5 and the Dr. seemed very concerned. He is supposed to be starting an oral insulin and go back in 4 weeks.

I have never known anyone who was diabetic, but know that diet is a huge part of regulating it. I do all the cooking in our house, and sadly all the things I am good at cooking...are not good for me.

I guess what I am looking for is some guidance in what he can and can’t eat. I am assuming things like sodas, tea, candies and cakes...anything with sugar would be off limits now? Are there other food he should avoid? Or maybe things that he should eat? I know that he is not going to be super informative when telling me the things he was told at the Dr. office, and want to make sure that I doing everything i can to aid his health. Thank you!

Hi there and welcome. I was just diagnosed in Sept. but have a HUGE family history so I am not fully uneducated on this.

It is A1C - and yes, his number is high. BUT, this is a controllable disease for those who WISH to control it.

My quick answer on food...soda is the DEVIL!! LOL unless it is diet, and then you should still not drink in excess. You will find many differing opinions on how many carbs and calories to eat per day. I will leave that explaination for the more experienced on here, but I will stress this...

PLEASE have his doctor recommend him to 'diabetic education'. It is usually done at a local hospital as outpatient, depending on where you live.

I learned more in the first 2 hours that I have in a long time. They will teach him/you all about carbs and food and portions. I was told that I could take someone with me to my appointments, so you would likely be able to go with him.

If I could offer only one piece of advise it would be to call the dr and get him in to someone who knows what they are doing.

Exercise is JUST as important as diet too!!

Good luck,
CindyLouWho

 

[CindyLouWho]

They will also teach him about WHAT diabetes is, how it affects his body, etc. THEN he will see the reason for the modified meal planning and exercise.

 

[P_Beck]

They will also teach him about WHAT diabetes is, how it affects his body, etc. THEN he will see the reason for the modified meal planning and exercise.

Thanks so much Cindy! He did say something about a class that he could go to. Since it is the VA he foes not have that much of a choice who he sees, but I am hopeful that it will be someone good.

I am spending the evening reading over the materials they gave him, along with the insulin pill info. he was given. Again thanks so much for your relpy.

Pam

 

[diabetes86]

Welcome you will learn a lot in the next few days, weeks years.

Insulin is not available in a pill. Insulin is a hormone and gets destroyed in the digestive track.

Carbohydrates (carbs) are what raise BG, ALL carbs raise BG the question is haw fast and how high each type of carb affects him.

To learn that you need a meeter, test before he eats and 1 hour , 2 hours after he eats. This will tell you how much his BG went up and when. With that data you can control his BG instead of being "along for the ride"

Good luck and ask, ask ask

 

[CindyLouWho]

I am glad they mentioned the education to him. Be sure he calls and sets an appointment to go. If you can, go with him. This will help you a lot.

 

[Joshua Shorter]

Carbs are the devil, not just soda. Anything with any carbs: bread, pasta, rice, fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, fried foods, etc. These need to be limited according to what his meter shows you, as has been mentioned. It is important that he gets on board and is willing to make the changes necessary.
Exercise is also a very big factor. It can do a lot of good.
Welcome and please visit often. Ask as many questions as necessary and bring your husband around.

 

[foxl]

Carbs are the devil, not just soda. Anything with any carbs: bread, pasta, rice, fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, fried foods, etc. These need to be limited according to what his meter shows you, as has been mentioned. It is important that he gets on board and is willing to make the changes necessary.
Exercise is also a very big factor. It can do a lot of good.
Welcome and please visit often. Ask as many questions as necessary and bring your husband around.

Just to reinforce this, I was not very big on sugar, until the few weeks before diagnosis. STARCHES, potatoes, beans, and pasta, were my nemeses.

 

[P_Beck]

Well....I am not exactly sure what the pills are that he is being given then. I assumed it was some type of oral insulin. It is a pill that he is supposed to take twice a day 1000mg each pill...according to the bottle "to regulate blood sugar"...I cant remember the name of the RX off the top of my head.

For my part I am going to have to learn different eatting/cooking habits, as pasta, rice and potatoes are a large part of our current diet. I have never had an issue with my weight or anything at all so it never really was an issue I focused on before.

Again thanks to everyone for all the help. I look forward to learning a lot!

 

[Joshua Shorter]

Just to reinforce this, I was not very big on sugar, until the few weeks before diagnosis. STARCHES, potatoes, beans, and pasta, were my nemeses.

Thank you! I was sitting there trying to figure out what I was forgetting and it was potatoes and beans. You are so right!

 

[foxl]

Well....I am not exactly sure what the pills are that he is being given then. I assumed it was some type of oral insulin. It is a pill that he is supposed to take twice a day 1000mg each pill...according to the bottle "to regulate blood sugar"...I cant remember the name of the RX off the top of my head.

For my part I am going to have to learn different eatting/cooking habits, as pasta, rice and potatoes are a large part of our current diet. I have never had an issue with my weight or anything at all so it never really was an issue I focused on before.

Again thanks to everyone for all the help. I look forward to learning a lot!

That'd be metformin. I had to really, really revamp -- and I am a vegetarian, and I am enjoying what I eat, as never before!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

The Forum Family has covered everything pretty much.

Welcome to the forum, please show your husband this place.
Because this place is something special with a great base of members.
and dont take offense to this, but whats great about this place is that its got a lot of different types of people WITH diabetes, and being to talk to other people WITH diabetes is something that has helped me a whole lot

 

[CindyLouWho]

Getting a handle on carbs IS vital. But it was not as hard as I thought, once I knew what to look for and how much I should be eating.

I went to my second diabetic education (DE) class last night. I learned a lot more.

I am convinced that education is key to controlling this. I am losing weight, my numbers are all falling in line and life is good.

P_Beck - Has he made an appointment for the DE yet?

 

[Joshua Shorter]

Getting a handle on carbs IS vital. But it was not as hard as I thought, once I knew what to look for and how much I should be eating.

I went to my second diabetic education (DE) class last night. I learned a lot more.

I am convinced that education is key to controlling this. I am losing weight, my numbers are all falling in line and life is good.

P_Beck - Has he made an appointment for the DE yet?

While I did not go to DE, I would recommend it as well. What is most important is to eat to your meter. That means that he needs to know how certain foods affect him and he can make changes to his diet and lifestyle based on that.
GOOD LUCK again!

 

[purefairydust]

There are some great site to help you along, but it takes time to learn it all. Complex carbs have more fiber and release slower then simple carbs. There are sites that can help take some of the confusion out.

This is the pyramid you will go by for weight loss or maintaining weight, when printed will have several pages with the serving size of each carb. Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid tool - MayoClinic.com

Start here to get to know more about diabetes:
Diabetes - MayoClinic.com

Here is a site with a meal plan, you decide on the calorie count, I put in 1800 where most men are:
1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet - AOL Health

Here is another site with menu plan, again I set it for 1800 and you can hit the highlight food items for the recipe:
Diabetes Meal Plan | Eating Well

There are many sites on the internet that can help you to understand the planning of meals. The most important to remember is the serving size. Only exchange within the same group. When looking at the plate it should be half vegetables. When using canned or frozen food it is easier to carb count, look at the label, notice the serving size then look at the total carbs, 15 grams equal 1 serving.

 

[foxl]

Just a headsup on that glycemic index thing:

IT seems to be effective for some people, but not for everyone.

I am one of the nots.

Test carefully, do not assume it is "working" until you see your own numbers are good.

I found out that beautiful whole grains and lovely wonderful fiberous legumes ... spike the crap outta me. Very disappointing, as those are two of my favorite foods.

I have had much better luck on a low-carb, high fat diet.

 

[Shanny]

Welcome Pam . . . I expect the oral meds prescribed for your husband are, as foxl said, metformin. I take it also and it has helped a great deal. It also curbs my appetite, and I've lost 35 lbs. eating a low-carb moderately-high-fat diet. I eat to my meter . . . any food that sends my bg over 140 (7.7) is removed from the meal plan, regardless whether it's whole grain, high fiber veggie or anything else.