Diabetes Forum banner
  • Welcome! Are you ready to join the discussions? Click here!

I need help, bad.

4K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  gphx 
#1 ·
I'm new to this site today, and although I personally do not have diabetes (though I have been told that I am insulin resisitant- what ever that means), my husband does.
The reason that I am here and he is not is because this is a constant battle between us. He has Metformin that he takes (sometimes) but he eats whatever he wants. And he eats ALOT. :eek:
My husband is overweight, but that's not my issue. I love him just the way he is, I just want for him to be around a little(a lot) longer. :D
We were on our way to go out to eat, and he said that he wanted to get a "snack" prior to leaving. He said that he felt like is BS was low, and he was somewhat slurring his words, and not really tacking the conversation very well. I asked him when he last ate, and he said that he had just eaten a hot dog and a soda on the way home.
Prior to the snack, and leaving for dinner I asked that he check his blood sugar.
His blood sugar was 488. And he wanted a snack? No way.
I tried to reason with him. I tried to explain that the reason why he felt so terrible was because his BS was HIGH, not LOW like he believed.
I lost the fight.
By the way, his "snack" was a piece of toast with peanut butter and butter, two chocolate chip cookies, a whole bannana, a snack size bag of ruffles and a can of coke. Not diet coke, real coke. He then said that he felt better and was ready to go eat dinner.
This is absolutley a typical "snack".
He insisted that he was still starving and that his blood sugar still "felt low" (even going as far as to blame the meter for possibly being wrong), but that he could make it to dinner without eating anything else. The place we went to is about 10 minutes away. His dinner consisted of a 5 layer burrito, tator tots and ice tea. (no sugar)
Now, I am a nurse. And although I work for Urology, I know a little bit about diabetes. What I don't know is this...
I don't know how I am supposed to help get his blood sugar down to normal or even high normal limits if he feels like hes going to pass out when is BS is 488.
What does he need to do to push past this feeling and allow for it to get even lower? Is it a process? How long does it take?
Why does he seems so ravenous about food, when in fact, his sugars are totally out of control?
Why does he need to eat SO much?
How can we get the BS down and still make things comfortable (as much as possible) for him?
He has agreed to allow me to help him. He has agreed to go to the Dr. He has also agreed that he needs to excercise and learn to live with his diabetes in a whole new way.
But how do I help?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Wow - i'd say the reason that he eats so much is carbohydrate addiction. Eating carbs just make you hungrier, quicker.

Realistically, for him to get his BS down, he needs to cut the carbs - right down. A lot of us on the forums eat Low Carb, High Fat. Replacing the carb intake with fat rather then all protein. He also needs to test what foods spike him outside of a normal BS level. A bit of exercise helps to bring the levels down as well.

Good luck, keep us posted on his progress!
 
#4 ·
How long since he was diagnosed, and has he been tested for LADA? I don't know enough to make a suggestion, but perhaps some of the type 1 or 1.5 members will comment on whether DKA is a possibility here.

At any rate, if I were you, I'd get that doctor appointment as soon as possible, and I mean ASAP. Before Christmas.
 
#5 ·
There are a plethora of complications that can result from consistently high blood sugars. Nerve damage, lost of feeling, blindness, amputation, unconsciousness and the list goes on and on. It's good that he wants to go see a doctor and get help. This isn't something I would put off until next week, he should start getting things under control today. Starting with his diet and medication. It not something you take when you feel like taking it, it's something you have to stick to according to the doctors orders.

Being hungry with high blood sugars could be a few things. One may be not enough insulin. Because of such high BG and being overweight, he'll likely be highly insulin resistant. So when he eats, not all of the energy from the food makes it into certain cells. Even though the energy is there, it's kinda floating around so your body isn't using it, hence the body feels hungry because the energy isn't being utilized. I don't know the cause in his situation but I just want to point out that you can be hungry with high BG and you can even feel low.

As for DKA that Shanny mentioned, if he is nauseous or you smell acetone on his breath, that's a good sign of high ketones approaching or beyond the danger mark. With bad control like he is having, I would buy some ketone urine test strips (checking the blood would be better but they require special strips and a specific meter) and check his ketones regardless.
 
#6 ·
Welcome to the Forum. I understand your frustration, my husband has been a Type 2 for over 15 years and is a little overweight and refuses to test. I finally won the battle over carbs by not bringing them in the house anymore. He still doesn't test but at least we have no carb snacks available. Can you tell us what meds or insulins he is on. Evidently they are not working. What does his doctor say about his numbers? Most doctors do a poor job really explaining diabetes to their patients. If he has had D for quite awhile his pancreas may be shot. What usually happens with Insulin Resistance is that the pancreas puts out too much insulin whenever we eat carbs. This includes healthy carbs like fruit, whole wheat bread, cereal, brown rice and pasta. All this extra insulin will keep your body in a state of addiction, craving more carbs. Your body gets used to the higher bgs and even if your bgs falls a little, your body perceives it as a false low and those hunger pangs happen. The only way to deal with it is to cut out the carbs so a lot of insulin isn't needed. Usually after many years of Insulin Resistance your beta cells do burn out requiring you to need Insulin for survival. Many Diabetics can be Insulin Resistant and Insulin Insufficient at the same time. It sounds like your husband needs to educate himself about diabetes. A good place to start is Blood Sugar 101
 
  • Like
Reactions: jazzygal72
#7 ·
Because you are insulin resistant, you should also be eating low carb and exercising. My husband is diabetic and I can only convince him to test his bg on rare occasions. The first thing I did after he was diagnosed was get rid of all high-carb food and drinks in the house. I replaced soda with sugar-free and make sure we always have plenty of low-carb snacks on hand like almonds, cheese and deviled eggs.

I went through the recipes I use the most and revised all that I could to low carb. I also looked through the recipes here at the forum and looked online for low carb (not diabetic) recipes. My husband has a sweet tooth so I always have either cheesecake, pumpkin pie, muffins or cookies here so he doesn't feel like he is being deprived of anything. There are good substitutes for most of the high-carb foods.

We have been eating low carb/high fat for about 7 months, and each of us has lost lots of weight without even trying. I hope some of these tips will be helpful to you.

Welcome to the forum.
 
#8 ·
Type 2s can develop DKA, too. Been there, got diagnosed that way. And yes, past a certain point, the higher you go, the hungrier you get.

You've gotten a lot of great advice here. All I can add is, don't cut calories when you cut his carbs. Along with the yummy high fats and meats, leafy veggies and celery can add some bulk.

He needs to see a doc again, pronto. He may need to increase his Metformin, or add another med.

I have a similar challenge here at home, so Best Luck to us both!
 
#9 ·
DKA is possible for a type 2, but rare. Usually there is enough insulin produced to prevent this. The list of problems that are not just possible, but very likely if he continues to have numbers that high is very long.

Something to think about. It is a serious step, please think about it first. I have seen it work.

Have him fill out the paperwork for his will, or "living will", something in that area. You might focus his attention.

"De Nile" is more than just a long river in Egypt.

-Lloyd
 
#11 ·
He's on his way home now, and he doesn't know it yet but I made him an appointment for an hour from now.
Good luck with this! Please let us know how it goes.
 
#13 ·
One very serious complication from high sugars is kidney disease. That one is scary to anyone who knows about it. If you dig up just a little information about that, it might be enough to motivate the slug. (Just kidding about the last part :) )

But it is really scary. It doesn't take long for them to fail at high sugars. There was a topic about a year ago here, about some celebrity who ignored his diabetes and needed a kidney transplant. He took it seriously from then on.
 
#14 ·
Well you could share my story with him. I did not know I was T2 until a month ago. I blew my nose and instantly got double vision. Nerve damage had already been done. I spent three days in the hospital while they checked me for signs of a stroke and finally told me I was T2 with an A1c of 11.5.

It has been just under a month and I still have double vision (but it appears to be getting better). It will probably be another two months before it is gone and I can drive / work again.

I wish I had the opportunity that your husband has and had actually known I was diabetic BEFORE the damage was done.
 
#15 ·
Insulin controls fat deposition. Those with insulin resistance often have ridiculously high levels of insulin. This causes fat to be deposited making the calories in it unavailable to the body. As a result someone can eat way too much food and be calorie deprived at the same time as the fat is stored, not metabolized.

The additional food creates a need for yet more insulin. The further increased insulin further increases fat deposition and a feeling of starvation. The increased body mass dramatically increases the demand upon the pancreas for insulin much in the way a pregnant woman is said to be 'eating for two'. If his blood sugars are high consistently chances are he's urinating alot too. Vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are being flushed out increasing the feeling of deprivation.

You asked what you can do. There's nothing you can do. He can give a low carb diet, exercise, and possibly oral or other meds a chance for a while to see how quickly he feels better. From what you said he may finally be receptive to that and I sincerely hope so.

I know you are a nurse but be careful of becoming a nursemaid. He needs to be responsible for himself, you can't be responsible for him. If you try to when he gets frustrated or angry he may revert and make it all your fault. Welcome to Carboholics Anonymous. Our rules and steps are very similar to those of another famous organization.

Wishing you the best. You both deserve nothing but the best.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top