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Welcome to our community! There is much information in the forums here. Ask all the questions you want and tell us more about your husband. The more we know about him, the better advice we can offer. Good luck to both of you!
Richard
Richard
Well my husband is 36 and was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the doctor says it is mild. His blood sugar level was at 144, we have been testing his blood sugar levels twice a day (morning and evening) and it definitly fluctuates a lot between the 120's and the 140's.
So far we have cut out all soda and sweets, potatoes and pasta.
This is real tough on my husband because we are having a hard time fidning alternatives for him to eat. He can't stand to eat fish or seafood and refuses to try any vegtables that is not baby carrots and romain lettuce drenched in Caeser dressing. he is not even willing to try.
Anyone have any suggestions?
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I suggest your also cutting out white bread, rice and other foods that cause the blood sugar to rise very quickly. I eat whole grain or oatmeal bread that is low carb. My oatmeal bread has only 8 carbs per slice. I use whole grain pasta too. Whole grain digests and raises the blood sugar much more slowly. Exercising after a meal when high carb foods are eaten can really help prevent high blood sugar. Testing before eating breakfast and two hours after some of his meals is a good idea. You need to find out how various foods are affecting him. That way you can keep records and know what foods to eliminate or eat in smaller portions. Portion control is important with certain foods. The glycemic index tells what foods are best to avoid fast increases in blood sugar levels.
Be sure to look at the "Diabetes Diet and Nutrition" forum for other help.
Be sure to look at the "Diabetes Diet and Nutrition" forum for other help.
Welcome aboard, caitriona . . . happy to meet you.
I can imagine your husband is wondering what the heck happened here, especially since he's in the very early stages. He prob'ly feels pretty good & if it weren't for that stupid number, he could easily deny there's anything wrong with him. This is a lot like quitting smoking; it isn't something you can do for him - he has to want to help himself. When I was diagnosed, I was thinking "I can do this - I can rein it in - no big deal". Unbeknownst to me, my dear sweet man was worrying that I might die too soon! (he's since gotten over that fear!)
If it's possible to test a little more often for awhile here at the beginning, I think you could do as Richard says - start finding out which foods actually raise his blood sugar. This is done by testing before eating, and again two hours later. After two or three tests of a given food, you can be fairly sure if it causes a spike or not, and place that food on either the acceptable list, or the avoid list. So sorry to have to tell you the whole darn menu has to be tailor-made to your husband, but different foods affect each of us so very differently! Like I can eat sensible portions of beans with no harm whatever, and yet other diabetics eat beans & their blood levels go to the moon.
You'll be able to adjust many recipes too . . . like your Natilla. The milk and the cornstarch are causing the trouble. What you can use instead of milk, is use heavy cream diluted with water. Instead of cornstarch, use one or two additional egg yolks for extra thickening. The first thing we diabetics have to learn is that protein and fat are good for us. It's the carbs that kill us. So ignore all the media blathering about how unhealthy fats are. The low-fat movement doesn't include diabetics. Diabetics can eat all the protein & fats they want without disturbing their blood levels. Obviously if weight is an issue, then portion control comes into play, but for maintaining blood sugar levels, don't try to avoid fats. So I think his Caesar dressing is prob'ly a good choice. If memory serves, Caesar dressings aren't overly sweet.
As you prowl around our forum, you'll run into recipes that have worked for others of us. If you let us know what some of his favorite foods are, we can work on making them acceptable for his blood levels. If he likes his meats breaded, you don't have to use flour or bread crumbs. You can substitute soy flour, almond meal or crushed pork rinds, and the outcome is every bit as delicious. I can say that because I've DONE it!
And if you're still reading this lengthy reply (!), there are a couple of other sneaky tricks that work for me: Dreamfields pasta and Olé Xtreme Wellness tortillas. Both of these are processed in such a way that they don't spike most people, and I've been able to find both products at Kroger's supermarkets.
Hang in there & don't lose heart . . . give him all the positive support you can muster, and if he wouldn't mind joining us himself, we'd be delighted to meet him!
Thank you for joining us and I hope you'll come often & chat lots!
take care,
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I can imagine your husband is wondering what the heck happened here, especially since he's in the very early stages. He prob'ly feels pretty good & if it weren't for that stupid number, he could easily deny there's anything wrong with him. This is a lot like quitting smoking; it isn't something you can do for him - he has to want to help himself. When I was diagnosed, I was thinking "I can do this - I can rein it in - no big deal". Unbeknownst to me, my dear sweet man was worrying that I might die too soon! (he's since gotten over that fear!
)If it's possible to test a little more often for awhile here at the beginning, I think you could do as Richard says - start finding out which foods actually raise his blood sugar. This is done by testing before eating, and again two hours later. After two or three tests of a given food, you can be fairly sure if it causes a spike or not, and place that food on either the acceptable list, or the avoid list. So sorry to have to tell you the whole darn menu has to be tailor-made to your husband, but different foods affect each of us so very differently! Like I can eat sensible portions of beans with no harm whatever, and yet other diabetics eat beans & their blood levels go to the moon.
You'll be able to adjust many recipes too . . . like your Natilla. The milk and the cornstarch are causing the trouble. What you can use instead of milk, is use heavy cream diluted with water. Instead of cornstarch, use one or two additional egg yolks for extra thickening. The first thing we diabetics have to learn is that protein and fat are good for us. It's the carbs that kill us. So ignore all the media blathering about how unhealthy fats are. The low-fat movement doesn't include diabetics. Diabetics can eat all the protein & fats they want without disturbing their blood levels. Obviously if weight is an issue, then portion control comes into play, but for maintaining blood sugar levels, don't try to avoid fats. So I think his Caesar dressing is prob'ly a good choice. If memory serves, Caesar dressings aren't overly sweet.
As you prowl around our forum, you'll run into recipes that have worked for others of us. If you let us know what some of his favorite foods are, we can work on making them acceptable for his blood levels. If he likes his meats breaded, you don't have to use flour or bread crumbs. You can substitute soy flour, almond meal or crushed pork rinds, and the outcome is every bit as delicious. I can say that because I've DONE it!
And if you're still reading this lengthy reply (!), there are a couple of other sneaky tricks that work for me: Dreamfields pasta and Olé Xtreme Wellness tortillas. Both of these are processed in such a way that they don't spike most people, and I've been able to find both products at Kroger's supermarkets.
Hang in there & don't lose heart . . . give him all the positive support you can muster, and if he wouldn't mind joining us himself, we'd be delighted to meet him!
Thank you for joining us and I hope you'll come often & chat lots!
take care,
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I was diagnosed with T2 at age 40. My diabetes was mild at that time. I was put on Glucotrol XL 5 mg. and watched my diet and exercised as much as I could, I was working 14 hours a day, sitting at a computer. I am a very picky eater and will not eat fish or seafood. I only like lettece, green beans and pickles. I will drink V-8 juice but it has too many carbs for a 6 oz. serving. I stick to chicken, turkey and lean beef and lean ham. I still continue to eat the few vegtables mentioned above. After being diabetic for 5 years, I needed to be put on insulin. I was only testing a couple times a week and was missing the bs readings in the 300's. It wasn't until my vision became so blurry that I couldn't drive that I became aware that my diabetes was a bigger problem than I thought. I stayed on insulin for 1 1/2 years and then lost my job and insurance and then I stopped testing and using insulin. 3 years later after losing 60 pounds with no known explanation, I ended up in the ER with bs readings in the high 400's. I am back on track and have good control. It may take some time for your husband to come around but he will. Some diabetics are in denial at first. I was for about 6 months. You will find food alternatives, it all takes time.Well my husband is 36 and was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the doctor says it is mild. His blood sugar level was at 144, we have been testing his blood sugar levels twice a day (morning and evening) and it definitly fluctuates a lot between the 120's and the 140's.
So far we have cut out all soda and sweets, potatoes and pasta.
This is real tough on my husband because we are having a hard time fidning alternatives for him to eat. He can't stand to eat fish or seafood and refuses to try any vegtables that is not baby carrots and romain lettuce drenched in Caeser dressing. he is not even willing to try.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Breeze, you can be a mirror image of my hubby. I showed him your post and i think it was a wake call for him. he even requested a salad for dinner
Still trying to get him to register though he keeps forgetting.:hippie:
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He will come around. Sometimes it takes time for the diagnosis to set in. Give him time and tell him the computer will always be there!
A
apa108
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Helllo caitriona,
I am 30 and recently been diagnosed as Prediabetic . I would be interested to know how do you handle the situation and what kind of precaution you take ?
I will also be sharing my side as well .I work in office for 10 hrs a day Plus I was a smoker & no exercise whatsoever . 18 months
ago,June 2008.My sugar was at 5.2 and I think my level was up in last june but was not detected .Today it is at 6.8 or 121. I am trying my best to quit Smoking and have aslo joined GYM today alongwith changes in my diet .
Good luck & stay in touch.
I am 30 and recently been diagnosed as Prediabetic . I would be interested to know how do you handle the situation and what kind of precaution you take ?
I will also be sharing my side as well .I work in office for 10 hrs a day Plus I was a smoker & no exercise whatsoever . 18 months
ago,June 2008.My sugar was at 5.2 and I think my level was up in last june but was not detected .Today it is at 6.8 or 121. I am trying my best to quit Smoking and have aslo joined GYM today alongwith changes in my diet .
Good luck & stay in touch.
Hi Apa,
what is prediabetic? I'm trying to help my husband out the best i can. i have already begun making changes to his diet and even though we do have a gym membership we have not been going due to some heart complications but hopefully we should be beginning a new routine in a week or so after my husband finishes recovering from an angiogram.
As for right now we are trying out different foods, figureing out what will raise his blood sugar and what won't.
Thanks, I know that all this is a bit overwhelming for him, and having to have an angiogram last week didn't help either. we are taking it one day at a time.
A
apa108
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Prediabetic is the range which is slightly higher than normal meaning Blood fasting 6 or higher and less than 7 as Diabetes officially starts from this level . In other other if the level is between 100-125 it is prediabetic range .If higher than 126 then it is diabetic .
I am trying to bring the level down but have been told it is possible to control it at this range/level but difficult to lower it . Anyway I am keeping my fingers crossed .
I am trying to bring the level down but have been told it is possible to control it at this range/level but difficult to lower it . Anyway I am keeping my fingers crossed .
Yeah i have noticed that my hubby's fluctuates between 110 and the 120's, and it only spikes if he eats something he shouldn't. and i'm sure the meds will begin to regulate as well.
Hi Caitrona, glad to meet you. You will learn a lot in this forum. Here, you will be able to help your husband. You have all ready been given a lot of good advice.
I use a salad plate to put my food on. I divide what I am going to eat into 3rds. Be sure and measure your foods to make sure you get the right amount of carbs. I find that 150 carbs per day keeps my BG under control.
Exercise and nutrition are the 2 main ingredients for keeping BG under control. My exercise consists of walking, DVD exercises. If your husband does not want to go for walks, suggest going with him. Sometimes, a person likes to talk to someone while walking. Do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
If his BG gets way to low, I buy Reli-On Glucose Tablets from Walmart. I take one and suck slowly on it. It works.
Richard, do you make your own oatmeal bread. I would like the recipe. They do not sell it in the stores in the small town that I live in.
Ruth
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Lol Ruth! I don't cook or make bread, but I can make great sandwiches with my 8 carb oatmeal bread. Here in NY it is the Country Kitchen brand. It tastes very good for such a very low carb bread.
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