My husband was recently diagnosed with type II - Friday, June 27. We've shed a few tears together, but we are committed to working together to make the adjustments that will allow to continue a happy and healthy life. I'm happy to have found this online community. I am hoping that we can connect with some other people, who are young in particular - or who have had diabetes since you've been young, that are living with this so that we can share our experiences, food tips and found resources.
We're a family who loves to eat. We celebrate with eating. We enjoy each other's company with eating. So, having diabetes makes this hard. My first tears were actually over the thought that my husband won't be able to enjoy birthday cake on his birthday. Of course, this now sounds a little funny. Right now everything feels difficult, but I know that trying to make life changes always is - habits die hard.
Hey there .... no need for tears! Celebrate, as your husband has (like so many others who have not and will not) been diagnosed, and can now make the changes necessary to live a healthy and long life. I am a 58 year old Brit, diagnosed Type 2 three years ago. I have never been so healthy, active or fit since that day in June 2005, when my doc' broke the news. I now watch my weight, exercise, eat cake when it's time to celebrate, and look forward to a long and good life.
My father-in-law is 78 and Type 2, and I have an aunt who is 80 and Type 2. Both are active and well, and look like they still have lots of gas in the tank! Watched and treated properly, there's no reason why diabetes has to either shorten or blight your husband's life. Keep reading David Mendosa's stuff ..... you won't find better as a digest of all things diabetes-related.
Jim Bostock (jimbostock@aol.com)
Hello Jim,
Thanks so much for your encouraging reply. It's been a few days since we've received the diagnosis and much more has settled in. He's had a pretty good day today. In the past week he's been having a hard time not feeling weak, or having a huge headache, or feeling entirely too hungry all day, with all the adjustments we're making with his diet. We're looking for a good balance - and balance is always difficult. The thing that is hard for us to figure out is that he had colitis as a child and had surgery to remove his colon. Well, the traditional "diabetic diet" is high in fiber and that is VERY bad for him. He will be seeing his specialist in three weeks and that will be very helpful. Well, we hope.
Glad to hear that you and your family are doing well despite the diabetes. I'm determined to help him be happy with his food choices and also be healthy as well.
Keep in touch!
Kathy
Hi Kathy
It's a rainy morning here in Staffordshire. How is your weather, and where are you in the States? Before taking the advice I'm about to give, remember always that what your doc' tells you MUST override any advice you get from anyone (like me) who is not medically qualified.
I fear you may be taking things a little too fast. Adjusting to diabetes is a lot like dieting. Those who crash diet can, via an uncomfortable and unnatural regime, get a quick effect. However, their weight almost always goes back up, as their bodies crave something closer to normality. The only way to lose weight long-term is to change things gradually, and reinforce success with every positive and sustainable new choice. It's the same with diabetes. It's a long haul, not a sprint to a finish line. I recommend that your husband keeps a food diary (try http://www.hopkinshospital.org/Diabetes/nutrition/FoodDiary.pdf) in these early stages following his diagnosis. Done in tandem with home testing with a finger-prick kit (if he's not doing it yet, believe me, it doesn't hurt!), he should be able to try out different dietary regimes and see how they affect his blood sugar levels. Eating less of the same foods, but more often, can make just as much improvement as cutting down or excluding foods altogether. After a while, he'll be able to stop home testing and just rely on the 3-monthly HbA1c test (Google it if you haven't been told about it yet).
Presumably your husband's doc' will be ordering tests for kidney function, and also requiring him to go to the optician for retinal photography. If not, then, I suggest you ask why.
Stay in touch, and good luck!
Jim
Hi Jim,
It was a pretty muggy day today. The cool breeze made it a bit more bearable. But I'm not complaining - love the humid hot weather while we have it. I'm not in the States - I am in Toronto, Canada.
Thanks for the advice. No, we didn't do anything too drastic. Just obvious stuff: no more sweet drinks. My husband's absolute weakness. We started eating more whole foods - whole wheat, raw vegetables, tons more fruit. Our diet was never anything bad, but you don't realize how much sugar or refined flours you're taking in until diabetes makes you super-aware of them. Also, eating more often. Snacks aren't really our thing. I was always pretty against bringing in chips, cookies, etc. into our home because I know what my husband was like: he'd eat them until they were done.
So, all of that to say, we've just refined our diet a bit, and are watching our portions. But just doing just a little of these adjustments have been showing a big impact on the way my husband feels. He is getting headaches regularly and my family doctor said that it's just him getting used to lower blood sugar levels. And so far that seems to be the truth.
Thanks for the warning and wonderful intentions. It's very kind of you.
What are some of your favourite recipes?
Hi Kathy
Just a short note for now. I've visited Toronto on business, and loved it. Also, my partner's daughter, who qualified as a doctor last year, did a period of medical practice at the Toronto Sick Kids Hospital (she loved it too). You might want to try the 2nd/4th book down the following list. It's by an English TV chef, who is pre-diabetic, and therefore has a personal interest in getting it right!
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=healthy+eating+for+diabetes&Go.x=13&Go.y=9
The URL above is for the Canadian Amazon website, which doesn't have any reviews of the book, but the following address of the UK Amazon site shows 8 reviews.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Eating-Diabetes/dp/1856265056
Jim