My wife heart has been beating like a possessed hamster so we went to the Cardiologist. Blood tests showed her blood sugar was off the charts. She was diagnosed with diabetes and kept under observation for 3 nights.
She’s ok and back at home learning all avout her new life. No sugar, no salt and a bunch of other no-nos. We are past the first panic but finding the correct menu is a PITA.

First question outside the obvious ones is how do we travel carrying her insulin pen? Trips should include air travel and long distance as Summer is almost here and the city will turn hot as Mars surface.

Thanks for any other advice regarding food and daily habits

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quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
She was diagnosed with diabetes and kept under observation for 3 nights.

Sorry to hear that

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Thanks for any other advice regarding food and daily habits.

Is she overweight? If so: My very first recommendation would be to lose the excess weight. That means fixing the diet and regular exercise. Mainly fixing the diet.

She isn’t overweight but a bit chubby. Gained weight during the Lockdown and we stopped going out and talking walks since. Complete lack of exercise is part of the problem. She became a little agoraphobic. Works at home and has no real need to go outside, other than psychological.
Lost her father two years ago and that contributes a lot . She’s still mourning him.

She aint a fan of food either. Taste or quantity.

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When traveling its best to get a prescription for her diabetic supplies for air travel and keep it with you. The insulin pens dont really need to be kept cool after their first use. I take it out of the fridge when I start a new pen and it doesnt ever get put back in the fridge. Its best to keep them out of direct sunlight and heat but keeping it in her pocket most of the time is fine. I have left these insulin pens in the car over the summer and they have worked fine afterwards.

What insulins do they have her on? Is she seeing an endocrinologist?

Diet and exercise will help with the ups and downs in her levels.

Is she seeing an endocrinologist? Does she have access to a certified diabetes educator?

Many people are treated by a general practitioner and do not always receive the treatment needed, instead prescribe meds only.

My wife has been Type 1 for 61 years. She exercises and watches what she eats. That doesn't mean she doesn't eat food we all like, it means she eats in moderation. The only thing she doesn't eat would probably be candy. IMHO, having been with her for many years, I have to say one of if not the most important thing she should do is check her blood sugar level several times a day. My wife does that religiously, usually at least five times a day. I know some including some doctors will tell you that five or more times a day is overkill but it has kept my wife out of the hospital and relatively well health wise. Another thing is to tend to any wounds she might incur, even a paper cut. Remember, diabetes means her immunity system is compromised and what used to be minor for her, could become catastrophic if not treated quickly. As far as traveling, she keeps all her equipment in her purse. That means insulin, needles and glucose monitoring equipment. She was questioned once by TSA when we went on a trip when they discovered her equipment in her purse. She explained what it was and was allowed to board the plane. Good luck to you and your wife. And remember, diabetes is no longer a death sentence. If managed properly it should not be a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
She isn’t overweight but a bit chubby.

"Chubby" does suggest overweight

The problem we have in this day-and-age is so many people are pathologically overweight (call it "fat," "obese," what-have-you) that moderately overweight people (perhaps what you mean by "chubby?") don't appear to be overweight.

It's perception, not reality. What we should be comparing ourselves to is this:



Those people look skinny, don't they? They're not. They're just not overweight.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Gained weight during the Lockdown and we stopped going out and talking walks since.

That's a problem. The human body was meant to move. All kinds of bad things happen when it doesn't.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
She became a little agoraphobic. Works at home and has no real need to go outside, other than psychological.

Outside is good. (I should really get outside more.) But, if outside doesn't work for her, then get her a decent cardio machine she'll use. (I'm also a proponent of weight training, but, let's take this one step at a time )

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Lost her father two years ago and that contributes a lot . She’s still mourning him.

Another advantage to regular exercise: It releases endorphins, which promotes a sense of well-being.

Your wife is at a bit of a crossroads: She can chose to rely upon modern medicine or she can get fit (or at least less unfit). Nearly all modern medicines mitigate symptoms. The latter addresses the underlying conditions that result in the symptoms.

These are all things doctors should tell patients. From what I've been able to tell: Most do not.

For diet, she doesn't have to do anything out of the ordinary for normal eating. Just eat protein and green veggies for the most part. There are some exceptions but stay away from starch vegies and for fruits stick to strawberries raspberries and blueberries. It's okay to have something she enjoys just remember to track her sugar so she doesn't overdo it. She will get a feel for what she can and can't eat over time. The tricky part is eating out. She won't have any control over the cook's use of corn starch or grains and sugars for marinades or even condiments like bbq sauce and salad dressing. The devil is in those easily overlooked sources of sugar.

Artificial sweeteners like stevia for coffee and erythritol for baking are good. Try not to use grains in baking, instead lean towards nuts and cheese type baked treats.

It is very easy to fall into the practice of taking more insulin to counter act the food she eats. That leads to larger dosages, At one point in my diabetic denial I was taking over 450 units of two different insulins because I justified taking more insulin to offset my food intake. That is not good and the damage is done to my body that isn't repairable. So let that be a warning, ideally, she would want to take the least amount of insulin as possible while keeping in glucose range by limiting herself to a satisfying but healthy diet.

The insulin pens are great, You don't need to worry so much about them as you do insulin vials. Once you start one you can keep it refrigerated for safety but you don't need to so long as you keep it out of high heat, 80 degrees or higher, and sunlight. They make travel very easy, you can put them in your luggage or carry on without issue. Once while air traveling they pulled me aside and I explained what it was and they let me through. In all the trips since then I never had an issue. If you go backpacking or camping they make all sorts of devices, some electric some that work from evaporation that will keep insulin cool enough not to go bad. But the pens are pretty resilient in comparison to vials.

One of the greatest things you can do for her is get a dexcom g7 or like continuous glucose monitor. It will give her real time glucose information, and warn her of highs and lows (lows are really important) but the greatest benefit is it keeps her cognisant of what her body is doing. So having a lapse in discipline, which will happen, doesn't turn into a binge because the glucose numbers are staring you in the face telling you you're doing damage to your body.

Another big issue is properly fitting shoes, don't let her cram her feet in shoes that don't fit properly because they look good, it will have bad effects for her later on in life, and if and when neuropathy becomes an issue it can be life threatening to wear poorly fitting shoes.

She should start walking daily. Simply walking a couple of miles a day can make a huge difference on her longevity as a diabetic.

Lastly, type 2 diabetes can be overcome with proper diet and excerise.

Edit to add: Alcohol. She has to be careful, alcohol will lower her blood sugar which can be very dangerous. There is also the problem of once filtering the alcohol out of her blood she's still left with all the sugar from it. So if she doesn't go hypo she still has to deal with going Hyper depending on what she's drinking.

I've been type 1 for over 2 years now.

The biggest thing for me has been very closely monitoring my blood sugar levels. A continuous Glucose Monitor is a great thing....no finger pricking and you can check it as often as you want, and it charts trends. I use the freestyle Libre, but there are other options out there as well.

I exercise regularly....run a mile and half to three miles every morning, and try to walk the same distance again at least once a day, sometime more. I also watch my carb intake very closely...I'm basically on a Keto diet and try to keep my total net-carb count under 50 grams per day. Lots of green vegetables, eggs, and meat. Snacks are usually nuts, cheese, and celery. My family still eats what they used to...my wife will usually just keep some of the basic ingredients out for me and make something that works for me....like last night they had spaghetti and I ate some of the browned up ground beef that she made the sauce with to put on a salad.

So far I've been able to stay off of fast-acting insulin, and just take basal insulin every morning. If my blood sugar is high, I don't eat, or exercise some until it comes down. Typically that allows for normal meal times, but if I get sick or have some high-stress situation at work it can get elevated for a while and be harder to bring down. If I'm sedentary for a long time like sitting in the car or stuck in the house due to weather, it makes it a lot harder to keep it down as well.

Travel has not been a huge problem. I flew for the first time with my pens and needles this year, and the TSA didn't even bat an eye. I'm sure they see that stuff all the time. As others have said, the insulin is fine for up to a month unrefrigerated. I kept it in my backpack for our two-week Alaska trip without a problem. The worst part of travel is honestly being stuck in a car or plane seat for hours without exercise, and the fact that it can be kind of hard to find travel food that fits my diet.

ETA: I pretty much never eat out anymore, because I like to know exactly what goes into my food. At first it was a pain, but it does save a lot of money. I also had to give up on drinking pop and juice...pretty much exclusively water and some teas these days. I never drank alcohol, but if she does she's gonna want to stay away from that now as well.

Always carry your medication with you.

Never put it in your luggage.

I would have been in a world of hurt the two times my bags did not arrive with me to my destination.

Keep it in your wife's purse so if she needs it in a hurry she has it with her.

We are not diabetic but friends are.

Some people swear by the continuous monitoring system others don't like them.

The best thing is to discuss her needs with your doctor.

T1 or T2? T2 is often the default diagnosis for adults and sometimes wrong. There are different blood tests that should be run to help with a proper diagnosis. C-peptide tells how much insulin she’s producing. The presence of certain antibodies points to T1. There are at least five that should be tested.

Frio makes pouches to keep insulin cool. Not sure how available they are to you but they work well. Never check your meds.

A CGM like Dexcom or Freestyle Libre is extremely helpful if available and within budget. Beats the hell out of mutilating fingertips multiple times each day.

Carbs are the issue. Carbs turn to glucose. Bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes are big carb culprits. Same with juice, soda, sports drinks, and coffee with add ins. Whether she reduces or eliminates those things are up to her. It’s important to remember to actually lead an enjoyable life.

Perfection isn’t really possible when dealing with the daily grind of managing blood sugar. There are so many variables. Close enough is often good enough. She’ll have good days and bad days. Don’t dwell on the bad days. She should give herself grace and move on with life.

Just know the ultimate answer is not purely medicine and that diet (primarily) and exercise (minor) is the key.
Do whatever the doc says but get on the correct diet as berto mentioned > excess carbs is the problem.
Also note that many old school vilify salt and that is incorrect and they vilify meat/saturated fats > also an error.
Lot of info on this subject is available so take it all in and act accordingly.
Sugar and other high glycemic foods especially.
Good Luck.

I need more info...
Type 1 or Type 2?
A1C?
Fasting blood glucose?
On Insulin?
What other meds?

The biggest change for me was diet. I did a stick (finger) before every meal and a stick 2 hrs later. If my sugar level was high, I'd change the meal to eliminate what was causing the spike (bread, pasta, anything with sugar, etc). It was a bit painful, 6 sticks in one day. I suggest a continuous glucose monitor, as suggested.

And, regular exercise, as suggested.

Read Jason Fung.

The path to managing adequately my own T2 these past 30+ years is to understand the importance of knowing where the A1c is and how to manage it well.

There are many instructors/educators/ to learn from. I was shocked when being rudely slapped with a diagnosis that will affect the patient over many years. The good news was that what I ate, drank, and did for exercise
would greatly affect whether I kept my eyes, kidneys, liver. It's a controllable disease process.

So kicking up the educational program and learning how to control the important blood glucose and A1c indicators are essential. Daily.

Good luck.

If it tastes good, spit it out!

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
She isn’t overweight but a bit chubby.

"Chubby" does suggest overweight

The problem we have in this day-and-age is so many people are pathologically overweight (call it "fat," "obese," what-have-you) that moderately overweight people (perhaps what you mean by "chubby?") don't appear to be overweight.

It's perception, not reality. What we should be comparing ourselves to is this:



Those people look skinny, don't they? They're not. They're just not overweight.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Gained weight during the Lockdown and we stopped going out and talking walks since.

That's a problem. The human body was meant to move. All kinds of bad things happen when it doesn't.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
She became a little agoraphobic. Works at home and has no real need to go outside, other than psychological.

Outside is good. (I should really get outside more.) But, if outside doesn't work for her, then get her a decent cardio machine she'll use. (I'm also a proponent of weight training, but, let's take this one step at a time )

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Lost her father two years ago and that contributes a lot . She’s still mourning him.

Another advantage to regular exercise: It releases endorphins, which promotes a sense of well-being.

Your wife is at a bit of a crossroads: She can chose to rely upon modern medicine or she can get fit (or at least less unfit). Nearly all modern medicines mitigate symptoms. The latter addresses the underlying conditions that result in the symptoms.

These are all things doctors should tell patients. From what I've been able to tell: Most do not.

Thank you and the others for the advice.
Eill pick your observations as a baseline.

She’s 155 pounds and 5.7 feet. She’s currently more “bloated” than chubby.
She beat Cancer (Hotkins Lymphoma) when she was younger so her immune system is weak as a result of Chimo. Her bloating might be also.
She’s extremely dedicated to take care of others so she forgets she should come first.
We were looking forward to her yearly post-Cancer check up following a blood test analysis. Went to the Cardiologist first. He read the test and sent her immediately to the Diabetologist.
He put her under observation for 3 nights while trying to manage the glucose.
Now at home, our food habits are a thing of the past. She used to eat moderately and healthy but now without sugar, salt, and all the other restrictions we are a bit panicked. New territory and walking in the dark.

First we heard of an Endocrinologist is this thread. Guess it is still ahead of us.
Monday we have an appointment for an early blood test and the diabetologist in the afternoon. Cardiologist should follow.

Her blood pressure was behaving after leaving the Clinic but now we are concerned that the medication is bringing it to low numbers. She feels dizzy.

No Dexcon g7 in this neck of the woods but good to know it exists. Too much needle stabbing going on.

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my grandfather and Dad both have it. Get some diabetic cook books. Get Stevia for sweetening and baking. Try to cut out a lot of bad carbs and sugar. And be supportive!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:

She’s 155 pounds and 5.7 feet. She’s currently more “bloated” than chubby.
She beat Cancer (Hotkins Lymphoma) when she was younger so her immune system is weak as a result of Chimo. Her bloating might be also.
She’s extremely dedicated to take care of others so she forgets she should come first.
We were looking forward to her yearly post-Cancer check up following a blood test analysis. Went to the Cardiologist first. He read the test and sent her immediately to the Diabetologist.
He put her under observation for 3 nights while trying to manage the glucose.
Now at home, our food habits are a thing of the past. She used to eat moderately and healthy but now without sugar, salt, and all the other restrictions we are a bit panicked. New territory and walking in the dark.

First we heard of an Endocrinologist is this thread. Guess it is still ahead of us.
Monday we have an appointment for an early blood test and the diabetologist in the afternoon. Cardiologist should follow.

Her blood pressure was behaving after leaving the Clinic but now we are concerned that the medication is bringing it to low numbers. She feels dizzy.

No Dexcon g7 in this neck of the woods but good to know it exists. Too much needle stabbing going on.

0-0

0-0

Yeah definitely not the traditional "eating too much sugar/starches all the time" type of diabetes, but that cancer diagnosis puts many other causes into play. That happened to my brother, he had a pituitary tumor that completely screwed up his insulin levels. Once the tumor was removed, his numbers went back towards normal, even if they're not quite there yet.

Another friend has a really rare cancer that has completely screwed his entire endocrine system. He's getting the same, where his blood sugar will be way high for a couple weeks, then drop down to almost dangerously low.

I'm a little puzzled by the no salt recommendation though? Unless she has a blood pressure issue, that's not really recommended just for blood sugar management?