Dear friend diagnosed with Diabetes type 2
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Perhaps you can find a class that the two of you can go to together.jendiaz9732 wrote: »I want to help her be healthy and maintain her sugar levels low. Currently her sugar is at 8.6 and needs to be at 6.5. I don't know too much about this diagnosis. Anyone have tips/ideas/suggestions? Anything helps! Thanks!
Here are some links. Keep looking and you will find more.
https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/diabetes/tdcdaecs.shtm
My mother in Texas recently took a diabetes cooking class through the Agriculture Dept of her county so that she can cook appropriate meals for my brother-in-law when he and my sis come over for dinner on Sundays.
Thanks so much for the link! We are all for learning how to cook healthy meals. We will definitely check it out!
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Exercise helps a ton for type 2 and I swear it is the easiest change to make. Another is cutting out sugared drinks. I'm down to 1 energy drink a day when I'm in class (coffee is not enough) or have an early work day the rest is water. These 2 changes got me out of pre diabetic tho I still get blood work done once a year to keep track of my a1c.0
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First off don't panic If she looses som weight and backs off on the carbs that will help and if need be her doctor will put her on meds. I am type 2 myself and exercise and diet has lowered my a1c0
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I'm 45 and In April I had blood work done and my AC1 was 9.6. I immediately did some research on the best foods to eat and the steps I needed to take to get it under control. First off I stopped drinking coke and having icecream every night as a treat. Then I started exercising. I do 30 min on the treadmill in the morning and 30 min at night before I go to bed. I took it very seriously and did a complete lifestyle change. I now eat the right foods and I stay active. I have lost 44 pounds since April. Just last week my AC1 was tested and it is now a 6.0. I did this without medication of any kind. I know that type 2 diabetes can be hereditary and even people who are not obese can get it. However I do believe that I brought this on myself. My weight had been creeping up over the years and I wasn't active at all. I drank sodas even though my AC1 was also creeping up with my weight. Not until it got bad did I finally wake up and make a lifestyle change.
Being overweight, eating junk and not leading an active life does eventually catch up to us. When we're young we can get away with a lot but as we get older it becomes more imperative that that we take care of our bodies and be mindful of proper nutrition and exercise. I was able to bring my AC1 back to the normal range within 4 months without medication and so can your friend. Take it seriously, eat right and get to work.
That's amazing! 44lbs in just a few months! I am so glad to hear you started living more healthy, and what's even better is that you are not on any medication! She is definitely making changes, yesterday we were offered a brownie and she declined! Thank you for your post!0 -
Exercise helps a ton for type 2 and I swear it is the easiest change to make. Another is cutting out sugared drinks. I'm down to 1 energy drink a day when I'm in class (coffee is not enough) or have an early work day the rest is water. These 2 changes got me out of pre diabetic tho I still get blood work done once a year to keep track of my a1c.
Great thanks so much! She has cut off sugar A LOT! I am so proud of her! And exercises at least twice a week. Thank you
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She needs to see a dietician! She will be given a whole bunch of information about carbs...how many of them to each at each menu...what kinds of foods to eat. Lean proteins are very inportant to a diabetic as it kinda acts as a stabilizer with sugars. A lot of diabetics will binge on the sweets and eat a ton of protein to counteract it. This is not wise...the negative effects of high blood sugar is pretty devastating not to mention weight gain. I hope she has a good diabetic team that will help her. (Is she from Canada where she has plenty of access to health care such as diabetic nurse, dietician, pharmacist ect?) I'm not sure what the states or other parts are like as far as offering diabetic services so I can't really say what would be offered.
This exactly! OP, I get you want to help her - which is really awesome and she's very lucky to have a great friend and support system, which she will need - but she really needs to see someone who is specialized in this field and who knows the disease. You can read a bunch of books but her situation may not be what those books were written for and now she will have a whole bunch of information that is not relevant to her. (Don't get me wrong, some of it may be) I think if she can see a dietitian then she should - they know a whole lot about managing food related issues and will be able to help her manage it appropriately, giving her advice and food substitutions and so on. If she lives in Canada, there's a whole lot of access to health care and dietetic options she can receive for little or no cost to her (some benefit packages from employers will also cover these options).
Definitely something to look into if you can. If you are not in Canada, I don't know much about what benefits are offered in other parts of the world. I'm sure there might be some seminars or something she can attend.
The more you and her know about this situation the more you'll be better equipped to handle it but just make sure the information is coming from the right source. The poster who gave the list of Dos and Don'ts had some great advice. Some people don't want to talk about it, but just let her know you'll always be there for her when she's ready and that you truly care about her well being.0 -
Different doctors treat it differently. There are so many different treatments and it varies by endo and patient.
All you can do is encourage her to follow her doctor's advice. But know this: many people don't. Either they think they don't really have it because they feel good or they think the doctors don't know what they're talking about or they plan to work on it - just not right now (which turns into never) or they simply don't care.
They lie their heads off and say they're doing it, but they don't. That's why the test result she got is so nice to have. You can't trick your way out of an A1c like you can a regular finger prick.
It's great that you want to support your friend, but she may not want to do what's best for her. She may not even agree that it IS best for her.
I hope it all works out. I hope she works on it and gets her stuff together and lives a healthy life. People do that, too!!
This is sooo true! I have a friend who is Type 1 diabetic and has been since she was a teenager-ish. Recently we went on a girls weekend and type 1 diabetics (maybe type 2, as well - I'm not 100% sure) really need to watch their alcohol intake because it affects them differently due to the way alcohol metabolizes in your body. Well, on this girl's weekend she knew she should watch what she ate and drank but she didn't and she was so out of it, it was really scary. When we asked her about it, she said oh I only had one drink it must have been a really strong drink but we all knew she drank way too much and consumed foods not recommended for diabetics. She regularly lies about what she's consumed and it doesn't help her because her body knows what she ate and when you have type 1 diabetes that is something not to mess around with. We've never treated her any differently but we hate that she lies about what she eats and drinks just so she can go out with us. It's very worrisome for sure when people lie about these things.0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »Different doctors treat it differently. There are so many different treatments and it varies by endo and patient.
All you can do is encourage her to follow her doctor's advice. But know this: many people don't. Either they think they don't really have it because they feel good or they think the doctors don't know what they're talking about or they plan to work on it - just not right now (which turns into never) or they simply don't care.
They lie their heads off and say they're doing it, but they don't. That's why the test result she got is so nice to have. You can't trick your way out of an A1c like you can a regular finger prick.
It's great that you want to support your friend, but she may not want to do what's best for her. She may not even agree that it IS best for her.
I hope it all works out. I hope she works on it and gets her stuff together and lives a healthy life. People do that, too!!
This is sooo true! I have a friend who is Type 1 diabetic and has been since she was a teenager-ish. Recently we went on a girls weekend and type 1 diabetics (maybe type 2, as well - I'm not 100% sure) really need to watch their alcohol intake because it affects them differently due to the way alcohol metabolizes in your body. Well, on this girl's weekend she knew she should watch what she ate and drank but she didn't and she was so out of it, it was really scary. When we asked her about it, she said oh I only had one drink it must have been a really strong drink but we all knew she drank way too much and consumed foods not recommended for diabetics. She regularly lies about what she's consumed and it doesn't help her because her body knows what she ate and when you have type 1 diabetes that is something not to mess around with. We've never treated her any differently but we hate that she lies about what she eats and drinks just so she can go out with us. It's very worrisome for sure when people lie about these things.
I think it's just a form of denial. I mean aren't all fat people in denial as well? How else would we have gotten so big? We all know it's not good for our heart, joints and overall health but for many of us it takes years or some new drastic medical problem to pop up before we ever do anything about it. I think it's just human nature to put our heads in the sand.0 -
Most important thing is to be supportive. If you have her over for dinner, ask her for special requests (i.e. Sugar free beverages) but please don't be preachy. My daughter has type 1. One of the most frustrating thing for her is when people tell her she can't have something because she's diabetic. This even happened in a restaurant where the server took it upon himself to give her only a 1/2 portion of a dish she already took insulin for. If we hadn't caught the mistake she could have passed out from an extreme low.0
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acorsaut89 wrote: »Different doctors treat it differently. There are so many different treatments and it varies by endo and patient.
All you can do is encourage her to follow her doctor's advice. But know this: many people don't. Either they think they don't really have it because they feel good or they think the doctors don't know what they're talking about or they plan to work on it - just not right now (which turns into never) or they simply don't care.
They lie their heads off and say they're doing it, but they don't. That's why the test result she got is so nice to have. You can't trick your way out of an A1c like you can a regular finger prick.
It's great that you want to support your friend, but she may not want to do what's best for her. She may not even agree that it IS best for her.
I hope it all works out. I hope she works on it and gets her stuff together and lives a healthy life. People do that, too!!
This is sooo true! I have a friend who is Type 1 diabetic and has been since she was a teenager-ish. Recently we went on a girls weekend and type 1 diabetics (maybe type 2, as well - I'm not 100% sure) really need to watch their alcohol intake because it affects them differently due to the way alcohol metabolizes in your body. Well, on this girl's weekend she knew she should watch what she ate and drank but she didn't and she was so out of it, it was really scary. When we asked her about it, she said oh I only had one drink it must have been a really strong drink but we all knew she drank way too much and consumed foods not recommended for diabetics. She regularly lies about what she's consumed and it doesn't help her because her body knows what she ate and when you have type 1 diabetes that is something not to mess around with. We've never treated her any differently but we hate that she lies about what she eats and drinks just so she can go out with us. It's very worrisome for sure when people lie about these things.
I think it's just a form of denial. I mean aren't all fat people in denial as well? How else would we have gotten so big? We all know it's not good for our heart, joints and overall health but for many of us it takes years or some new drastic medical problem to pop up before we ever do anything about it. I think it's just human nature to put our heads in the sand.
Not necessarily true . . . do you think when I was 300+ lbs I thought I was ok? No I knew I wasn't ok but that doesn't mean I did anything about it. She knows what is right for her . . . she knows she can really only have one or two drinks and be ok . . . she knows she can't eat a huge pasta dinner, or have a massive burger, she knows she has to proactively be aware of the content of her food. She knows it and doesn't do it. That isn't denial, that straight out being stupid. She is a type 1 diabetic who plays with insulin levels like she'll get another candy crush life. That isn't denial at all. More than once I, as her emergency insulin administrator, has had to give her insulin because she wasn't coherent enough to understand and was so tired she couldn't stay awake. Sorry but that's just not denial - that's straight out lying.
And I don't think the comment was necessary at all. She doesn't deny that she has this illness but there's a HUGE difference between denying it and purposely sabotaging yourself - especially when it's something like insulin dependent diabetes. Straight out lying to people is not the same and she knew what she was doing could be dangerous. Lying about your actions is not always the same as denial, and with diabetes you have to proactively do things and be responsible for your lifestyle habits.0 -
The diabetics I know don't take their diabetes seriously. It's encouraging to see your friend trying.0
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Thanks for all your help you guys. It's unfortunate to see some Diabetics who don't care, my aunt was that way, she was diagnosed a long time ago and she continued to eat horribly, we would not say anything but her sisters would, and she would get very grumpy, so they just stopped altogether. I'm not pushy, if anything she surprises me because she listens to everything I have learned with you all and researching. I would never press or force her to make decisions. She wants to be healthy and I will definitely support her! Thanks again loves!!!0
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You're a great friend for wanting to help.
I have a friend who was moderately overweight and hypertensive and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She works with a nutritionist now, who put her on a very low carbohydrate diet (45 gm/day), and she lost weight and improved her BP, but, unfortunately, her diabetes still required an oral agent, and I know that she follows her diet scrupulously. She is carefully monitored by her internist.
I agree with the other posters who say that you friend should see a dietitian or nutritionist. I'd add that it might be a good idea to let her medical doctor recommend someone he/she is used to working with, so there is good communication as the doctor monitors her progress and general health.
What you can do to help is make it easy for her to eat the right foods. If you go out, suggest a place that you know will have healthy choices. If she comes to your house or you take food to hers, make it something that will be in line with her diet, so she doesn't need to resist. Keep your refrigerator stocked with sugar-free beverages; if she doesn't like diet soda, try keeping sparkling water and some citrus for garnishing - serve it over ice in a pretty glass, so it doesn't feel like deprivation. If you two are close, she will probably provide you with the guidelines she is given and let you know what she should be eating for a given snack or meal.
Working out is also more fun with a buddy. I'm more likely to take long walks if I'm with a friend.
Most of us on this site know how hard it can be to resist foods we like and have let ourselves get heavier than we've known is good for us. Be sympathetic and not preachy. Don't criticize her - just try to be supportive.0 -
My husband is type 2, and he's currently managing with meds, though he is working on losing weight. The main thing I do is plan meals around what he needs for that night, whether we eat out or cook. For instance, I don't suggest pasta anymore unless I'm suggesting it for the next day so he can adjust the carbs he has for lunch. Obviously, if you're not roommates with your friend, that's not as necessary, but on the times you go out to eat, make sure you suggest restaurants with a wide variety of things so she can pick something that works within her diet. Or ask her for suggestions first. I wouldn't make the comment that you're doing so because of her diabetes, though. She knows she has to be careful of food, and focusing on that can feel awkward. Once she educates herself on the diet she needs, assume she's responsible enough to work on it and leave it at that. It would be a good idea to educate yourself on symptoms of very high or very low blood sugar so if that happens, you'll know what to do, but don't try to manage it for her. Help her get the information she needs, and if she asks for help with setting things up, of course help her. But believe that she's responsible enough to manage herself afterwards, don't try to micromanage it for her.
I don't really have much else for suggestions. Your friend would definitely benefit from either asking their doctor for food suggestions or a referral to a dietitian, adding even mild exercise, and carefully monitoring her blood sugar. She also needs to be aware that blood sugar meds can cause major blood sugar crashes, so monitoring her diet is ESSENTIAL. She will still need to consume some form of sugar, just in limited amounts. Complex carbs are actually better for her simply because it takes longer for the body to process, and she's less likely to crash. Having some hard candies in her desk or car is a good idea to help stave off major crashes when they start to happen.0 -
I also am a type II diabetic... I gained a lot of weight thru unhealthy lifestyle and ended up in er thinking I was having a heart attack. But no, I was diagnosed diabetic. Upon release from hospital, I was diligent and then began slipping back into old habits and gaining weight even though I was taking metforman. So two years slips by and I am at work, I stand up and say 'ouch'. Within the hour I am back upstairs in er. After CT scan they find a huge staghorn calculus in my left kidney and every kind of infection you can imagine. I had no idea. I am one of those people that just keep plugging away and ignore the aches and pains, assuming I just need to move along to next task. After 10 days of vanq, my kidney procedure was scheduled. Was supposed to be a 3 day procedure that turned into my worst nightmare. 5 hospitalizations in 8 weeks about did me in. BUT now, I am recovered after 12 weeks and go back to work Sunday!! I have lost 64 lbs so far, I don't take any metforman or HCTZ. I still take a small dose of lisinpril and lexapro was added around week 9. I could not stop the depression and crying and the lexapro did wonders for me. So I have been eating so much better and have lost 14 lbs since my last hospitalization and I am determined to take care of me! Going back to work will be tough, there are always sweets in the units I work. But I really think that the antidepressant, even in such a low dose..5 mgs..has been a god send. Maybe your friend could benefit from an antidepressant also. 0
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I have Diabetes, Type 2. It has been hard to accept my diagnosis. Lots of denial and self-sabotaging nutrition. You have to accept you are a Diabetic. You have to make the necessary lifestyle changes to enjoy a long life. You can only ignore health problem for so long before it bites back. It took a recent diagnosis of gallstones to get me 100% committed to making healthy choices. Contact local Diabetes group for resources in your area. Good luck!0
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your friend needs to see a dietitian...not a bunch of internet "professionals"0
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Of course she should see a dietitian, hope she can find a good one. Even though I am a healthcare professional (respiratory therapist), my experience has not been good. The 2 I have spoken with still had me eating to many carbs!! Part of the reason I was so unsuccessful! Not all of us responding are just a bunch of 'internet professionals'. Thank you and best wishes!0
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daniwilford wrote: »I had an elevated A1C in March. My Doctor said that if I could lose 20% of my body weight I would not have to take medication. At my July appointment I had lost almost 40 pounds, my A1C was down to six, in normal range. When I lose the full 20% recommended, about 5 pounds away, I plan to continue to eat at a deficit, but not as aggressively as in the beginning. Losing weight if she is overweight or obese will help. My sister in-law, takes Metformin to help control her blood sugar and it helped her to lose weight. Limiting carbs to 45-65 grams per meal or snack and eating enough protein and fiber can assist in keeping blood sugars within healthy ranges. Exercise is helpful in controlling blood sugar and depression. The best thing a friend might be able to do is offer to be a walking or exercise partner.
Rock solid advice, as usual from @daniwilford.0
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