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Need Some Help
| Mon, 07-26-2004 - 11:30pm |
I am not sure if this is where I should be asking but I am gonna take a chance anyway. My son who is 36 years old has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and he has been having awful problems keeping his blood sugar under control. His numbers can spike and dive all in one day. He just got out of the hospital last week after having passed out at home and they put him on Amaryl or something like that. And they told him about learning to eat right etc. He said when he was there they told him that his breakfast should be something like 4 points and his lunch 5 points and then dinner 4 points. He has no idea where they get the point thing from and is getting very frustrated. A dietician was supposed to come in and talk to him but never showed up. They talked to him about taking classes to learn the right way to eat etc but they want almost $100 an hour for the class and right now money is so tight that they can't afford it. So I was wondering if anyone here knew anything about what I wrote here and maybe can help out with any thing at all. I am eager to learn. Thanks in advance.
Linda

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Hi Linda,
You have come to the right place and so let me see if I can help you.
It really isn't points but rather exchanges. He has been told how many carbohydrate exchanges that he needs to eat at his various meals. a carbohydrate exchange is 15-20 grams. 1 slice of bread is about 18 grams of carbohydrates and so is 8 ounces of milk. Fruits and starchy vegetables are carbohydrates as well as all pastas, grains and flours. Sugar in all its varieties is a carbohydrate. The more fiber in an item the better, so diabetics mostly eat their fruit and don't drink it. Fiber keeps the body from absorbing the carbohydrates too quickly.
Your son needs to get the diabetic classes. The first thing he needs to do is to call his insurance carrier if he has one and see if the classes are covered by his insurance. Most frequently they are. He also needs a blood glucose meter and he needs to be testing his blood sugar several times per day. He needs to be exercising and he needs to get his weight as close to normal as possible.
I have a whole bunch of diabetes cookbooks and I was just given a new one which I like a lot. It is put out by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association. It is entitled: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes. It has 400 really interesting recipes. I have posted a couple of them in the recipe folder on this board.
There are a number of places to get information on the web: two that I recommend is the ADA site www.diabetes.org and the Joslin site www.joslin.org. At both of these sites there are areas for the newly diagnosed diabetic. Also in the last folder on this board is an article listed which has the title Diabetes and the family. Read it! It has a lot of great information. It was prepared here at iVillage and it has a nice way of explaining what is happening.
So before I overwhelm you with information let me stop here. Look at these references and then please get back to us with your questions and comments. We are here to help as all of us have been where your son is now.
Cheers,
Thanks for taking the time to help me out. All this sure is confusing and it is very hard when I live two states away from my son. His wife is not much help in researching things and helping out so guess it is up to me. My son does have the meter and right now they are having him test 4 times a day. One day last week at bed time his count had spiked to 374 but the next morning it was 120. Yesterday he said he checked it around lunch time and it was 265 but later on it was 104 so it is all over the place. Someone told him to look into cinnamon pills, which I never heard of. Right now his big thing is learning what to eat and when. I thought he told me that the classes were not covered under his insurance and right now they can't afford it. My son has had a rough time. First he had luekemia and they got that into remission and now this. I am reading everything I can and trying to help out but I am not sure what help I am. They want him on 1800 calories a day diet and he is not sure how to work that out with the carbs etc. Anyway thanks for your help and if you have anything else just let me know as I said I am interested in learning. Thanks
Linda
Hey Linda,
Just my personal word of caution for your son, especially since his numbers are so erratic.
Please tune in later for a new signature. :)
~Christie
Thanks, any advice or thoughts are welcome since we are learning as we go. Yes he was told that he should have sugar or something with him at all times and he does. I have heard from other people that the classes did not help them either so I am trying to find out what I can in research etc but it is hard to know where to go and look for some of these things. If you have any sites that you recommend I would love to know about them. Thanks again for taking the time, it is greatly appreciated.
Linda
Well, for someone just starting out, I HIGHLY recommend grabbing a copy of Diabetes for Dummies.
Please tune in later for a new signature. :)
~Christie
When I started weight watchers I was having a fasting blood sugar of 120...now it is 70-75. I have also lost 111 lbs though. ANd I walk 3-4 times a week. Exercise is very important in this . It helps the body use insulin better.
The joslin site is very informative... don't hesite to ask more questions here:) Also another great support place is http://groups.msn.com/DiabetictoDiabetic They have been awesome. As you can tell I go to numerous places for "help":)
Good luck
Lynn
*nods*
That's why I phrased it the way I did. :)
Please tune in later for a new signature. :)
~Christie
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pub/eating_ez/index.htm
The dietition and classes didn't help me much either with what I could eat. It has been more trial and error. I just took a diet from this site. At least it has the basic food groups covered.
Hi Linda and welcome to the board. I am the other community leader for this board who has been a type 1 for over 29 years now and on a insulin pump for over 6 years. Now what I am about to post is just for some help since I am in no way a medical professional.
I am also normally on a 1800 calorie meal plan in which I pulled out my plan to help you get your son eating the right way so here it goes.
7 am Breakfast 2 carb groups = 30 grams of carb
2 meat group
1 fat group
10 am Snack 1 carb groups = 15 grams of carb
1 meat group
12:45 pm Lunch 4 carb groups = 60 grams of carb
3 meat group
1 fat group
3:45 pm Snack 1 carb group = 15 gram of carb
6:30 pm Dinner 4 carb groups = 60 gram of carb
3 meat group
1 fat group
9:30 pm Snack 1 carb group = 15 gram of carb
1 meat group
Now this is how my meal plan looks, but your son really needs to have his own meal
I feel real good about coming here and getting some advice and I will be sticking around to see what I can learn. I printed off some of the things that you all advised and have sent them to my son so maybe this will help him along the way. I also ordered the book Diabetes for Dummies and it is on the way to him so I think he has a good start. He is starting to get the idea of things and learning about eating etc and i hope that it helps. I had 2 uncles that had this and one went blind from it , they are both gone now, my mom has it and now my son so there is plenty of it in my family. Thanks again everyone for the help as you don't know how much it is appreciated. Have a great day.
Linda
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