DH has Diabetes & I have ???

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2000
DH has Diabetes & I have ???
5
Sun, 07-08-2007 - 4:57pm
Hi my name is Denise and I have been a part of the iVillage Family for 6 yrs now. I was looking for some info on Diabetes and I found you guys. My DH, Brian was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2 about a month ago. He was sick and we thought he had a stomach bug. We took him to the ER and got the shock of our lives. They said he has Diabetes and the reason he was so sick was because his sugar was over 400. He had never been told he had this before that day and we were all suprised. Is this a common way of finding out you have Diabetes ?? I knew my FIL had it before he died and my DH was overweight, but I was still thrown. Brian has never been sick in the whole 10yrs we have been together except you know a cold or something. We saw the doc and he put him on meds and told him he has to lose weight. He started the diet that day and I am happy to say he is sticking with it. He is about 300lbs and the doc did not give him a goal weight. Is it true that Diabetes is more hereditary then what you eat ??? I bought a book and have been doing some reading. A friend who has Type 2 Diabetes recommended the book Type 2 Diabetes - The First Year....Is this a good book to start out with ?? Have any of you heard of it ?? I just got the book and have only read a few pages. I have so many questions!! When he had his bloodwork done they found that his liver is not working properly. He has to have an Ultrasound done later this week. Is the liver affected by Diabetes too ?? I knew kidneys can be because my FIL had that prob before we lost him. The doctor also wants him to see an Opthamologist and go thru Diabetes Training. He starts next week and I am going with him too. This affects both us and I am going to do everything I can to help him. Any advice or suggestions on how I can do that without being a nag would be helpful. Thanks for your time and I will be back soon to check in. If you would like to contact me directly please email me thru my profile.


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Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 12:00am

Hi and welcome to the board!


Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 1:26am

Hi Denise,


Welcome to the board. My name is Mary Frances and I am one of the community leaders for this board. I am a type 2 diabetic, a registered nurse and the wife of a type 2 diabetic. Any advise I may give it not a substitute for seeking medical advise from a health care practitioner of your choice.


You have asked a lot of questions and I am going to try and answer as many as I can. There is a huge hereditary factor in type 2 diabetes but there are also huge environmental causes. What do I mean by that. Obesity and inactivity are the two main causes and

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 1:33am

Yes tbat is a very excellent book!! Gretchen Becker answers a lot of questions and gives you some idea of what will happen along the way. I was not able to get into classes for 3 weeks and my doctor didnt tell me diddly! So i spent part of the 3 weeks really terrified. My fasting number was 180, but i believe part of that was due to stress. I was there for a physical, and was sent and up and down 3 floors i think 3 different times before the lab was willing to do the lab work BEFORE my physical. I was also at my worst point mobility wise and would have been much smarter to tell the clinic "FINE, give me a wheelchair and someone to push me in it!!" I say that since at that point I could barely walk 25 feet without stopping to rest and the elevator was way far away from both offices!

One thing that might be wise to mention here is that with his BG level that high to start with it is POSSIBLE he will feel like he is having a low when he really is not! That is somewhat scarey when it happens, but at this point his body has gotten somewhat used to the higher numbers. So he might get a little shakey and might need to eat something. I felt that way the first month before I was given a meter in the classes. My solution at that point becaues I was afraid of sugar, etc was I would have like a cheese stick. It seemed to help even though it is not what would be used by itself for a real low.

It is wise for both of you to go to the classes because then you both know what is going on. Besides depending on the meds he is on the classes will tell you what to expect and what to do if he does have a low and what to do when he is sick.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2000
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 11:03pm
Thank you all so much for getting back to me. I know his sugar is already way down and I was suprised at how fast it did go down. He got a Free One Touch Meter with his first prescription of meds. He has been testing himself alot too. They suggested diffferent times of day, so we can find out when his sugar is at it's lowest and highest. He is not a very active person and getting him to exercise/walk is going to be hard. We live in FL and walking outside even at night in the Summer is hot. I wanted to ask about these "exchanges" in his diet. That is very confusing to me. He is on 1800 Calories diet a day and so far he has been doing fine. One of you mentioned about when he gets sick....he has a cold now...Will that effect his BS alot ?? Last night before bed his BS was 102.....what is the avg BS supposed to be anyway. I know his grandmothers on both sides were not diabetic, but the grandfathers I am not sure about. I know his dad's Father died of a Heart attack. I will have to ask his sisters about that one. You know men never remember those things ??? Well thanks again and I will be back with more questions too...bye for now.


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Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 11:12pm

Yes, if he gets a cold his bs will most likely run higher.