Newly diagnosed- Type II

[dlr2007]

Hi Everyone,
My husbandwas recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes. He currently has a blood sugar of 304 upon waking in the morning. He's on 30 mg daily of Actos. I'm trying to get him to eat the right things to lower his blood sugar, but he doesn't like much except starches, fruits, dairy and sweets. I won't let him dringe orange juice or eat candy, obviously, but it seems even when I'm really trying to modify his diet, it's still not good enough. Yesterday he ate a total of 62 grams of sugar and 17 carbs. How bad is this, and what should he eat to help him out? I know pasta and starchy foods aren't good at this point.
  Thanks!
-Dee

[KevinHarney]

Only being diagnosed last week 178 is a good level keep up the diet and meds and all should be well.  You are on the right track so just keep it up and he will be with you for a long time.  If you can get that down to 110 ish that would be considered right in the perfect range.  Keep up the good work.  You can also take a diabetes education class with him and that would help you temendeously.  Those are usually covered by insurance if you have it and go over what to eat and what to avoid and the best stuff to eat and the worst.  How to count carbs and all that good stuff.  I think it is about a 4 hour class taught by a registered dietician.  Very helpful and you could attend together.

[dlr2007]

Thank you for your reply.My husband is only 54, so he definitely has plenty of living left to do! But we've gotta get him in better shape here...
He was just diagnosed last Monday, so this is all brand new to us. That really makes sense to me, what you explained about why my hubby craves sweets. He has actually been being really good about his diet ever since we found out. The only problem is that it's hard to find foods that he likes. I will only buy wholegrain bread/pasta/rice now.
  The good news is that this morning his blood sugar was down to 178!!! I know that's still not normal, but at least it shows that the diet is working.
  Thank you again for your helpful advice. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes.
-Dee                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
  

[KevinHarney]

You are correct this is not good for a diabetic.  But let me explain what is happening in your husbands body so that you know why it is happening.  His body is not processing the carbs and the sugars that it is taking in properly.  Therefore, his body thinks that it needs more sugars which is why he is craving sweets.  It is important to note here that you say he doesn't like anythin ecept staches etc.  Is it that he only likes them or prehaps that he only WANTS them.  If he HAS to eat starchy and sweet foods it is better to give him the whole grain pastas and breads.  Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down in the system and there fore will spread out the amount of carbs over an extended period of time and his body will have a better chance of keeping up.  Simple sugars like candy and fruit are easily broken down quickly and make it harder for the body to keep up with his reduced Insulin tolerance.  Bear in mind that his blood sugar levels are 3 times the normal levels.  You do not say how old he is but if he wants to live a long and normal life he needs to get those numbers down fast.  How recently was he diagnosed ?  Perhaps he needs a change in his Actos dosage or needs to go to Insulin to get his levels down.  I would talk to the Dr. if the levels stay where they are.