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Type 2 diabetes
Hieronymous
Posts: 7,322 Forum Member
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I realise that there's every chance something similar has been posted before but I feel a need to start anew.
At 87 years of age my Mother has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She's due to go the doctor's who, apparently, will give her/prescribe some diabetes tablets.
She's also waiting to hear from the diabetes clinic.
She claims to be unable to taste very much. Is this a symptom?
I bought her some sardines which she isn't very fond of but research suggests that there should be an oily fish intake at least once a week.
Diabetes friendly recipes I've looked at often involve various spices but neither of us like spicy food.
Is there any advice that long term diabetics could offer?
I gather that no food is out of bounds but a diabetic has to be wary of their intake. Correct?
At 87 years of age my Mother has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She's due to go the doctor's who, apparently, will give her/prescribe some diabetes tablets.
She's also waiting to hear from the diabetes clinic.
She claims to be unable to taste very much. Is this a symptom?
I bought her some sardines which she isn't very fond of but research suggests that there should be an oily fish intake at least once a week.
Diabetes friendly recipes I've looked at often involve various spices but neither of us like spicy food.
Is there any advice that long term diabetics could offer?
I gather that no food is out of bounds but a diabetic has to be wary of their intake. Correct?
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He had to cut down on cheese, eat fruit rather than have fruit juice and have three smaller meals a day, he started using sweetener in his tea instead of sugar and switched from cider to dry white wine
Most people with diabetes do not buy these products, they are bought for them by friends who don't know and normally end up in the bin unopened.
My Mum doesn't really drink alcohol apart form a glass of red wine with Sunday dinner and she says she finds sweeteners sickly. Though that's not really a problem as she's reasonably happy to go without sugar in her drinks.
Thanks, though I think someone advised her of this at some point. Possibly her sister who was once a nurse.
Current NHS advice is to still eat a fairly large amount of carbohydrates, but I suspect this will change in the next few years. Its certainly a good idea to eat low GI carbs - that is granary bread, brown rice, brown pasta, sweet potatoes. The idea is to slow down the rate the body converts carbs to sugars so the body isn't swamped by glucose.
Oily fish is a good idea - theres also mackeral, salmon, herring, pilchard and tuna. Try her on fresh fish if she doesn't like tinned.
Try diabetes.co.uk for more info.
Thanks.
Most of the recipes I looked at involved spices though not all.
I also bought her some brown rice after some research and I appreciate the information you've provided. Thanks.
Hence them all being "vibrant" recipes.
Lower the carbs (that includes sugar, essentially the same thing) and try 'brown' versions instead, for taste substitute with things like cheese. Despite all the hoo hah about fat it is in fact needed in a diet (unlike carbs for most people) and only things like transfats should be avoided - so that's shop bought biscuits and the like out for two reasons.
I recommend the http://www.diabetes.co.uk/recipes/ forum for recipes and the like.
Some fat is needed but you also need to be aware that the cause of T2 diabetes is fat rather than carbs which incidentally are needed. Yes you definitely need to avoid large spikes in blood sugar but substituting lower GI carbs with fat is not good and will make the diabetes worse and also the possible complications of diabetes such as cardiovascular problems.
If overweight then losing weight is very desirable.
I have been T2 for some time.
Your Mum has just been diagnosed with T2 probably means she has been living with it for some time, with, hopefully, no undue effects on her health.
The fact your Mum has got to 87 and only just been diagnosed, well she deserves a medal.
Many will disagree, but the sad fact is if as individuals we all lived long enough we would all eventually succumb to diabetes, it is a sad fact of aging.
Unless your Mum's diabetes is out of control or very serious, at 87, I wouldn't have thought there is a huge concern,
Wounds/Scratches may take longer to heal, eyesight might get a little blurry but bloody hell, 87, well done on her.
Unless your Mum has a very bad health, diet or unless other wise advised, don't change anything, just everything in moderation, ( note to self Seacam ).
Of course you worry and care about Mum, but don't run around like a blue arse fly, 1, there really is no point, 2, stressing her would probably be more harmful.
Unless diet is bad or advised, just a balanced diet of what she eats now, she has got to 87 and done OK,--I'm assuming.
Diabetes is serious but not really at her age.
Again unless advised otherwise, you don't need diabetic this or that and ditch the recipes, just moderation, fibre and all that is important and if she is overweight, keep that in perspective for her age, some extra pounds at her age is better then skin and bone.
Be advised by her medical team of course but 87 and now T2, well done on her, she has been looking after her self pretty well.
I'm not panicking about it, Seacam, just trying to help.
My Mum isn't overweight either. In fact she's been losing weight for a while. Not helped by being unable to taste properly and something of a loss of appetite.
She does do well, though, for her age. Although she gets frustrated at times at being unable to do what she used to.
Her eyesight isn't good either but she does have cataracts.
One other thing that might be worth mentioning is that she frequently gets urine infections. There has been no indication from the medical professionals that there might be a relationship between this and diabetes though.
The consultant has arranged for a scan to check for gallstone and a cystoscopy to check her bladder - which she isn't looking forward to.
But, once again, thanks for the replies and advice. Appreciated.
My younger sister has an overactive bladder and frequently gets UTIs. Docs used to give her antibiotics, but now as they try to avoid prescribing them, one doc recommended Potassium Citrate. The easiest form is soluble powder sachets called Cystopurin (they cost around £5 from places like Tesco, Boots, Sainsburys). It neutralises the urine, which prevents infections. My sister swears by it. Just get your mum to take it at the first sign of any irritation, and it'll be gone after the 2-day dose. My sister was also told to take a daily cranberry tablet, and now, with that combination, she doesn't get infections anywhere near as often.
As for T2 diabetes, my 79-yr-old father was diagnosed with this 17 years ago. Back then there were a few things he was told to avoid (eggs being one) but all that no longer applies. What they keep hammering home to him is to eat as much fruit & veg as he can. He's not fond of veg, bless him. Like your mum, he has cataracts in his eyes, and has a reduced sense of taste (along with loss of smell). The taste reduction is common in the elderly and is not related to diabetes as far as I know. He doesn't like spicy food either, but there a few meals he really likes, and the diabetic nurse is happy for him to "stick to what he likes". What you will need to watch for is skin complaints; as someone else said, it takes much longer for diabetic skin to heal. My dad developed venous eczema on his legs which I have to treat daily.
To summarise, everything in moderation, but lots of fruit & veg & plenty of fluids. Treats will be allowed if, like my dad, your mum's diabetes is well-controlled. Oh, and if she can manage a little exercise, that helps too.
Good luck.
If Mum's UTIs is under control right now, 1 cup of Pure Cranberry Juice for the rest of her life, by it's self, will hopefully put paid to any further occurrence's of UTIs for her, it's an acquired taste by the way.
I'm not medically trained so can only speak from my own experience's or what I have read.
The reduction in taste is common in the elderly, I would be surprised if it had anything to do with your Mum's T2 but yes I can well understand your Mum getting pissed off with this, you have to be a little firm, make sure she keeps her weight up, make sure food don't go down the dog.
Find items of food she can still taste, bugger the sugar/carb content but everything in moderation.
Reading through your post, I figure the most important aspect of your Mum's health is her eye sight, keep on top of this for her.
But honestly, diabetic this and that, fish oil, diabetic recipies, really! 87, it will have her heaving.
Brown rice, white rice, it doesn't matter, what ever she enjoys.
I think you are rightly more concerned then your mum is but reign it in where you can.
As Sherbet says just be wary of skin and wound complaints and check regularly especially backside and feet, sense of feeling and pain is reduced and the elderly may be unaware, healing can be long with wounds.
And if Mum isn't, get her on that Cranberry Juice.
Thanks very much both. All useful information.
As it happens my Mum used to drink Cranberry Juice but I think she just got out of the habit. Dunno if it was pure but I think it was.
Is this Cystopurin a good idea? My Mum is on various tablets anyway though I couldn't tell you exactly what or what for. I'll check it out anyway.
I recall reading in one of those 'List of Facts' that, "by the time you're 70, you'll have lost half of your tastebuds".
Oh! And food doesn't go down the dog. It goes down the birds!!
As for exercise my Mum does like gardening but, once in the garden, has a tendency to go OTT and then suffers for it. She also tires easily which, I suppose, is a combination of the diabetes and age.
I thnk it was Mum's sister (a former nurse) who told her not to bother with diabetic this and that though I did read (on diabetes uk I think) that there should be an intake of oily fish at least once a week..
Anyway, I'll check out this Cystopurin as wellas getting some Cranberry Juice. Any particular recommendations? Fruit and veg I can't see being a problem as she likes most, if not all, of them.
Once again, many thanks for the help and advice.
I'm trying to remember exactly what was said but I believe the optician previously advised her to leave it for now but also told her that, eventually, she would be glad to have the operation done. I suppose the next visit to the opticians will determine what happens.
100% cranberry juice, not reconstituted or mixed with water, my wife and two of my daughters have been drinking it forever and it works just fine for them.
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice is the brand they use, I'm sure there are other pure brands.
And it's 1/2 a mug each day that's all if UTIs are clear.
Cystopurin is basically Cranberry juice in a box but know nothing about it, don't overdo the Cranberry thing and it won't fix an infection but the stuff really does keeps infections at bay by raising acidic levels,--- well that what I was told and I guess it's good for you anyway.
You are right, Oily fish is important but again in moderation, it's not the be/end all, finding food your Mum can taste would be time better spent..
Don't overdo it on the fruit, veg is more important IMO and your Mum's eyesight.
Though, according to SherbertLemon Cystopurin is Potassium Citrate. Unless that is Cranberry Juice (I'm not a chemist).
I'm not too sure I could find things my Mum can taste since, obviously, I don't know how things taste (or not) to her. Process of elimination perhaps.
Perhaps I ought to get her some carrots since, after all, you never see rabbits wearing glasses!!
Anyway, thanks very much.
The leaflet inside lists certain medications that you need to check with a GP or pharmacist about, so you would need to ask about it also. It says the active substance is potassium citrate (which my sister's GP told her to take to self-treat UTIs in the first instance). Cranberry extract is also included, to give it a cranberry flavour. You can get potassium citrate in liquid and tablet form also, but my sister said the liquid tasted foul, and she couldn't take the tablet form because of medications she is on, so I don't know about those. Cystopurin is certainly worth a try for your mum if her GP or pharmacist gives the OK, but it's only something you take for 2 days (6 sachets, 3 per day) at the first sign of any infection or irritation; it isn't a regular medication.
Re your mum's eyes, she should now be called for an annual diabetic retinopathy screening at her local hospital. It's a bit like going to an optician; she'll be given drops in her eyes and they'll look at her eyes through a machine, and ask her to read the letters on a chart. How often she also attends the diabetic clinic at her GP is down to their practice, but my dad gets called every 6 months. There, they draw blood for various tests, take and test a urine sample, check his weight, and generally have a chat about his health. Hope that helps some more.
You would have to drink an awful lot of juice everyday to receive harmful intake or for it to interact with medication and if that were the case, the benefits may out weigh any decrease in other medication's effectiveness and maybe then it's about timing.
Cranberry juice is low in potassium and it's the juice itself that makes urine that little more acidic, keeping bacteria at bay but of course it won't work for everyone.
I can no longer take St Johns Wort which worked for me fantastically as I am on Metformin for my diabetes and both interact but I am going to question that or al least experiment because St Johns did me the world of good.
No doubt the OP and their Mum will seek proper medical advise.
Less effectiveness doesn't necessarily equate to shouldn't take.