Husband has diabetes!

kookycats

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Paul had to see the kidney doctor becaue his blood test showed a  higher count for his kidneys.  Dr. said he has diabetes, which I know is fairly common and many people don't even realize they have it.    He has to have some ultrasound and urine analysis.      Does anyone know much about this?   Would appreciate feedback.
 

ruthyb

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So sorry to hear that hun, my mum and my grandad both have diabetes. My mum is on tables to control it and my grandad is on insulin. I don't know a lot about it I know there are different types but from seeing my mum and granda they both live relatively normal lives, just have to be careful what they eat/drink and make sure that they eat reguarly. I'm sure your husband will get a lot of support and there is a lot of information available on the internet to look at when he knows which diabetes he has. Don't worry, my grandad has had it 20 years and he is as fit as a fiddle still, he has just turned 80, as long as you take care of yourself and follow what the docs say there is no reason why your husband will be ill, infact he should feel brilliant.x
 

nurseangel

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I'm very sorry to hear this
.  He will probably require some diet/lifestyle changes, but probably nothing too drastic.  IMHO, keeping a close watch on labs and taking the nutritional classes (usually covered by insurance) offered by most hospitals is important.  Urinalysis is a very common test that can reveal a lot.  I am not sure about the ultrasound, but it may be to check blood flow to the kidneys/renal function.  This is only a guess, as I don't know a great deal about ultrasounds. 
 
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catlover19

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My husband just found out he might be diabetic. He has a doctors appointment on Tuesday, I am assuming he will get more information then. 

I know some stuff about diabetes, I learned about it in school recently. I should be able to answer some questions if you have any. 
 

Winchester

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Good luck with Paul, Lana. I understand (from friends with diabetes....they have type II) that a lot of diabetes treatment is weight management, exercise, eating the right foods, and sometimes meds are needed, particularly when just being diagnosed. I wish Paul the best of luck.
 

misty8723

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Has he had his A1c checked?  Mine was over 300 when diagnosed, and I've got it down to stable around 150.  That's still too high,  but it's a whole lot better and I definitely feel better. I could get it better if I would mind my p's and q's like I'm supposed to, but I have food issues. Mine is controlled with Glucophage.  My prior med's didn't keep it stable and I was having too many lows.  My sister has been Type II diabetic for over 20 years - she is on insulin and struggling to get it balanced right.  Good luck..
 
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kookycats

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Thanks everyone.      He will probably have the ultrasound next week - I believe its to check the kidney.    Urinalysis is kind of gross -- to be blunt, he has to have a 24 hour "collection".   They gave us a pitcher to keep it in and bring it to the lab when he has his blood test.    It  has to be refrigerated --- I told him just to make sure he doesn't get it mixed up with the orange juice pitcher!    I know this is a common disease and can be controlled, as you said, with diet, exercise, etc.     There are a lot worse things to be diagnosed with - for instance, my friend's husband was just diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer and he is being operated on in a couple of weeks.

Maybe now with this diagnosis we will be get on a healther food routine, lose some weight, and get more exercise!

Again, thanks for your concern!   You guys are the best!
 

margecat

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Sorry to hear he's a diabetic, though nowadays, if one strictly follows one's doctor's advice, it's not so bad.  I'm assuming, due to his age, he's not Type I (formerly called juvenile diabetes, now called insulin-dependent diabetes), but Type II (adult-onset diabetes)?  I'm a Type-II pre-diabetic, which is not bad at all--usually controlled with diet and exericise. The diet is a nice one, unless you're addicted to sweets in a major way. We have "exchanges": so many lean meat, fat, veggie, fruit, dairy, etc. servings per day. You can sometimes trade some exhanges in order to have a real treat. It's really a fair, healthy diet. I often say it was the best thing that ever happened to me!  I actually eat more food on my diet than before I was diagnosed.  I eat 6 small meals a day; this has been proven to help with the ups and downs of blood sugar, and to encourage weight loss.  In 1 1/2 years, with just modifying my diet, I lost 80lbs, going from XL to small (sometimes X-small).  I just walked at a normal pace after eating lunch, for about 30 minutes, 5 days a week. That's the only exercise I did.

I hope your husband takes his doctor's advice seriously.  Most Type II's I've known do not, including my MIL, who weights 225+ lbs. And she's a nurse, yet. So many say to me, "Oh, my doctor has been telling me that   (being pre-diabetic/diabetic) for years."--and laughing as they chow down yet another doughnut, and are very overweight.  If he follows medical/nutritional advice, he will be fine, and most likely, feel better than he has in years. 

The dr. will probably hook hubby up with a nurtritionalist at a hospital, who will instruct him on what and how to eat. There are many great books out there, too. Check your library and bookstore. A diabetes diagnosis can be scary (mine was), but don't be. The sooner you address the issue, the better-off you'll be.

He may also have to buy a blood sugar meter, and test his blood sugar several times a day, in addition to annual blood-work at the dr.
 
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kookycats

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Thanks for the info MargeCat.  Six small meals a day sounds good to me!    Paul likes sweets a lot so that'll have to be a sacrifice (but a worthy one).  I'm not a sweet lover, but my "drug of choice" is potato chips.      We can both stand a lose some weight - while we're not that much overweight, there's always some to lose.   Sounds like you did a fantastic job.     Maybe this diabetes diagnosis (and we don't know yet whether it's pre-diabetic or what), will do us both good.

Thanks again for the helpful info.
 

calico2222

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DH was diagnosed boarder-line diabetic last spring. They're not sure yet if he's full blown diabetic but he's on medication. Small meals are the key. For lunch, he usually takes a few sandwiches, peanut butter crackers, and something to heat up for actual "lunch". He has found eating something every few hours helps rather than waiting 4-5 hours before eating.

Also, DH's sugar still jumps all over the place (which apparently is common when insulin problems first develop). He would start getting light headed, heart beating fast, cold sweats, etc. Since his dad dropped dead from a heart attack a few years ago, he would think he was having a heart attack and it would throw him into a panic attack. I had to take him to the ER a few times and everything was fine except for his sugar. Either too high or too low. Highest I think was around 280, lowest was around 60. The meds and eating throughout the day have helped a lot!

And yeah, that urine test is just wonderful. I told my husband he better aim PERFECTLY into that thing if it's going in my fridge! (yes, the shelf still got scrubbed good after the dang thing was gone!! 
 )
 
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