Dad's Battle With Diabetes (Insulin Dependent Diabetes)

Member Name: rosiesmum

Product:	Insulin Dependent Diabetes
Date:	05/04/01 (82 review reads)
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My father suffers from Diabetes and was diagnosed about ten years ago after suffering a heart attack.

He kept feeling tired, getting very thirsty and was always on the loo, and then he started to lose weight not a lot but had always been a burly man so it was noticeable to us all. At first we put it down to the Heart Attack, but then he started to complain about his hands and feet feeling numb.

A trip to the local GP, several blood tests later and he was diagnosed as a sufferer of Diabetes.
I looked up all I could in the local library for him and of course he was given diet sheets and brochures about the disease.

The Internet was not available in those days and there was very little help at all. That is why I think it is important to write about how he felt and how he coped with this disease. He is a tough old devil and took the problem head on.

Firstly a brief description of the disease.
The body stops converting glucose into energy therefore the glucose (sugar) levels in the blood rise too high and this can cause serious problems, leading to amputation in the lower limbs, blindness, kidney failure and even heart disease.

There are two types of Diabetes.

Type 1. This usually starts in younger people and means the beta cells in the pancreas stop producing insulin because they are attacked, and slowly destroyed by the body’s immune system. Insulin injections are needed several times a day to keep the sugar levels down. Only about ten percent of sufferers have this type.

Type 2. The most common form of Diabetes and the type that Dad suffers from. To keep on top of the sugar levels a dietary change is needed.

Back to Dad now that we have got the main idea of the disease.
The first thing he did was to change his diet.
He eats a low fat, high carbohydrate diet with plenty of starchy foods such as brown bread, pasta, rice and cereals; Muesli is a good cereal if you are
into that.

Dad does concentrate on the fat in his diet because it doesn’t help his heart, remember he has also suffered a heart attack. He eats low fat margarine and drinks skimmed milk.
Fried foods are not a favourite with him now, he sticks to grilling, steaming and baking instead, it was a nuisance at first, after all the frying pan was so much easier and quicker, but he got used to it after a few weeks.

Fruit and Vegetables are the main part of his diet; he tries to eat at least five pieces of fruit a day if he can. Meat, eggs and cheese are a good source of protein and pulses and fish are also good alternatives.
Dad was a devil for his salt he used to spray his food with it, but it is bad for your blood pressure so he started to use that Lo-Salt at first then gradually trained his palette to have less and less. There is enough natural salts in food without having to add more.

Alcohol is definitely a thing to avoid with Diabetes, but of course everyone needs to enjoy themselves occasionally so Dad tries to stick to the odd glass of wine and a pint on a Friday night. Note I say tries to? If he has a couple of pints he suffers for it the next day.

Drinking plenty of water and sugar free drinks is important and keeps the kidneys flushed out.

Eating regular meals, small but often has been a great help to him, it seems to keep his blood sugar levels constant.

Dad was lucky in that the signs of Diabetes were spotted early, and with his healthy diet he has managed to lead a pretty normal life. You can control it if you are sensible with your diet.
He has noticed that any small grazes or cuts that he gets don’t seem to heal very quickly, and his hands still have bouts of numbness, but apart from that he is doing okay.

For more information on Diabetes you can contact ‘Diabetes UK’ by telephoning 020 7636 6112
Or you can visit their web site at www.diabetes.org.uk

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