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My dad has diabetes
Question— My Dad Has Diabetes
My dad has just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I’d like to help him if I can, I’ll give you some back story first so that you can understand some of the difficulties we face.
My dad is in his mid-forties (I am twenty.) He is a very “traditional” (almost stereotypical) English working class man. He likes to drink a lot of beer, provide for the family and watch the football on TV etc…
He’s very stuck in his ways, just like his father who also has diabetes. His diet since being a child has not been healthy. He deep fries nearly everything, eats chips (fries) with nearly every meal although he does include a few vegetables, barely enough. He used to work fixing railways and although he has passed college courses given by the Jobcentre and applied for many jobs he just hasn’t been about to find work.
This has made him very depressed, he rarely shares his feelings but on a few occasions has broken down and cried. So he is feeding four on the typical jobseekers allowance of £72 a week, as well as bills etc, he really is barely getting by. His doctor told him that he was becoming prediabetic and suggested the usual diet to him, my dad stuck with it for about two weeks, but felt he couldn’t afford it and that he just didn’t like the food. Now he has been diagnosed with full type 2 diabetes, told to stick to a diet and given tablets.
I mentioned all this in the hopes that some of you could give me some advice that I could give him that fits his situation, thanks if you read all of this!
Link to the question: https://bit.ly/2VVdaPU
Intro:-
This was a question asked on diabetes.co.uk on 21st Jul 2013, and I thought someone else might be looking for advice with the same situation.
Because Diabetes is a rampaging disease that 1 out of every 11 people suffer from, more so in the U.S. and U.K.
First of all, life isn’t fair. And we can see signs of societal issues, like underemployment, fast-food, and rising expenses, which can take a heavy toll on anyone.
So here I’ll try to work out a solution for people in such situations, like those who are newly diagnosed, or someone with a high risk of diabetes.
Summary:-
The 1st step is to get educated on what Type-2 Diabetes really is. Knowing a problem is the first step to solving it.
2nd step is to deal with stress. In this question, the father drinks to relieve his stress. Instead, he should build a better stress-relieving habit, maybe cycling.
3rd step is getting the equipment which suits him best. Pens, syringes or pumps.
4th step is to consult a dietician. Although the father couldn’t continue the diet, you should. Things which makes following diets easier is correct environment and mindset.
5th step is exercise. Exercise is an integral part of a diabetic, or even a prediabetic. It can be anywhere from a daily morning walks to full-blown 60 minute workouts.
All the 5 steps are further delved into down below:
Education:-
Type 2 diabetics make up roughly 90% of all diabetics in the world. The science?
Your cells become desensitized to the insulin in your blood and stop responding. This unresponsiveness urges more insulin production, so even the pancreas can stop insulin production if things get too demanding.
Good news though, prediabetes and early type-2 can be reversed, if fast action is taken.
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My dad has diabetes
Dealing With Stress:-
Mental health is an often neglected part of diabetes.
The constant checking of your numbers, seeing that you need to control your eating, and the fact that you might have to live with it for your whole life can always cause burnouts or depression.
In the question above, the father already has a drinking habit as a stress-reliever. This not only put pressure on his liver, but also skyrocketed his blood sugar levels.
The best you can do is build a good stress-reliever in place of the bad one. It can be sports. It can be cycling. Or maybe just walking around and doing household chores.
ANY physical activity is good because you can kill 3 birds with 1 stone:
- Stress-reliever.
- Lowers blood sugar levels.
- Decreases insulin dependency, meaning less expenses.
Equipment:-
Equipment can be a trial-and-error thing since therefore more than 3 solutions to the same problem—Insulin deficiency.
What equipment should EVERY diabetic have? A CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor).
It gives you the exact details of your blood glucose amounts right NOW and gives you greater control over how you handle it.
There are different ways you can inject insulin—
- Pump
- Pens
- Syringes
For cost and simplicity, I’d suggest going for the pump. It’s a one-time investment.
Diet:-
The major component which can help you control diabetes is your diet.
What, and how much of it goes into your body is directly related to your blood sugar.
The most common diet recommended for diabetics is the Keto diet, however, everybody is different.
If you really don’t have time and situations are dire, consider decreasing carbs and proteins, and increase fats in your diet.
Exercise:-
Getting fit is just a slice of the pie, but it’s a big one, just like a diet. 30 minutes of a home workout regimen (just as we at Deevefit do), not only increases your insulin sensitivity and makes you near-independent of insulin, it might even reverse your T-2 diabetes if you’re still in early stages.
Conclusion:-
Hope you have learnt more about Type-2 Diabetes. Just so you know, Diabetes isn’t a death sentence, as it was almost 100 years ago. And prediabetics, if you’re reading this, you still have time.
Know that the effects of diabetes is truly severe:
- Blindness
- Kidney problems
- Damaged feet or hands, may lead to amputation
- 5x more prone to heart attacks and strokes
And if you do have diabetes, don’t lose all hope.
Habits do take time to develop, and you may get depressed or burned out by constantly thinking about your glucose levels, but on the brighter side, you now have a reason to have a healthier lifestyle than most of the population.
What are your thought on this? Comment below!
References and shoutouts to:
Dr. Ed Hope (A junior doctor in the UK, and also my fav youtuber, who explains medical terms in simple language).
His video on T-2 Diabetes: https://bit.ly/2ENbBhl
Andrea (A T-1 Diabetic who helped me learn more about the diabetic lifestyle).
Her channel: https://bit.ly/2YRXxuu