New member!

[kimdeaf]

Hello everyone!

My husband is a diabetic. His is genetic, on his father's side. Many males on this side of the family have had diabetes over the years - and 2 of my husband's 3 brothers are also labeled diabetics.

Hubby is over 325 lbs. He injects insulin 5x a day. He's on blood pressure and cholesterol meds. He's on Metformin. The injections were a last resort and didn't start until almost a year ago.

What he is NOT is a junk food eater. We eat healthy. We're empty-nesters and I cook from scratch, for the most part. I'm constantly looking at recipes to try so we do a lot of healthy eating. Before the injections, he didn't have to eat carbs as much on a daily basis -- now he does. Some days he might have too many carbs (breads or pasta) but there are a lot of other healthy foods around. Going out to eat? Maybe once every 2 weeks....if we're lucky. Just not what we do.

Back in March of this year, my husband fell off the back of a moving truck while helping one of our daughters move back home. As a result, he has not been able to do any exercising since then. He's lucky if he can do some walking around a track or treadmill - but nothing to the extent of what he did before. As a result, he's put on a good 25 lbs -- and the extra weight is killing him. Just making it physically impossible to do anything. He just recently found out that he has Achilles tendonitis of his foot, making it extremely painful to walk. The extra weight is not helping.

We are currently looking into Bariatric surgery. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to find info on genetic diabetes vs bariatric surgery. I/we are NOT looking at this surgery as a quick-fix to get the weight off. That would be a plus, no doubt - but we would definitely like to see a reduction in the meds. I/we do know that the weight will be slow coming off - but getting his numbers under control is of utmost importance at this point. We're aware that he could be on meds for the rest of his life, and we can live with that - but possibly a REDUCTION in the meds? Can anyone point me to links or something to check into in relations to genetic diabetes and bariatric surgery?

Thanks so much for letting me bend your ears....it's frustrating for me, as a wife, living with this. We've been married for 34 years - and I worry constantly that I'm going to lose him soon. I see his health going downhill with the increase in meds and it bothers me greatly. We're only 53 years old, we have 2 beautiful daughters, both newly married, and 1 daughter that wants to start a family soon. I can't lose this man....I'm not ready to give him up . Any help or suggestions or ANYTHING you can give me...I would greatly appreciate it.

[patricia52]

It is wonderful of you to try to help your husband. You are a blessing in his life. Read the older posts about low carb diets. He really needs to get on a low carb diet and stay on it. If he is having to eat more carbs to cover his insulin, he may need to adjust his insulin. You might also want to get a copy of the bookThink Like a Pancreas. It really helped me to figure out how much insulin I needed. Good Luck.

[jbmacomber]

Welcome to the forum! It's clear to see the love in your relationship. I am sorry I have no advice on the surgery. Why is he having to eat more carbs now?

[SueL4]

I agree with the others who posted. Read the board about a truly low carb diet and read Dr. Bernstein's book. I'm disabled and am very limited in mobility but since I've started low carb eating, I've lost 25 pounds. I can't speak to weight loss surgery but weight loss without much mobility can be done.

[Moonpie]

A low carb diet can really help with both weight loss & better blood glucose readings. I get my best numbers on less than 30 carbs a day. Try logging your food intake into a site like fitday.com. You may be surprised at how many carbs you are actually consuming. Good luck, your hubby is a lucky man.

[Moonpie]

more thoughts on the exercise. Do you have a senior center near you? They often offer chair exercises, which are good for folk with limited mobility. Even people in wheelchairs can go to them. However, for weight loss, a change in food lifestyle is key (imo) & I agree with the other comments on changing his insulin & carbs.

[apollo322]

Wow you have been together 34 years and your only 53, what a beautiful story. If he's as resolved to stay around as you are to keep him around he'll have no problems. Before you go the surgery route, which by the way has proven to be very effective for diabetics, why not try a much less invasive low carb diet? The surgery would drastically alter his eating habits anyway, think of it as a 6 month trial.
As for exercise, it really is vital but it doesn't have to be the traditional kinds. If walkouts tough get some small dumbells and just do many reps while watching TV. If he does both things I'll bet he can lose 25-40 lbs in 3-4 months and start the ball rolling in the right direction. He will shock himself at how well his body will respond to the right inputs, I'm about the same age and I know I was.
He is lucky to have someone by his side who loves him do much and has for 34 years