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Specializes in OB, ER.

My FIL is a diabetic and not understanding the diet. do any of you have some simple handouts or websites you could recommend for me. I am going to sit down with him and try to explain it all to him. He has been to a dietician and talked with his doctor but it's not sticking. My MIL says all they do is give us recipes and that's not helpful. I want to give him a simple picture of what a carb is, how many carbs he can have in a day, ect. Easy and simple!

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Specializes in OB, ER.

Just one more piece of info that might be important. He is not on any meds, just diet controlled. He tried metformin and it made him angry and grumpy so he took himself off.

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
Just one more piece of info that might be important. He is not on any meds, just diet controlled. He tried metformin and it made him angry and grumpy so he took himself off.

Oh, Lord. Well, I would *suggest* that he talk with the doc again, as the elevated BS/HBA1C does have the tendency to cause strokes, loss of feet, eyesight and all the other great diabetic stuff. Its very common with Type IIs because they aren't feeling anything damaging, until its really bad. Being "angry and grumpy" may have been the result of having a BS in the 160 range, down from a "normal" of 300 for several years/months.

I did a quick google and couldn't find something easy. If he's a car/engine guy, try using the analogy of running "rich"(too much fuel) or "light"(too little fuel).

Carbs(in excess) make his body too rich, he's elevating his BS for a long period of time, and this is hard on the fuel lines (capillaries). Because they're carrying too much fuel (glycated Hgb), eventually, they will clog or rupture (neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, stroke).

Too few carbs make him run light, he won't have enough fuel (glucose) to do his ADLs.

You can work with this, using the example of simple sugars (fruit, candy, soda) as a "nitrous boost", it will give more fuel when you need it. Obviously, if you don't need it, its bad.

He's a guy. He has to have interests/hobbies. If you can relate the diet to the way his hobby(ies) work, it will click. I'm going to assume your husband has picked up some medical knowledge, and I imagine he'll understand dad's interests well enough to help you develop a script- if you can't completely DIY.:)

Edit: I'm a type I x37 years, so...

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