Hi All:
My 82-next-month Dad is T2 diabetic and has been newly diagnosed with
chronic kidney disease. He has a myriad of other serious diseases, and
it seems that each specialist has to put out a particular fire without
keeping the whole body in mind.

He has just seen the kidney specialist who is upset that we've not had
a diabetes doctor. Dad does check his sugars every morning, and more
often when needed. He does not have a good understanding about
nutrition and checking labels, and the list of suggestions to eat and
not to eat have him overwhelmed. It appears everything he likes is on
the NO list, and he seems afraid. I know when his blood sugar is off,
he feels just awful- and I'm sure that he imagines being hungry and not
eating- bad for diabetes or eating and hurting his kidneys more. Cold
turkey I don't think we can manage.

We are trying to get an appointment with a dietitian either through the
VA or that his new Medi.insurance will cover. He is keeping an eating
journal for a reality dose.

Does anyone have any ideas to help with changing his menus and reducing
his portions and keeping him from feeling so deprived that he will be
too depressed to work on this newest challenge?

The kidney specialist said that his diabetes has injured his eyes, feet
and kidneys.
Thanks,
/DG

wrote:
> Hi All:
> My 82-next-month Dad is T2 diabetic and has been newly
diagnosed with
> chronic kidney disease. He has a myriad of other serious
diseases, and
> it seems that each specialist has to put out a particular
fire without
> keeping the whole body in mind.
>
> He has just seen the kidney specialist who is upset that
we've not had
> a diabetes doctor. Dad does check his sugars every
morning, and more
> often when needed. He does not have a good understanding
about
> nutrition and checking labels, and the list of suggestions
to eat and
> not to eat have him overwhelmed. It appears everything he
likes is on
> the NO list, and he seems afraid. I know when his blood
sugar is off,
> he feels just awful- and I'm sure that he imagines being
hungry and
> not eating- bad for diabetes or eating and hurting his
kidneys more.
> Cold turkey I don't think we can manage.
>
> We are trying to get an appointment with a dietitian
either through
> the VA or that his new Medi.insurance will cover. He is
keeping an
> eating journal for a reality dose.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas to help with changing his menus
and
> reducing his portions and keeping him from feeling so
deprived that
> he will be too depressed to work on this newest challenge?
>
> The kidney specialist said that his diabetes has injured
his eyes,
> feet and kidneys.
> Thanks,
> /DG

He doesn't need to starve to bring his glucose levels down.
Has the kidney specialist told him how much protein he can
have a day? What drugs does he take for diabetes? I think
seeing a diabetic doctor (endocrinologist) is a great idea
but he needs some dietary advice very soon. He might be
elderly but he doesn't need to live the rest of his life
with poor quality of life. He can eat his protein allowance
plus a small amount of the high carb foods (potato would
probably work better than pasta or rice) and then fill up on
low carb veggies. Is he a small eater like a lot of elderly
people tend to be? Keep away from juices but rather eat the
whole fruit, berries (strawberries, blueberries etc) are a
better deal than some other fruits.

Check labels, you can find lower carb items to replace just
about any food on earth and still be satisfying. What would
a normal day's meal plan be for him at the moment?