Diabetes Type 2 questions

[vagueboy]

My dad went in for his physical for a new company and failed. They diagnosed him with diabetes. Now he's on the pills and could use some help from others in a similar situation on maintaining his glucose levels.

Questions:
Will they test him randomly?

Does he need to get out and do some exercises? Recommended routine?

Where and what to eat and not to eat etc..? Snacking recommendations?

Anything you can think of that isn't here?

Thanks a lot everyone for your help, it's really appreciated.
vB

[kc0iv]

My dad went in for his physical for a new company and failed. They diagnosed him with diabetes. Now he's on the pills and could use some help from others in a similar situation on maintaining his glucose levels.

Questions:
Will they test him randomly?

Does he need to get out and do some exercises? Recommended routine?

Where and what to eat and not to eat etc..? Snacking recommendations?

Anything you can think of that isn't here?

Thanks a lot everyone for your help, it's really appreciated.
vB

I would suggest you read http://www.diabetes.org/type-2-diabetes.jsp

As you will find weight control will help more than anything. In many cases if you lose weight you can control Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetes is nothing to play around with.

kc0iv

[Uturn2001]

First off your Dad should see a dietitian and a diabetes educator. This will help him work out a meal plan and truly understand this disease and how to control it.

The short version is that they will probably recommend a 1800-2000 calorie a day diet. They will most likely advise him to:

Limit protein intake to 8-10 oz per day
Limit carb intake to 45 grams per meal. (1 piece of bread is 15 grams)
Limit salt/sodium intake to 4-5 grams per day
Get 30-45 minutes of cardio vascular exercise 4-5 times per week.
Limit fat intake to 15%-20% of calories per day

When it comes to carbs, you have simple and complex carbs. Complex carbs is what he wants to consume for the most part.

Simple carbs are processed sugars and are also often found in white breads, pastas, and white rice. Complex carbs are found in most other types of foods like fresh fruits, milk, some veggies (corn, peas) whole grain breads and pastas.

Carbs are what effect blood sugar. Fats and proteins do not, however fats can cause blood sugars to remain elevated longer.

Diabetics are at a far greater risk of having high cholesterol as well as high lipid levels, which is another reason to watch fat intake as well as cholesterol intake.

[vagueboy]

Thanks for the input..

It's good to get ideas from other drivers in the same position and some examples of what they do while on the road.

Thanks..
vB

[headborg]

I give some advice here, and I'm sure I'll catch flak for it( lot of Transportation Management Personal Here)

My Sugar level was 408 this morning;

Your dad needs to see a doctor and get medication for his Type-2 diabetes.

What is said, done between His doctor and himself should stay that way.

When he goes in to see the quack--rent a signature to get his DOT medical certificate. There's no real good reason to be completely honest with them-

the urine test for diabetes is so un-reliable----a person would have to be in really advanced stages to be detected by it. And letting them know your business--gets you with conditional certification and means you have to constantly go back and get re-certified regularly with costs you more Money out of your pocket.

I know I'm gonna catch flak on this....and people are going to wave the Safety flag- and say dumb things like "what if he passes out- behind the wheel" etc. But, this passing out is caused by hypoglycemia which is very rear for a Type-2 diabetic( we can only dream of having a 2 digit blood sugar)

[mapleleaf_1]

I have type 2. I was told by a diabetic dietician that I still have to be careful when eating fresh fruit, as they have natural sugars in them. That can apparently do you harm as well. Make sure. Weight control and regular exercise will also help greatly. I was told that the diabetes can even go away over time if taken care of properly. I walk every day. When I've stopped to fuel or to eat or when I'm done for the day. I make it a point in walking for at least 15 minutes 3-5 times a day. Best of luck to your Dad.

[Uturn2001]

I have type 2. I was told by a diabetic dietician that I still have to be careful when eating fresh fruit, as they have natural sugars in them. That can apparently do you harm as well. Make sure. Weight control and regular exercise will also help greatly. I was told that the diabetes can even go away over time if taken care of properly. I walk every day. When I've stopped to fuel or to eat or when I'm done for the day. I make it a point in walking for at least 15 minutes 3-5 times a day. Best of luck to your Dad.

Fruit and dairy both have natural sugars, as do some veggies like sweet peas and corn.

Diabetics especially need to become knowledgeable about foods and about how various foods effect them.

One key to sugar control is to both limit your carb intake to around 75 grams of carbs per meal (or 5 carb units. 15 grams of carbs is one carb unit. A slice of bread is one carb unit), and try to eat the same amount of carbs at each meal and try to eat at the same time each day.

[mapleleaf_1]

HaHaHa, eat at the same time of day. Good one Uturn. You know how difficult that is when you're on the road. For me it is anyways, but I try my best.
I just finished reading an article in the Yahoo news about stomach banding. In the article it says that gastric bypasses are more common in the States, but in Australia people who are obese and therefore get diabetes have had this stomach banding and have in many cases reversed the diabetes completely, blood sugars returning to normal. Interesting I thought.

[headborg]

HaHaHa, eat at the same time of day. Good one Uturn. You know how difficult that is when you're on the road. For me it is anyways, but I try my best.
I just finished reading an article in the Yahoo news about stomach banding. In the article it says that gastric bypasses are more common in the States, but in Australia people who are obese and therefore get diabetes have had this stomach banding and have in many cases reversed the diabetes completely, blood sugars returning to normal. Interesting I thought.

MY wife just told me she saw this very thing on the news! But NO way---people also Die due to complications of that surgery. I would never resort to that---then again I'm only 185-195lbs depending on the last Buffet I just consumed. My ideal body weight is a mere 150lbs--- so I just need to stay away from the Milk and Bag of Cookies at Bedtime.
No, I've been able to get my blood sugar down and under control before--it's keeping it down/under control that's hard to do with diet alone.

Small portions---5 meals(snacks) a day----not 1 or 2 binge meals---this causes Spikes in the sugar level.

[mapleleaf_1]

What you just said is soooo true Headborg. Keeping it at a steady level sure isn't easy, especially doing this job. For me anyways it's hard to do.

[headborg]

What you just said is soooo true Headborg. Keeping it at a steady level sure isn't easy, especially doing this job. For me anyways it's hard to do.

the worst part for me is turning your fingers into pin cushions---makes me want to cry some weeks..I hate sticking myself. They got to perfect that --
no blood/no ***** way of monitoring blood glucose.

those test strips will break your wallet too-- $1.00 a strip--that's $30.00 a month if you just test once a day. There's got to be a better way.

[Rattlebunny]

I give some advice here, and I'm sure I'll catch flak for it( lot of Transportation Management Personal Here)

My Sugar level was 408 this morning;

Your dad needs to see a doctor and get medication for his Type-2 diabetes.

What is said, done between His doctor and himself should stay that way.

When he goes in to see the quack--rent a signature to get his DOT medical certificate. There's no real good reason to be completely honest with them-

the urine test for diabetes is so un-reliable----a person would have to be in really advanced stages to be detected by it. And letting them know your business--gets you with conditional certification and means you have to constantly go back and get re-certified regularly with costs you more Money out of your pocket.

I know I'm gonna catch flak on this....and people are going to wave the Safety flag- and say dumb things like "what if he passes out- behind the wheel" etc. But, this passing out is caused by hypoglycemia which is very rear for a Type-2 diabetic( we can only dream of having a 2 digit blood sugar)

I can tell you that when I have had to submit to a physical (mostly in aviation and now in trucking) I have taken to seriously watching my sugar intake over the 1 to 3 days prior to the test. Also drink enough water so your urine is nearly clear just before the test and sugar will be nearly undetectable. Otherwise, eating right is the best option. I have meds that I take (Glyburide 2.5mg pill form) and I have a current medical from a local doc up here in Maine. I leave for orientation with Stevens tomorrow and I have a physical on Sunday. Hopefully they won't pull anything screwy being that I already have a clear medical (one year) from our doc up here. But I guess you never know.

[dle]

I'm a type 2 as well.

You can manage diabetes on the road but it is hard --- read this as it requires very high degree of dedication.

Get with a diabetic educator and learn about this disease and the associated problems that can show up.

The only times that I'm aware that the company will worry about the diabetes is 1) diabetes is the cause for late deliveries too many times, 2) your next physical is due.

Exercise routine - some drivers (at least they say they do) use small weights while they are driving, walk around the t/s a few times.

[greg3564]

I give some advice here, and I'm sure I'll catch flak for it( lot of Transportation Management Personal Here)

My Sugar level was 408 this morning;

Your dad needs to see a doctor and get medication for his Type-2 diabetes.

What is said, done between His doctor and himself should stay that way.

When he goes in to see the quack--rent a signature to get his DOT medical certificate. There's no real good reason to be completely honest with them-

the urine test for diabetes is so un-reliable----a person would have to be in really advanced stages to be detected by it. And letting them know your business--gets you with conditional certification and means you have to constantly go back and get re-certified regularly with costs you more Money out of your pocket.

I know I'm gonna catch flak on this....and people are going to wave the Safety flag- and say dumb things like "what if he passes out- behind the wheel" etc. But, this passing out is caused by hypoglycemia which is very rear for a Type-2 diabetic( we can only dream of having a 2 digit blood sugar)

You must be out of your mind. Having worked in EMS and transported more diabetics than I can count, you're "advice" is reckless. Becoming unresponsive is usually hypoglycemic. However, people who are hyperglycemic can become what we call "altered mental status." They act like they're drunk or sometimes act like they're high on drugs. They can become combative and act crazy and even die if their sugar is too high. There diabetes also makes them more prone to other major medical problems.

Some things are so trivial that I would agree on not disclosing to a DOT doctor. But something like diabetes must be disclosed. That doctor can still issue a 1 year medical card to make sure your disease is being monitored. Not to mention if you become insulin dependent, your career as a driver is over and rightfully should be. Diabetic drivers have caused a lot of accidents and there's a reason it needs to be monitored.

[headborg]

I give some advice here, and I'm sure I'll catch flak for it( lot of Transportation Management Personal Here)

My Sugar level was 408 this morning;

Your dad needs to see a doctor and get medication for his Type-2 diabetes.

What is said, done between His doctor and himself should stay that way.

When he goes in to see the quack--rent a signature to get his DOT medical certificate. There's no real good reason to be completely honest with them-

the urine test for diabetes is so un-reliable----a person would have to be in really advanced stages to be detected by it. And letting them know your business--gets you with conditional certification and means you have to constantly go back and get re-certified regularly with costs you more Money out of your pocket.

I know I'm gonna catch flak on this....and people are going to wave the Safety flag- and say dumb things like "what if he passes out- behind the wheel" etc. But, this passing out is caused by hypoglycemia which is very rear for a Type-2 diabetic( we can only dream of having a 2 digit blood sugar)

You must be out of your mind. Having worked in EMS and transported more diabetics than I can count, you're "advice" is reckless. Becoming unresponsive is usually hypoglycemic. However, people who are hyperglycemic can become what we call "altered mental status." They act like they're drunk or sometimes act like they're high on drugs. They can become combative and act crazy and even die if their sugar is too high. There diabetes also makes them more prone to other major medical problems.

Some things are so trivial that I would agree on not disclosing to a DOT doctor. But something like diabetes must be disclosed. That doctor can still issue a 1 year medical card to make sure your disease is being monitored. Not to mention if you become insulin dependent, your career as a driver is over and rightfully should be. Diabetic drivers have caused a lot of accidents and there's a reason it needs to be monitored.

Right!(I am out of mind) I must be in one of those "altered" states you mentioned---my current blood sugar was 378 this morning--- then later I couldn't control myself---I had a chocolate shake AND a apple turnover from Arby's for lunch. My highest reading to date was 495! I did manage to get it down to
117( and lost 20lbs) now-- I've regained that 20lbs and back to the 300's.
I know it's destroying my organs.... and I could easily wake up one morning--blind.

I advised-- someone see a doctor-- that's not "reckless".

The only advise you're calling "reckless" is not disclosing that medical condition to a "shade tree" MD that signs a Medical certificate-- or doesn't-
and costs a Type-2 diabetic a potential JOB, causes said driver to lose a job, or be disqualified for 3 months. And having to re-certify every 3months at $50-$80 a pop.

Now, I said NOTHING about NOT getting treatment. I also said NOTHING about trying to "conceal" the use of Oral or Injected Insulin or diluting or substituting a specimen.

If a person's mild(this is what FMCSA-calls Type-2)diabetes isn't brought under control when time to test for medical certification-- the urine test will
red flag---and then the driver will be going through the conditional certification red-tape and will have that cost to deal with.

Otherwise, the only big problems I see- is;
(1) your company not getting you HOME for your SECRET doctor's appointments. <--- If they can't get you home on time you should probably be looking for another job anyway.

(2) Using the company medical Insurance plan to finance your diabetes treatment--is probably gonna ALERT said employer anyway.

[greg3564]

[quote="headborg"]The only advise you're calling "reckless" is not disclosing that medical condition to a "shade tree" MD that signs a Medical certificate-- or doesn't-
and costs a Type-2 diabetic a potential JOB, causes said driver to lose a job, or be disqualified for 3 months. And having to re-certify every 3months at $50-$80 a pop.quote]

So you are suggesting he lie on the DOT form.

Maybe a couple months down the road he may lose conciousness and kill someone. At that time the police start digging and discover that he had a diagnosis. He then falsified his DOT medical. Now, he will probably go to jail.

Not to mention if a employer does catch on to him down the road, they will fire him for falsifying his DOT and report him to his state's DMV and he will get a license suspension.

Original poster, do you father a favor and tell him to NOT hide this. Sooner or later it will catch up to him. He needs to see a dietician and a doctor(preferably an endocrinologist) and get this under control BEFORE he starts driving an 80,000 pound vehicle down the highway.

[headborg]

@ Greg

Original poster can't HIDE it--- he already failed the medical test--- A copy of it will find it's way to his home state, and THIS current employer now KNOWS.


and if he is Type-2----he's probably already been driving a 80,000lb rig just fine down the road for several years.

[headborg]

My dad went in for his physical for a new company and failed. They diagnosed him with diabetes. Now he's on the pills and could use some help from others in a similar situation on maintaining his glucose levels.

Questions:
Will they test him randomly?

Does he need to get out and do some exercises? Recommended routine?

Where and what to eat and not to eat etc..? Snacking recommendations?

Anything you can think of that isn't here?

Thanks a lot everyone for your help, it's really appreciated.
vB

Thought I'd come back to the original post again.

"They diagnosed him with diabetes"---not the med clinic doing the DOT physical.
Only a "real" doctor can "diagnose" diabetes- and it takes more blood tests than just that urine test. But since he's now on pills-- I say he's seen a doctor--and that's good.

"Now he's on the pills"-- what kind of pills? as long as it's not oral insulin---
then this discussion is still Type-2 Diabetes.

Will they test him randomly?-----if you consider having to re-certify frequently as random testing--Yes, But he needs to be testing himself daily with a meter.

Does he need to get out and do some exercises? Recommended routine?


Try to park as far away as possible back row of truck stop and walk-maybe even get some weights and ware them. If the company will do it for him--remove the jump seat-put in a exercise bike----and pedal off the pounds. I'd bet good money-- if he's type-2 he's also overweight.

Bally Total Fitness has clubs across the US. If he get's unloaded and has a layover or 34restart. He should go to the Gym.

http://bally.know-where.com/BallyFitness2/

"Where and what to eat and not to eat etc..? Snacking recommendations?"

meats & veggies are ok

got to cut the carbs & sugars out;

no sugar in anything---they make a diabetic sugar substute.

no breads, no pasta, no processed foods--- these are loaded with refined processed flour and other starch and crap.
if he has to have bread--whole wheat, whole grain or tortilla ---takes longer to break down.(slow release)

no potatoes-too much starch.

portion control is very important---no more all-you-can eat meals.

no more than a hand full of anything....and instead of 3 meals a day--- 5 spaced out (snacks)

take your meds; monitor your glucose levels--- and try to reduce stress.

[Uturn2001]

got to cut the carbs & sugars out;

Wrong. Diabetics need to moderate these (which as far as the body is concerned is the same thing). Try to go carbless, or reduce too much and controlling blood sugar is as hard as getting too much. A diabetic person should consume about 5 carb units per meal, based on a 3 meal a day diet plan. A carb unit is 15 grams of carbs. If a person chooses to do a diet plan that includes snacks, or a 4 or 5 a day meal plan then the total daily carbs should be divided out evenly among how many times per day that person eats.

no breads, no pasta, no processed foods--- these are loaded with refined processed flour and other starch and crap.
if he has to have bread--whole wheat, whole grain or tortilla ---takes longer to break down.(slow release)

Whole grain breads and pastas are better, but not really for the reasons stated. Whole grain foods are more "heart" healthy and usually lower in cholesterol/fat than highly processed grain foods. High cholesterol and coronary problems often go hand in hand with diabetes.

no potatoes-too much starch.

See the first thing in this reply.

portion control is very important---no more all-you-can eat meals.

VERY TRUE

no more than a hand full of anything....and instead of 3 meals a day--- 5 spaced out (snacks)

Maybe yes, maybe no. For some people eating 3 meals a day works best, for others 4 to 5 meals or 3 meals and 1 or 2 snacks a day work best. Either way you want to maintain the same amount of calories, carbs, and fats. You need to figure out which way works best for you.

============================================
Headborg, much of your suggestions are based on 20+ year old diabetic guidelines. In the last few years however research has shown that many of those actually make steady blood sugar control more difficult if not impossible. Sadly there are also still doctors and dietitians out there who have not gotten the message.

I have been a diabetic for the last 8 years, and have went through a lot of rough times with this. The above guidelines I have posted have been adopted by the American diabetes Association as a result of several studies conducted by various groups including the Mayo Clinic, which is where I learned of this.

[headborg]

hmmm, so I & my Dad (diabetic too) need to Fire our doctors get new ones?
(second opinion)

Easy for me, but Dad uses the VA. Harder for him to fire those quacks.

And I need to throw away this American Diabetes Association Complete Guide to Diabetes Fourth Edition?
hmm, it was published 2006.


How's your A1C today? btw?


you're probably right-- my doctor is a old geezer. And when I was- lowering my sugar level the first time(with diet alone) I was noticing that the more I
tried to avoid all those things( that I was suppose to-by doctor's advice) the next morning --no noticable real reductions...

but then when I say "frack this" and went inside the Petro and had steak and big baked potatoe and Garlic Bread-- or even cheat with pasta----the
next morning---I had low readings---
but anyway, I did lose about 20 pounds in 3-4 weeks.