My 65 year old father in law (Fred) is diabetic and was for ten years or so before he found out. I think it's been ten years since the diagnosis.
Just in the past few months we have seen a dramatic decline in his health.

Now... I'm talking about a German man who, in his thirties, was still incredibly strong and especially strong willed and mentally strong ( engineer ).
I've seen old home videos of this man carrying twenty foot long trees that he cut down, one under each arm.
His mental strength was such that, he told himself that the trees had to go from here to there so he just did it.

He also was a heavy drinker until last year.

He suffered from a stroke a couple of years ago ( 5 or 6 ).
He went through denial about it and tried to keep doing all the things he used to be able to.

He's very slow now and is starting to need amputation on his toes, some already missing and now it's gone into the bones up his legs. This to man who always has to be on the move who now needs a cane.
His thinking has slowed down very much.
He doesn't catch on so fast anymore and you can see that it takes a long time for him to calculate any information.

There's much more to his story, but what I finished describing is what my family is most worried about.
Can anyone give any info on how to maybe slow down his rapid deterioration? Could this diet help or is it too late.
Thank you.
Lisa and Craig.

& Fred's wife.

Yes Yes Yes, I do belive from all I have read that this diet can help Fred. Cut out sugar, flour and fruit for a start and then get all the literature that you can read.
Be aware!
There are thousands of articles and testimonies on lists and groups whrere people have been helped wiyth diabetes.I have not checked but there may be some articles or addresses here at the forum wwhere you can check. And buy a book on Atkins and some of the other low carb books.
Here is an article I have stored in mFrom http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/10786a.htm

DG-DISPATCH - ENDO 99: Diabetics Improve Health With Very High-Fat, Low Carb
Diet By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News SAN DIEGO, CA -- June 15,
1999 --

A very high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet has been shown to have astounding
effects in helping type 2 diabetics lose weight and improve their blood
lipid profiles.

The results of three studies involving such a diet, which is similar to, but
has a few key differences from the famous "Dr. Atkins Diet", were presented
today at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

Dr. James Hays, an endocrinologist and director of the Limestone Medical
Center in Wilmington, DE, admitted that the concept of a high-fat diet in
people who are already at higher risk of cardiovascular disease might seem
incongruous. Nonetheless, this study of 157 men and women with type 2
diabetes showed an impressive benefit in body mass index (BMI)
triglycerides, HDL, LDL and HbA1c.

Most people are encouraged to reduce the amount of fat in their diets,
particularly saturated fats, and diabetics in particular are advised to
reduce their overall caloric intake, Dr. Hays explained in an interview in
San Diego during the conference.

Whereas a normal diet would be in the order of 1800 to 2100 calories, with
60 percent of calories coming from carbohydrates and 30 percent from fat,
patients in this diet were restricted to 1800 calories per day and were
encouraged to get 50 percent of their caloric intake from fat, and just 20
percent from carbohydrates. The balance of 30 percent would come from
proteins.

A whopping 90 percent of the fat content in their diets was saturated fat,
compared with just 10 percent that was monounsaturated fat.

"I think this is at least worth considering for any diabetic," Dr. Hays
said in an interview. "The thing many diabetics coming into the office
don't realize is that other forms of carbohydrates will increase their
sugars, too. Dieticians will point them toward complex carbohydrates ...
oatmeal and whole wheat bread, but we have to deliver the message that these
are carbohydrates that increase blood sugars, too."

Higher-fat diets, on the other hand, seem to make the person feel full
faster so they eat less; higher-fat diets also tend to reduce postprandial
hypoglycemia so the patients feel better after eating.

"Every diabetic comes home from the doctor with instructions as to what
their diet should consist of, but they're not getting the information from
dieticians about what complex carbohydrates they should eat," Dr. Hays
said.


"The important thing here is no ketosis. We absolutely don't want people to
become ketotic, and so we said they had to have so many exchanges of fresh
fruits and vegetables and we specified the ones they could eat."

They were able to eat all the meat and cheese they wanted, but as for
carbohydrates, they are restricted to eating unprocessed foods, mainly fresh
fruit and vegetables, he added.

Subjects recruited into the study (84 men, 73 women) were all type 2
diabetics and were required to undergo a standard American Diabetes
Association modified diet for one full year before entry into the trial.
Over the course of one year, the subjects achieved a mean decline in total
cholesterol of between 231 and 190 mg/dl. Triglycerides declined from 229
to
182 mg/dl.

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol) fell from 133 to 105 mg/dl, while
HDL increased from 44 to 47 mg/dl.

HbA1c, which at the start of the study averaged 3.34 percent above normal,
declined to the point that at one year, the mean was just 0.96 percent above
normal.

The average weight loss among subjects in the study was in the order of 40
pounds, Dr. Hays said.

By the end of the one-year study, he added, 90 percent of the patients had
achieved ADA (American Diabetes Association) targets for HbA1c, HDL, LDL and
triglycerides.

Even among juvenile diabetics, he said, they might not be overweight and
they might have more or less normal lipid levels, but when they are on this
kind of diet it is possible to treat them with lower doses of insulin and
make their lives a little safer, he said.

As for the response from cardiologists who see a high-fat diet as anathema
to what they have been instructing their patients for years now, Dr. Hays
said he has three cardiologist patients who are now on the diet.

"If you have a diet that results in weight loss, lower cholesterol, and a
better lipid profile, eventually, everybody will be eating that way. It's
going to come whether we like it or not."y files.:

If you really want to do everything that you can then take him to see Dr Bernstein, his home page is here.
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/
My sister in law died in her 50's from type 2 diabetes after having both of her legs amputated and being on kidney dialysis for many years. This happened before I knew the benefits of this way of eating. Dr Bernstein runs a clinic for diabetics and is himself a type 1.
If you think that things are bad for your father in law, think where he will be at in a few years if you do not get the very best advice right now.

You didn't mention if he is a type one or type two diabetic??? This makes a difference in how he approaches this diet. It is quite dangerous for type 1 diabetics to use a low carb diet as they are structured in most books. Ask his physician if he is a type one before beginning anything. Ketosis is safe for most individuals, type 2 diabetics and IR, but not for type 1's.
Just a word of caution!!

Hey, thanks for the advice so far!
I'm not sure of your name ( the last reply).

I'll find out from my mother,(mum), in law if he's type 1 or other.
It's just so hard to see someone who always seemed invinceable to do a 180. It's like Superman and Kryptonite.

There's just one thing...... he's so hard headed and still doesn't believe that there is anything wrong with his health.
I'll be helping mum to change his eating without him really knowing what's in the food. That is of course after I find out about the Type he is.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Lisa and family.
We're hanging in there!

My name is Kathy! Sorry. Good luck and I'll keep you and your father-in-law in my prayers.
Kathy

Hi there Kathy,
I found out that my father in law is Type 2.

And the same day that I hear that MY father suffered a mild stroke, I found out that my father in law's condition has worsened. It has now gone into the bones in his legs.... and an X-ray showed that he is missing the bone at the tip of one of his toes. Doc said it just disolved or something?

I'm really starting to wonder about some Doctors.
I'm not liking the treatment I get from my own, nothing is personal anymore and they (not all of them though) don't listen to the patients anymore.
Now some doctors act like they know more about what's going on in your body than you do. You go in there feeling like something just isn't right and they find nothing wrong so they act like you know nothing. Then you leave without any answers.
Yes, okay, they understand better how things work in our bodies, but they have to go back to letting the patient learning about his or her own body to help heal him or herself.

I'm feeling much healthier now, and I bet you my Doc would find a reason to tell me to stop this diet. No chance I'd let that happen though!

If doctors would spend more time learning about the "Person" patient and not the "Disease" patient, I'm positive that the pills would be pushed less. We would have an overall healthier population and people would be happier with each other rather than being miserable all the time due to illness or unhappiness about our appearances.

Everyone is a teacher in life and everyone learns throughout a lifetime. We need to open our ears to others' opinions and not tell anyone (of any age, race, culture or religion) that "You don't understand because you didn't study it."
If we listen we will learn, if we learn we will understand, if we understand we will spread health and peace.... and wellbeing.

Sorry that was long but it had to finally come out of me.
An additional way to lose weight, is to let go of any emotional weight.
Anyway, thanks for your support and have a good week.
Regards,
Lisa

P.S. I would like this also to be posted as a new post so it opens some ears out there, but don't know how to copy it without retyping it all. Any help please.

Lisa, this is terrible news about you father-in-law. Not sure that I've heard about "dissolving bones" unless he has a type of Rheumatiod Arthritis, which can and does lead to complete destruction of bone at the joints, or an infection, which is the more likely culprit in light of the diabletes. The high blood sugars of untreated diabetes destroys the nerve endings in the extremities, and things like ingrown toenails, and burns even from a too hot bath can go un-noticed until it's too late, because there's no pain to warn that anything's wrong ..

One suggestion for putting your last post in another thread, is to use your mouse to select and copy the contents of the message. Then just paste it into a New Thread, add whatever title you desire, and Submit.

hope this helps

Doreen

I'm sorry to hear that your father inlaw is not doing so well right now. It's hard when you don't know what the answers should be and when you hear so many conflicting ones. Perhaps you are right, if physicians listened or had the time to or took the time to, then maybe we would be a little healthier, but for now it's big money to look at someone for five minutes, write a prescription and tell them to come back in a week for another huge fee! No wonder mothers tell their sons to grow up to be doctors and their daughters to marry one!

Back to your father inlaw. I really only know the basics of diabetes, but enough to know that diet plays the major role in remaining healthy. Sometimes we don't want to know an answer, so we don't ask. Maybe being a little quiet in your approach may have a different outcome.

Today at the office I had a woman approach me and ask me how I'm losing so much weight. I thought before responding because only yesterday one other employee ranted and raved about a friend of hers being on a low carb diet and she had kidney stones diagnosed as a result of the diet. I listened to the others responses and decided that for now an anonymous approach to my diet was best without confronting fifteen women who believe that low carbing is life threatening. I told her that I'd given up wheat products and sugars! She smiled and said she could never give up her sugar and then asked what I ate. As though wheat and sugar are the only two staples in a diet. I smiled and said vegetables, some fruit and lean meats and cheese. This satisfied her went back to work and the fifteen other women sitting at the staff meeting table all began discussing it in a different light and even a few pushed to know more about it. I never once mentioned it being low carb or a protein diet. But now I worry that they won't research it enough and read read read up on the rules and regulations that make it healthy. We all see and hear and believe what we want to know, beyond that we are infants. If nothing else, I have them thinking of what I'm doing and I don't know if it's right for everyone, but for some it is. My husband tried it for three weeks, lost twenty pounds and complained constantly how hungry that he was. He quit, gained back all of it in less than a month and now thinks that maybe if he'd stuck to it, that he might have been somewhere on it by now. Will power and knowing where you are going is the burden of any diet, but the final result is where we want to be. This is a life style, not a diet for my health. Perhaps, your father in law will respond to a quiet approach to eating if he is kept full and just feeling better may help him fight to win his battle.

Okay! That was way long and I'm thinking of going for a walk if the temp ever drops below 105 degrees! Too hot to do anything except wait for the sun to go down.

Good luck in your trials and I'll keep you all in my prayers (if that is acceptable on this forum to mention)!

Kathy