We do have a scheduled September
meeting, but Tim and Allen have been working on something they wanted
to present. Last Saturday August 30 Tim called everyone for a
meeting. Of the 16 members, only 12 were able to attend, plus Dr.
Tom.
Tim said I know many of you have been
working with other people with type 2 diabetes and have not been
having a lot of success. The community has lost three to diabetes
and related issues this summer. Allen, Barry, Bob, and A.J have been
involved with two of the three, while Tim and Dr. Tom had been
working with the third individual. Tim continued that Allen and
Barry are working with a difficult case because the wife is a
registered dietitian and preventing them from accomplishing much.
Next, he commented on the fellow A.J
and I have been working with and having small success with, but not
getting far at present. A.J said it is because he is also listening
to the wife of the individual Allen and Barry is having problems
getting to reduce his carbohydrates. Dr. Tom spoke then and said two
of the three deaths involved patients of his and even he had not
expected them to die. The families had stopped all investigations
about cause of death and therefore we can only suppose that diabetes
has something to do with the death. The third one was identified as
caused by diabetes, but not the reason, but it was suspected that
extreme hyperglycemia was involved.
Tim asked if this wasn't discouraging.
All of us agreed and Allen said he does not understand why some
people just will not manage their diabetes. Barry added that they
have not been able to reason with the people, especially those
getting advice from the dietitian. Allen said this might be the
toughest situation that we have encountered. The person with
diabetes is not happy with his A1c's, but the wife is and keeps
insisting he needs his carbohydrates. Plus she is the one cooking
and feeding him the high carbohydrate foods. Barry added that she
does not avoid high fructose corn syrup and it is found in several of
the foods she prepares.
Jason asked if the husband couldn't
just eat less. Barry said he had tried that and she just insists he
eat more. Barry said he had tried to convince her that low-carb and
medium fat was better, but she just says she isn't convinced and that
she is the one that knows nutrition.
We talked a little longer, but could
not come to something agreeable, so we broke up with the idea to
keeping our research going.
Then on September 1, we got the
information we needed and the emails were rapid between us. Allen's
comment that the wife must be trying to kill her husband by Munchausen's by proxy syndrome seemed a
bit extreme, but it fits the way she is so happy with his A1c. Why
else would she reject low carb and insist on the high carb and so
heavy on the whole grains.
Dr. Tom asked if there was a way for us
to get him to his office without the wife, and that has become our
next project.
