My 70 year old husband (5 feet, six inches; 175 pounds) has type�2 diabetes treated with pills, he has bad headaches, and he has been told his sugar is too high. He doesn’t follow through with diabetes doctors, won’t go to one, and won’t let me call one so I don’t know where to turn. However, he has finally decided to follow the carb total, and we need to know how many carbs he can have per day. Please tell me how many carbs he can have a day, and I will try to make meals to be close to the total.

The fact that he will not follow directions makes any attempt to force compliance less likely to succeed. According to the dietitians I work with, one can use up to 90 grams of carbohydrate per day if you wish to lose weight. This will put his daily calorie count at about 1500 to 1800 which should help him with blood glucose control.

However, you should understand that diabetes control requires adherence to diet, maintaining exercise, doing home glucose monitoring and taking your medication. Also, medical follow-up is imperative. Any deviation from this and the entire plan will break down.

ABS

[Editor’s comment: This is clearly a very difficult situation. Perhaps you can set up an appointment for you (and maybe also him?) to talk to a diabetes dietitian, both to learn more about reasonable food choices, and to strategize on what other steps that your husband might agree to. To find a dietitian, call any nearby diabetes program (at a hospital, medical school, or the local office of the American Diabetes Association).

WWQ]