As many here know, my brother was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease AND diabetes. The diabetes is making it difficult for him to find ways to quench his chemo-related thirst. He has been drinking water but is finding that it's not enough lately. He doesn't like the after-taste of the artificial sweeteners, though he can handle diet ginger ale, and is trying to get used to Crystal Lite.

It's possible that with the chemo changing his taste buds he might be able to handle the aftertaste as the treatments continue, but I'd still like to get some idea of what alternatives might be out there.

So I was wondering if I could ask the many learned women here what they know about the options for diabetics as far as beverages go.

Note for Chatty: you mentioned months ago a product that you buy in the health food store, a diabetic-safe sugar alternative. I've searched the threads but can't find the name of the product. Could you remind me what that was again, please?

I'm a diabetic and I drink a lot of water.
The water got to be boring, and I found Lipton's flavored Iced Teas that are in packets that you can put into the water bottle.
No calories.
I believe Crystal Lite has the same thing but has 5 calories in each packet.
I love the drink called an Arnold Palmer.
It's half Iced Tea and Lemonade.
Don't have to use sweetener, but I do, and I love it.
It really quenches the thirst.
Prayers for your brother.
Lynne

I drink Fruit2o its artifically sweetened. My favorite is Diet A&W root beer, tastes exactly like regular root beer and leaves no after taste at all...I use Sweet & Low for tea, and I get sugar free kool-aid at Wal-Mart that is better than Crystal Lite flavor wise...SugarLike is my sugar of choice for baking, their website is www.bakingbutter.com I use their white and brown sugar...Tell your brother to X out any and all white foods from his diet, no white rice, potatoes, pasta ot bread, use brown rice, sweet potatoes, wheat pasta and breads....Also get and take cinnamon capsules, and an herb called Gynema Sylvestre, good for diabetics....I hope this helps.I nearly forgot, I suck on sugar-free popsicles constantly at night, don't gain any weight and the red and banana ones are my favorites. He could keep a bunch of them in his freezer..I too drink diet Peach ice tea and its great...

Thank you Lynne and Chatty,
I'm going to be talking to my brother later this evening and will pass all of this along.

Have either of you tried Gatorade's new drink Propel? Gary has been craving Gatorade, but we haven't even thought about Propel (2g of sugar per 8 oz bottle).

My husband's diabetic too, but has no problem with artificial sweeteners, so we never have a problem finding drinks for him.

Have never tried gatorade myself yet, but if he craves it, get him some to try...

I think Gatorade is full of sugar - as much as he's craving it, I don't think he'll break down and drink it, just because his sugars have been out of control for weeks and he's only just getting them back down to a safer level. But he's going to look into the Propel (made by Gatorade but with a lot less sugar).

He's actually decided to go into emergency tomorrow to get rehydrated through IV. They might suggest doing the IV thing on a regular basis since he's having such difficulty drinking enough (he has dry mouth from the chemo which gives him an unquenchable thirst and cold sores [from the chemo] in his mouth which make it painful to drink.)

BTW, he was interested in the diet root beer and the flavoured iced teas, so I'll look for those tomorrow for him.

Eagle a diabetic whose glucose levels are too high suffer from dry mouth as well, so he has that and the chemo to handle. Its A&W that has the sugar free (really good) root beer and Lipton ha the ice teas, they come in many sugar free flavors, I like the peach flavored and the plain. Tell him to try the sugar free popsicles, they last awhile and definitely curb the dry mouth.

Eagle, I wrote this big, long, drawn out reply to this yesterday and then got a work call. When I came back, I guess it had timed out because it was gone.

Anyway, Ocean Spray makes wonderful (the best) lite juices sweetened with Splenda. They are cheapest at Wal-Mart. But realize, that they still have sugar in them. They are not sugar free.

As far as flavored water, make sure it doesn't have aspertame in it, some do, some don't. Buy the ones that don't.

For a treat, my husband drink diet soda. Sometimes it just hits the spot.

The best drink for diabetics is water. Pure and simple. It's necessary they drink lots because you don't want them to become dehydrated since they don't have many other options.

Today on the way home from his doctor's appointment, we stopped for yet more prescriptions. I bought him a bag of sugar-free hard candies - something a lot of people on the cancer-support forum recommended for the dry mouth. He had one and immediately noticed the difference. So that was a huge relief. He shouldn't eat too many because they'll still affect his sugar, but I'm just so glad he's found SOMETHING!

He also ate some solid food tonight. Hubby and I cooked him up a few shrimp, rice and green peas, and he ate a small plateful. So that's another good sign (it's the most he's eaten in weeks).

The doctor insisted that he had to pour those liquids down his throat no matter how awful they tasted. He already drinks over 110 oz of water a day, so we picked up some new sugar-free drinks in the drug store (they all had Splenda, not asperteme). I haven't found the Lipton Iced tea packets or the diet A&W root beer yet, but will look tomorrow. And I forgot about the popsicles (it was a long and tiring day today).

Dotsie, I haven't seen the Ocean Spray lite juices here. My brother lives across the street from Wal-Mart, so I'll check for it there next time we go. Thanks for the suggestions! I think my brother is finally resigned to getting used to the aftertaste - there is no other choice right now if he wants to drink anything other than water!

Eagle,

I can drink the fruit flavored herbal teas without sugar and they're good warm or iced. I add lemon when I have it. I prefer unsweetened tea to artifically sweetened myself. Blueberry, peach, and raspberry are my favorites.

Eagle, Motts also makes light juices, but be careful becasue they still have about 14 grams of sugar in them. Light juices need to be limited.

As far as Gator Ade goes, I beleive it has about the same amount of sugar and calories as some of the light juices. Always check your labels.

Sugar free pudding made by Jell-o is a great snack with a little sweetness too. Buy the little snack packs. They're a little more expensive, but make a perfect sized snack. Be sure it's sugar free!

Go easy on the sugar free candy. It can really upset the tummy.

Glad to hear he's eating a little something.

Another morsel of good news - we hope it's permanent - but my brother's fever finally broke at 4am this morning! This fever has been plaguing him for about 4-5 weeks now, has been unresponsive to every attempt to treat it, and has been the major culprit in his dehydration, sleep deprivation and zero energy level. We're hoping tonight will be his first full night's sleep in over a month!

I enjoy iced green tea with ginger. I just brew green tea, slice up some raw ginger and pour it over ice. No calories, no sugar and refreshing.
Ann

Anno, that's a great idea - and probably would be an added help against the chemo nausea too. I'll have to try this one myself and then brew some up for my brother. Thanks for sharing.

Eagle,

How is your brother doing? Are any of the liquids helping him? Is his fever down still?

Yes Eagle, we'd love an update.

Well, thanks for asking. His 2nd chemo treatment is on Thursday so I'm actually staying with my brother at his apartment for a few days. He's still battling those fevers; they're cyclical, coming and going usually in the evening and throughout the night. They leave him very weak. We're seeing his doctor again tomorrow and will mention them again. At least the biopsy wound has healed! That's helping a lot, especially in keeping the blood sugar down. He's managing his diabetes very well, but we're not sure he's getting enough to eat. He's been too weak to prepare any meals himself, which is why I decided to come and stay for a few days.

The diet drinks are not going down well at all. He's pretty much sticking to water, diet ginger ale, glucerna (diabetic version of ensure) and crystal lite, though even that is tasting horrid to him these days. He has mouth sores and changing taste buds to contend with as well, making eating and drinking very difficult.

His morale seems a little better these days. It's a long road we're traveling, but we're going to get through. God travels with us, and keeps reminding me that He has already put everything into our lives that we need for whatever road we're traveling, so I'm clinging to that promise of "daily bread".

I'll keep him in my prayers...and hope it helps.

Thank you Chatty - and yes indeed, the prayers help...they certainly keep me grounded and trusting in God's faithfulness, which then helps me to help my brother. I have no doubt He's listening and answering - and I have no doubt that He's using all of the medications, doctors, all available resources and the love and support of everyone around us to bring healing to my brother's body and spirit.

Eagle Heart,

I'm glad that he is keeping down some liquids and is tolerating the glucernia. Both of you and your family are in my prayers.

Eagle, both of you are in my prayers. You're such a good sister. Bless you.

Shaon, I am sending a box of assorted sugar free drinks to you to have your brother sample. I hate Crystal Light, it leaves an after taste except for a few of them. Hopefully he'll find one or two drinks he likes in the group....HUGS

Chatty, you leave me speechless - well, almost speechless. I don't know what to say except a huge thank you for your kindness. I'm sure my brother will be very surprised to discover that someone he doesn't even know has thought of him in this way! And I know he'll have fun trying out these new drinks. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

chatty, thanks for caring for all of us so well. What a sweet gesture.

Eagle, every time I go to the store I find more sugar free drinks. Yesterday I found a big bottle of Crystal Lite. IT's the first time I've seen it in big bottles around here. ANd it's cheaper than buying a bunch of the small ones which was all we could get until now.

Stick with known brands and make sure you check the number of sugars. So many lite things fool you. Just because they are lite doesn't mean they are sugarless.

That's funny you should mention that, Dotsie, because my brother has been finding that even the "sugar free" drinks are too sweet for him now. He's pretty much sticking to water all day and diet ginger ale for lunch. He's also been eating a lot of watermelon lately, because it soothes his chemo-related dry mouth. Every so often I'll bring him a new drink to try, but so far we haven't found any that he wants to buy twice!

You might consider the sugar-free jello cups also, or you can buy the box mixes to make them yourself. They're not quite as sweet tasting as the regular, but I really don't notice much difference overall. I have been diabetic for 10 years now. Also, you might want to know that the sugar free hard candies have sorbitol, which does have a laxative effect. Therefore I can't eat many of them, as I definitely do not need a laxative.

Hi country. Good to see you again. How's the nursing going?

You metion the sorbitol. I recall the tiem one fo my kids ate a whole pack of Velamints during church. Oh my!

So Sharon did he find any flavors he liked?

As someone who is dealing with a very thirsty "pre-diabetic" chemo patient...he has been drinking Powerade instead of Gatorade because it has less sugar. Popsicles, and italian ices help with the thirst also. In the cancer center where he gets his treatments, they have canisters of lemon candies available for the patients. The tartness stimulates the production of saliva and he has a pocket full to suck on during his treatment. Of course, I keep bottled water by the case. He likes it in the freezer for a half hour or so to be icy cold. Says the coldness helps with the thirst as well.

Thanks Melissa. Actually my brother's diabetes is almost non-existent now. He's still taking Avandia and Metformin, because the doctor doesn't want to mess his system up while in the middle of chemo treatments (and the steroid that he gets as part of the chemo does raise his sugar for a few hours). But he's able to eat and drink almost anything now without it affecting his blood sugar. He just added orange juice to his breakfast with no effect on his sugar at all.

Like your patient, my brother craves cold water. Since his appetite is still very poor, he also drinks at least one glucerna, usually before bedtime, just to be sure he gets his nutrients.

Eagle, I am so excited to hear aobut your brother's diabetes. This is unbelievable. I recall when his numbers were off the charts. Answered prayer?

Dotsie, it's still too soon to declare his diabetes permanently gone, but we're delighted with even this reprieve right now - and YES, I believe it's answered prayer, along with his shrinking lymph nodes.

We did just find out that his diagnosis is confirmed as stage 4B lymphoma, which is what I had suspected based on my research (because it affected his liver and pancreas). But my brother thought he was only 3B, so was quite disheartened when he found out it was actually 4B. He was down for a few days, but seems to be regaining morale and a little more energy than he's had in weeks.

He's taking his 5th chemo on Thursday. I definitely see answered prayers all around me these days. It's what keeps me going.

Oh jeez. I am sorry to hear that diagnosis. There are people who survive stage 4b. Do you visit any of the cancer forums? It might be a good idea to find people who have survived that stage and print their posts for him.

More than likely, if it has affected his pancreas, he will have to stay on the medicine for diabetes, but at least it's working! Is his last chemo number six?

Thanks Dotsie,
I have joined an online cancer forum and do print off items of interest for him. I've also told him that many of the people there are 4B's in full remission.

As for his chemo, tomorrow is number five, and as far as we know he has at least eight more to go (two chemo treatments equal one cycle, and the doctor said he wants him to go through 4-8 more cycles, which would be 8-16 more treatments, which will take us well into 2007...so it's still a long road ahead of us)

One day at a time, and we don't think about anything in the future except full remission...

I wish it were that simple - it's when I try to do anything involving the future that the fear hits me hardest...I've been trying to do a little bit of early Christmas shopping but I just keep breaking into tears right there in the stores and have to turn around and go home. I can only think about and manage one day at at time...