It gets better right?

[Ragmar]

I've only been a type two for the past month and I'm not sure if this is my first burn out but it feels like there's this mental barrier in my head right now, it's like a wall that says "DIABETES" and I can't get over it and it's starting to effect my sleep schedule and personal relationships.

I read through the 'Don't involve yourself in the blame game" and it helped me out. I've also read through the success stories threads and found them comforting, it's just I'm having a hard time getting past this barrier and I'm doing everything I can to eat better and work out.

I thought I had a handle on this but I just need assurance that it's not the doom and gloom that they taught me in the diabetes class I went to. Any tips on how to get past this mental barrier?

 

[rab5]

Its not your fault. Its the system that told us that carbs were great and fat was bad. The vast majority of processed foods are dreadful. The NHS food pyramid is a F******g disgrace.......... Rant Over

What was your hba1c reading if you dont mind me asking

Rab

 

[Guzzler]

The diagnosis of any life changing condition causes this emotional tide. There are phases we can go through like panic, fear and a rabbit-in-the-headlights numbness etc.
Type 2 Diabetes does not have to be the chronic, progressive disease that our HCPs would have us beleive. It can be managed with a little planning and effort. As time passes this wall of Diabetes will crumble and you will feel more optimistic about the future. Put your efforts into making the changes necessary to improve your bg and as you see an improvement your fears will be lessened. Yes, it becomes easier.

 

[bulkbiker]

I've only been a type two for the past month and I'm not sure if this is my first burn out but it feels like there's this mental barrier in my head right now, it's like a wall that says "DIABETES" and I can't get over it and it's starting to effect my sleep schedule and personal relationships.

I read through the 'Don't involve yourself in the blame game" and it helped me out. I've also read through the success stories threads and found them comforting, it's just I'm having a hard time getting past this barrier and I'm doing everything I can to eat better and work out.

I thought I had a handle on this but I just need assurance that it's not the doom and gloom that they taught me in the diabetes class I went to. Any tips on how to get past this mental barrier?

No its not doom and gloom at all. My health is so much better since I took charge of myself and got eating under control by LCHF. Weight has dropped off and HbA1c's are down at "normal" levels. I'm a smaller, fitter, more educated person now and its all down to being diagnosed with Type 2. Who'da thunk it?

 

[Bluetit1802]

I thought I had a handle on this but I just need assurance that it's not the doom and gloom that they taught me in the diabetes class I went to.

It is only doom and gloom if we choose to ignore it. It won't go away by ignoring it, and if we don't work at finding the best foods for ourselves and carry on eating too many carbs and sweet stuff our diabetes may progress to the doom and gloom stage. We can prevent this, with a suitable diet, a blood glucose meter and food diary, and the aid of medication if that is necessary. Once we see some improvements in our blood glucose, the fear and gloom turns to positive motivation.

 

[Mike d]

Stay away from classes .... and stay here. Direct? Yep. Honest? Yep

Learning curves, you'll get there easily

 

[Ragmar]

What was your hba1c reading if you dont mind me asking

Rab

My A1C was 6.5 so I'm right on the border, I've taken steps to lowering my number and have lost weight but a lot of my nights are spent looking at the ceiling and during the day I'm reading the forums trying to find comfort.

The diagnosis of any life changing condition causes this emotional tide. There are phases we can go through like panic, fear and a rabbit-in-the-headlights numbness etc.

This is what I needed to hear/read. I keep going through this cycle and it isn't helping that this has turned into an obsession but I'm hoping that wall crumbles faster.

@bulkbiker I've read this before about how people turn this diagnosis around as a wake up call to get in gear and it's comforting. Thank you for taking the time to type that.

@Bluetit1802 I really like your signature and I hope to never be at the doom and gloom stage, I just remember them telling us about the inevitable and it didn't help so maybe I'll write a complaint. My A1C was 6.5 and I'm confident that I'll be able to knock it down before my next testing in May.

@Mike D I like your Icon! Funnily enough, my counselor told me to stay away from the forums because I shared with her this story about how one user lost control of his blood sugar because he didn't take care of himself. I'm learning everyday. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

[ickihun]

It really isn't a death sentence as long as it's not ignored.

My suffering is due to bulging disc. None diabetic get the same.
If I didnt have it I'd be swimming, lots. I'd be cycling and mini jogging. I miss pre bad back.

Only on insulin because my body doesn't like tablets, any of them. I've tried them all. All done on high carb, low fat diets like told too.
Low carbing more beneficial.

 

[bulkbiker]

@bulkbiker I've read this before about how people turn this diagnosis around as a wake up call to get in gear and it's comforting. Thank you for taking the time to type that.

I was extremely lucky in that I was expecting my diagnosis and had already found this forum a few weeks beforehand. The folks on here led by example and showed me what to do. It was a liberating experience after years of slowly piling on the pounds to realise it could be undone and maintained without too much stress or hunger. Dr Jason Fung also helped a lot (google his videos if you haven't watched them). He explains in layman's terms and in my view has the right approach.

 

[Mike d]

Thank you The avatar is a throwback to a TV show in the 60s only shown downunder

At 6.5 you'll do this standing on your head

 

[CL_in_NZ]

You sound like where I was at on diagnosis. For me it has gotten a lot better and I don't really think about it that much anymore. All of my health measures are now on the good side of normal. But getting to that point was hard. As I started getting improved results back it got much easier.

I think it is healthy you are seeing it as a wakeup call not a sentence. Very simply: you can make changes that will have a major positive impact on your health.

Stay strong!

 

[eggs11]

You have been diagnosed at what is a good time, I believe, for people with diabetes, in that there are now several diet/lifestyle options open to us which can improve or even reverse our condition. If I hadn't been diagnosed I would have carried on putting on weight (even though I was nearly always on a low fat diet!) and not realising there was a way of eating (low carb) that would help me feel better and improve my blood sugars quite quickly. In short, my diagnosis has released me from a sentence of more decades of weight gain and poor health - it has set me on a new path. Your diabetes course sounds negative - but there are enlightened nurses and doctors out there who keep up with the latest science and know that diabetes can be reversed. Keep looking through the success stories on here - it's something I do every day to keep me motivated.

 

[Phoenix55]

Hi @Ragmar with an HbA1c of 6.5 you only need to start making small changes to see an improvement. Follow the guides given by people in the forum and you can stop this diabetes in its tracks. There is no going back but there is a fresher, healthier life waiting for you to grab it. Remember whenever you go out to greet people with a smile and you soon start to feel better in yourself. Buy yourself a meter and use to it see how you are improving and keep a note of your body measurements if you are losing weight. By the summer you will be buying a size smaller and by next Christmas will need a new wardrobe.

 

[There is no Spoon]

it's like a wall that says "DIABETES" and I can't get over it

Hi Ragmar,
A few of us have sledge hammers we can come round and help kick the s**t out of it for you if you want. @bulkbiker 's got a ladder you can go over it and @Mike D has a spade if you want to dig a tunnel.

I find the key is one thing. For me that one thing was stop eating sugar.

• It immediately lowed my blood sugar.
• Started me eating better.
• And I lost weight.

Ok job done.

After a couple of months like this I started to want to understand more so I hit the bombard me with too much information button on Google. Information over load I watched some cat videos instead.
But I took away one thing how our body's process sugar.

A couple of months later and I was ready to do more than watch cat videos so I started to lean in earnest.
When I had questions I found a place to ask them on here, and so far they have been willing to put up with me. This time I learned more than one thing.

I learned the people on here want to help, they want you to succeed, you are not alone.
Don't waist your time staring at the celling looking for answers.

One thing to take forward with you from now on.
A good nights sleep is priceless it can help control your blood sugar levels.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

In around 2003, a friend of mine became a T2. She died two years later because her heart was wrecked. Same happened to my grandmother about 5 years before that. Why? They didn't know how to treat their diabetes. No-one did, really. Certainly not their healthcare team. They took their meds, but loaded up on carbs every single meal & snack. Sweet pastries, entire chocolate bars, potatoes, rice, sugary coffee... And sat in a chair or on their couch all day. Didn't leave the house. I was diagnosed a year and a half ago. I read, read, read some more, learned all this relatively new stuff about low carb, nutrients and what have you, got a tiny little treadmill into my bedroom, and my HbA1c is now 38. Lost 20 kilo's to boot. The things the course told you, well, that's old info. It was true once, maybe, but not now. These days people know more, and can take charge of this. I have a few health issues, auto-immune and others, and the only one I can directly influence every hour of every day, is diabetes. That's the one I actually have a say in. I've been clinically depressed my whole life, and the diagnosis made me hit a wall too... I know how it feels. But after a while, well... It ended up being empowering. I'll never enjoy the genetic hand I've been dealt, but I know this, at least, is something I can actually handle. So can you. If you're going to get a T2 diagnosis, then this is the best time to get it; now, we have loads of information available. And with that, hope.

 

[rab5]

In around 2003, a friend of mine became a T2. She died two years later because her heart was wrecked. Same happened to my grandmother about 5 years before that. Why? They didn't know how to treat their diabetes. No-one did, really. Certainly not their healthcare team. They took their meds, but loaded up on carbs every single meal & snack. Sweet pastries, entire chocolate bars, potatoes, rice, sugary coffee... And sat in a chair or on their couch all day. Didn't leave the house. I was diagnosed a year and a half ago. I read, read, read some more, learned all this relatively new stuff about low carb, nutrients and what have you, got a tiny little treadmill into my bedroom, and my HbA1c is now 38. Lost 20 kilo's to boot. The things the course told you, well, that's old info. It was true once, maybe, but not now. These days people know more, and can take charge of this. I have a few health issues, auto-immune and others, and the only one I can directly influence every hour of every day, is diabetes. That's the one I actually have a say in. I've been clinically depressed my whole life, and the diagnosis made me hit a wall too... I know how it feels. But after a while, well... It ended up being empowering. I'll never enjoy the genetic hand I've been dealt, but I know this, at least, is something I can actually handle. So can you. If you're going to get a T2 diagnosis, then this is the best time to get it; now, we have loads of information available. And with that, hope.

Brilliant post. Love it. Well done you!

 

[ickihun]

The nhs has stayed steady on type2s keeping active. Throughout my years of being under GP care.
The dieticians have totally confused me throughout.
Only now are my dieticians accepting I need low carb and high protein (as no damaged kidneys).
I lose on medium to low fat but low carb and high protein... on insulin to keep my bgs in the upper 4 to high 5s. Only in this range do I lose weight.
Thyroid up to its optimum minimum too. Walking helps me too but not always possible in snow, ice or wind. Much more balanced with pregabalin tablet solving my numb toe. Far less wobbly.
Shame sciatic nerve has to give me sooo much pain. What I'd give for a epidural-like resolution for it. I'd be able to walk more and cycle maybe too. Swimming is my next mile stone, regardless. Only after a day full of tramadol thou.

Stay active everyone. Its a godsend.

 

[jayney27]

Hi and welcome, as you have already discovered there are lots of very friendly helpful people here who are more than willing to support you and we all wish you well.

Yes it can and does get better. When I was diagnosed in October 2017 I was shocked, upset and angry, I immediately decided to make changes and then like you I hit a wall, I didn’t stop eating well and exercising but I realised that this new way of life was what was needed if I wanted to be well, I think I needed to grieve for my loss of what I’d considered to be “normal” before I could accept that these changes were going to be my new “normal”. Once I had done that my wall got smaller and on most days there is no wall at all.

I occasionally find myself wishing that I could just grab whatever was easiest and closest to hand and eat it but I immediately think about what those choices might mean long term and that’s all I need to stop myself and make a good choice. As soon as you start to feel and see the benefits from the changes you make they will be your motivators, I and everyone I know are amazed at my transformation in such a short period of time. My diabetic nurse was waiting at the door for me to arrive when I went for my first check up, she couldn’t wait to tell me how well i had done, my family and friends comment on my weight loss, not everyone is aware of my diagnosis, so aren’t aware of the reasons behind it and that’s fine I don’t need to tell everyone. For me personally I feel fitter, I have more energy, I sleep better and being able to step on scales with my eyes open and see the numbers getting lower is fantastic, as is being able to buy new clothes, smaller sizes and now rather than buy things to try and hide under I’m choosing things that I want to wear, so all positives, YES it gets better.

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Sue192]

@Mike D I like your Icon! Funnily enough, my counselor told me to stay away from the forums because I shared with her this story about how one user lost control of his blood sugar because he didn't take care of himself. I'm learning everyday. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

You've found the right Forum! Some are scary and also full of YOU MUST/MUST NOT DO THIS types - not this one Lots of great advice in the above posts, @Ragmar, and hitting walls/barriers is to be expected. They can happen at any time, not just at diagnosis - some (me for example), take on board the message, don't break down and just get on with searching and sorting out what they can do. Then, BAM! It's absolutely normal - just try and ride the feeling as it will pass. It certainly isn't all doom and gloom, as you can see here on this thread. Because we are so surrounded by carb-laden, processed food and a huge amount of importance is put upon sharing food with family, friends etc, it can be overwhelming to think that you have to opt out of all that. But you don't! Best wishes

 

[Antje77]

Information over load I watched some cat videos instead.

This is very sound advice. Go watch cat video's when you get the feeling it's all to much or when you can't stop trying to read the whole internet. It'll make life lighter instantly!