sleepylu said:
I assumed that the medics low key approach was so that i wouldn't be freaked out? And to be honest, this forum has really confused & scared me that the "lets see how it goes if you lose weight" approach is not what should be happening! There seems to be very little consistency in advice from doctor to doctor ~ or is it that the advice varies depending on the individual?
I think that the real problem is that many GPs don't know much about diabetes. They are telling you what is in the medical textbooks, which is quite limited and hideously out of date. I have one of the main endocrinology books that is used in teaching today, and it's dietary advice is laughable. Things are likely to be very different if you get lucky and have a GP who is clued up on diabetes, or if you get to see a specialist. However, many people follow very flawed advice - and, unless they are really lucky, their health tends to go on an inevitable decline. This is why Type 2 diabetes is often considered to be a degenerative disease - because for many people it is. However, it doesn't have to be! It only degenerates if it isn't managed properly.
It is a very good thing to attempt to control the diabetes by diet and exercise, before resorting to drugs. Although there are some wonderful drugs out there, they do have side effects and if you can manage without them so much the better. However, you won't be able to do that unless you make fairly drastic changes to your diet.
I know that this is all scary and confusing at first. However, the important thing is not to panic - once you get on top of it, it really isn't so bad. You will, however, have to learn a lot. The only way to guarantee that you get really good healthcare is to learn enough to become your own specialist. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the NHS postcode lottery. It is quite possible to learn what you need to know, from this site, other web resources and a number of really good books.
For the time being I suggest that you do your best to cut back on carbohydrates. If you are overweight, then also try to loose some weight. The GI diet will help, but a low carb diet will help more. I also suggest that you get hold of a glucose monitor and learn how to use it. I know that most doctors tell newly diagnosed T2s not to do this, but honestly I think that cost is the main consideration there. Initially you need to keep track of your progress (hopefully you will see a downward trend over the next few weeks), and also you need to learn what effect different foods have on you (everyone is different, so there are limits to how useful generalizations will be).
Take things slowly, and don't try to understand everything at once - that way lies insanity! Most importantly, keep posting here - there are a lot of very knowledgeable people who will be able to help you.
Best of luck,
Tim.
If that doesn't work, next step is Metformin.