I've just been diagnosed and had my first Dsn visit. I wasn't to surprised as I've been prediabetic for 3 years and, owing to family problems, have been living on junk food and takeaways for the last 6 months. Several family members have diabetes so I'm pretty familiar with it. I was very impressed with my visit. The nurse was very informative. She has referred me to DESMOND, given me an appointment for a retinopathy scan, booked me in for a foot inspection and another appointment to see her in 3 weeks. She said I didn't need a monitor so not to buy one as I would be given one for free if she felt I needed it and not to take notice of any of the 'weird' diets as they're not sustainable. She did tell me to make changes to my diet such as changing to wholemeal bread and pasta, eating more veggies, lean meat and fish and having regular meals. All in all I thought it was a very helpful visit.
Hi
@gale1960 , and welcome,
Okay, so... There's a couple of things here to touch on... The NHS doesn't usually issue a meter to T2's unless they're on medication that induces hypoglycemia. It'd be pretty expensive for them if they did, so testing isn't usually recommended for financial reasons. Of course, if you know what your blood glucose levels are doing, you also know what foods work for you, and which don't. Which is why a lot of members here self-fund. As for weird diets... She's a bit behind the times on the advice, as the NHS now actually
does endorse a "weird" one, and has for the past year, I believe: low carb, high fat. Which is what works perfectly for a lot of members here, myself included. I've been in the normal, non-diabetic range that way for well over 3 years now. (I was diagnosed about 3,5 years ago).
You might want to have a read here,
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html which is basically everything I wish someone'd told me about T2 in a nutshell when I was first diagnosed. It would've saved me a lot of experimentation and tears if someone had. I had a nurse, two dieticians, an endo, and in the end, the things that helped most were Dr. Jason Fung's book, The Diabetes Code, this place, and the Carte Blanche my GP gave me when she agreed I could try such an "unsustainable" "fad" diet and she'd give me every test I'd ask for. If it weren't for that book, this place and my GP taking a chance on me, I'd be on insulin now. For my diabetes I am on no medication at all, haven't been for a long time, and I could even ditch the statins for my cholesterol. Oh, and I need less medication for other issues as well. Worth a go, honestly.
In any case, welcome to the T2 club: The condition that's actually easier to manage than it seems, at first glance.
Jo