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Not sure what to do - need advice please

K

kristeenL27

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I have had Type 2 diabetes for about 6 years now, but for the last 2 years have not been testing and I know the diabetes is completely uncontrolled.

Am on insulin. Had a ridiculously high HBA1c which prevented surgery on my knee.

Since then, have been in a terrible mental state and just have not been able to face doing anything about my diabetes.

Now, I am not feeling well and have nerve pain which I know is caused by high sugar levels. I can't see anyone at my surgery, as they are all really unsympathetic and won't help me.

I have decided I want to change this, and need to start from scratch. How do I go about this the best way - do I just start testing and adjust insulin as required? I have just been injecting the same amount of insulin, which is clearly not enough for ages without testing. Am I a lost cause? I feel a complete failure.
 
Hi Kristeen,

firstly, you are *NOT* a lost cause. You've taken the first step by reaching out. That's huge! I've been battling with my own (Type 1) diabetes for almost 30 years now, and I've had some really bad times during that. I'm much better controlled now though. What changed? I did what you've just done: I reached out and admitted I need help.

You deserve good health. Don't let anybody make you believe differently. If your healthcare team is unwilling to help, then it might be worth looking for a different surgery if that's possible. There are also a huge number of resources out there that can help you. I'd recommend getting hold of Jenny Ruhl's book 'Diabetes 101' for starters.

Testing your blood glucose levels will definitely help you to keep an eye on how you're doing, and you may well need to adjust your medication. Making small changes to avoid hypos is highly recommended. Sometimes you're going to have amazing days. Other days you'll slip. Others, you'll feel like you've done everything you can and your levels have still gone awry. This is normal. So long as you recommit to your goal of good health regularly, you're making progress. The mistakes will get smaller. You'll find more clarity about how your body reacts to food/insulin/exercise.

In terms of nerve pain, I have some peripheral neuropathy myself, with tingling/mild pain in my feet. When I keep my levels stable, this pretty much disappears for me. Symptoms and improvements are different for everyone, but getting your levels under control is the best way to do everything you can for your body.

You can do this. I believe in you, even if you don't right now. Keep posting, and don't be afraid to admit when you feel you've slipped. We're all in this together, and we can help each other to get there. All the best, and I hope this is the start of something great for you!
 
Welcome. It's never too late. Even if you assume that you're broken beyond repair, there are ways and means to make improvements, sometimes massive improvements. The link below, courtesy of @JoKalsbeek, is a good place to start reading.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

You have come to the right place for help and support. I'm confident that by using this resource you'll empower yourself to markedly improve your health and quality of life. Many of us here have come back from the event horizon of a metabolic black hole and are now happy and thriving. Some have even come off insulin and all medication. All is not lost.
 
I know you haven't been testing or eating to change your numbers. But I do want to make sure you are aware that needing insulin within about 3 years of diagnosis is a sign you could be a type 1 and not a type 2. 40% of type 1's are misdiagnosed as type 2's, sometimes for years. I was. So just keep it in mind, just in case. Sometimes if things don't make sense it's because you are a type 1 and not a type 2 and the only way to know is if you get a C peptide and an antibody test. I'm not saying you are, I'm just saying keep it in mind, just in case.
 
kristeenL27 said:
I have had Type 2 diabetes for about 6 years now, but for the last 2 years have not been testing and I know the diabetes is completely uncontrolled.

Am on insulin. Had a ridiculously high HBA1c which prevented surgery on my knee.

Since then, have been in a terrible mental state and just have not been able to face doing anything about my diabetes.

Now, I am not feeling well and have nerve pain which I know is caused by high sugar levels. I can't see anyone at my surgery, as they are all really unsympathetic and won't help me.

I have decided I want to change this, and need to start from scratch. How do I go about this the best way - do I just start testing and adjust insulin as required? I have just been injecting the same amount of insulin, which is clearly not enough for ages without testing. Am I a lost cause? I feel a complete failure.
Click to expand...
I'm with @Wayward Blood here; no such thing as a lost cause, and hat's off to you for reaching out for help. It's a first step, and it is the most difficult one.

I'm sorry the surgery isn't exactly sympathetic.... A lot of us deal with that. For me it was the dieticians and the endo that were less than stellar, I really got lucky with my GP. (She admitted not knowing a thing about T2, and just let me experiment, doing whatever tests I asked for). If others can't be bothered though, it doesn't mean we shouldn't bother with ourselves either. You're worth the effort, you know.

Ah, and then I got interrupted by a phone call, and as I return to the computer, @Jim Lahey 's already shared my usual link. I hope it'll help! In any case, careful if you implement dietary changes, because you can't low carb and blindly stick with a fixed dose of insulin. You'd hypo in no time at all. So do test your heart out, okay? And if, with all the changes, you still notice higher blood sugars than there logically should be, then you really do need to go back to the GP -sorry!- and request a C-Peptide an a GAD test. @Marie 2 has a point, you progressed to insulin pretty quick.

All in all though... You've taken the first step to taking charge. And you don't have to do any of this alone.
Hugs,
Jo
 
I am so grateful for your replies.

Marie, I had to go almost immediately onto insulin as I was not diagnosed for several years, even though I was going to my doctors frequently feeling unwell. I was only finally diagnosed when I collapsed and was admitted to hospital. I am going to try to be brave and start testing today, and see where I am. I am very scared of seeing the numbers though!
 
kristeenL27 said:
I am very scared of seeing the numbers though!
Click to expand...

Don't be. If you don't measure you can't act. Whatever the results are, it will be valuable data that helps you begin to formulate a plan. May I ask what you currently eat on an average day?
 
kristeenL27 said:
I am so grateful for your replies.

Marie, I had to go almost immediately onto insulin as I was not diagnosed for several years, even though I was going to my doctors frequently feeling unwell. I was only finally diagnosed when I collapsed and was admitted to hospital. I am going to try to be brave and start testing today, and see where I am. I am very scared of seeing the numbers though!
Click to expand...
Knowledge is power. It'll give you an idea of where you're starting from and where you need to end up. I didn't enjoy seeing a 22 on my meter, but it did change my life... For the better, as it turned out, because I finally got some quality of life back once I knew what was wrong! :)
 
Don't try and bring your numbers down too quickly - you'll do more damage than good (particularly to the eyes). Small steady steps each day.
 
Hi Jim, I don't eat a lot in quantity at a time, but I eat a lot of carbs, particularly bread, and then cereal bars at work. I just feel incredibly hungry all the time. I have to eat little and often, but I know I eat the wrong things. I love my food and enjoy cooking, but feel so depressed that I can;t beat this constant hunger.
 
kristeenL27 said:
Hi Jim, I don't eat a lot in quantity at a time, but I eat a lot of carbs, particularly bread, and then cereal bars at work. I just feel incredibly hungry all the time. I have to eat little and often, but I know I eat the wrong things. I love my food and enjoy cooking, but feel so depressed that I can;t beat this constant hunger.
Click to expand...

Ok. Well straight away we've identified two areas where you are likely causing problems. Lots of carbs, and snacking. The hunger and snacking will be driven by the carbohydrate.
 
Good luck and remember each choice you make is a chance to make yourself healthier.
e.g. to test or not, to eat something you know won't help or to choose something better etc. etc.

It should also be noted that if you achieve normal sugars you will feel a lot better in yourself both physically and mentally. It could even help with knee pain.

It is a hard thing you are doing but it will get lots easier with practice and the support of the forum.
 
So if you’ve read @JoKalsbeek ’s thingy you’ll know to start reducing carbs and eating fats and protein instead. These will fill you up for far longer than carbs will and reduce the food cravings. It’s like a rollercoaster with carbs. You eat them. Sugars rise, then crash, you feel hungry and crave so eat some more. Never ending. Eating facts and proteins the bloods sugars don’t spike up so don’t crash so no hunger and cravings. Also they take longer to digest so fill you up for longer.
 
Can I add a word of caution if you are going to reduce carbs, as you're on insulin you do need to test and be aware of whats going on - maybe speak to your HCP.
 
kristeenL27 said:
Hi Jim, I don't eat a lot in quantity at a time, but I eat a lot of carbs, particularly bread, and then cereal bars at work. I just feel incredibly hungry all the time. I have to eat little and often, but I know I eat the wrong things. I love my food and enjoy cooking, but feel so depressed that I can;t beat this constant hunger.
Click to expand...
Carbs are addictive. Not just fanatic diet-speak, they really are. They trigger the same areas of the brain as hard drugs do. So your body will never, EVER have enough of them. Unless you wean it off of carbs, then the cravings go too. Try having three of four fried eggs with bacon and cheese, maybe a tomato, or some high meat content sausages to go with it. That should fill you up for a few hours without a whole lot of carbs. It's all protein and fats, and they will keep you satisfied until your next meal. If you have a salad, make sure you have something fatty or protein rich in there. Tuna, salmon, warmed over goat's cheese, olives, mayo, eggs, avocado.... Leafy greens don't fill you up, but those things added in, will. If you cut the carbs, you'll have to up something else. And for your blood glucose, fats would be best. (Protein in moderation, as contrary to fats, protein can actually up blood sugars a little.) Dinner? I adore my cauliflower rice, it's very versatile and I can toss any herb or spice I like in there. Alongside bacon and more cheese, yum. ;) Meat, pountry, fish... I just eat more of the above ground veggies and meats, to make up for the lack of spuds and the like. You don't need to go hungry, you just always eat your fill on things that won't spike your blood sugar. So... Still want to snack? Try pork scratchings, olives, cheese (some to-die-for cheeses out there! Go nuts!), a few squares of extra dark chocolate (I love Lindt's 85%!), walnuts, pecans... After a while your feelings of hunger'll go, especially when they're no longer being triggered by the carbs you eat every few hours, because they won't be there to trigger anything.

Take it from someone who put five spoons of sugar into her espresso to make it palatable. Your body won't demand the same things it did before, once it resets itself to its natural, non-carb-craving state.
 
kristeenL27 said:
I have had Type 2 diabetes for about 6 years now, but for the last 2 years have not been testing and I know the diabetes is completely uncontrolled.

Am on insulin. Had a ridiculously high HBA1c which prevented surgery on my knee.

Since then, have been in a terrible mental state and just have not been able to face doing anything about my diabetes.

Now, I am not feeling well and have nerve pain which I know is caused by high sugar levels. I can't see anyone at my surgery, as they are all really unsympathetic and won't help me.

I have decided I want to change this, and need to start from scratch. How do I go about this the best way - do I just start testing and adjust insulin as required? I have just been injecting the same amount of insulin, which is clearly not enough for ages without testing. Am I a lost cause? I feel a complete failure.
Click to expand...
"I have decided I want to change this"; I think this is the best starting point. I guess, the first thing you need to do is to cut down on carbs as much as you can. No sugars, as little refined carbs as you can. I would recommend a very low carb diet: vegetarian, vegan, or carnivore, etc. That is a matter of your choice and conviction. Watch out: going low carbs means you will have to endure sugar cravings (and hypoglycemia) and other symptoms (dizzy, lightheaded...) . No need to say that you need to consult with the GP for dosing medication and insulin. Within 3 to 4 weeks, you will start to feel better. The process takes time and perseverance. I am not a general practitioner (or part of the medical profession), I am just a former diabetic. Good luck. Give it a new start. You won't lose, yet you can win.
 
porl69 said:
Have to disagree on you with this point. I eat a very high carb diet and am seldom hungry and do not snack.

So glad we are all different
Click to expand...

Sure. Although you're not type 2 so your metabolism probably isn't broken. T2 is pretty much synonymous with hyperinsulinemia, which prevents the body accessing stored energy. But there are few black & whites in this business, you are right.
 
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