• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

New Type 2, looking for support

KatP6984

KatP6984

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi everyone,

I apologise in advance for the massive monologue.
I was diagnosed as Type 2 over a year ago with an HBA1c of 51, which had crept up to 64 a few months later. I was in complete denial and carried on with my terrible diet, also ignoring the fact that I am obese (BMI 37), have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension and no gallbladder - and I'm only 42. I'm also a wheelchair user with chronic pain issues so I'm on a lot of meds. None for diabetes...yet.

Due to Covid my GP hasn't had me back in for my year's review, but the first meeting with the nurse was useless. She told me not to buy a meter as type 2 don't need to take their readings, advised me about low fat low calorie diet etc. and to drink Diet Coke.

The denial state was interrupted by me being asked to trial a new glucose meter (I'm a member of various product testing sites), which I received last week. My first reading a week ago was 18mmol/L which scared the bejeezus out of me. Urine test strips showed the darkest colour for glucose. I should have guessed something was up as I had a raging thirst and foamy pee for a while.

I've looked at the low carb sites recommended here and have made some initial rudimentary changes to my diet, but I've a long way to go as I've had such a bad diet for so long. My husband and I had just gone vegetarian, which I gather isn't the best course of action for me.

I guess I'm here to ask for a bit of help and support with motivation. Being stuck in a wheelchair and bedbound most of the time has obvious issues for exercise, so I'm aiming to improve the diabetes and the liver disease by diet only. Oh and the hypertension, which I'm medicated for.
Should my first priority be to contact my GP? My average fasting reading is now 9.4, which I know is too high. I'm afraid he will put me on meds straight away, which terrifies me as I'm already on 11 tablets a day. I've been kind of in limbo for a week after 18 months of complete denial, eating with gay abandon like it was happening to someone else. **** fool! But I'm ready now to kick backsides and change my life for the better. Any buddies fancy joining me in the crusade?
Many thanks for reading this far folks.

As an aside, I was particularly shocked at the extent to which artificial sweeteners cause a spike for me - does this happen for anyone else?
 
As you now have the best help for controlling ordinary type two I can only advise that you stick to using your meter to gauge how well you are eating and using that to get back to normal.
A vegetarian diet is not the easiest thing to adjust for low carb - the only thing harder is, I think, vegan.
It there was a book on the Care and Feeding of Humans it would most likely advise an omniverous diet as it is what we evolved to eat, and having tried to eat a high carb diet on and off for about 45 years - whenever the doctor was not paying attention I went straight back to low carb only to be told that I was killing myself. Yeah. Right. Right up to the time I was getting on for 300lb and full on type two diabetic. For a diabetic low carb high fat (or rather normal fat) seems to be the best possible option, so if you were eating vegetarian because you have been told it is a healthy option, it might be easier to take a step back and see how much better you feel eating otherwise. I lost weight easily and my diabetes has been in remission for years when I abandoned the cholesterol lowering diet which was low fat and low calorie, but high carb.
Your GP will most likely recommend the Eatwell plate, and to stop testing so might be best avoided.
 
heya, i really get where you are coming from. i was also in denial about having type 2 and i just carried on ignoring it and eating the same bad things until one day i cracked and tested my bloods and they were 17.8 and that scared me and gave me the kick up the backside i needed. I've been on this forum for a couple of days readings peoples posts about how well they have done and looking at recipes and stuff. i'm not one for exercise myself because i have pretty bad asthma so ive just tried to focus on what i'm eating and totaly cut sugar and sweeteners from my diet although i'm treating myself to day with a can of pepsi max xD
 
Thank you Resurgam and Brokenbill for your kind replies.
The vegetarian kick was my husband's idea and I just sort of tagged along thinking it we'd improve my health. Yeah, that's been knocked on the head. Bring on the meat!

Ironically, I joined this site in 2015 as support for my sister who had been newly diagnosed - I should have guessed it would be my turn next as I had my gallbladder out after she did.

It's inspiring to read people's stories of success and long term management of type 2. It is evident that this site is such an important resource to so many people.
I'm going to spend some time reading here and find recipes to prepare for my new way of life.
 
Back
Top