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Just Joined, Need to Get a handle on this!

M

Mslone

Member
Messages
5
Location
Katy TX
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Exercise... Work...
Hello,

My name is Michael, I was diagnosed type 1.5 about little over a year ago, I lost 35lbs for no reason, feet were a mess, fingers and toes numb... Gum issues, Vision problems and generally felt like ****... So Got diagnosed and I went through all the phases, I was Pisted, Mad, Sad, Depressed, Angry... You name it, Complete denial and tried my best to ignore it. I even used alchol to numb myself from the reality of it. and needless to say I'm not in a great place... But I do want to get better! the swings are lilling me and my poor family is paying the price... As Red says in Shawshank, I guess its time to get busy living or get busy dying... Unfortunately I had basically reserved that I would not be living a very long life. This is a horrible desiese and would not wish it on my worst enemy. But I have to get serious and focused for my kids and my wife. I love them very much and I'm sick of this causing stress and anguish to those I love.

So I will be utilizing this Forum to ask questions and hopefully find others that are in the same spot as I that can give me encouragement and guidance!

Thanks in advance.

Michael
 
it's going to be what you make of it. my uncle bob died at 55 with no feet, legs, blind, and miserable. my mom, (also diabetic) died at age 85. with all appendages, and with moderate vision. uncle bob was a continual drunk, that refused to eat right or exercise. mom was a teetotaler, that watched what she ate and took care of herself. you just need to ask yourself if you want to be here for a goodtime, or a long time. do you want to be uncle bob...., or mom.
 
Hello @Mslone Michael and welcome to the forum :)

To help you to "get serious", here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will it useful and inspiring. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
daisy1 said:
Hello @Mslone Michael and welcome to the forum :)

To help you to "get serious", here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will it useful and inspiring. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
 
Mslone said:
Hello,

My name is Michael, I was diagnosed type 1.5 about little over a year ago, I lost 35lbs for no reason, feet were a mess, fingers and toes numb... Gum issues, Vision problems and generally felt like ****... So Got diagnosed and I went through all the phases, I was Pisted, Mad, Sad, Depressed, Angry... You name it, Complete denial and tried my best to ignore it. I even used alchol to numb myself from the reality of it. and needless to say I'm not in a great place... But I do want to get better! the swings are lilling me and my poor family is paying the price... As Red says in Shawshank, I guess its time to get busy living or get busy dying... Unfortunately I had basically reserved that I would not be living a very long life. This is a horrible desiese and would not wish it on my worst enemy. But I have to get serious and focused for my kids and my wife. I love them very much and I'm sick of this causing stress and anguish to those I love.

So I will be utilizing this Forum to ask questions and hopefully find others that are in the same spot as I that can give me encouragement and guidance!

Thanks in advance.

Michael
Click to expand...


welcome Michael
I hope you get on track, small steps, obvious cliché, but this is what works. It sounds like you have good reasons to make it work for you. If you loose focus for a day try and get back on it the next. Theres lots of people to help you and lots of people you can help too with your experiences. Good luck
 
Michael hi. That's a very honest introduction, seems like you've been in a very dark place for quite a while. Perhaps the hardest step is in realising you have a problem and asking for help, and you just made it. I'm not saying that the rest of your journey will be an easy ride but at least you're on the right road. There are people here with a lot of experience and they like to pass on the knowledge they have. Take it easy and stick with it. Small steps.
 
Hi and welcome,

Well done for coming out of denial and deciding to live. Stick with this forum, where you will find a lot of support from fellow diabetics who understand your problems. As the others said, baby steps. This is not a sprint. Read round the forum and sort yourself out with a suitable diet that you can sustain.
Ask a lot of questions.
Good luck
 
Mslone said:
Hello,

My name is Michael, I was diagnosed type 1.5 about little over a year ago, I lost 35lbs for no reason, feet were a mess, fingers and toes numb... Gum issues, Vision problems and generally felt like ****... So Got diagnosed and I went through all the phases, I was Pisted, Mad, Sad, Depressed, Angry... You name it, Complete denial and tried my best to ignore it. I even used alchol to numb myself from the reality of it. and needless to say I'm not in a great place... But I do want to get better! the swings are lilling me and my poor family is paying the price... As Red says in Shawshank, I guess its time to get busy living or get busy dying... Unfortunately I had basically reserved that I would not be living a very long life. This is a horrible desiese and would not wish it on my worst enemy. But I have to get serious and focused for my kids and my wife. I love them very much and I'm sick of this causing stress and anguish to those I love.

So I will be utilizing this Forum to ask questions and hopefully find others that are in the same spot as I that can give me encouragement and guidance!

Thanks in advance.

Michael
Click to expand...
Hi Micheal & welcome, I like you starting thread co's your being honest.

I think your going to kick yourself that you haven't done this sooner that's not putting the blame on you, as this, when diagnosed is such a negative disease, that you think there ain't a lot left, but actually if you can embrace a change in the diet with the Low Carbohydrate High Fat diet the food you can be really enjoy, and once you have it under control you can have the treats that you had before it's not all bad. It is actually pretty good you end up feeling better, healthier, fitter.

I personally have found it a very positive experience and it has improved my life somewhat, you havn't got a choice so hang in there you have come to the right place for a lot of support, good luck on your journey it will become much easier and your family will be pleased with you.

Neil
 
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