Hello. I'm in denial :(

[Matblack]

Hi everyone

My name is Matt and I was diagnosed as tetering on the edge of Type 2 two years ago. I attended my GP for about 3 months and after that time I just stopped going, failed to respond to letters from the GP and effectively hid my head in the sand. My GP was pretty horrible about the whole thing and told me that unless I lost weight I would die early, oddly this did not have the intended effect and after a few visits to the Diabetes Nurse for checks I stopped attending my eating went off the rails and exercise went out the window.

So now I am the weight I was when I was diagnosed, I eat too much, I drink too much and I've started to feel thirsty all the time, I have to get up in the night to go to the loo, I get headaches and I feel low. I suspect that diabetes has caught me and despite my denial I'm getting more ill.

I've been too embrassed to go back to the GP or the nurse, I told them I would lose weight and despite a good start, I didn't, I just slipped back into my old eating habits and sedentry lifestyle, I spoke to someone at Diabetes UK this afternoon and she told me what I know, I HAVE to go back to the GP and I HAVE to get checked. Whether I'm too proud or whether I just don't want to recieve my life sentance I don't know, mostly I don't want the GP to stand in front of me and say 'I told you so FATTY!'.

I have booked an appointment with a Nurse first, she can do the bloods and tell me the score. It's not like I haven't been to the surgery recently, I have a 13 week old little girl at home and all though the pregnancy I was going to the surgery and hiding when I heard a door open in case it was the GP come to find meand shout at me for being an idiot.

Over the last week I've been waking up more often than our little girl and going to the loo and that is really what has triggered me to go back and get treatment, discomfort and fact that I want to see our little one grow up and not lay myself open to the huge list of potentially lethal ailments that untreated diabetes.

I'm an idiot for not doing anything about it, I love food, I love booze and I love life, unfortunatly I have a feeling that two of these things are no longer compatible with the last

MB

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi Matt,
You are not the first and will not be the last to go into denial.

The good news is that you can get back on track again and I am glad to hear that your motivation has returned. Your little baby is the key, she needs you fit and well.

There is a topic on this Board, Basic Information for Newly Diagnosed Diabetics and this will help enormously. Have a good read around the forum and ask as many questions as you need to.

The future is in your hands Matt and it can be done.

Good luck and take care.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi Matt and welcome to the forum, the past is gone but theres a great future out there if you want it, and it doesnt have to mean living like a monk, just everything in moderation

 

[Matblack]

Thanks Guys

It's pretty hard having hidden this from myself and others for so long.

The appointment isn't for a couple of weeks and I'm wondering if to put my mind at rest it wouldn't be worth going to the chemists and getting a blood sugar meter, I know as a T2 it's unlikely that my GP will prescribe me strips anyway. Do people who are worried buy these things? Would it be a legitimate way of keeping tabs on my own levels until I speak with a GP? My thinking is at least I could try and get myself straight for these couple of weeks.

I've decided to cut down on sugar and simple carbs for the time being, so no more chocolate at work or bacon sandwiches on white bread, I've low carbed before so I know of know what I'm doing and who knows I might lose a bit of weight too

 

[liklejojo]

Hi Matt,
welcome to the forum, I think we've all been there, I'm still in part there myself and I've had diabetes for 14 years, but you've done the right thing and staying strong now for your daughter is the main thing now. once you get some control with you blood sugars, as Sid said, everything in moderation. You'll get there!!

 

[cugila]

I'm an idiot for not doing anything about it, I love food, I love booze and I love life, unfortunatly I have a feeling that two of these things are no longer compatible with the last

MB

Agree with your first point.......... :wink:

I love food, love booze.......and love life too. Been a diabetic for 14 yrs and have excellent control. I enjoy life to the full, I have the odd drink or two.......I enjoy eating good food, just all in moderation. I am eating the best food and drinking the best Wine, Spirit's (Glenfiddich) and Beers (Guinness !) I have ever done in my life........so it isn't all doom and gloom .....it's what you make it !

 

[MCC]

Maybe you should change your GP Matt so you feel more comfortable.

 

[Dobbs]

hi Matt
I seriously recommend getting a blood sugar meter and testing yourself first thing in the morning at the very least. I started doing this some months after I was diagnosed and it's made ALL the difference. Then you know what's what - you're not dependent on your doctor to tell you how well or badly you're doing.
There's good advice here about testing regimes so you can find out exactly what effects different food and drink have on you.
The fact you wrote to the forum means you're no longer really in denial.
Good luck!

 

[rachely476]

Welcome! Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.

 

[Bluecougar]

Hi Matt,

I'm a newbie here too and struggling - can I suggest you change your GP? Its really important to have a good relationship with your doctor otherwise as you've found, you'll not want to see them, and that just makes things worse. You need somebody sympathetic that you can talk to, not a figure of fear who you think will be mean (my GP is lovely and I still feel guilty I'm not taking better care of myself so I can just imagine how bad you're feeling!).

 

[Aileen]

I've been diagnosed for over a year now and being obese I'm still struggling to control my eating. I've found a company who provides ready meals for diebetics and use these when I struggle with portion control. I love eating and use food when I'm feeling depressed, which is quite often . I find shopping a total nightmare as 90% of the food shelves are filled with all the goodies I can't eat

 

[paula1974]

Aileen
Where do you get these ready meals? and are they any good?
paula

 

[cugila]

Aileen
Where do you get these ready meals? and are they any good?
paula

Paula.
Whatever the claims made by many of the companies who sell ready made meals suitable for Diabetic's I would caution you to check out the Carb content very carefully. We had a member a while ago ask about one particular company and when we checked their products they were massively high in carbs ! Not a good idea if you are a Diabetic.

I know of a lady who used the things every day and wondered why her Bg levels and weight were climbing........ Once I put her straight about the food she was eating, surprise, surprise all those things reversed and she lost nearly 6 stone, and then became a well controlled Diabetic.

Basically, anything you see that is supposed to be good for Diabetic's you should treat with suspicion until proved correct.

 

[Catherine_h]

Matt

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The title of your post is wrong! it says "I'm in denial" the fact you have written all that you have shows you are not in denial any more and you want to get things on track!

Go to the chemist tomorrow morning and get a test done if it shows a high reading then make an earlier appointment at the GP. Your GP is there to look after you not to bully you, they are only people like you and me!

Being diagnosed is a big thing, scarey! but it doesnt stop you living your life, with the right medical help and diet a few months down the line you will feel better than you ever did!

PM me if I can be of any help.

Good luck and go get the treatment you need and deserve tomorrow

Take care

Catherine

 

[AlcalaBob]

Hi,

I found that when I was diagnosed, the GP stressed losing weight so much that initially I thought that the blood sugar couldn't be brought under controlled without a lot of weight loss, which was going to take a long time. In fact, that was nonsense. Just by becoming more aware of what the foods contained and taking metformin, my blood sugar came down quickly.

I strongly support the idea of getting a blood sugar meter just to get an initial idea of the level but try not to get too obsessed about it. Your blood sugar will go up and down during the day so I suggest you concentrate on cutting out the sugary things, lowering the carbohydrates a bit, and seeing what effect that has.

Most important of all is that you are taking action to address the problem and strange as it may seem, that actually makes you feel a lot more positive because you are exerting some control. Good luck, and all credit to you for facing the problem.