Thank you. I've basically stopped eating all sugar, drinking no fizzy drinks now, and cut down on carbs as well, it's so hard to do when I've eaten a certain way forever, but I really want my levels to be normal. The first nurse said they don't normally diagnose diabetes on blood test without fasting glucose etc, but the hospital aren't doing those tests right now. I have to go back to have another blood test in 3 months. I get really nervous when going to the doctors. I will look at getting a testing kit thank you. I'm really trying to not eat many carbs per day, my partner says I need some. The nurse wanted me to go on tablets but I said I wanted to try with diet first. I'm already on blood pressure medication and still trying to get my blood pressure down, could my blood pressure be higher because my blood sugar is higher? I just hate having to think about all this, I wake up now and it hits me in the face the moment I'm awake and I'm wanting to cry again.
Firstly, welcome, you already sound like you are taking steps in the right direction by considering a low carb diet. With respect, your partner is wrong, you do not need to eat any carbs as your body can manufacture the small amount of glucose required for brain function. There are people on here who are fully carnivore and have been for years and do just fine. However most of us eat some carbs, mostly those in leafy veggies, dairy (cheese and double cream), nuts and low-carb fruit such as berries.
I think the diabetic prescription exemption only applies if you are drug controlled, so you may wish to consider metformin but if you do, ask for the slow-release version from the start because it can have some unpleasant side effects on the digestive system.
I found that a low carb diet did indeed bring my blood pressure right down so hopefully you will see a similar effect. But like others I have a home BP monitor because it goes through the roof in a medical setting!
It will take you a while to settle into a new way of eating and please try and get a monitor, it will shed light on what you can and cannot tolerate - it’s a very personal condition and affects everyone in different ways. But intensive testing is not forever, you will soon establish a menu that suits you - I was diagnosed in winter and tested for about 3 months to discover what was OK for me, and then again for a few weeks in summer as I added in things like strawberries and raspberries. Now I test now and then, and if I try a new type of food.
The carb cravings do go away once you stop eating them, and there is no need to be hungry either. And no need to eat salad and nuts unless you enjoy them, there is plenty of other stuff that does the job and tastes great. There is a bit of a learning curve for some stuff but it’s optional, for instance I have learned how to bake with almond flour and erithrytol sweetener because life without cake is not to be tolerated.....
But take heart, many of us here (me too!) actually feel so much better, have a greatly improved relationship with food and actually prefer the LCHF way of eating so I hope you will find the light at the end of the tunnel is sunshine and not the oncoming train...
