Hi, I'm new here and don't really know where to begin. I have been reading through quite a few threads and am a little confused. I have been diagnosed for years and have been on and off insulin. I have found that a lot of the information that I get does tend to be very contradictory and that leads to severe frustration. Honestly, I have not been under a doctor's care for quite sometime, other than when I need to have my prescriptions renewed, and I kind of suck with checking my blood sugars on a consistent basis. I am working on all of this though. I do remember years ago when I was diagnosed and I attended the 'teaching class' that was supposed to teach me how to eat, how frustrated I was at the information I received. Researching online leads me to believe that not much has changed. Armed with the knowledge that the body has the amazing ability to repair itself when given the proper fuel, I have embarked on a journey to lose weight and really take control over my life. I, however, find myself monitoring everything all of the time, except my blood sugar levels. It is just counter-intuitive for me to cause myself pain on a daily basis. I know, I'm a big baby and should probably suck it up. I do know that my last Hba1C was a little elevated but not enough to cause too much alarm. I found a lab that will run the test without doc's orders and will be using them this week. I guess what I really want to know is how you manage. I do not have the luxury of quality health care a I am in a place that caters more to the elderly and health insurance here really sucks. I have done a great job of losing about 60 lbs and am on my way down. I would like to lose the last 24 lbs that I have to lose faster, but it seems to be pretty hard to get it to budge. Sometimes I'm discouraged especially on the weeks when the scale doesn't budge. In short, I suppose what I am asking for is advice and support.