Thanks not using meter yet as I have been so anxious for last 7 weeks and have had to limit how much I read etc to manage my emotions. Realise this sounds dramatic, but I am starting to come to terms with it now! I’ve read your link which is helpful thx.
I’ve cut all Obs carbs, bread, pastry, sugar, processed food etc. I have allowed myself a handful of oats in morning with Greek yogurt and a few berries... but I sense I’m going to have to cut these out too..
Just need to find another breakfast that is healthy and blood sugar friendly!!
Breathe. You know, those first months I wasn't just anxious. I was fighting a severe depression. Now, I have a clinical depression as it is, but any person who has that, will tell you it has an ebb and flow to it. It's not always bad, it's not always do-able. Usually you hover somewhere in between. But after diagnosis, it was... Horrible. I'd wake up having cried in my sleep. I felt lost and afraid and I was convinced I was going to die.
Now, this is what depression and anxiety are to
me. Depression is the absolute absence of hope. Any hope, at all. Full dark, no stars. And anxiety is loss of control. Not having a say in anything and stuff just keeps happening to you in a whirlwind you can't stop.
Two things happened. I read. A lot. I learned about how diabetes T2 works, and I started experimenting with my foods. My meter told me what worked and what didn't. But you know what? A LOT did work! Lowering carbs turned out to be relatively easy. So after being in this tailspin, I started seeing I had control, I did have a say in how all this played out... And to date, well, I have a lot of conditions, but none of them are so easily managed as my T2. The other thing that happened? I saw on my meter and at the checks with the nurse and Doc, who did my HbA1c, that I was making progress. I was doing better. Better yet, it was also resolving the non-alcoholic fatty liver a specialit'd told me was going to kill me in a few years, and there was nothing he could do for me but give me painkillers when cirrhosis kicked in. I did that,
I solved what a supposed specialist couldn't, just by eating different foods. I had power, and lo and behold... I had
hope.
To top all that off: high blood sugars make anxiety and depression worse. I will always be a basket case, but I am no longer drowning in my depression, and I actually can leave the house to see the doc or physical therapist for instance... I walk there on my own. That would've been unimaginable a few years ago, as I was afraid to leave the house. I still am, mind you.... But that doesn't stop me the way it used to.
So, here, have some hope. I have some to spare. It'll be okay.
And hey, as for breakfast... You can have any low carb thing you like...! I had two pieces of salmon this morning (two wonderful 125 gram chunks fried in home-made lard, with some pepper, salt, dill and lemon), yesterday it was one chunk with 2 eggs. Scrambled eggs are done in no time at all, and really good with some grated cheese to bulk it up. Bacon is actually our friend. Full fat Greek yoghurt with a couple of berries, is absolutely fine. Ditch the oats, replace them with some shaved coconut or pecans, maybe a brazil nut or two. Some of us don't have breakfast at all. I usually skip it, depending on what my day looks like, I don't eat until noon or so, but because it's my first meal i tend to call lunch my breakfast. Give yourself some time to figure it out. I love salmon, you might loathe the stuff. You might love something other food intolerances might prohibit me from eating. Far as that is concerned, there is no one-size -fits-all, because
you have to take a moment to tailor all this to your own personal needs. Because your blood sugars may be beautiful if you munch on cardboard every day, but I doubt it'd make you happy. I love what is on my plate. Otherwise there is no way in heck I'd have been able to keep this up for the past 4 years. With the money I save on stuff like cookies, candy, snacks and whatnot, I can order 6,5 kilo's of cow or pork from a Dutch crowd-butchering company. Having meat straight from a farmer has been a revelation: no additives, no water-logged steaks, just beautiful meat that is so flavourful half the time I forget to add salt and pepper and the like. Just doesn't need it. Same with the massive amounts of eggs I eat. Not a supermarket egg amidst them now, I get them from a small farmer... I didn't realise how tasteless and pale eggs had become until I had some that tasted the way eggs did when I was a little girl, 35 odd years ago. So make sure you find what works for you, the kind of food that doesn't just make your blood sugars get down, but is a joy to eat as well. And there's no law that says you have to get everything absolutely perfectly right in two days. It took me months to figure out how to test effectively, what foods to eat, and over the past years I kept changing my diet around as I found other conditions improved too, the fewer carbs I ate. All in all... Give yourself some special attention, and the time to sort things out. You deserve it.
Good luck,
Jo