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Anyone else been in denial?

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lynhow

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I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 just over a year ago. At 22 stones in weight and having a lousy diet (too much red wine and carbs in particular) at the time it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. At first I was very upset and determined to make a significant change to my lifestyle and eating habits in order to get control and hopefully ultimately reverse the situation. At the time I felt lousy, had been suffering from a repeat chest infection, had no energy and generally felt rough. At first I was very careful about what I ate and exercised regularly (bought a rowing machine, danced and exercised with the Wii fit) and I lost about 2 and a half stones in weight in the first 4 months just by moderating my diet and moving myself! I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle as I work from home in a job that keeps me in front of a monitor about 8-12 hours a day. I tend to stop a couple of times for short breaks when I may venture downstairs for a drink or snack but apart from that rarely leave the house during the week (try to get out as much as I can at weekends). Originally I was prescribed 1 metformin a day. As I started to feel better I realise now I started to go into denial that I had type 2 diabetes - surely they must be wrong and it's not really happened to me. Gradually I've put weight back on and I'd stopped monitoring my blood sugar levels. Recently I started to check them (irregularly) again and they have crept up. I had a discussion with my doctor over the phone and they have increased my metformin dose to 2 tablets a day now (after a 3 monthly blood test revealed to them my levels had increased). I am still getting relatively high readings (between 8 and 11 before meals, sometimes higher afterwards). I watched the Embarrassing Fat Bodies programme on TV last night and it made me realise all over again just how serious this is and how I'm the only person who can get to grips and do something about it. The rowing machine has gathered cobwebs and I just can't seem to motivate myself to get moving! I have started to feel a numb sensation on one of my toes (had a foot check recently and didn't want to admit it to the nurse!). I need a kick up the backside and a reality check about the seriousness of my condition. I'm not stupid, am a professional in a highly stressful job which is mentally very demanding (even if it's not physically so) and I wondered if there is anyone else out there who has gone through this and can advise how they got through it and changed their attitude?
 
hello !

You know, don't you, that the only way things will change is if YOU give yourself a "kick up the backside"!!!! Whatever anyone else says to you, whatever anyone else does, it's only you who can have any bearing on which direction your diabetes takes..... And the worst case scenario is a whole Pandora's box load of complications which can threaten your being, the quality of your life, and its duration. Why would an intelligent person ignore those basic facts?

I too was in semi denial after diagnosis. My denial was a shorter time span than yours, but it was still - how shall I put it - well a very laissez faire attitude. But after a few months, I shaped up and took control. I became my own little experiment, wrote a food diary, began to do a low carb diet, lost weight without even trying to, upped my exercise by programming it into my week and really sticking to it and took regular blood glucose readings.

The results are good. High blood glucose makes you feel ill and when it starts to lower, you start to feel better - physically AND mentally.

Looking at your post, you know exactly what you need to do.

JUST DO IT!!!!

Start at day one.Forgive yourself for your denial. It is natural and very very common. There is a great deal of support on this forum. Use it. But imagine yourself down the line, still in denial and having to post questions about the serious complications you are encountering. In fact read some of the posts on here, which are heartbreaking. If you want to change the outcome, you just have to get re motivated.

I hope you take action.

Keep me posted!!!

All the very best and a big hug of encouragement

Cathy N
 
Lynhow, I went into denial soon after I was diagnosed 7 years ago, and my husband got me a book from Amazon it is The First Year
TYPE 2 DIABETES by Gretchen Becker It is a wonderful book I can assure you, I read it when I feel down, ( I read it through at first) and honestly it has helped me tremendously. It tells you everything you need to know and do. There is a chapter on losing weight, and another on exercise. I did not have to lose weight but I feel fitter now than ever before and I really think that the book helped. Good luck anyway you have done well to lose ANY weight and you will do so again. Best wishes. Liz Martin
 
Hi just a few words to say don't give up on yourself. You know you can do it and you know you should do it. I was diagnosed type 2 at the age of 40. I didn't believe it, I am still relatively young and had no symptoms. But then doing my own research I knew that I had to do something and decided to be be the master of my own destiny.
I started to eat properly (no fried food, no sugar), go for morning walks and some Pilates everyday.
I have now lost 18kg and feel so much fitter. My sugars are in perfect control and I actually feel better than when I was 1st diagnosed.
I know it's easy for me to say but don't give up and give it your best shot.
If you ever need to chat about it feel free!

Ace



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Thanks to everyone for your encouraging responses. I felt so much better about it all even after posting what I posted and admitting I was struggling, and it's so great to know I'm not alone. I feel in a much more positive mood at present and have started to make small changes towards getting better control. I will also get the Gretchen Becker book that's been recommended - thank you!!
 
So glad you feel more positive today! I'm quite similar to you, was 21 stone on diagnosis (20 now - whoop whoop!) and I REALLY don't want to get demotivated and put any weight back on or have blood sugars slip, so I'm willing you on, for quite selfish reasons lol. One suggestion if you're not doing it already is to keep a food diary and write down EVERYTHING you eat (and drink) - I think it makes a Big difference to keeping on track. I do think measuring blood glucose is important too, at least for me, because I need something visual to actually see.



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Your weight, working at home etc all sounds very similar to my story. Even the rowing machine, I bought one too.

You have a big plus in so far as you started well and it worked so, you know it does work. You can always remind yourself of that. I too suffer a lack of motivation on many things I need to do and it is very very easy to put things off until tomorrow, which then becomes next week and then next month and so on.

What I do is create a new interest which make me enthusiastic about the interest and not bored about what I need to do. The trick is, get an interest which is going to help you with the problem. I started to cook everything myself, no bought in sauces or part prepared ingredients, just the raw materials. And, working from home, sourcing ingredients is a great way to get myself out of the house. I bake my own rye bread, am learning to do the crisp bread, I drive to the fish wholesalers - they're open at 5am so that's quite an experience itself, go to the larger chinese food stores and the indian foodstores - they have flours I haven't heard of milled in certain ways which are a mystery to me and spices at a fraction of the price sold in supermarkets. I also drive to specialist kitchenware stores and stop off at farm shops with specialist butchers.

Learn some traditional recipes. Doesn't really matter whether its ragu alla bolognese or lamb and barey stew, the original recipes are often very different from their modern 'instant' equivalents. Eventually, it becomes second nature and it all slots into a daily routine. Of course, you must keep away from the double cream and melted butter recipes.

I've never been able to get into a 30 min walk a day routine, the 'daily constitutional' but I have a large section of my garden which needs tending so I thought I might have a go at growing some fancy vegetables. I have thought about erecting some screens in sunnier corners and growing some tomatoes. They all involve a little work and movement on a regular basis. Even making a herb garden requires some effort.

These are just examples of how a hobby can be adapted to suit your needs. They may not interest you at all. But, if you start to let your mind wander off to what you would like to do, you will find something which you can then make work for you.
 
Yes still in denial after 5 years! Can't seem to shift the weight either. Hope things work out for you, you are not alone :wink:
 
I was diagnosed at the beginning of January this year but it still hasn't really sunk in. I have been suffering from a virus that makes me exceedingly dizzy (was an interesting experience on a recent business trip to London!! :crazy: ) so the Doc sent me for a blood test, really didn't expect to be told that I had diabetes (should have known better as I am a yo-yo dieter being 26 stone at the heaviest, currently losing and down to just over 23) I am trying though, I am starting to read food labels and have switched from sweet, sticky sauces to tomato based ones, cutting back on bread having switched to wholemeal etc.

I think the part I am struggling with is I don't drink any fizzy drinks, don't take sugar in hot drinks, already have skimmed milk and I don't eat sweets (haven't had chocolate in years) so am finding it difficult to cut back to make a difference. I have my first group diabetics meeting in a couple of weeks so hopefully that will help.

I am trying more exercise, I currently do 15-20 minutes on the treadmill (walking not running!!) followed by 5 minutes on the killing machine (crosstrainer) Once I am below the 23st I will be on the WiFit balance board (just hope this dizzy virus has gone by then)

Anyways, there's only one person who can get my ass in gear.....

Good luck to us all who have just started out on this journey
 
Well done on your weight loss Sharon, that's brilliant!

Even though you don't take sugar, don't drink pop, eat chocolate etc, there may still be pitfalls in your diet that you don't realize - when I started low carbing I was really shocked to find out how high in carbs some things were. I don't know what sort of things you normally eat, so these may not apply, but things you might want to look carefully at are how much bread (wholemeal isn't really that much better than white, from a carb content point of view), fruit, potatoes, rice, pasta, crisps, milk, fruit juice, "low fat" products (eg low fruit yogurts - often loaded with sugar), microwave ready meals, breakfast cereals, museli you eat.

Without advising on any particular daily carb limit, which would be entirely up to you and depend on lots of things, try to experiment for a day of having a notional, say, 100g limit for the day (that's not particularly low, it would be a good starting point) and read the labels of everything you eat (and/or check with a carb counting book) and see how quickly you get up to 100g. For example, and I'm guesstimating a little, because its a while since I've had them, two weetabix, with skimmed milk, no sugar, two slices of whole meal bread with a scraping of low fat spread (exactly the sort of thing we might be eating on a "healthy" diet)

Weetabix 22g
Skimmed milk 12g
2 slices of whole meal bread 30g
Butter 0g

That's 64g of carbs already. Add a large glass of orange juice (30g) and you're almost there.

I truly believe its a myth that we "need" these carbs for energy. Since I have been low carbing I have had more energy than I have ever had, and have lost a good amount of weight too, despite eating plenty of healthy natural fats.


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Well another 10 days down the line and I have learnt a fair bit more. Now armed with the Collins Gem Carb Counter book my shopping trips are a little epic! :lol: but even the OH is looking at labels. I'm afraid I have to have bread but have changed to Burgen which I actually like.

I am beginning to wonder if it was all the 'low fat' food we were eating that had a bit of an impact? If anything came in a LF version then we had it not realising the amount of sugar used to flavour the food.

Anyway, onwards and downwards :thumbup:
 
Since you are sitting at a monitor get a spreadsheet. Do your normal readings i.e. just before eating and 2 hours after eating and record these each day along with what you ate. So it's a chart with dates down the left hand side and times of day across the top. Not actual times but things like B/F lunch, Lunch+2 etc.

Now enter a formula to average all your readings. You can watch the average go up and down as time passes. There is a thing on this site to convert averages to Hba1c to further goad you but it is not accurate. Fun though.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-bloo ... erter.html

Do all this to see if you can give your nurse a surprise.

Get obsessive, it's one form of motivation.
 
I was diagnosed just before I was 40, I had been warned by my GP that I was at high risk at developing it, I didn't take him seriously enough & within in a year I was diagnosed :-(
I was diagnosed last October & it hit home recently that although I am initially doing well, I have it for the next 40-50 years! I was advised to take each day at a time & I think if you do that it's easier to 'handle'.
It certainly was a kick up the bum for me & that if I don't control I well I'm damaging my long term health.
I wish you all the best, take it a day at a time & feel happy with yourself when you've had a good day at controlling it, & that you have the strength & will power to do it again the next day.


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