Depressed after being told I need to go on insulin.

Hi and welcome. First things first, insulin is not the end of the world! Second, I'm sure we can help you. A lot of people here follow a low carbohydrate diet, and it is usually very successful in reducing blood glucose levels.
Unfortunately, the current NHS dietary advice is often detrimental for diabetics, advice to eat carbs with every meal, "healthy" versions of bread, rice etc - and the numbers go up and up. Carbs turn to glucose (All of them!) So they are best avoided as much as possible - its also really important that you self test after your meals, another thing the NHS aren't keen on! But how else can you know what foods affect you personally so you can reduce or avoid them altogether?

I'm going to tag @daisy1 who will give you the information for newbies, please have a read, and also have a look at the success stories on the forum. It is possible to turn this around so try not to get too down, it will be OK x

ladybird64 said:

Hi and welcome. First things first, insulin is not the end of the world! Second, I'm sure we can help you. A lot of people here follow a low carbohydrate diet, and it is usually very successful in reducing blood glucose levels.
Unfortunately, the current NHS dietary advice is often detrimental for diabetics, advice to eat carbs with every meal, "healthy" versions of bread, rice etc - and the numbers go up and up. Carbs turn to glucose (All of them!) So they are best avoided as much as possible - its also really important that you self test after your meals, another thing the NHS aren't keen on! But how else can you know what foods affect you personally so you can reduce or avoid them altogether?

I'm going to tag @daisy1 who will give you the information for newbies, please have a read, and also have a look at the success stories on the forum. It is possible to turn this around so try not to get too down, it will be OK x

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PS. Forgot to add, although medications can really help, they are useless if you are eating the wrong foods. Can you give us an idea of your brekkie, lunch and dinner? There are no judgements here at all, so you can be honest, most of us have felt as distressed as you are at the moment.

PPS. I need coffee. I highlighted my post instead of yours. I'll just creep away and put the kettle on lol

Superseeder said:

Hi,
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2000 and the hospital believed I had had it a lot longer. I confess I was not a good diabetic for quite some time because I didnt feel unwell. In fact I felt good so I developed an attitude of 'I am not ill"
Well, fast forward to about a year ago. I am not working at the moment and the downward spiral was slow and as such I didnt really notice anything too bad. Eventually I developed erectile dysfunction and began also to suffer from neuropathy, mainly centred in the feet. I began to take things seriously and took my tablets as I was supposed to. My Doctors surgery never tested my blood levels or anything and any problems I had their answer was to just keep increasing the metformin until last year when I was on 1000 mg 3 times a day. I lost my appetite and began to get depressed about everything.
I moved last summer and registered with another practice who had a diabetic doctor. In december my HSa 1C was 80, She looked at all the tablets I was on and decreased the metformin to 500 twice a day (Slow release tablet) I was also on Glicazide 80mg twice a daym Ramipril for my blood pressure, Clopidogrel and others.. I got myself out and began walking everywhere, I went to a diabetic education program (something my old doctors never bothered with) I took my tablets religiously and last week my latest HSa 1C results came in . It now stood at 104!!! So it had increased, not decreased.
My doctor shook her head and told me I needed to go onto insulin. I attended the clinic yesterday (hoping against hope that I wouldnt have too but he confirmed I needed to go onto insulin.
So here I am, sitting in my chair, crying my eyes out, feeling like what the hell is the point. I have been quite down for months now. I went to the hospital and they confirmed I was depressed and needed help, but I have heard nothing since. My head is full of dark thoughts and the idea that it is all pointless now and will only get worse fills me most days at some point.
I apologise for the blackness of this message, I haven't written anything like this before, but I am waiting to hear from the doctor that they can give me my prescription for insulin and I feel very, very miserable indeed.

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My T2 journey sounds very similar to yours, even down to the Clopidogrel. I was on Metformin (x4)+ Gliclazide (x 4) and my HbA1c came in at 99, and my FBGL was around 15mmol/l. I was referred to specialist for insulin assessment, and then had a bet with my GP that if he supported me self tesing with a meter, then I would take steps to get my bgl down. He accepted the challenge and said I was just delaying the inevitable, We set a target HbA1c of 60.
I have described my journey in a thread in the Succcess Stories submenu called My Personal Journey which you might find useful. I took control of my life, and am happy to confirm that I have now been discharged from special care, I am no longer under threat of insulin, and my GP rang me just yesterday to congratulate me on my 'amazing results'. (his exact words). For me, I managed to find a way to pull back from the precipice, It won't be your journey, as you will have to discover your own way for your own personal circumstances. But you could step back yourself if you have the courage. Get yourself a bgl meter, and start investigating what your diet is doing to you. Read what others are doing and maybe that will help you overcome your feelings. As I said in another post, Getting a meter throws light on to the end of the tunnel. Take that step now, and move forward again. Good Luck on our journey.

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Superseeder said:

Hi,
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2000 and the hospital believed I had had it a lot longer. I confess I was not a good diabetic for quite some time because I didnt feel unwell. In fact I felt good so I developed an attitude of 'I am not ill"
Well, fast forward to about a year ago. I am not working at the moment and the downward spiral was slow and as such I didnt really notice anything too bad. Eventually I developed erectile dysfunction and began also to suffer from neuropathy, mainly centred in the feet. I began to take things seriously and took my tablets as I was supposed to. My Doctors surgery never tested my blood levels or anything and any problems I had their answer was to just keep increasing the metformin until last year when I was on 1000 mg 3 times a day. I lost my appetite and began to get depressed about everything.
I moved last summer and registered with another practice who had a diabetic doctor. In december my HSa 1C was 80, She looked at all the tablets I was on and decreased the metformin to 500 twice a day (Slow release tablet) I was also on Glicazide 80mg twice a daym Ramipril for my blood pressure, Clopidogrel and others.. I got myself out and began walking everywhere, I went to a diabetic education program (something my old doctors never bothered with) I took my tablets religiously and last week my latest HSa 1C results came in . It now stood at 104!!! So it had increased, not decreased.
My doctor shook her head and told me I needed to go onto insulin. I attended the clinic yesterday (hoping against hope that I wouldnt have too but he confirmed I needed to go onto insulin.
So here I am, sitting in my chair, crying my eyes out, feeling like what the hell is the point. I have been quite down for months now. I went to the hospital and they confirmed I was depressed and needed help, but I have heard nothing since. My head is full of dark thoughts and the idea that it is all pointless now and will only get worse fills me most days at some point.
I apologise for the blackness of this message, I haven't written anything like this before, but I am waiting to hear from the doctor that they can give me my prescription fot to use it and r insulin and I feel very, very miserable indeed.

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hi my names sue i understand exactly what your going through i was also diagnosed with type 2 prescribed metformin and 3 yrs ago was put on insulin i t was very scary for me because i had never taken a tablet in my life and no one i knew has diabeties it was a minefield i ended up under a physcologist but u will start to feel better in yourself once u start to use it it does seem like a minefield when u first start just give yourself time to come to terms with it and you will find that your life can become happy again

I was like you and it was the shock of not being able to have a knee op because my sugars were too high and being told I would soon be on insulin that made me make vital changes to my lifestyle. It can be done. It's not easy, but as Oldvatr showed, taking control can have such a big impact.
I went onto a low carb diet. I couldn't get my head round it also being high fat at first after a lifetime of avoiding fat, but I soon went fully LCHF. It made a huge difference. My blood sugars came down into the 'normal' range, I lost weight, I even found that losing the weight meant my knees were not so bad so I can hold off on getting them replaced.
I am not always perfect. I have days where I go off the rails and self-sabotage, but largely I keep my BS down way below where it used to be. Other things then improve - I feel generally better, with more energy and 'zest'. Pains in my feet go away. I don't get nasty yeast infections, or ear infections or spots around my mouth. If I go off the rails these things come back.
I use my meter to test. I did do that every day, several times a day when I was learning about how my BS reacts, but I now test the 2 or 3 times a week that my GP surgery suggests.
You can do this, especially if you come on here for support. I kept a daily diary on here, and everone was lovely, urging me on. I also used the My Fitness Pal website to record all my food. I've now learnt to set that to my own levels for carbs, protein and fat.
Good luck.

Hello @Superseeder please don't feel down - although you may not see it right now this is a good thing for you to be on insulin as it will help you get much better control. As you are already making alot of effort this will help you even more. I know you feel miserable right now but it is temporary how you are feeling and will pass. Go and get some fresh air and read through the posts on the forum, many are in the same boat as you so chin up, it will get better.

@Superseeder

Hello Superseeder and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find this helpful. This gives advice about low carb diets which should help you to get your levels down. Then by testing you will find out how successful you have been and which foods are best for you. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Superseeder said:

Hi and thank you for the responses, they are most appreciated.
A frustration I have is that I really am not hungry at all. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for the last couple of days at least have consisted of digestive biscuits and a large mug of tea for breakfast, mug of tea for lunch, mug of tea for dinner and a couple of biscuits.
Thats not to say I dont eat at all, when my wife is here, we eat vegetarian meals, crumpet for brekkie, main veggie meal at lunch, soup or something in the evening. But my wife lives in Germany (doing her doctorate) and I am terrible on my own. The doctor who has put me on insulin thought that I was perhaps naseous and unwilling to eat because of the high dosage of metformin I used to be on. He was also not a fan of Glicazide as he said it can give you a hypo if not taken with food, which I had not been told before and indeed my sugar dropped from lunchtime reading of 14.9 to 3.1 one day. My average sugar reading when i test it is around 16-18, though I have had reading in the mid twenties.

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Hi Superseeder I've only just read your post so sorry for the late response. It's not easy being diabetic but taking insulin actually gives you a bit more freedom as to what you can eat. You can increase or decrease the dose depending on what you're eating. You probably won't feel hungry if your BG is 18, that's a normal feeling with a high reading. Whatever you decide to do to take control of your diabetes, continue to ask lots of questions here on this forum & let us know your progress.

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