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Type 2 Diabetes and Denial

D

dadamay

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone, I have been struggling with my Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I think I have been living in denial for the last two years. A friend pointed me to this forum and I wanted to just find out what caused you to overcome your diabetes denial, if you experienced this too?
 
I was diagnosed in an emergency following a GP screw up ( failure to test when asked then inappropriare treatment ) that nearly lost me a leg and resulted in a 4 month hospital stay - that keeps my mind focused!
I’ve often thought that keeping my focus on diabetes and its control would probably have been a lot harder had I been diagnosed under different circumstances
 
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@dadamay I bought the book Reverse your Diabetes by David Cavan. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/shop/rev...60-quick-and-easy-recipes-by-dr-david-cavan-2
It filled me with horror when reading about the complications of the disease and some of the medications, but also explained how I could take action to prevent the complications. It filled me with hope and motivation. I read the threads on this site and realised that it is possible to take control, and decided that was the course of action for me. I control my diabetes - it does not control me!
This forum is the best place in the world for support and advice. Welcome and I hope you can control this disease too.
 
same here i watched vids of complications the leg ones are pretty motivational.
 
Even with a sky high A1c I had a measure of denial, after all, my diet was good, I cooked from scratch and didn't loll about watching soaps all day. Surely I didn't fit the media depiction of T2, did I? No, I didn't because that portrayal of people with T2 is false. Once I learned about Type 2 Diabetes I was ashamed that I beleived the media hype and I accepted the fact that there is no such animal as a typical T2. Then I just knuckled down and got to grips with making the necessary changes. I had my wobbles and I still make mistakes but I have accepted this condition and I know that I may have wobbles in the future but I will never do less than my best to try and stay ahead of the game because to do otherwise doesn't bear thinking about.
 
I realise I'm prediabetic and not full blown T2 but I have to admit I am in denial that this is happening at all. I still don't think I have overcome my feeling of denial,:I cook from scratch, am slim and take plenty of exercise - how can I possibly be a borderline diabetic?
 
gardengnome42 said:
I realise I'm prediabetic and not full blown T2 but I have to admit I am in denial that this is happening at all. I still don't think I have overcome my feeling of denial,:I cook from scratch, am slim and take plenty of exercise - how can I possibly be a borderline diabetic?
Click to expand...

In the early days I had to suspend my disbelief but I figured a few changes wouldn't hurt until the *mistake* was rectified, suffice to say there had been no mistake and now it is what it is so I deal with it the only way I know how by learning as much as I can and by listening to those who have been exactly where I and we are today.
 
This is a good question... well for me I always thought that ole chestnut- ‘it would never happen to me’. I dont drink or smoke so food was the only thing left in my life that was a pleasure to me as it were.

I think a couple of years ago I was pre- warned by a GP that I was pre- diabetic but stupidly I didn’t heed his warnings.

I just carried on gorging on high carb ‘comfort’ foods by the way of pizza, all fast food in general, chocolates, sweets, cakes, pastries, pasta, spuds, rice and white bread. You name it I ate it .

Given I suffer from depression and also have 32 sweet teeth this was not a very good combination. I ate because I’m depressed and because I’m depressed I ate. Vicious circle. Not surprisingly, my weight had ballooned over the past few years. I am now classed as obese.

Fast forward to this year, I went to see my GP for a follow up appointment relating to my fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis (yes that’s another story) and she booked me in to see the nurse for a blood test. I also explained that I had a huge problem with urination frequency. Especially during the night with many trips to the bathroom.

Few days later I was at home when I got a call from the GP who said my Hba1c test was 50. I was completely stunned. 50 is not too bad compared to others on here, but at the same time it’s not too good either.

I knew I couldn’t deny it but this is where I am now today. Since that phone call I fortunately discovered this fantastic site, I have now started glucose testing pre and post meals, low carb eating by weighing food etc and logging all meals into a diary. I am essentially eating to my meter and leaving out all or most of the foods that raise my blood sugar. I am determined to make drastic changes and lose some weight and reduce my blood sugar but it’s early days and I have a long way to go yet...
 
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I'm not fully back to my best in dealing with prediabetes, but while waiting for my annual HBA1C in Dec 2016, certain that I was soon to be diagnosed with type 2, I broke my plan of action down into small managable pieces.

@dadamay You have already taken the first step by joining the forum and accepting things need to change. Keep going, small steps.
 
Had all the typical T2D symptoms for months, years perhaps. It runs in my family. Many aunts, uncles, cousins, mum and dad. Lost a number of them thru diabetes related complication (kidney failure/multiple organ failures/heart failure etc) thru the years. Having seen how unsuccessful everyone had been battling it, pretty much accepted the mantra that it is chronic and progressive.

That was until Dr Google showed a different path...a simpler more promising path.
 
kokhongw said:
Had all the typical T2D symptoms for months, years perhaps. It runs in my family. Many aunts, uncles, cousins, mum and dad. Lost a number of them thru diabetes related complication (kidney failure/multiple organ failures/heart failure etc) thru the years. Having seen how unsuccessful everyone had been battling it, pretty much accepted the mantra that it is chronic and progressive.

That was until Dr Google showed a different path...a simpler more promising path.
Click to expand...
Really impressive HbA1cs, brilliant
 
archersuz said:
@dadamay I bought the book Reverse your Diabetes by David Cavan. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/shop/rev...60-quick-and-easy-recipes-by-dr-david-cavan-2
It filled me with horror when reading about the complications of the disease and some of the medications, but also explained how I could take action to prevent the complications. It filled me with hope and motivation. I read the threads on this site and realised that it is possible to take control, and decided that was the course of action for me. I control my diabetes - it does not control me!
This forum is the best place in the world for support and advice. Welcome and I hope you can control this disease too.
Click to expand...
I think the beauty of this forum is that you find every shade of diabetes under discussion, something you would take decades to accumulate and absorb at an average Outpatients. It's like we know each other, yet in many instances have no idea whereabouts on this planet each of us is. I went for all my diabetic life without meeting a patient with no legs at all. Yet when I was attending a diabetic/foot clinic for Charcot Foot for 10 months in 2013-2014, I would be picked up by a transplant ambulance carrying 2 diabetics with no legs. That put everything in sharp perspective! I think the younger a patient is, or the nearer to diagnosis, it is perfectly understandable for denial to happen, however damaging that might be. A thread like this makes me think that each writer "in denial" is well on the way to success simply by looking at it, especially since there is widespread empathy. It must be saving the NHS a fortune!
 
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I was diagnosed in May ‘17. Up until August ‘16 I had worked for 36yrs as a nurse on a ward specialising in infections. A lot of the patients were diabetic so I’ve seen the full range from an infected ingrowing toe nail to gangrene requiring amputation. Focuses the mind somewhat, hence I’ve never been in denial! (Yet!)
 
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