Hi Joan,
sorry to hear about your diagnosis. but you couldn't have found a better forum to help you.
When you are first diagnosed it is all a bit confusing because you hear so many things that don't seem to make sense. The best thing is to keep it simple.
The conventional advice is to eat starchy carbohydrates with every meal, but many of us find that this simply does not work.
These carbohydrates convert to glucose in the blood and make matters worse.
If you reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat you will reduce the amount of sugar in your blood.
Some things, like sugar, are obviously not good but things like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes can be as bad or worse.
A good plan is to record what you eat and use a blood glucose meter to see what each meal does to your blood sugar.
Ask you diabetic nurse for a meter and some test strips and start learning what works best for you.
Test your blood first thing in the morning before breakfast and then two hours after you have eaten. Do the same with lunch and dinner.
If you write down what you have eaten at each meal you will start to see the foods that work best for you and you can adjust your diet to suit.
I know all of this probably sounds like a pain in the bum, but it puts you back in control of your condition and I found it gave me a more positive outlook.
Many people have found that if they control the amount and type of carbohydrate they eat, they can reduce or even eliminate the need for medication.
You might like to have a read through the low carb section of the forum and particularly the "success stories" thread.
I'm not sure what to say about statins because I had a confusing experience with them.
At first I took them religiously but later on I would forget to take them.
My cholesterol levels fell a little at first but when I changed my diet they fell a lot faster.
My doctor doesn't prescribe them anymore because of the improvement.
The books you have are an excellent way to learn about diabetes although I find DR B a little too strict for me.
You might want to make one addition to your library though, a collins carb counter from W.H.Smiths is a great way of learning about hidden carbs.
Making changes to your lifestyle can be difficult so it may be best to take things one step at a time.
Reduce you carbohydrates over time, start to exercise a little at a time and just try to improve things gradually.
I hope some of this is of help to you but please keep asking questions because there are so many experienced people on this forum and everyone of them will help you.
Kind regards,
Mike.