The diet advice from xyzzy is pretty much what I've done since I was diagnosed in Nov ish. It really works and its interesting to see that's what they give in other countries. Smile at the NHS and push them for all the tests and gadgets you can get, but otherwise ignore their diet imo. They say eat wholemeal bread, usually I run at like 7 after a meal, the one time I had two slices of wholemeal toast is thr only time I got a 10! Like you I felt panicked. I don't ever want to be above 8 personally. I completely understand your reaction I felt much the same. But honestly if you follow these fairly simpme rules you'll stay within it.
One word of warning, like you I started to panic and to eat even less then I normally do, (i can tend to anorexia type behaviour). It seemed like food was the enemy and would kill me. Then I got a 9 on my meter, amd I hadn't eaten since lunch which was 7 hours before. Turns out if you leave too long between eating that (counterintuitively) will throw up your blood sugar levels too. So don't not eat ok mate. It's actually the thing I find hardest of all. Routine is king, if I'm not going to make dinner I need to have a small snack like some olives or a small piece of cheese.
Excercise is brilliant I personally find body pump and I am now doing body jam which is brutal! They knock about 2 points off my blood sugar so I find I need to actually have a cereal bar before if its first thing in the morning or I run out of puff and wind up sweating and weak. But after I often get a 4 or 4.5 on my meter so I've even had a sneaky doughnut at such times lol which avoids me getting cravings for naughty cakes
Also if I'm habit a big meal which is full of good things I find if I want to have a sticky desert then is the time. It seems that te overall sugar content of the meal is what counts so I have been known to have some right sticky deserts, I just have maybe a half, then give the rest to a friend. Diabetes has made me popular!
This is why you need the meter, ignore what they say, you need to know what works for YOU. I only tested at first to work out what foods make my sugar go up a lot (test before and two hours after a meal). This doesn't mean I never eat this stuff. It means I know I can't compound these foods one on another. So I can have the odd pain au chocolate, but not that THEN a sandwich on bread THEN a cake. It's like a mental sugar and carb tally your brain keeps, and after a while it becomes second nature. Only other time I test is if I feel weird. So j feel I have trained myself to know if ta going up, or if its low, and at these times I test to see if I'm right. So now I am rarely surprised what the meter says.
I personally looked up what 'normal' levels are, and I figure if I stay close to that I have no reason to live less time then anyone else. My friend just got diahnsed with breast cancer and it makes me realise this isn't the best genetic hand to be dealt but its also not the worst. Since being diagnosed I have felt so much clearer mentally, more energy, I have been in a fog for many years and not known. It will take a few weks to get the nack old these tips but honestly you're clearly a driven person, I think in a. ery short time indeed you will feel great and won't know yourself. This is a great place for advice I would hve been lat without it, in fact I know where I'd be I'd be not eating much at all and with blood sugar levels round my ears. So keep asking stuff they really will help you, you'll be fine honestly
xx