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Don't involve yourself in the blame game.

  • Thread starter Thread starter catherinecherub
  • Start Date Start Date
midschick1 said:
@walnut_face My GP said I didn't need one as they are only for type 1 diabetics
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@midschick1 unfortunately some in the medical profession do not advocate self testing however it's ultimately your decision. I was told similar by my DN but decided to get a meter anyway and, through self testing, I gave found what I can and cannot eat so as not to raise my BS too much.
 

Like lots of people who are suddenly faced with diabetes of any kind, I get good days, not so good days and every now and again get depressed. Until very recently I was the director of a large organisation and worked long hours. So then with being diabetic, how to make the time for taking charge of it.

One step at a time I think.

If you have lost that much weight in 6 weeks then well done, as long as it's weight that needs to be lost.
My doctor gave me the simplest of explanations about the benefits of weight loss - "all the cells in your body need insulin so the fewer cells you have, the more you insulin each cell can grab". Bit simplistic but it works for me.

Huge numbers of the UK population are low in vitamin D - get a supplement and talk to your GP about increasing iron levels. You might though be able to do that with iron rich foods (dark green stuff etc).

I have 2 inhalers - a brown one and a blue one (keeping it simple) and have 2 puffs of each twice a day uisng a little tube - bit of a ****** but I breathe better. They don't seem to cause me problems with blood sugars but maybe I'm too lazy to check.

Like lots of people who are suddenly faced with diabetes of any kind, I get good days, not so good days and every now and again get depressed.

Three things helped me along the way:
Changing what I ate .I am on a low carb high fat diet and have lost 3 stone
Buying a monitor and checking my blood to figure out what food stuffs not to eat.
Walking a lot. I now only use my car if the journey is over 2 miles each way or I have a lot of shopping to do.

Because of my work patterns I am now in the habit of getting up at 6am, drinking a glass of water and going out for a walk. Usually 3 miles but any walk will do.
It's then done - off to work.
Force the lunch break - go for a walk.

Bit of a ramble but just what I did. As others have suggested. Get a monitor, find out how to use it to check your fasting BG and before and after eating - it puts you in charge.

Good luck.
 
Quick update

I walk 6000 steps a day
I have lost 2 1/2 stone in 14 weeks
My blood pressure is 120 over 60
My asthma is under control with a change of inhalers
My GP has started me on statins due to heart problems in my family.
I still have bad days with muscle and joint pain where I am in tears almost but I try to walk it off.
My sleep is non existent and my concentration isn't any better but I try to remain focus as best as I can!!
 
@midschick1 has your muscle and joint pains and sleep and concentration issues got worse since starting the statins? I had similar sleep problems whilst on them along with dizzy spells and an increase in my BS levels
 
Daphne917 said:
@midschick1 has your muscle and joint pains and sleep and concentration issues got worse since starting the statins? I had similar sleep problems whilst on them along with dizzy spells and an increase in my BS levels
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Statins did that to me too.. I was encouraged to keep trying different types and they all had the same effect. I chose to not take them.
 
I know the feeling. I have been threatened with being in a wheelchair now for several years but just keep putting it off. Walking has been the thing that keeps the threat at bay. Some days are good and some days are bad - but they are days. Do statins cause issues?
 
Unfortunately they can do for some people me included. My Hba1c was 48 on diagnosis which increased to 54 when I started taking statins. I came off them because they gave me frequent dizzy spells and sleep problems and my hba1c dropped soon after and is now 38.
 
Five years on from the date of this excellent post and things haven't improved in the media for Type 2s - more blame and shame heaped on us seemingly every day.
How newly diagnosed people are coping, I don't know. Hopefully they will all find this site and forum.
 
Sugar is addictive because it promotes the release of dopamine in the brain. It is the 'reward' chemical, and provokes addictive behavior.
 
Thank you. I've been struggling with this for a while as I'm only 18. I find it confusing that people, who are also overweight with worse diets than mine, somehow don't have it when they're in their 30s. And yet I got diagnosed and was almost sent to A&E - it was only the lack of ketones in my urine which stopped that.

I find it so confusing. My mum has ensured that my diet has been at least okay.

I do have a genetic condition and I'm wondering if it's that which is starting to cause my pancreas to fail but I'll never be sure.
 
Sorry that this is a bit all over the place.

I was diagnosed T2 approx 15 years ago, I guess I do blame myself and I think my partner believes that it's due to over eating or eating the wrong stuff. Since my diagnosis I developed hyperthyroidism and now have hypothyroidism (hashimoto's disease) following treatment, fibromyalgia, I also have had polycystic ovarian syndrome for a long time.

My diabetes has been fairly stable in recent years hba1c running between 7 and 7.5, on a couple of occasions over the years have tried testing without any support or much success and increasingly noticed that while the Drs and DN have done their thing they haven't been very forgiving about my weight or the fact I have T2 (17st currently been somewhere round this weight since i was a late teen with limited success of weighted loss). Went to see the DN this week and have been told to put my metformin up to 2grams a day from 1gram as my hba1c was 7.7 and they want me down at 6.5. My diet hasn't been the best it could be, to be fair not really sure what actually works for me and having been told by my DN having asked about whether testing might help, that testing will make no difference I am feeling quite low and frustrated. I also have IBS which makes for an interesting life and trying to balance food and what to eat is just a nightmare at the moment.

Feel like testing my bs regularly might be the way to go but am worried I am going to start obsessing over every single morsel I eat and every test I do.
 
@bluelybell I see myself in you.

Although my partner never blames me for my diabetes. Although he hates the attention it gets at times.

Are you the obsessive type?

My advice is to test to find out what foods work for you. Make a food diary so you can look back at its affect on your bgs. For health reasons.
Don't forget you will be experiencing carb cravings if your level of carbs are too high, for you. Don't feel guilty about your body seeking out energy, as your converting very little.
 
I don't know if I'm obsessive type to be fair, I think part of the problem I have had is that when I have been testing before I have been worrying about the 'oh my goodness my bs has shot up after I have eaten something, what am I going to do now thing' but not having anyone who can support or offer advice.

When I was given my first meter I was shown how to test my bs but not given any advice about what to expect, what to eat other than "to not eat sugar", and constantly being told to lose weight.
 
Just found this post and I thank
catherinecherub
Finding myself on a bit of a low this morning after dropping my bowl of porridge on the kitchen floor due to sudden **** in my hand thinking is this anther symptom ?
 
I'm so grateful for this whole thread (and many of the links and almost all of the posters). The whole shame / blame thing bewilders me. After all, we don't point fingers at smokers who get lung cancer - though, perhaps economically speaking, they've paid their way in tax?

As if we over-eaters haven't been maintaining farms and local restaurant jobs and...

Whatever. The point is, there's a lot of bad health choices that lead to high-profile, expensive diseases but you don't see sufferers of those being so regularly shamed in the media. Then again, there's also a heavy emphasis on physical beauty in the media - we're all supposed to look like movies stars.

And I do. I'm a 6' tall Melissa McCarthy.
 
theoldfunker said:
Just found this post and I thank
catherinecherub
Finding myself on a bit of a low this morning after dropping my bowl of porridge on the kitchen floor due to sudden **** in my hand thinking is this anther symptom ?
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oops that should be {cramp } made me laugh though.
 
After a difficult review with a GP who is fixated on the immediate information on the screen rather than the whole picture I am sternly telling myself I have worked damned hard to keep controlled with diet and exercise, as well only taking meds if absolutely necessary. I will NOT feel guilty when GP suggests I'm not doing enough with either diet or exercise nor am I feeling guilty at getting cross with said GP.
 
So glad I saw this post. Since starting a new career in what many see as a dream job (I'm a sports journalist and tennis writer) I saw all my good work losing weight undone by irregular hours and irregular eating habits and often no say at all in how we get our grub in media centres (basically this is what you're getting, tough nuggies if you don't like it/miss feeding time!)

But what has surprised me as I have told friends and family in how many were shocked at the news - and in fact I have to tell them that with family history I was always going to be pre-disposed to the condition.

My 'sins' were not maintaining my exercise (some complications - no cartilage in my knees anymore make it a challenge to run/play tennis - I do, but I have to suffer for it!), and being lazy in the weeks where I am only home for a few days before heading out again, getting takeaways and my regular 'if it's Friday, then it must be scampi and chips for lunch' attitude.

All that is easy to change. Freelancing means tightening my belt anyway, so I took to batch cooking a lot of stuff to do away with takeaways when I hadn't got anything in fresh. Unplanned, I dropped almost a stone in weight which prompted me to go to the doctor in the first place, so now it is a matter of getting that spare tyre around my waist gone.

Because my diagnosis was also high cholesterol and recent stresses have elevated my blood pressure, I am trying to focus on stabilising one thing, and at least trying to do my conditioning/rehab exercises daily. We'll see what happens when the next blood test in a couple of months happens.
 
It's heartwarming to know that it's not our fault, diabetis saught us out not the other way round. I have been told and explained to but I still don't understand it.which is strange as I have always worked in hospitals and doctors surgeries,praps Iam in denial.a while ago I had a bout of depression. A 'friend' said ,I would never allow that to happen to me! I was gobsmacked.
I struggle with the diet guidelines. If I cut my carbs I feel hungry and tired. What does one do. I crave fish and chips or Chinese meal.i am not on medication.my nurse says my blood is 6.5. The rest is normal. I am about two stone overweight. Any advice and tips will be helpful. Thanks.
 
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