Don't Really Know Much, Got Questions

What is insulin like? How do you take it? what are the side effects? will i end up even fatter?

Insulin is what your pancreas should be producing in response to your food intake to ensure your blood sugar doesn't rise too much. If your pancreas is not producing enough or you are resistant to what you are producing - high blood sugar levels will arise.

Is it true that it will stop me being so tired? (I sleep 12+ hours a day)

It should do, if you are not producing or using produced insulin correctly then your body is not using the energy you put in in the form of food efficiently, hence you feel really tired.

Is it only type 1s that get the fainting/coma/etc thing? or does that happen to type 2s as well?

If you are on certain type 2 meds such as gliclazide or insulin then you can go too low as well. It is usually only type 1s that get DKA causing the coma issue due to high sugars but I will stand corrected on that one!

Is the diabetes the reason I have constant thrush that won't go away for more than a week?

Yes!! I had 2 bouts of thrush before diagnosis. Bugs looooove high blood sugars so you are more prone to candida (thrush), cystitits etc. it will go as soon as you lower your blood sugars I promise.

Do I have to have a restricted diet? I tried Atkins once but I hated not being able to eat many vegetables and not being able to put a sauce on anything. Also I missed bread. And I got very tired of all that meat. I only lasted three weeks.

Most type 2s with good control achieve it via lower carbing. In the first instance if you can halve the daily recommended amounts 300 grams down to 150 for a man, and 250 down to 125 for a lady (I think!) then that is a good start. Don't eat white, or severely limit it, so wholemeal and preferably seeded breads, brown rice, limited potatoes (new ones are the lowest) etc. You can buy carb guidance books from the likes of Collins Gem on Amazon etc. Then once you have adjusted to that you can have a go at lowering it even more. No you can continue to eat veg and salad but again limit the ones that grow underground such as parsnips and carrots. Eat more greens, broccoli etc.

Likewise with fruit if it ends in berry it will likely not affect much, so this time of year strawberries and raspberries are widely available for instance. Grapes, melon, bananas etc will likely send your sugars up.

Also, I have an eating problem, I binge eat a lot on sugary food (hence the high numbers) and really struggle to stop myself doing it. Do you think the hospital people will be able to help me with that? That is the number 1 reason my diabetes is out of control - my diet is fairly healthy otherwise.

I would guess you will need to find some inner willpower on this one, they can give you dietary guidance but you won't get much hand holding in the current economic climate. Maybe cognitive behaviour therapy might help, probably need to self fund though? Just a thought.

Is it inevitable that I will go blind and have damaged feet? I worked in a hospital once and I saw many diabetics who were treatment-compliant who nevertheless had dreadful feet and were blind.

Not if you regain control and keep your sugars in range. Tons of posts on this forum about the desired levels etc.

Should I buy a blood sugar monitor?

Some PCTs will give you one and fund the strips, others don't. Ask your diabetes nurse or GP, but the more you show commitment to sorting it the more likely they are to fund it. Strips are expensive so for those without PCT prescriptions, you can get an SD codefree online with much cheaper strips. You need to test on waking, before food then 2 hours after food. Ideally after food you want to be no higher than around 8.5 (official guidelines I think) although lots strive for 7.8 or below. Your morning fastings should be between 4 and 7.

Hope some of that helps. You really need to get into a regular checking routine with your GP/Nurse, get a retinopathy appointment and foot check done and then you have the starting point from which to improve matters all round.

Ali

Oh and by the way, if you feel hungry have a drink of water first, often you are thirsty not hungry! Exercise, do some chores around the house, garden, walk the dog/rabbit/ferret or whatever or go for a healthy walk with a picnic somewhere scenic.

If you are feeling dizzy after a meal having overdone the carbs, you can sometimes lower your levels by going for a walk for half an hour or so. DO NOT do this if you have off the scale readings, I think exercising above mid teens is not recommended as this can produce even higher sugar levels if the liver dumps sugar into your body in response to the exercise.

I think for you if you binge eat you need to structure your day to ensure you are kept busy and don't have the chance to sit down and scoff. Then if you do feel the urge, not to turn to high sugar foods. Some keep hard boiled eggs, cooked sausages etc in the fridge to nibble on, or sugar free jellies. Go to the low carb and weight loss forums where you will find many low carb recipes.

Ali

Hi there, I believe Ali H has answered your questions perfectly.you should most definately buy a meter for now, and then ask your doctor for one.Sounds like you have had bad control with no guidance for a while, you should be under the care of at least a diabetic nurse for monitoring.In answer to your question about thrush here is a recent thread which may help viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30171.We are all here to help, so any more questions fire away xxx