Don't you get bored?

[Kristin251]

To add, as the saying goes 'if you don't change something, nothing is going to change'.

 

[Resurgam]

I've written elsewhere on this forum that if it had meant that I got normal blood test results I'd have eaten frogspawn - I doubt that I'd have liked it, but if that is what it took I'd have done it.
What I actually found was that my delicious Atkins diet did the trick, so I had absolutely no problem whatsoever. I don't just like it - I love it - I feel great, I look well, I could not ask for better results, and it is not expensive nor is it difficult to do.
I will eat low carb for the rest of my life, I have decided - it is not compulsory - but I've seen a diabetic die from uncontrolled carb intake, and I would put all my heart, soul, and strength into avoiding that fate.

 

[Chook]

There are pictures on the internet of what can happen to us if we don't control our diabetes (google 'diabetic complications') and its not nice, a lot more not nice than having to change your diet. As @Resurgam says, I'd eat anything that would prevent me losing my sight or having my toes or feet amputated. I am not being alarmist - this is what happens.

The alternative to changing your diet will be to eventually go on to insulin (injections) to control your BG. I've done that and it wasn't nice. I changed to a very low carb diet and managed to get off the insulin and bring my BG down to a reasonable level. I am not at all a strong willed person so if I can do it I'm fairly sure anyone can if they want to badly enough.

 

[Sarah69]

No, it wouldn't - but you are. I believe in honest speaking, so that's what I'll do.
There are many other conditions that force people to either restrict their diet, or have to change it completely.
Every suggestion given to you around diet is answered with "I don't like it". Like I said, I know many people that have to eat food that they loathe for the sake of their health - but they don't make a fuss about it. You're an adult, you have been given suggestions and it's up to you whether you follow them or not. But being so snappy with people that are trying to help isn't on. Maybe stop trying to find reasons why you can't - and "I don't like it", almost "and you can't make me like it" isn't a particularly good one - and find reasons why you can.

I have not been 'snappy' with anyone! As I keep saying yes there's many foods I don't like and they were long before I was diabetic and I'm not going to like them now. Do you eat food you don't like?? Bullying helps no one. Your not in my situation and can't possibly know how this feels!

 

[Sarah69]

There are pictures on the internet of what can happen to us if we don't control our diabetes (google 'diabetic complications') and its not nice, a lot more not nice than having to change your diet. As @Resurgam says, I'd eat anything that would prevent me losing my sight or having my toes or feet amputated. I am not being alarmist - this is what happens.

The alternative to changing your diet will be to eventually go on to insulin (injections) to control your BG. I've done that and it wasn't nice. I changed to a very low carb diet and managed to get off the insulin and bring my BG down to a reasonable level. I am not at all a strong willed person so if I can do it I'm fairly sure anyone can if they want to badly enough.

I've been on insulin before but was taken off it because of the weight gain!

 

[Freema]

If I were you I´d bite the bullet and just take on the responsibillity myself... no one can save you from diabetes except yourself and unfortunately the road is to discard most foods most people like... there just isn´t any way around that fact.

 

[Snapsy]

Hi @Sarah69 , I've just popped back on to this thread to catch up - there have been loads of posts since I last saw it!

I just wanted to say hi, hope you're feeling okay, glad you've got an appointment coming up - I find it really helps me to write everything down to clarify it in my own mind, and then summarise it as a brief but punchy list for the doctor. It's the only way I can ever be sure I've told him/her everything.

I think it's great that you're asking for support with this, not just here but from your GP. I really would recommend making a few - just a few, mind, to start with - experimental steps with what you're eating, just to see how you feel about a wider selection of foods in a lower-carbohydrate category than some of the ones on the list you mentioned at the beginning.

You can do this - do keep reporting back! We're here.

 

[ladybird64]

I have not been 'snappy' with anyone! As I keep saying yes there's many foods I don't like and they were long before I was diabetic and I'm not going to like them now. Do you eat food you don't like?? Bullying helps no one. Your not in my situation and can't possibly know how this feels!

Yes I do eat food I don't like because of damage caused by cancer treatment and because I have an eating disorder.
Im not bullying anyone, im saying it how I see it - which is that you do get snappy with answers you don't like - and it wouldn't hurt to say thanks once in a while.
I'll leave you to your pity party.

 

[zand]

I have not been 'snappy' with anyone! As I keep saying yes there's many foods I don't like and they were long before I was diabetic and I'm not going to like them now. Do you eat food you don't like?? Bullying helps no one. Your not in my situation and can't possibly know how this feels!

Yes I have eaten foods I don't like. Once upon a time I hated all meat, nuts and mushrooms. I now enjoy beef, bacon, chicken and nuts and eat mushrooms. I persevered with them because I wanted to be healthier. There are still some foods I hate (eggs, I can only eat them in a quiche or pancake) and some I am not keen on, but I am now trying to like lamb. I'm giving goat's milk a try because my naturopath suggested I cut out cow's milk products. I can't say I like it, in fact I threw up drinking my cup of tea this morning, but I will try again this evening.

I well remember dreading mealtimes as a child and wishing I liked more things. Now I do, but it didn't just happen overnight.

 

[Chook]

Goodness, yes, I eat completely different foods now, some of which I wouldn't have considered buying before and some that I just couldn't even swallow.

I also don't eat things I used to love like fruit or bread but I know I can't have that any more. I used to hate the texture of red meat but I eat that now. I used to REALLY hate pork (thats the one I couldn't even swallow) but I've overcome that. It's a question of perseverance and knowing the damage that some foods can do to us.

 

[Winnie53]

@Sarah69 I'm still not sure what's going on with you, but I think it's clear that the metformin needs to be replaced with a medication that does not cause loss of appetite and nausea. Glad you've set up an appointment with the GP.

I'm so glad Indy51 thought to ask you if you're taking a multi-vitamin. Metformin depletes vitamin B12. This is important. You need to ask your doctor to check your B12 level. If your B12 level is chronically low over a period of time, it can make you very, very ill. Note the bolded symptoms near the end of the list.

Symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency can include: (6)

• Constantly feeling tired or chronic fatigue
• Muscle aches and weakness
• Joint pain
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Feeling dizzy
• Poor memory
• Inability to concentrate well
• Mood changes, like increased depression and anxiety
• Having abnormal heart problems, such as palpitations
• Poor dental health, including bleeding gums and mouth sores
• Digestive problems like nausea, diarrhea or cramping
• A poor appetite
• A more serious deficiency can also cause a form of anemia called pernicious anemia, a serious condition that can cause memory loss, confusion and even long-term dementia

https://draxe.com/vitamin-b12-benefits/

Sarah, please watch this movie. It could be life changing for you...

The movie is based on the story of Sally M. Pacholok, R.N., B.S.N. who wrote the book, Could It Be B12: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses. Read the book's reviews here... https://www.amazon.com/Could-Be-B12...d=1488825416&sr=1-1&keywords=could+it+be+B12?

 

[Sarah69]

Hi @Sarah69 , I've just popped back on to this thread to catch up - there have been loads of posts since I last saw it!

I just wanted to say hi, hope you're feeling okay, glad you've got an appointment coming up - I find it really helps me to write everything down to clarify it in my own mind, and then summarise it as a brief but punchy list for the doctor. It's the only way I can ever be sure I've told him/her everything.

I think it's great that you're asking for support with this, not just here but from your GP. I really would recommend making a few - just a few, mind, to start with - experimental steps with what you're eating, just to see how you feel about a wider selection of foods in a lower-carbohydrate category than some of the ones on the list you mentioned at the beginning.

You can do this - do keep reporting back! We're here.

I'm fine at the moment. When I first told my dr of my food issues he referred me to a dietician. I don't think that will help at all, I'm waiting for a new appt to come as I had to cancel the 1 had in April as I'm working that day. I used to enjoy some foods although again they are not low carb, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, sausage and mash but even these I cant think eat now. I like just plain food, nothing spicy or too herby. It's the same with a drink I used to love tea I'd drink endless cups in a day but now I can do about 2 cups. When I eventually get another dietician appt I will take a food diary with me like I've done before. Most evenings I'm just having McVities crackers and butter. A replacement milk shake for breakfast. Lunch today at work was a packet of crisps, 2 hot cross buns, 2 small cakes and a big mars bar. I find food even more difficult when I'm at work.

 

[lovinglife]

Wow that's a massive lunch by anyone's standards and a humongous amount of carbs - if you cut your portion sizes by half it will cut your carbs by half - not judging you but how do you manage to eat all that at once? I eat crisps now and then but a small bag from a multipack that has about 13g of carbs usually when I have been out walking or my bloods are low but not hypo - but it's a treat not a regular thing.

If you like cheese you can make cheese crisps in the oven with little piles of Parmesan or even grated cheddar on a non stick sheet or parchment paper- just let it melt and bubble and go a golden brown - let them cool then peel them off - very filling and barely any carbs.

You really do need to start looking outside the box for the sake of your health. Did you give any though to my suggestion in my previous post about baking low carb cakes?

 

[Resurgam]

My first meal was two slices of ham and 1 and 1/3 tomatoes - the DH had the other 2/3 in a ham and tomato sandwich. I have had my usual cup of coffee with cream, two squares of high cocoa chocolate and half a dozen brazil nuts and dinner will be roast chicken with mushrooms and sweet pepper. I would not swap any part of my diet for something high carb. I might possibly think about low carb baked items if my Hba1c reading drops again when next tested, but if it doesn't then I'll be monitoring my carbs and cutting down - nothing tastes good enough for me to risk having diabetic complications in order to eat it.

 

[AndBreathe]

I'm fine at the moment. When I first told my dr of my food issues he referred me to a dietician. I don't think that will help at all, I'm waiting for a new appt to come as I had to cancel the 1 had in April as I'm working that day. I used to enjoy some foods although again they are not low carb, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, sausage and mash but even these I cant think eat now. I like just plain food, nothing spicy or too herby. It's the same with a drink I used to love tea I'd drink endless cups in a day but now I can do about 2 cups. When I eventually get another dietician appt I will take a food diary with me like I've done before. Most evenings I'm just having McVities crackers and butter. A replacement milk shake for breakfast. Lunch today at work was a packet of crisps, 2 hot cross buns, 2 small cakes and a big mars bar. I find food even more difficult when I'm at work.

Sarah - Have you tried googling for low carb variants of the things you like, like lasagne? OK, they do tend to have vegetables in them, but in the case of lasagne, it's often leeks and to be honest, once cooked, you'd hardly know the difference. Similarly with bolognese, with konjac noodles or courgetti.

I also would happily eat a bowl of bolognese, and just not bother with the pasta. The pasta is the utterly boring part, for me.

 

[Winnie53]

@Winnie53

Hi please can you send me the recipe of your minestrone soup please. That is the first thing I have fancied eating for days!!

Soo

Thanks for asking. Been meaning to do this for you all for some time now. I've added the Minestrone recipe below the picture I posted at the beginning of this topic so you can easily copy and paste it into a document on your computer. Enjoy.

 

[Winnie53]

@Sarah69 I return to work in the morning. Will try to check in to hear how you're doing but probably won't have time to post for the next four days.

For 8 years in the 1990's I was treated by two specialists, one was a top specialists in his field, with a variety of medications. I lost 4 years of my life due to a common side effect of one of those medications that resulted in being misdiagnosed with a serious medical condition.

At the 4 year point in my treatment, the second specialist caught the misdiagnosis, weened me off the problematic medication, and I recovered my functioning. During that period, many friends told me repeatedly that I needed to question the medications I was taking because they made me worse, not better. I ignored them, putting my faith and trust in my doctors.

I continued my medical care with the second specialist and spent the next 4 years trying additional medications and dosages. They helped somewhat but they also caused side effects. At the end of that eight year period, I decided enough was enough. I resumed my life without medication and never looked back.

During and in the decades following this period, here's what I learned:

- doctors receive little to no training in nutrition.
- with the exception of acute medical care, doctors are primarily medication managers.
- medications can help, as evidenced here by members here who take metformin or other diabetes medications and eat a low carb diet. They also can preserve life as evidenced here by members who inject insulin for type 1 diabetes.
- medications can also harm, particularly when their side effects are ignored, or, worse yet, treated with additional medications to treat the side effects from the first medication.
- medications can cause nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin B12 deficiency caused by metformin and other medications is just one of a long list.
- things that doctors often ignore are nutritional deficiencies, not eating enough fiber containing plant foods, lack of regular physical activity, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants. All of which play a significant role in failing health.

Doctors for the most part are caring, compassionate people. However, the system they work within and under is failing us.

Chronic diseases are on the rise and will eventually bankrupt us if we don't return to eating the foods our body needs, taking high quality, specific nutritional supplements as needed, getting quality sleep, managing stress, and engaging in regular physical activity to meet our body's needs.

Don't make the mistake as I did in my 30's, 40's, and early 50's thinking that modern medicine helps people with chronic diseases. While doctors do some things that are helpful, restoration of our health is mostly up to us.

If you haven't already, please watch the movie I linked to for you earlier today. Medications can help, but if they're causing a nutritional deficiency, you must take supplements in a form that your body can absorb and utilize. This can be confirmed by testing to determine if there's a deficiency and then with follow up testing to insure the deficiency is lessening and normalizing with supplementation.

I wish for you restored health.

 

[Sarah69]

Do you think that's a lot because I don't, it didn't feel me up no food really does. Like people say porridge will feel you up for hours doesn't work like that for me. The only cakes I cook are buns and a farmhouse fruit cake. I don't cook them
very often. I did ask in a previous one of my posts, I don't know if anyone knows but what can replace metformin tablet wise? I appreciate everybody's advice.

 

[zand]

That's the thing with carbs, they fill you up initially then you are more hungry later on. You could try googling 'alternatives to metformin' or ask your doctor?

 

[Indy51]

Do you think that's a lot because I don't, it didn't feel me up no food really does. Like people say porridge will feel you up for hours doesn't work like that for me. The only cakes I cook are buns and a farmhouse fruit cake. I don't cook them
very often. I did ask in a previous one of my posts, I don't know if anyone knows but what can replace metformin tablet wise? I appreciate everybody's advice.

There's a saying in health circles: "You can't outrun a bad diet".

IMO there should be another saying: "You can't outmedicate a bad diet".

There are any number of oral drugs for Type 2 - the problem is that most of them make only minor differences to BG and A1c. Even metformin makes only a small difference.

I captured the following slide from a video talk that someone here posted a link to not that long ago. It paints a pretty depressing picture of the "effectiveness" of Type 2 medications: