Feeling Completely Lost

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

I've been a Type 2 Diabetic for just over 10 years. I have been on Metformin for as long, and Gliclazide on and off for about 6 years. Just over two years ago I started Victoza (Liraglutide) as prescribed to me via the Weight Management Team Diabetic Nurse. That was ok, and I loved the loss of appetite, but then the side effects outweighed the benefits and it was stopped by me. I continued on Metformin and Gliclazide but for the last 18 months my HbA1c has been high, last taken in May it was 119%.

A referral was made to to see the Diabetic Consultant by my Practice Nurse and I knew I was heading towards Insulin.

Fast forward and today I have seen a very nice Doctor and we discussed pros and cons of insulin. Personally I was terrified of commencing insulin because of the fear of weight gain. My weight today is 149kg. We agreed for me to try Bydureon and be reviewed by him in 4 months when I shall also have another blood test. I will also see the Diabetic Nurse in 2 months time.

I hold my hands up and admit there is room in my diet for major improvement, but I am and always have been an emotional eater. I have Borderline Personality Disorder and have received sufficient treatment for that to cope day to day, but my eating seems to be something I just cannot control. It is a form of self harm that just rules my life.

Because my blood sugars are so high, I am exhausted, which in turns affects my mood, which in turn means I eat junk food.

It seems to be a vicious circle I cannot control.

I am desperate to change. I just no longer no where to turn to for help.

It does not help that almost 2 years ago I was scheduled for a Gastric Sleeve, went through all the correct procedures, got funding in place and the morning of my surgery the hospital sent me home. They made a several errors on the day, which resulted in getting a nice apology and a bouquet of flowers. Now I have little chance of surgery until by HbA1c is down to normal levels.

I'm quite an isolated person so I have very little support around me, and the one family member I do have in my life is identical to me (my dad) he's just been diagnosed Type 2, is grossly overweight but constantly 'treats' me to food out. I hate it, I hate myself and the more time I am around him the more I hate him. BUT I know I am just as much to blame.

How do I change things?

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

SweetLucie said:
My recommendation would be to see your therapist.

I had one for over 3 years then therapy finished. Can't return back. Had a CPN, but got discharged from her in March since I was mentally doing better. Amazing how quickly thing slide...

mariavontrapp · Aug 24, 2015

is it possible to sit down with you dad and work together on this since he needs to make changes too?

Robbity · Aug 24, 2015

I know there are other members of the forum who've had various eating problems so you're not alone in that, and one of them may see your posts and be able to give you the right sort of advice and moral support you need for this.

But if you genuinely want to avoid going the insulin route then you must be prepared to change your diet, and we can help you with this side of things. Many of us eat a reduced carbohydrate (and higher fat) diet, and this can - even with just a few changes - help you both with your glucose levels and with that feeling of exhaustion. The higher fat part of the diet will help you to feel nice and full and in that respect help reduce your appetite - and contrary to common belief it's carbohydrates (or high carb and high fats combined) that tend to increase our weight, few carbs and plenty of fats can help you lose weight.

Ask you very nice doctor if (s)he will give you a glucose meter and test strips so that you can learn how carbohydrates are affecting your glucose levels, and which foods are better for you to eat. If they're not able to do so, then look into buying a Codefree meter for yourself, as the test strips are this are very much cheaper than other brands.

Robbity

Alzebra · Aug 24, 2015

I'll tag @daisy1 for her beginners guide to managing T2 and once you've read that, please ask any questions and we'll try to support you on here. I have NEVER felt as confident in my weight loss as I do whilst eating low carb high fat (LCHF) and I'm now medication free!

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

SweetLucie said:
****, was my hope a therapist could work with you regarding your eating habits and your relation with your dad. A success would have solved the other problems automatically.
Good luck then with doing it on your own. Eat healthy, limited carbs, no junk food at all and tell your dad that his meal treats are seen as kind but not recommended for your health.

Thank you. A few years back I saw someone (psychiatrist) which I paid for privately before the NHS stepped in. I wonder if I could perhaps see a private therapist to help with the eating.

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

mariavontrapp said:
is it possible to sit down with you dad and work together on this since he needs to make changes too?

My dad has never been the listening kind. I'd like to walk away, but I can't since there is only him and me around now.

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

Robbity said:
I know there are other members of the forum who've had various eating problems so you're not alone in that, and one of them may see your posts and be able to give you the right sort of advice and moral support you need for this.

But if you genuinely want to avoid going the insulin route then you must be prepared to change your diet, and we can help you with this side of things. Many of us eat a reduced carbohydrate (and higher fat) diet, and this can - even with just a few changes - help you both with your glucose levels and with that feeling of exhaustion. The higher fat part of the diet will help you to feel nice and full and in that respect help reduce your appetite - and contrary to common belief it's carbohydrates (or high carb and high fats combined) that tend to increase our weight, few carbs and plenty of fats can help you lose weight.

Ask you very nice doctor if (s)he will give you a glucose meter and test strips so that you can learn how carbohydrates are affecting your glucose levels, and which foods are better for you to eat. If they're not able to do so, then look into buying a Codefree meter for yourself, as the test strips are this are very much cheaper than other brands.

Robbity

Thank you for your post. I am so ready to make changes. I hope by joining this forum I might find some like minded people to help me, especially on those bad days when I turn to food.

I am lucky enough to already have a meter and get the test strips on prescription. I do test, perhaps not as much as I should.

A few years back I lost 4 stone and I felt amazing. The weight went back on. I need to focus on how good it felt last time I lost weight, the nice comments and attention I got. I need to go back to that happy place!

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

Alzebra said:
I'll tag @daisy1 for her beginners guide to managing T2 and once you've read that, please ask any questions and we'll try to support you on here. I have NEVER felt as confident in my weight loss as I do whilst eating low carb high fat (LCHF) and I'm now medication free!

Thank you.

Well done you! I can see from your signature how and what you have achieved. Amazing.

Alzebra · Aug 24, 2015

BlueTwist said:
Thank you.

Well done you! I can see from your signature how and what you have achieved. Amazing.

And please trust me when I tell you that I had tried every diet going and have struggled with depression / anxiety for many years. Once I got my blood sugars down the ravenous hunger subsided and I stopped feeling like food was controlling me rather than the other way round. I now weigh 116kg down from a maximum of 155kg at my heaviest (in 2013). Do you have a meter and test your meals?

BlueTwist · Aug 24, 2015

Alzebra said:
And please trust me when I tell you that I had tried every diet going and have struggled with depression / anxiety for many years. Once I got my blood sugars down the ravenous hunger subsided and I stopped feeling like food was controlling me rather than the other way round. I now weigh 116kg down from a maximum of 155kg at my heaviest (in 2013). Do you have a meter and test your meals?

Amazing weight loss. I have a meter to test BS. I need to read up on all this low carb / high fat stuff though, as it confuses me so much.

daisy1 · Aug 25, 2015

@BlueTwist

Hello and welcome to the forum In addition to the helpful answers you have received from members already, here is the information we give to new members. This should help you to improve your diet by learning more about carbohydrates. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

Reduce your carbohydrate intake
Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

debsue21 · Aug 25, 2015

Are you quite isolated? As I read your post I feel that you are perhaps a bit lonely? Forgive me if Im wrong. My idea would be for you to join something like slimming world. There you would get support with your diet and make some friends, they are a really friendly lot!
xxxxxxxxxxx

BlueTwist · Aug 25, 2015

daisy1 said:
@BlueTwist

Hello and welcome to the forum In addition to the helpful answers you have received from members already, here is the information we give to new members. This should help you to improve your diet by learning more about carbohydrates. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

Reduce your carbohydrate intake

Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l

2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l

2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l

2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review

self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Thank you so much for this post. I shall read, read and reread again! I am really grateful!

BlueTwist · Aug 25, 2015

debsue21 said:
Are you quite isolated? As I read your post I feel that you are perhaps a bit lonely? Forgive me if Im wrong. My idea would be for you to join something like slimming world. There you would get support with your diet and make some friends, they are a really friendly lot!
xxxxxxxxxxx

Yes I am. I have thought about Slimming World a lot over the past couple of months but have not yet made the step. Maybe I should give it some more thought.

debsue21 · Aug 25, 2015

BlueTwist said:
Yes I am. I have thought about Slimming World a lot over the past couple of months but have not yet made the step. Maybe I should give it some more thought.

Ive done it in the past and founs the people there to be really supportive. and friendly. x

BlueTwist · Aug 27, 2015

debsue21 said:
Ive done it in the past and founs the people there to be really supportive. and friendly. x

I think I am going to give the LCHF route a go and see how that works for me. I'm also a member of a gym although have not actually been yet... and I joined in March! Time to dig out my sports bag and get down there!

Clivethedrive · Aug 27, 2015

BlueTwist said:
Thank you for your post. I am so ready to make changes. I hope by joining this forum I might find some like minded people to help me, especially on those bad days when I turn to food.

I am lucky enough to already have a meter and get the test strips on prescription. I do test, perhaps not as much as I should.

A few years back I lost 4 stone and I felt amazing. The weight went back on. I need to focus on how good it felt last time I lost weight, the nice comments and attention I got. I need to go back to that happy place!

Go for it bluetwist, you are only going to get more and more under control and kick this illness where it belongs,you can do it

eddie1968 · Aug 27, 2015

First, glad to meet you and you are not alone on the forum, lots of nice people to chat to and ask/give advice to on anything. Secondly, I do not have an eating disorder or are overweight so I will avoid giving you advice on those. Thirdly, I was extremely fatigued for ages when my BGs and HbA1c's were high. I was also quite clinically depressed too and I had a lot on my plate with several surgeries on my bowel which ruptured. My DSN did a depression questionnaire with me and said I scored high for depression but low on anxiety. I was put on an antidepressant 3 years ago and they did work for me. Now all my diabetes blood/urine results are better and the depression and fatigue has lessened. In 3 months I will no longer on antidepressants and have been reducing the dose as agreed in half every 3 months as I no longer think I need them. Depression and Diabetes go hand in hand so this might explain why you comfort eat and are moody. Hyperglycaemia also makes you hungry too so check your BGs and if high do not be fooled into eating more, drink more fluids and see your GP about your diabetic medication doses if necessary. Hope you get better soon. [Just a note about your HbA1c figures, these are expressed by the units mmol/mol and no longer in %]

Suzannelife · Aug 28, 2015

My recommendation would be to seek for a good diet.

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