Sorry ive not been on here in a few weeks feeling disheartened with the nhs and the way im being treated its took them 4 years to be diagnosed now im finding out all the other symptoms are part of it all this time the neuropathy part of it is getting worse but im not being listened too so keep loosing my head at the doctors I feel its all to much to take in all these symtoms my change in life style ie food the lack of exercise as I permanently feel **** and hurt continually gettung burning sensations itchy feeling shocks in chest now both my sides hurt right under my ribs headaches tablets to take can only test myself twice a day as doctors want keep funding test strips forgeting to fill there book in forgeting to take meds not sleeping the list goes on and on at my wits end with this now
Mossy - I've only just read this thread, and read it from the beginning. Boy, you've been through the mill!
You've had great advice already from those posting, and your numbers are responding well to the steps you've taken. You should be happy with that aspect? There are a few comments I'd like to make, if I may.
Firstly, it may seem like you've been left with nothing to eat, but in reality, there are loads, and loads of things to eat, and not necessarily expensive either. There's a great thread on here; "What have you eaten today", where there are loads of ideas. Do either you or your wife like to cook? If not, give it a whirl. I know you have had lots of hospital trips to contend with, and your wife works, but if you prepare your food from fresh it is so much cheaper, and of course, you know exactly what's in it. That's particularly relevant for things like burgers, where breadcrumbs and husk are often added to pad the mixture out - and you pay for those breadcrumbs and husk - whether you want them or not.
Secondly, there are times when we all feel, "what's the point?" "I want it all to go away", but the sad reality is that's unlikely to happen. If you're still taking steroids, things may ease if you can get off those, but for us T2s, diet - every morsel we put in our mouths - is the key to our long term well-being. reading what you write about your chest and general pain symptoms, it seems like you are very carb sensitive, so it's probably even more important for you. But, trust me on this one; if you can get yourself through the carb flu/withdrawal phases, you will start feeling better, and that alone is often enough to reinforce us turning our backs on the heavy carbs.
And finally, I think there may have been a misunderstanding about meters. Forgive me if I am wrong. I'm reading that your doctor has given you a meter, but not too many test strips, and not enough to test as often as you would like, and you find yourself buying more to top this up? You refer to a codefree meter, but is it an Accu Check codefree meter (meaning you don't have to programme it to take strips), or is it the SD Codefree meter shown below. I haven't heard of any GPs issuing the SD Codefree meter, but I would be interested to hear if yours does.:
If it's not this one, please do consider buying it. It is simply so, so much cheaper than those usually given by GPs As I understand it, the Accu Check strips are about £20 for 50? The SD Codefree strips are £6.99 for 50, with a 5% discount available if you can buy 5 boxes at a time. So, you can see that's quite a difference.
The SD Codfree can be bought here:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm , and now you have a diabetic diagnosis, you will not have to pay VAT. OK, you would have to buy the matching meter, but that's a one-off cost of £11.60.
I know that's a long post. I'm sorry.
Good luck with it all. There's a lot to learn, but it's not all bad. Honestly.
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