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First cold since diagnosis ( ACTUALLY MAN FLU NOT A COLD)

nomorechoccy

Active Member
Messages
25
Hi Guys

I am now stuck with a cold and feel grotty.

I feel low when I was initially diagnosed I felt positive and threw myself into a regime of exercise and low carb diet, positive I did not want to go on tablets.

Loads of fry ups cheese and felt good did not miss sweet things but missed pasta and potatoes.

Then had my blood pressure checked and was told it was high, cut down on coffee salt and it has gone a bit lower but still too high so need to make an appointment to see doctor.

I am finding it so hard to eat sensibly due to feeling grotty , work patterns and feeling a bit low ( coming up to 2nd anniversary of partners death.

Part of me thinks stuff it I will eat what I like and it if it kills me so be it. How do I get motivated to eat well.
 
I too have days like that particularly as I am underweight, very atypical T2! It is hard to stick to such a rigid diet, there is so little I can eat. However try to be good most of the time and when you have a lapse make sure that you get back on the diet straight awa

I get disheartened as my morning glucose is always high. I think a 48 hour fast is the only thing that might help but I have no support to do it, quite the reverse and I really don't want to lose weight as I am bordering on "critically underweight".
 

Hi there nomorechoccy - It can be a bit harder when you're not feeling yourself, and just want old-styleeeeee comfort food.

I guess over time, we find new comfort foods, fitting into our new regimes. I guess it could be useful to just stick to a few easy things you like - whether it's bacon, or cheese or whatever, and if necessary make it easy to have those things on-hand. By that I mean, like having a few Baby Bel individual portions that you can just open the fridge door and grab, or if it's bacon, then maybe some M&S ready cooked crispy bacon, for the same reasons.

If I feel off-colour these days, I'll often fancy soup. Soup can be quick and easy to make and not necessarily carb loaded. Something like cauliflower or swede blended into soup thinkens it no end, and could lead one to believe there's a load of potato in there. I made a vat of soup a couple of weeks ago (to eat some and freeze some) and one could literally stand the spoon in it, it was so think.

I'm not trying to frighten you or insult you in terms of your feeling "Oh s*d it all", but if there is a danger you could "s*d it all" for a few days, that'd turn into weeks or months, then it's a higher risk strategy. Diabetic complications are wholly unpleasant and can, if left, be life changing. If you could be utterly confident you could step off the carb-controlled train for a couple of days, then step back onto it as soon as you felt better, then that's up to you.

I don't know how long you've actually been low carbing, but I know a couple of weeks ago I was preparing some fruit (apricots and greengages) for the dehydrator (for my OH), and a tasted a couple of pieces, only to find them sweeter than a sweet things from the land of the sweet to my taste buds.
 
nomorechoccy said:
I am now stuck with a cold and feel grotty.
Click to expand...
I do sympathise! However, given that you have a bad cold, this may not be the best time to indulge in comfort eating, simply because nothing is going to taste as good as it should, so you won't get good value for your transgressions! Can you think of some non-food activities with which you could indulge yourself?

I see that your bp is high. Are you aware that Metformin lowers bp, as well as bringing a host of other health benefits, to such an extent that some non-diabetic doctors take it in the hopes of extending their life expectancy etc?
https://www.ashjournal.com/article/S1933-1711(17)30002-5/abstract
Personally I nagged my unwilling GP into giving me the highest possible dose of Glucophage (the brand of Metformin that Dr Bernstein claims can be twice as effective). I would not want to stop taking it unless I had achieved perfect bgs, which sadly even very low carbs are not giving me. To me, the inconvenience of taking a pill twice daily is dwarfed by the importance of minimising my prospects of developing complications.
 
In Australia these days I was told by my doctor that they no longer diagnose high blood pressure based on one or two readings.
They usually rely on a 24 hour blood pressure monitoring using a specific device. If there are high readings on that record, the diagnosis of high blood pressure is made and treatment instigated.
As a type 1 diabetic I know a cold/virus infection will raise my BSL and require me to take more insulin.
When I am well again my BSL 'behaves' itself better !! So please do not despair at the present time as once the cold lurgy leaves things can improve.
 
Find a reason. Any reason will do. It's hard, especially with the anniversary coming up, (been there), but you really can do this...! And you will want to. Diabetes doesn't kill easily, it's no easy way out to, just get it over with. It'll make your life hell first with painful complications. Should that be your way of thinking, which I really hope it's not. But that was where I was at, and I'm hearing a little of that coming from you.

Find a reason. I still don't actually care much about myself. But I'm sticking with this whole taking-care-of-myself thing because there are people around me who do care. And I don't want them to be burdened with me even more than they currently are. (My husband is my primary caretaker, but some familymembers pitch in too.) And hey, it doesn't have to be people. It can be a pet, a hobby, anything that makes your life a little brighter, a little better. I did things i knew I should enjoy, and I kept doing them even if the feeling wasn't there, just ambivalence. After a while I found I did enjoy them again after all. Took some time. But still.

Find a reason. Really. The cold will pass, that Horrible Day will come and go too. And after that you still have a life to live. A worthwhile one. One worth fighting for.

I hope you'll feel better soon. Mentally and physically. *HUG*
 

Re your blood pressure, it may not be as bad as you think. Mine is always high at the docs and I was getting worried but I bought myself a BP machine and it is SO much lower at home. I realised how strict the instructions are - no caffeine, exercise or good 30mins before etc etc. Never been told or asked that at my GP. Just thought it could be that it “white coat syndrome”.
 
I don't feel suicidal in answer to jokalsbeek post.

I made some swede mash (with a little carrot) and sausages and broccoli today really enjoyed the meal.

Still feel grotty.

I went for a 2.5 mile brisk walk today and that was good.

I am lonely , an only child ,I live with my 87 year old mother and apart from her I can go days without talking to anyone.

Anyway time to get some tea and then think about bed.
 
Just checking; was worried after reading your post. I'm glad the walk & food were good. Hopefully they'll aid in your recovery!

(I am lonely too, but that's my own fault; I don't do people-ing well. At all.)

Sleep well!
 
nomorechoccy said:
I can go days without talking to anyone.
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You don't need to go days without talking to anyone! We're all here for you. You don't say if you need to lose any weight, but I lost 3.5 stone and my bp dropped so I had to come off bp medication - I had been taking it for 6 years and the dose had been creeping up. I'm sending you a hug and hoping you keep coming back to chat xx
 
Hi again guys

Cold has passed .

I have obtained a blood pressure monitor ( turned up in post yesterday) yesterday's reading was lowest yet 138 over 85. Is there a best time of day to take the reading.

I have lost another 2 lbs not intentionally but have been doing very hard work the last week .( 24.5)
 
Is your age in your profile tongue in cheek? So your not 28yrs old?
I'm easily confused. Ha ha
But not bad company when on-line. I'm available in fits and spurts due to young family commitments but I'm awake early today, you?
Great news about your cold disappearing Mr ickihun has his now. A rough night of tossing and turning but also he has started a dry October. I hope he sees it through, just to prove to himself his got great determination. Still. I admire him for looking after himself. I'm sure your dead partner did/does in you too.
There is something special about a man who uses his wisdom, don't you think? We woman love it.
 
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I tend to do mine in the morning as that’s the only time I haven’t had caffeine. Read all the instructions like having your arm supported and at the same level as the heart. Don’t cross your legs and have feet on the floor, and relax before for 5-10 mins brake it three times with a few mins in between. Good luck!
 
My doc surgery asked me to take 3 readings every morning for a week, and 3 readings every evening.
Then to average the result.

The readings vary a lot, and morning readings are often higher because of the 'get up and go' type of hormones floating about at that time (like adrenalin), but people do vary quite a lot.
 

Nomorechoccy - There's no more lonely place than in a room full of people. I think most, if not all, of us will have felt that at one time or another, so I do sympathise with that empty feeling.

In our local town, the Diabetes UK group have an excellent relationship with Age UK. Curiously, it's not because everyone's clocking up the years, the personalities just seem to work, but the purpose of that is to encourage you to consider volunteering, somewhere, even just for a couple of hours a week.

I know from our relationship with AgeUK that male volunteers are like hen's teeth, and they would love more. In our town they have the inevitable charity shop, but within there they have an advisory desk, to signpost folks to grants, financial advice, and all sorts, including a befriending service, where individuals meet with someone, usually housebound, for a cup of tea for an an hour every week, fortnight, month or whatever.

I first learned about the befriending scheme a few years ago when a much younger than me male colleague was made redundant from a very pressured job. He decided he wanted he wanted to work less and live more and would be willing to take a financial hit to achieve that.

He visits a mature lady, who is as bright as a button, but has total sight loss. He started out popping in to see her every couple of weeks, but they have developed a real friendship meaning he sees her more often. He reckons she gives him more than he gives her. Apparently she's had a really interesting life, but still keeps up with current affairs and so on.

I really admire that man for what he did and does. He's also a special Constable at weekends, although you'd struggle to find a less typical police officer anywhere (5' 5" and slight, amongst other things).

There's lot to do out there if you feel up to putting yourself out a bit. I wish you well.
 
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