1. Where do you find information about T2 diabetes? (Portals, Forums, Facebook groups, Reddit, Magazines, books, Youtube etc..). Appreciate if you can share with me some links/references that you found reliable.
Read Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code. That's a lifesaver right there. Check dietdoctor.com, also very good. Dr Jason Fung's on a load of youtube videos and so is dr. Eric Berg. Just search for them in youtube. Then of course there's diabetes.co.uk's website, and this forum. You'll get some conflicting advice here too sometimes, but this is the best way to wade through conflicting messages: Get yourself a meter. T2 is different for everyone, depending on how much insulin you make, how much resistance/sensitivity there is, so there's no one-size-fits-all thing... But your meter'll tell you what is working for you. If you test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, and you don't go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, that meal was perfect for you. (Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested. You peak at about 1 hour. At 2, you can see whether your body's capable of dealing with that peak properly.). If you go higher than that, the meal as too carby. Sat at 2 or under, and your bloodsugars will normalise. I know mine have: I've been diagnosed for 3 years now, and have had normal bloodglucose results for all but 3 months of that time. (Took me 3 months to figure out what worked for me. I didn't find this forum until much later.)
2. What are your biggest frustrations and challenges?
People. I'm fine with asking for a change in meals (like a bunless burger, or salad instead of fries), that's all okay. Restaurants are happy to oblige because they'd rather change something than throw out good food. And I actually enjoy my food more these days because my palette has changed. But there's someone who was diagnosed T2 a few months before I was, and she
always makes fun of my diet. In the meantime she's on insulin and does not understand why her bloodsugars skyrocket when she stuffs her face with birthdaycake. (And she really does plow into big pieces of that sort of thing) Yet makes fun of me for sticking with tea and walnuts, cheeses and such.... I lost weight and I'm medication free. And then there's people who feel guilty. I don't mind if they have cake with their coffee, but they feel if I can't have any, they can't either. It's been 3 years since my best friends and my mom in law dared to eat cake around me when we were out for coffee. I honestly don't care if they have some. They make a bigger issue of it than I do. (Imagine that: If those are the biggest frustrations and challenges... It's not that bad, is it?
)
3. Based on your experience with the disease, what are your hopes, dreams, desires?
To end up in a nursing home where they let me follow keto/low carb, because if they still haven't clued in 30 or 40 years from now, I'll kick the bucket in no time.
4. What are your biggest fears?
They're non-diabetic related. When I was first diagnosed, I thought I was going to lose feet/legs, would have to get my kidneys flushed every other day, and/or have my heart burst like my friend's mother. I feared my husband, who is already my carer, would have a nightmare of a workload due to me, and would be an early widower. I'm not worried about those things anymore, because I have control of this T2 thing. So my biggest fears are still my social and generalised anxiety, and my fear of losing my loved ones (have had a lot of funerals, so it's a valid concern) and those have nothing to do with T2.
5. I’m trying to adapt to my new reality. My doc wanted to try doing some life changes (diet, activity, meditation, stress reduction). I really don’t know how to add all these into my life. What does a day in your life look like? What would you change?
My morning is usually a cup of tea. No breakfast. I don't eat until lunch, usually a salad or eggs with bacon/cheese/whatever. In the evening I have dinner with meat and veggies, bacon and cheese, more often than not. Snacks are chees, olives, extra dark chocolate, celery, that sort of thing. I go for walks, especially on the weekends, hauling around camera gear I couldn't carry without my legs buckling before diagnosis. (Yes, going low carb improved my quality of life that much: I don't face-plant anymore due to muscle weakness). Walks are good for T2's because they're not too strenuous (Strenuous exersize usually makes your liver dump glucose into your bloodstream, as it thinks it's helping. Slow and steady lowers your bloodsugars because your liver doesn't butt in. So that has the preference.). I have other issues that keep me from having a job, but diabetes never kept me from anything, once I knew how to deal with it. The other stuff did.
6. I need some positive vibes. What makes you happy?
Telling people T2 isn't the end of their life, isn't a doomscenario, and they're not about to drop dead. Giving people hope, kicks ***.
I love going to festivals (Celtfest, Vikingfest, Japanfest, historical gatherings), zoo's, concerts, comic cons, other cities. Cat cafe's...! And all of that with my camera's. I adore photography, even if I'm the eternal amateur. I enjoy spending quality time with my husband, be it photographing lions or bugs, or playing Gears of War on the Xbox on our couch. I love good food, and there's surprisingly much out there once you know how to order.
Appreciate all your help and I want to thank you in advance for any responses.[/QUOTE]
My pleasure. And have a read here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ <- it's my own little quick-start guide.
If you've got more questions, shoot. I like this sort of thing.