Well what a mess i am in with my diabetes ! 3 years ago everything was on track with it. Then a member of our family became ill and I cared for them and everything went wrong from that point. I was so stressed and eating all the wrong things, put weight back on, blood sugars are god knows what now(have not even dared test to find out !). Given every excuse to the surgery not to go for a blood test, last blood test was over a year ago. I know what I should eat(low carb) but why can't I get on track with it. I want to live to be old, not have my life cut short but I feel totally addicted to sugar again ! I am soo tired and I know its the sugar but why can't i break the addiction to it.....every day I say today is the day I am going to get back on track and by lunchtime that thought has gone out the window. Please....how can i get back to eating sensibly again, has anyone got any suggestions.
Help !
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Boo1979
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I think the first thing To do is to bite the bullet and find out what the situation is. Get a blood test done by either 1) going to the surgey for a blood draw and hba1c test ( gives the most info) 2) getting yourself a meter and test strips, then monitoring your sugars for a week or so to get a picture of your current pattern ( test multiple times a day to get a good picture)
Once you know what you are dealing with you then have options about what changes to make and you canmake informed decisions. You will be able to use your meter to asess how foods affect your sugars ad from there you can better guage what dietary changes you need to make and asess how well they are working
Once you know what you are dealing with you then have options about what changes to make and you canmake informed decisions. You will be able to use your meter to asess how foods affect your sugars ad from there you can better guage what dietary changes you need to make and asess how well they are working
ickihun
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What I do is don't buy certain foods then because it isn't in and only low carb ones are, I'm forced to make something out of fish or meat. Very very rarely do I indulge on bread, cereal or potatoes anyway. Well I'd have to cook more as there is 4 in our house so not the money to indulge only at Xmas.
Go in your kitchen now and damage your foods you are eating that's making you ill. (High bgs) I've seen some old posts which suggest soiling the sugary treats etc so you cannot use them as some have retrieved them from the bin.
Can you do that?
Go in your kitchen now and damage your foods you are eating that's making you ill. (High bgs) I've seen some old posts which suggest soiling the sugary treats etc so you cannot use them as some have retrieved them from the bin.
Can you do that?
archersuz
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JohnEGreen
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Ignorance is not bliss as evidenced by your high state of anxiety the only way to ease that anxiety is to test and dispel that ignorance knowledge is power . You may find that things are not as bad as you imagine.But if they are then you will know what needs to be done to get back into control. Good luck and don't leave it too long
You are the only person who can help you. You know what has to be done. We can tell you what worked for us, not buying the high carb foods, getting rid of anything sugary or starchy, testing regularly and facing up to the numbers (they may not be as bad as you think, and if they are then it needs to be addressed) You have made a start by knowing that something has to be done, now get up and do it!
Resurgam
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You just do it.
Line in the sand - stop buying anything which is your 'treat' - unless it is low carb. You might even go round the cupboards/fridge/freezer and throw out what you eat but know you shouldn't.
Go shopping with a list so you can pick up things for meals for however long you need to cater for. Stack up things you can eat, so no matter how many times you go to the fridge there is always something in there to eat. Make a sugar free jelly - or two, maybe some real custard, Greek yogurt is good, and have real coffee with real cream (watch out for that Elmlea stuff it is not cream)
Work on two different sets of meals and have them alternately so as to put off boredom - I still very rarely have both tomatoes and mushrooms in the fridge at the same time - it is surprising how small things make eating low carb easier. The better your planning the easier it gets - make sure you have frozen veges and frozen berries so you can tip out and eat as required - and eggs and cheese in the fridge - you might have a bit of wastage at first, but far better that than nothing low carb to eat.
Line in the sand - stop buying anything which is your 'treat' - unless it is low carb. You might even go round the cupboards/fridge/freezer and throw out what you eat but know you shouldn't.
Go shopping with a list so you can pick up things for meals for however long you need to cater for. Stack up things you can eat, so no matter how many times you go to the fridge there is always something in there to eat. Make a sugar free jelly - or two, maybe some real custard, Greek yogurt is good, and have real coffee with real cream (watch out for that Elmlea stuff it is not cream)
Work on two different sets of meals and have them alternately so as to put off boredom - I still very rarely have both tomatoes and mushrooms in the fridge at the same time - it is surprising how small things make eating low carb easier. The better your planning the easier it gets - make sure you have frozen veges and frozen berries so you can tip out and eat as required - and eggs and cheese in the fridge - you might have a bit of wastage at first, but far better that than nothing low carb to eat.
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Well done for taking care of your ill family member! In my experience, that's a very hard job, and everything else just has to go on hold for a period of time. In my case it was a very rewarding job as well and I hope you feel the same.
You've made the first step in going back to taking care of yourself now. You've acknowledged it's time for change, and you already sought help with making those changes by asking us. You might not feel that way, but I think you're already halfway there
For now I think you can choose between starting to make changes first, so you'll see a better result when you get a blood test, or you can first start taking tests and you'll see a lot of progress after making changes. Do what suits you best.
Maybe you want to keep in mind that there are different kinds of meds to help you keep your blood sugars in check, even if you're not up to keeping a perfect diet for now. Your health care proffesional should want to help you make changes, regardless of what you've been doing over the last years. Don't be afraid of them, they are there for you, not the other way around.
Good luck and all the best!
You've made the first step in going back to taking care of yourself now. You've acknowledged it's time for change, and you already sought help with making those changes by asking us. You might not feel that way, but I think you're already halfway there
For now I think you can choose between starting to make changes first, so you'll see a better result when you get a blood test, or you can first start taking tests and you'll see a lot of progress after making changes. Do what suits you best.
Maybe you want to keep in mind that there are different kinds of meds to help you keep your blood sugars in check, even if you're not up to keeping a perfect diet for now. Your health care proffesional should want to help you make changes, regardless of what you've been doing over the last years. Don't be afraid of them, they are there for you, not the other way around.
Good luck and all the best!
Thank you all for your comments, I really do appreciate them. I have made an appointment to go for a blood test in February so then I will know how bad/good it is. I am planning on getting some testing strips this weekend to see for myself how bad a mess i am in. Like i said already, I know what I NEED to eat, just need to put this in practice ! Do any of you feel though that diabetes is unfair. I have done quite a manual job for the last 27 years, I have been overweight but not really badly overweight, so why ???? I have no problems with cholesterol(well not at my last test over a year ago, never though had cholesterol problems....at least that is a good point.....what about everyone else, is it diabetes alone for most people or diabetes/high cholesterol together ? My db nurse used to say that normally it is the two things together ?
Bluetit1802
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My cholesterol and full lipids have always been ideal, for years before diagnosis, at diagnosis, and since diagnosis. Likewise my blood pressure, which also can go hand in hand with T2.
Diabetes is unfair ... on all of us. Do not believe all the media hype. It isn't limited to the obese and sedentary people that you see paraded on TV programmes and in newspapers. It can and does happen to anyone. Sir Steve Redgrave is a T2 diabetic - and look at him and his lifestyle. He won goodness knows how many gold medals with this disease, and no-one could accuse him of a sedentary lifestyle or being overweight.
Don't dwell on the why. Dwell on the present and the future.
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Well done on making the appointment and pledging to buy some strips.
The thing about knowing the score is it either consolidates those thoughts that things need to change, or it comforts you a bit, knowing the hill you need to climb isn't quite so steep. It also gives you a metric against which to view your progress in the coming week.
There's nothing quite so bad, in my view, as trying really, really hard at something and having no idea if I'm making progress or not. For me, the bench-marking would be liberating.
Good luck with it all. You'll be comfortably back on that horse before you know it.
The thing about knowing the score is it either consolidates those thoughts that things need to change, or it comforts you a bit, knowing the hill you need to climb isn't quite so steep. It also gives you a metric against which to view your progress in the coming week.
There's nothing quite so bad, in my view, as trying really, really hard at something and having no idea if I'm making progress or not. For me, the bench-marking would be liberating.
Good luck with it all. You'll be comfortably back on that horse before you know it.
mo53
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@ang well done on taking that first step! Excellent you've made a start. I hope you will keep posting how you are getting on and what you have found. It is difficult. I too have had periods of trying to ignore the diabetes but I've had to return to my low carb diet and work at reducing my blood sugar levels. Good luck.
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Of course diabetes is unfair. Just like cancer, being born in a war-zone or getting run over by a diaper-truck is unfair. S**t happens, and we all get a share of it. We can only deal with it and hope we won't get more of it than we can handle. I guess they call it life
SueJB
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Yes it's not easy but you can try reducing it slowly till you come off it just like how like smoking
ickihun
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Carbs give everyone fatty liver. Some can drink alcohol and dance it off or cycle, swim, run. As long as those carbs for your body can be coped with. Many low carb eat because their body doesn't work well on carbs. As soon as their carb excesses create fatty liver then insulin and liver producing glucose have a fight on their hands to keep your body safe. If pancreas is surrounded by fat it may be being choked and with a fatty liver then the natural pathway for insulin being used up by the body is interfered with. Hence type2.
Type2 is a diet disease. Put your diet right and your diabetes will get you into old age and in one piece.
I'm wise after the damage has been done. Damming damage for me! Don't ignore this very very important advice.
Do your best.....it will always be good enough, if you think it is. You're your best critic and mentor. Listen to your head not your tum.
I hope you've stopped buying carby foods by now but if you're like me January is a skint month so using up food in back of cupboards.
Don't buy them and you'll rock this!
ickihun
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I think that works better for insulin takers like me too as hypos are the danger. Type2s not on insulin can resolve things quicker, if they feel comfortable to go cold turkey.
