Hey there! Newly diagnosed today

Lyndsey231 said:

Hi everyone,
Just thought I'd introduce myself as I've just been diagnosed and am new to all this.

I'm Lyndsey and I got a call this morning to tell me that my Hb1ac is 105. Been having symptoms so the diagnosis wasn't a surprise but the number really was. Trying meds before we look at insulin, meeting my diabetes nurse next week to discuss what all this means but my head is spinning with all the info I'm trying to take in.

My concern with the diagnosis is that I have a history of severe anorexia nervosa. I'm currently in recovery but I'm worried that I'm going to get fixated on my diet and numbers and that this will trigger a relapse. So, I thought I'd do some searching for online support and here I am!

Looking forward to chatting with you all and giving and receiving advice and support through this journey.

Lyndsey

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Hi Lyndsey, I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis - expected or not. You know; aside from my diagnosis being unexpected (I had no symptoms at all), you could be me, in 2013. My HbA1c was in the high 80s so I had a bit to do too in terms of getting a grasp of things. As someone who also had a period of sever anorexia in my late 20s, I was terrified about how I would learn to manage without getting caught up into vicious circles. It wasn't a comfortable period.

In the first, second, third and manyfold instances, please don't panic. One thing we ED survivors have is resolve and determination, so what we need to do is turn those double edged qualities to our positive advantage.

For me, I decided I needed to understand how I was doing each step of the way, so found testing my own blood sugars at home to be important. That process guided me in terms of what I was eating and the adjustments I made along the way. One thing I did not do for the first, almost 4 months, was weight myself. My aim was to improve my blood sugars not become a slave to the bathroom scales. That's what had got me into trouble in the past.

Take your time to get used to the idea that some things need to change. You don't want to be hanging around with very high bloods for too long, but you do need to be ready to embrace (even if reluctantly) that adjustments need to be made. I'd wager very strongly you can do this.

I won't overwhelm you with information right now, but please do feel free to send me a message if there re things you would like to discuss, but don't want to post them on open forum. If you don't know how to send a private message, the members will tell you how.

Edited to add, thanks for the tag, @Antje77

Hello and welcome,

Yes immediately following diagnosis can be extremely stressful. I certainly found it stressful. There seems like so much to learn and I didn't want to learn it.

You have found an excellent place for support and advice.

Give yourself time to get your head around it. This journey of life is very much a marathon not a sprint. Don't expect yourself to learn everything at once. Give yourself time to just absorb the shock of the diagnosis. It took me more that two weeks before I wasn't crying every day. I am really good at throwing myself 'pity parties'.

But there really is light t the end of the tunnel. Today I am in so much better a place than I was when diagnosed. So take sometime to breathe. Read around the forum as you can and know that there are many people here who are willing to offer support , advice or just a listening ear.

Welcome.