Hi Malc. Welcome!
I'm afraid diabetes is one of those things that just sneaks up on you with no symptoms at all.
Have a good read around, particularly the info for newcomers, and ask as many questions as you like. This is a very supportive and knowledgeable place to be. I'm a newbie too - only diagnosed last December. I've gone very low carb, which suits me but isn't for everyone.
Just two immediate pieces of advice: 1) in case no one has told you, the current NICE guidelines for blood glucose levels in Type 2 diabetes are 4.0 to 7.0 mmol/l fasting/before meals; below 8.5 mmol/l 2 hours after a meal.
2) I test immediately on waking and before and 2 hours after every meal at the moment, also at bedtime. I call this my 'research' phase, 'cos I want to know exactly what's going on inside my body. Your choice, of course - but it does let you find out which foods raise your blood glucose too much and which you can tolerate. A meter is a very useful tool.
As for sweeteners - I use tablet Splenda in coffee and granulated with fruit if necessary. Some people find the granulated raises their BG, but I'm fine with it. Splenda has no aftertaste.
Have a look at places such as the Low Carb Diet forum on here - you'll get lots of good ideas.
We're all in this together
Viv
Oh - and there's no such thing as a 'typical' diabetic! :roll: We're all very different - what works for one, doesn't work for another. But we get there!