Hi - newly diagnosed

When I was diagnosed I didn't think I could cope without carbs I've really surprised myself and it's been easier than I thought. There are so many replacements nowadays. I'm only 6 weeks in but I'm seeing good numbers on my meter after meals (fasting still abit high usually in the 6s but had a 4.8 today ) . I haven't given up carbs though I aim for under 100g a day. And when I do have carbs I try to have very little carbs in the other meals that day and I stick to smaller portions. Seems to be working ok for me at the moment, everyone is different. I'm veggie as well and carbs were basically all I ate before ! I couldnt give them up completely as I need to stick to it as I need to lose 3 stone.

Hi Maggie, it is a heck of a lot to come to terms with and I found it really hard at first. I was put on Metformin and although most people find it a really good medication, I struggled with nausea and felt pretty miserable as I had blurred vision too. Be kind to yourself, it will take time to adjust. I came off the meds and went for low carb diet only. I am fairly new too. My 2nd hbA1c showed a drop from 78 to 51 which was good, however, the nurse is warning that she'll want me to start a different medication in January if it goes up to 53. I am also trying to lower my cholesterol. I test my BG in order to understand what foods work best for me (there are individual variations) and to celebrate success. I don't test very often now. This website and forum has helped me and informed me enormously. There is so much information and support here. Planning ahead what I will eat makes life easier but I don't worry or feel fed up about the situation now. I still comment about what I can't eat or drink at times but I feel neutral and I am sure that I will stop commenting soon. On the positive side, I feel good, I have lost weight and my clothes no longer feel uncomfortable. Best of all, I no longer crave sweet things as a result of sugar highs and lows. I simply don't get very hungry now. Good luck and I wish you well. I am sure the raw emotion will pass and it will get easier.

It isn't just sugars, you need to look at carbs, both starch and sugars.

I certainly didn’t think I could give up carbs. I love carbs. They are just not good for my body.

I do use artificial sweeteners and have diet jelly. My husband makes a dessert when we go out keto custard with diet jelly and whipped no sugar cream. I have to fight the kids off them. He makes it in little glasses as individual desserts.

google keto and the food you like. I also make cauliflower mash with cheese and some spring onions. Not much spring onion just enough to give a bit of taste. You can use cauliflower mash for lots of things.

it took me over 2 weeks before I wasn’t crying everyday. I and others here have been where you are.

You need to decide what is right for you. The decision doesn’t have to be permanent. Decide what is right for you now.

read around the site and know what ever you decide we will support you. Be kind to yourself.

Maggie75 said:

Thanks so much for all the advice, definitely sounds like lowering my carbs significantly would make a big difference so I'm really going to have to try, bought a low carb cookbook today so now just have to put it into practice! I called diabetic nurse today to ask about blood glucose meter as a friend of mine with diabetes said sometimes you can receive replacement testing strips through the NHS (I live in Scotland), and was told by her that I absolutely do not need to use a meter just now, she will look at my results when I see her again in 3 months and if I need a meter she will provide me with one. I'm finding this very confusing, I told her I was happy to purchase a meter myself but she was absolutely insistent I don't need one. Why would she be advising this, what harm can it do to check what foods are increasing your levels?

Maggie

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Because the moment they advise testing, they have to provide a meter... And there's a lot of us T2's. The NHS would be bankrupt in a month. That's why the bulk of us self-fund. My doc told me it was fine as long as she didn't have to prescribe anything.