i have just been diagnosed and i am feeling very, very down, confused, scared, lost and in a dark pl

888adnil

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi one and all I have just been diagnosed and as it states above this is how I am feeling. I don't know what to eat, what not to eat, I know it says it can bring on depression but surely not this quickly, feel like hanging myself! I am disabled have peripheral neuropathy, under active thyroid, arthritis, psoriasis and as you can imagine feeling very sorry for myself but who can you talk to???
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi, you've come to the right place. If you want to ask questions discuss topics etc. the people on here are all diabetics except me! They have all the knowledge and experience you need at this very confusing time. Do not give up. Educate yourself by reading through the threads and deciding yourself what you need to do to really help you.
Ask away, someone will help you!
 
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Nuthead

Well-Known Member
Messages
986
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi one and all I have just been diagnosed and as it states above this is how I am feeling. I don't know what to eat, what not to eat, I know it says it can bring on depression but surely not this quickly, feel like hanging myself! I am disabled have peripheral neuropathy, under active thyroid, arthritis, psoriasis and as you can imagine feeling very sorry for myself but who can you talk to???
Hello and welcome. You can talk to anyone in this forum. It does get better trust me. There will other's along to help more than I can but have a good look around the forum and you will find lots of help and advice.
 

zand

Master
Messages
10,784
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, I'm glad you've found your way here :) As nosher says when you are ready ask away. Maybe @daisy1 will start by giving you lots of good advice about diabetes.
 
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janewatt

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,528
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome; I hope you'll find you can talk to other Forum members.

It will all get a bit better as you learn more.
 
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kimbo1962

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Messages
1,293
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
Hello and welcome- you have found the right place for information, advice and support! Have a good read around here, ask questions. Trust me, we all started out feeling the same! In my 18 weeks I have learnt so much and put into practice the tried and tested advice!
 

Patricia21

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Messages
1,764
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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Animal crualty
Welcome ,I felt just the same at first,You will get better from that feeling,you are not alone,lots of help on this forum,I spent ages looking at the posts.and people are lovely.and ready to help.
 
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cold ethyl

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,210
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Welcome. Take your time to have a look around the forum. You'll usually find someone has an answer or even just a listening ear x
 
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888adnil

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi, you've come to the right place. If you want to ask questions discuss topics etc. the people on here are all diabetics except me! They have all the knowledge and experience you need at this very confusing time. Do not give up. Educate yourself by reading through the threads and deciding yourself what you need to do to really help you.
Ask away, someone will help you!
Thank you sooo much I thought I'd been ignored!!! Is it normal to feel this tearful I wonder????? I think/know my eyesight is going
 
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888adnil

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi guys I keep reading conflicting thoughts on what to eat, firstly no bananas says nurse, then loads of fruit and vegetables???? I would LOVE just a list of 'what not to eat and what to eat!' easy!!! I am so glay I have found you all <3 Don't get me wrong I wish to God above we weren't in this situation but you guys appear to have grasped it by the neck. I NEED to do that, I can't at the moment, it has only been 2 days!!!! I know my eyesight is suffering which is scaring me so much I doubt if I will sleep tonight!
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Not ignored, just trying to find the right reply, tearful, depressed etc that's the symptoms most of us have suffered from. Eyesight is funny, you will go through stages of bluriness and it is a pain, once you have control it will go, I hope! Keep posting mate!
 
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Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome!

You mentioned that you don't know what to eat.
Don't worry. As you spend a little time reading the forum you will see that there are a whole range of people on here, eating a whole range of diets.

And I'm sure you will be able to find one that suits you.
Are there any foods that you avoid already? I have mild psoriasis, and find that milk makes it worse, so you may already have decided certain foods are not good for you.

Regarding diabetes, I expect that the doc told you not to eat sugar?
But did they also tell you that when we digest pasta, potato, rice, bread, cakes, most fruit, pastries, crisps, chips and other starchy foods, then they all turn to glucose (sugar) as we digest them?

Now, don't panic! You can still eat bread and potatoes in small portions, and there are LOTS of foods that you CAN eat which don't turn to glucose.

So you can eat all of the following, and not worry about portion size:
Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, tofu, quorn
Any veg that grows above the ground (so not starchy root veg like potato and parsnip)
Salads and mayonnaise
Berries (but be wary of sweeter fruit because they are much higher in sugar)
Butter, cream, olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oils
Nuts and seeds

Of course, this is a very quick list, because you will find out much more detailed information everywhere on the forum, but you want to know what you can eat now, don't you?

So, great breakfasts are
Bacon and eggs
Full fat yoghurt (no added sugar!) and berries
Ham and cheese
Coffee and cream
(If you have bread or cereals, you want to make your portions much smaller than normal)

Lunches
Salad and cold meat
Cheese and tomatoes, olives, nuts, seeds, mattersons sausage, hummus, cream cheese on celery sticks...
Homemade veg soup, chicken soup, any soup that doesn't have carbs
(Again, reduce any carbs like breads)

Evening meals
Everything you would normally eat (e.g. Meat and veg, but with smaller portions of potato or pasta or rice)

As you find out more, and feel less overwhelmed, we can help you buy a home testing kit that will let you test your own blood glucose, so that you can identify which foods particularly send your blood glucose up(it varies for each of us), so that you can avoid them completely, if you like.

Hope that helps!
 
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Moniker

Well-Known Member
Messages
219
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
You are ahead of my starting point ten months ago. I was too paralyzed by anxiety and depression to even read about diabetes. I was afraid to eat anything. I think I spent most of February sitting in a chair thinking I was going to die.

Ten months on, I am happier and healthier than I have been in along time. It will get better.

Remember, you don't have to change everything at once. Make some changes then see what effect they have and if necessary make some more.
 
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888adnil

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi, I'm glad you've found your way here :) As nosher says when you are ready ask away. Maybe @daisy1 will start by giving you lots of good advice about diabetes.
Thank you so much for even bothering with me it is much appreciated and very lovely of you <3
 
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Mike d

Expert
Messages
7,997
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
idiots who will not learn
Hi guys I keep reading conflicting thoughts on what to eat, firstly no bananas says nurse, then loads of fruit and vegetables???? I would LOVE just a list of 'what not to eat and what to eat!' easy!!! I am so glay I have found you all <3 Don't get me wrong I wish to God above we weren't in this situation but you guys appear to have grasped it by the neck. I NEED to do that, I can't at the moment, it has only been 2 days!!!! I know my eyesight is suffering which is scaring me so much I doubt if I will sleep tonight!

Hi and a warm welcome from a warm place in the great southern land :)

It can feel overwhelming and my best piece of advice is just take it one step at a time. As everyone's said, there's a heap of information on this board on just about every topic imaginable and if you can't readily find it, just ask :)

Mike
 
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jack412

Expert
Messages
5,618
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi, these sites helped me
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf it’s a long page and a video
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm
http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/carbohydrate-restriction-an-option-for-diabetes-management

blood testing
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
food counting
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Newcastle diet aims in 8+ weeks to mimic or better the rate of ~80% remission, for surgery T2
“It is now clear that Type 2 diabetes is caused by abnormal fat storage. Research on how this may be reversed is available. “click that link on this page http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2010/mar/weight-loss-surgery-and-type-2-diabetes.html

American diabetic association ( http://www.professional.diabetes.org/)
http://www.professional.diabetes.org/admin/UserFiles/0 - Sean/dc132042 FINAL.pdf
Evidence is inconclusive for an ideal amount of total fat intake for people with diabetes;
therefore, goals should be individualized; fat quality appears to be far more important than quantity.
In people with type 2 diabetes, a Mediterranean-style, MUFA-rich eating pattern may benefit
glycemic control and CVD risk factors and can therefore be recommended as an effective alternative to a lower-fat, higher-carbohydrate eating pattern.


SD codefree meter
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
if you buy extra boxes of strips there is a discount code
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833
 
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pavlosn

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,705
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi and welcome to the forum

Rest assured we have all been where you find yourself now.

Being diagnosed with a life long condition like diabetes can be a bit of a shock and the flood of seemingly conflicting information one receives about how to cope with it can be overwhelming.

As others have suggested you need to educate yourself about how to deal with this, and this forum and its members are a great source of information and advise based on the accumulated knowledge of many years of living with diabetes. But take you time, to process emotionally what is happening to you first. There is no rush, even if you get things wrong at first you are very unlikely to get them so wrong as to do harm to yourself in the short term; uncontrolled diabetes may be a killer but it tends to work long term rather than short term.

The good news is that this condition is manageable with some necessary lifestyle changes to ones diet , exercise etc. I note that you state that you are disabled but any increase in physical activity you are able to manage will be beneficial. Although increase in activity helps the main element leading to controlling your glucose levels will be diet.

The main thing you should concentrate on with regards to diet is that you may have to control/limit your intake of all carbohydrates not just sugar.

To know how much to limit them by you need to get a glucose monitor and test your blood immediately before and two hours after each meal, keeping a food diary, and adjusting the carb level of your next meal until you can manage to keep your after meal counts within 2 mmol of the before.

Once you can meet this 2mmol limit consistently, you should see a gradual improving trend in your before meal counts.

Once again welcome and good luck with your efforts

Pavlos
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi, I'm glad you've found your way here :) As nosher says when you are ready ask away. Maybe @daisy1 will start by giving you lots of good advice about diabetes.

Hi 888adnil and welcome to the forum :)
As you can see, you have now got many friends on this forum who care about you. Here is the information which @zand mentioned and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask questions and someone will be able to help you.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 100,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
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Scandichic

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3,708
Type of diabetes
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Hi one and all I have just been diagnosed and as it states above this is how I am feeling. I don't know what to eat, what not to eat, I know it says it can bring on depression but surely not this quickly, feel like hanging myself! I am disabled have peripheral neuropathy, under active thyroid, arthritis, psoriasis and as you can imagine feeling very sorry for myself but who can you talk to???
Hope you're feeling less scared now! I am with Jack (post 17).
I eat something called LCHF (low carb high fat) please don't be put off by the high fat! It really works! Have lost nearly 4 stone in weight and halved my blood sugars. I eat bacon and eggs for brekkie, my lunch is a tapas mixed plate, I snack o cheese and peanuts, my dinner is quiche made with double cream but no pastry (who would think that you can make a quiche without pastry? Well you can and it's quicker!) and salad, or chilli, or chicken casserole made with double cream with lots of green veggies.
A meter is essential to help you work out what you can and can't eat. I avoid bread, rice, potatoes and pasta.
Hugsx
 
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