Hi @Marge76, Getting bad news is never easy and sorry to hear of your troubles. Crying is often like a valve, a good way to allow tension and stress to be released and nothing to be ashamed of. Even men cry and (most) admit it these days.
Like any upset we grieve what we think we have lost or is threatened.
And although I am a type 1 and not a type 2 diabetic, the implications are very similar even though the treatment varies.
Believe it or not there are some positives in having been diagnosed diabetic and I shall come to those in a moment. (see * below if you which to peek)!
Now, breathe,. Under stress we often hold our breath periodically and in so doing our thoughts freeze up. By breathing in and out slowly and evenly we start to think, reflect and find our way forward. Breathe. Find something relaxing to do such as reading, listening to music, dancing, writing, painting, some form of exercise but sky diving and bungey jumping need to wait a day or too!!!
Use humour in general and self humour - "well, I guess my just desserts for refusing to share my lunch with Sally Y in kindergarten have come home to roost." "Do I now have to eat like a rabbit, a donkey or monkey'?
One step at a time: Take time to read up on diabetes type 2, including some of the excellent articles on the Home page (on the horizontal menu bar: Type 2 diabetes, Food and Recipes, and Living with Diabetes, ask questions as you are doing this to get a clearer idea on things. Some information on this site may be different to the information you might receive from your doctor or nurse, particularly some of the ideas on diet and testing of Blood Sugar levels (BSLs): please ask away about this.
Small steps upward may for less tripping up.
* Pluses: whatever the past has been like for you, you now have an opportunity to improve your health with diet, exercise and so on. Sometimes it is a rude shock but the improvements to one's health can make us as healthy if not more so than our non-diabetic peers.
So welcome fellow warrior ( honorary title, no weapon-bearing required)! And Best Wishes on your journey.
As a good friend of mine used to say: See your in the soup next to the carrots"!
We are all in this together whether face to face or in the virtual world.
@Marge76 - It's a bit bewildering on here at first, but as @JoKalsbeek suggests, your post will receive more responses if it is posted in a different part of the forum. The General Chat area can be a bit off folks' radar.
If you'd like your thread moved, I, or any of the Mods, can certainly do that for you. If you just tag us by typing the @ key immediately in front of our name, like this, @Marge76 , it'll alert us to your post.
Just to be clear, you absolutely haven't done anything wrong, or made a mistake. It's just trying to get you the best visibility to other members.
Yeah if you could move my post that would be very much appreciated thanks xx
Hi everyone I’m new to this site, was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes yesterday, it’s been a bit of a shock and I’m not ashamed to say I had a bit of a cry.... I’ve always been fairly healthy and very rarely take not well. Everything is a bit overwhelming just now and finding it hard to take in diet/exercise advice Just now. Any advice appreciated xx
Hi @Marge76 ,
Had a "bit of a cry" eh? I cried my eyes out for weeks. Must be that stiff upper lip, as a Dutchy I lack it.Seriously though, it is a shock to be diagnosed... I was used to having another box to check, illness wise, but T2 was different... Scarier, more overwhelming than anything I had before (migraines, rheumatism, hasimoto's etc...). What I wanted most at that time was to hear it'd be okay and that it wouldn't always be this terrifying. Guess what I can tell you today? It's going to be okay, and it won't always feel like this! So I'm going to give you a lot of information, (Like @daisy1 , who has an excellent info pack) and I'll be the first of those who will, but if it is all too much to take in, just remember that much: YOU WILL BE OKAY.
So, with that out of the way.... As T2's we have a problem with carbs. That's all carbs, not just sugar. Practically all carbohydrates turn to glucose once ingested, and with our insulin-issues (insulin resistance, reduced production etc), we can't process them back out efficiently. So they stay in our bodies, doing damage left and right. The good news? A change in lifestyle helps. People tend to call it that, while it's really a diet, but usually people do a diet for a while and then quit it, but this is a lifetime commitment... Hence the lifestyle nomer.
So, if you can't process carbs back out, what do you do? Eat less carbs! But it's one of 3 macro nutrients, so if you lower the intake of one, you have to up the other two. Fat, as it turns out, isn't the baddy we always were told it was. (We get fat because excess sugar is stored in fat cells... Dietary fat doesn't get stored as body fat. Whodathunkit, eh?). additional perk of fat: it slows down the absorption of carbs, so prevents a sugar spike from any carbs you do consume in a meal. And it doesn't spike sugar at all. Proteine does turn into glucose through glucogenesis in the liver, but it doesn't have the same fast, huge impact carbs have, so they're pretty safe. So less carbs, more fats, more protein.
That's all fine and dandy, but how does that translate to actual food? Well, the things that aren't doing you any favours are bread, cereal (including oats, wheetabix, muesli), pasta, rice, corn, potatoes... Anything wheaty is no good. Fruit contain fruitsugars which aren't good either, save for berries; those are okay in moderation, especially when you add double cream or full fat greek yoghurt. (I see you wondering about vitamins... But you can get vitamins out of veggies just as well!). So, what can you safely eat? Loads!!! Eggs, meat, fish, cheese, double cream and full fat yoghurt, above ground veggies and leafy greens, nuts, berries, olives, avocado, butter, and most importantly, extra dark chocolate...! Meals could look like this: Eggs with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, a few cherry tomatoes maybe? Sausages? Lunch could be leafy greens with a can of tuna, olives, capers, mayo and avocado. Maybe toss another egg in for good measure. In the evening some meat or fish (say, steak, salmon, anything not coated), with vegetables. I find couliflower to be remarcably versatile, it's replaced pasta, spuds and rice in this house. Usually toss in some more bacon and cheese, with whatever herbs take my fancy, so might work for you too. Broccoli's nice too. If you want to snack, have some Lindt 85%, some olives or cubes of cheese... Walnuts and pecans are quite wonderful to munch on too.
If you want to have more meal ideas, just hop on over to dietdoctor.com, maybe read up some in Dr. Jason Fung's books, and of course, this forum's website has lots of ideas too.
And after all that, again: You will be okay. Make it your mantra, because it's true.
Good luck,
Jo
@DCUKMod or somebody... Maybe put this in the Newly Diagnosed section? Thanks!
Hi everyone I’m new to this site, was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes yesterday, it’s been a bit of a shock and I’m not ashamed to say I had a bit of a cry.... I’ve always been fairly healthy and very rarely take not well. Everything is a bit overwhelming just now and finding it hard to take in diet/exercise advice Just now. Any advice appreciated xx
You're making me blush! Thank you though. I just remember what it was like when I was terrified and joined the Dutch forum. All I got was the sound of crickets. This place is so much better, because of people like you, who really do care. Just trying to do my bit is all.You're so good with the new comers @JoKalsbeek - I wish I had the time to keep on top on new entries like you do. Thanks for what you do. I remember what it was like to be new here and people being supportive makes such a huge difference to how you feel - well done.
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