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Just Diagnosed with Type 2 and really scared

Sandra D

Newbie
Messages
1
Location
Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Rowing machine (because of hernia)
To be honest I'm really scared and tearful. I knew something was wrong because I felt so sluggish and tired and occasionally got blurred vision and I blamed it my thyroxine tablets, however I pushed with the doctor because I bought a blood glucose monitor and each time I tested no matter what time of day I was always over 10 and despite washing like a lunatic, I can smell a weird sweet smell coming off my body . My doctor reluctantly agreed to do a test and rang me the day the results were in, basically confirming what I thought. He said he wants to do another test but he said it will have the same results. He also said I don't drink enough fluids and I've got high cholesterol of which I have been given tablets. My main concern is he said I've got to stop eating sugary foods and cut back on sugar, I explained that I actually don't like sugar and haven't ate it or sweets, cakes, chocolate in years. He then said well you are obese and again I explained due to Covid I haven't been to the gym or swimming since March and I can't walk to far as I have a huge femoral hernia in my groin (op cancelled due to Covid), which causes my leg to collapse when I walk too far.
I just feel so ****, I eat loads of fruit &veg and only eat unprocessed meat. I swapped to wholemeal bread for occasional toast, swapping between cereal but now I'm reading that cereal is bad for you and so is any type of bread. I just don't know what to do, what diet to follow because there are so many contradictions. I am dreading my appointment with the nurse at the surgery as I've seen their diet plans and they are the same as what I am eating now and i'm also dreading the LOOK and lecture about my weight. I have always been fit and spent 20 years in the TA only coming out 5 years ago, I have never been so heavy but piled it on during lockdown.
Please guys tell me I'm not being paranoid, I just feel everything is against me at the moment, I'm determined to make things better but just don't know where to start
 
Hi @Sandra D and welcome to the forum.

It is a difficult time when first diagnosed but you have found the right place for advice and support. It’s great that you have a meter - that would have been one of the first pieces of advice you’d have been given. Take a look at this link with a lot of helpful information. It’s a good starting point.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/

You asked about eating. Although you’re not eating sugary food, for those with type 2, carbohydrates in general are problematic - they all turn to glucose in the blood. Many of us here have reduced out blood sugar levels to the non diabetic range simply by reducing the amount of carbs we eat. Some only need to reduce a bit, others need to virtually eliminate them.

A good place to start looking for ideas is the dietdoctor.com website - recipes, meal plans and lots of visual guides.

Take a look, browse the forum and ask as many questions as you like. We’re here to help.
 

Hi Sandra, well you've managed to find this site and you are already looking to change things so you are a winner already in my eyes! Please have a good old look around this site and be prepared to take a leap of faith regarding what you may think is a 'good diet' for your situation and a 'bad one'. I am quite excited for you because you are going to be amazed. You will be wondering how come you can eats lots of yummy things....also, it's hard I know but try not to let your Dr or anyone else make you feel bad or guilty or stupid and don't feel compelled to give them explanations either! xx
 
Sandra D said:
My main concern is he said I've got to stop eating sugary foods and cut back on sugar, I explained that I actually don't like sugar and haven't ate it or sweets, cakes, chocolate in years.
Click to expand...
I haven't even read the rest of your post because THIS. I don't really like sweet things, don't have a sweet tooth, most things taste way too sweet for me. I'm a savoury girl. Off to read rest of your post but hugs to you WE know you aren't a closet cake eater
 
Sandra D said:
Please guys tell me I'm not being paranoid,
Click to expand...
absolutely not, I ate what they said I should eat and it made me ILL. Take a deep breath, trust yourself and be prepared to take an alternative view of diet. Your TA experience means you're already in a good place to adapt to the environment. It's just you've been given some dodgy map coordinates - with the right "location" you'll be fine.
 
I had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. You don't want to know how often I was accused of being an alkie by various docs. Same with the diabetes; I must not be following the dietician's instructions!

You know what? You know what you're eating, and you don't have to convince anyone of anything. What you do need to do, you've already done; gotten yourself a meter. You're right, there's a lot of contradictory advice out there, but your meter'll let you know whether a meal agrees with you or not. It's got nothing to gain or lose, no dogma to sell you on. Your meter is your True North. Have a read here on how to use it effectively, as well as some info on foods and T2. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

All in all, you can try and find out what works for you specifically. You'll be okay. You, and your trusty meter!

Good luck,
Jo
 
Hi @Sandra D
I was in exactly the same situation 6 months ago
I have found going low carb easy and successful and I havent been hungry.

The strangest bit for me was finding out how much fruit (yes that stuff we think is so good for us) raised my bg. One day I had a "healthy" snack of 2 apricots mid morning and it sent my sugars as high as a cup cake did!

Keep an open mind, be prepared to change your thinking and you can get this diabetes kicked into remission. This is brilliant forum that know so much more than most medics. We are here to help and support
 
It's a real shock to have it actually diagnosed even though you suspected T2. Finding here is a good step and helps you learn the knowledge to take control of this. First week or so I felt such an array of emotion and really took little in but you will find it settles as you learn and hatch an eating plan and generally deal with this problem. Plenty of meat and as few carb as you can live with will go a long way to helping bring numbers down. Chances are this will help weight loss as well so all helps. Others will give you sound advice over dos and don'ts re food but I'd say let the dust settle and get the clarity to proceed.Im 6 month in and it does get easier i promise. Just horrible at the start.
 
Hi and welcome. What you have already found out is that NHS diet advice is dire and best ignored. Think Carbs rather than Sugar as Sugar is just another Carb. You can have Proteins and Fats fairly freely so, for example, eggs and bacon is a good breakfast for us. Cheese, berries, nuts etc are good for snacking. Veg and fruit are good but avoid tropical fruit. At a future blood test have a look at your Cholesterol breakdown e.g. HDL, LDL etc and look at the ratios. Total cholesterol is not the right measure but the ratios are; many GPs don't understand this. Keep the Statins down to a dose that makes the ratios good and if you feel the statins are giving you muscle pains ask the GP to stop them. I do have statins but don't have problems.
 
Newly diagnosed diabetic myself. It is scary, but I just discovered this community and feel that the support is there to make a difference.
 
I feel newly diagnosed but its been 3 years. I can't believe it. This is not an easy disease to deal with by any measure. I really am finding out that CARBS are the worst thing for me. Not sweets. Not fruit. CARBS. I have started to notice that my numbers drop when I eat very little carbs. Then say I have toast and boing! It goes up into the 300's -sorry not sure what that is in Europe- I think you need to start testing to your meter. Basically you get up in the morning and test your blood before eating breakfast. After breakfast wait about 2-3 hrs test again. Take notes where are you at after eating. What happens if you eat pancakes vs. omelet? Then test before lunch. Then 2-3 hrs after lunch. Same with dinner. And a midnight snack...if you snack. Keeping a food log with your numbers. Soon you will see a pattern. Do this for a few weeks. So don't change what you are eating yet, find out where you are with THIS DIET YOU ARE EATING. Then next month after you have done some research start changing your diet. I think you will find that toast, sandwiches, rice, pasta, potatoes will jack your numbers. If they do, guess what? You have to stop eating them. Even fruit can be your enemy. Berries are the best for me. But small quantity like half a cup or less. Check out the keto diet. It's basically a diet with very low carb foods. I think you commit to keto and you will see the weight peel off. Try doing simple exercises. Like lift weights with a milk jug. Lean against a chair and do leg lifts. Simple sometimes is what we need. Try not to panic. That raises your blood sugar...yeah...the gift that keeps giving is diabetes.
 
The good news is that if you cut out carbs then you should soon start to feel a lot better.
Do check on the carb content of foods you chose - some fruits are very sweet, some veges are high in starch, and they will cause spikes in blood glucose.
I get by very happily on less than 40gm of carbs a day, and have meat, fish or seafood, eggs and cheese, nuts, and salad and stirfry or some low carb veges as my main meals, then once in a while I will have sugar free jelly, frozen berries and cream, or make some real ice cream or custard. I have coffee with cream twice a day, but don't need all that much to eat - I have two meals a day, as it is so nutritious.
 
Hello and welcome,

Yes like other posters I absolutely believe that you know what you eat. I have also had doctors not believe me that I was eating 'healthily' exercised and counted calories. The fact that I was obese meant that obviously I was lying or unable to count calories. When my husband confirmed me they would consider that maybe it was possible- although I suspect they didn't really believe.

I too found this site and cut my carbs dramatically- my b mood sugars are in the n normal range I've lost weight and not counted calories for a long while. I may have to again if I stop losing weight but I suspect counting. carbs is the real key.

The diagnosis can be devastating. I am a carboholic. I thought I would not be able to manage it- the people on this amazing site helped me and I am absolutely able to do this. There are still some days when I get down about the fact that I will never be able to eat some of the stuff I love but I have made the choice that my eyes and limbs are way more important.

I find the fewer carbs I have the less I physically crave them.

Stick around- I am confident that following the advice here you will find it possible. You will also meet some of the most compassionate, generous wonderful people- in fact you have already met some of them.

Welcome.
 
Welcome. I agree with everything above but just to adds couple of tips that may help in addition to everything else.

Don’t snack if possible. It makes a difference.
What you eat at night will probably have an effect on your readings the next day.
Eating earlier rather than later in the evening make a difference in me.
Only eat when you are hungry, not because it’s the ‘norm’ Having a window of fasting does really help.
Trust your instincts.
Diet doctor.com has some great recipes.

Best of luck. It’s early days but you’ll get there and it will get less scary. It won’t be all plain sailing, there will be blips along the way, but you’ve come to the right place and everyone here is very helpful.
 
Hi there I’ve just been diagnosed too and I also take thyroxine and have PCOS too so a treble! I’m learning lots of things on here so just take one day at at time x
 
Hey Sandra!
I can say without a doubt that the best thing that has happened to you since your diagnosis is the fact that you have found this community.For a community is what we are.....we get it.....like no others including healthcare professionals and sadly even family.
Learn as much as you can from the good people here they are super supportive and will be your rock for the journey ahead.It will have its ups and downs trust me but make sure to stick with us.
I was diagnosed in July 2015 as type2 and reversed my blood sugars in three months back to normal with LCHF.It works and my cholesterol and weight dropped significantly too.But you will have to throw decades of accumulated ideas out of the window.
I still do the same things five years on as this is a lifestyle change not a fad diet.Makes it easier to stick with cos you kinda have to!!
Soon there will be a new you with lower blood sugar better cholesterol and weight loss.We see it all the time here.
So as I say and breathe, get a cuppa and learn as much as you can from here.
Stick with us and it’s gonna be just fine
 
Welcome @Sandra D

We feel your pain - I was diagnosed around 4 months ago and immediately went on a low GI diet, heavily restricting my carb intake, although I've not taken it as far as doing Keto (which many here do). If you aren't already aware of the macros in the foods you most commonly eat, I would recommend looking them up. I have been counting calories and macros for about a month and was surprised just how many carbs are in what we would think of as non-carb foods. E.g. eggs, broccoli, cottage cheese etc. It's not just bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sugar etc - they're just the more obvious ones.

I only joined here a few days ago and I can confirm what the folk up there have said - they are very friendly, helpful and FULL of useful information.

Take a breath. Dry your tears. Take control of your life and focus on the positive changes that will come out of whatever you do next... you can do it!
 
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