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Lifestyle Change and I feel awful

S

Smarties_xo

Newbie
Hey everyone!

I’m recently diagnosed Type 2, my first appointment with the diabetic nurse was, to put it politely, useless and unhelpful.

They told me the symptoms I would get, no solutions on how to work through them and told me to make lifestyle changes.

I expected like lifestyle changes thing but they didn’t really tell me what, the best I got was “eat wholemeal”

I’m really overweight, and have been for many years.

I’m doing everything I can to eat/live better, I’m eating wholemeal, drinking ridiculous amounts of water (I’m so thirsty), walking more and eating more fruit/veg but honestly I’ve never had less energy or felt worse - is this normal?

I literally feel awful, I feel nauseous a lot and my mouth is always dry. I’ve still got two months before my review, am I doing the right things? It doesn’t feel like it
 
Welcome @Smarties_xo and, sadly , your experience isn't unusual
An up to date friendly and helpful diabetic nurse is a rare occurrence, but the best thing you have done is find this forum and diabetes.co.uk
Many of us T2s on here have found that by reducing the carbs in our food (and that includes wholemeal!) That weight and hunger reduce and symptoms disappear too
I'm not the best typist so hopefully others will be along soon with links for you to follow, but essentially get your self a blood glucose monitor which will allow you to see virtually instantly what certain foods do to your body , and trust me, once you see it gets sooo much easier to limit that food in future. I nearly fainted when I saw what grapes do to me, and as for bananas!!!

Remember this has taken a long time to develop and it will take time to resolve and for you to feel comfortable with it for life. There's loads of learning to do but stick with it, and this forum, where everyone is friendly, non judgemental and is or has been in the same boat.

Would you share with us what your hba1c test showed? You'll see many of us put key numbers and links in our signatures, you may need to toggle to open some, but it's a good way of you seeing what results can be achieved and to start to mark your own progress.

Have a read around, ask questions and do not despair!
 
Welcome @Smarties_xo and sorry to hear how little support you are getting to help you manage your newly diagnosed diabetes.as @MrsA2 said many of us have turned things round mainly by reducing our carbs and looking at how different foods affect our blood sugars by testing. A great place to start to get a idea of carb content in for example different fruits and vegetables as well as wholemeal products is to look at the visual charts on diet doctor here is the link you'll need to scroll down to look at the charts but they are a great quick start guide for you to decide which low carb foods appeal to you.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/visual-guides
Once you start reducing the swings in your blood sugars by eating carefully you will start to get more energy and especially if you include enough proteins and fats. Start by making some small changes and work your way in.
Ask questions about anything there is a lot to learn but many type 2s find they have good results by eating low carb. My initial hba1c was 97 but for last 5 years I've kept it in the 30s by eating in a way that suits my body plus managing my stress levels. You'll be amazed how much better you'll feel.
 
Welcome! My experiences with medics were also unhelpful, but luckily I found this forum just over a year ago, cut carbs out of my life (far easier than it might sound) brought my blood glucose back into the non-diabetic range and as a side effect, lost a shedload of weight. Have a good read around the forum and ask any questions you want. No question is stupid or irrelevant. We can offer genuine help and support. We are real people with real-life experience.
 
I'm another who ignored the advice to eat wholemeal (I already did!) and the advice, after I went low carb and got my blood sugar into the normal range, that I had to eat more carbs.
Our bodies can happily live without the amount of carbs recommended on the Eatwell plate, which would push me out of remission. I do eat cauliflower and above-ground green veg every day, plus a small amount of berries or rhubarb stirred into Greek yogurt or baked as a crumble using ground almonds instead of flour.
I even make low carb cake sometimes, at between 4 and 7g of carbs a piece it is well within the amount of carbs I can safely eat.
 
Smarties_xo said:
Hey everyone!

I’m recently diagnosed Type 2, my first appointment with the diabetic nurse was, to put it politely, useless and unhelpful.

They told me the symptoms I would get, no solutions on how to work through them and told me to make lifestyle changes.

I expected like lifestyle changes thing but they didn’t really tell me what, the best I got was “eat wholemeal”

I’m really overweight, and have been for many years.

I’m doing everything I can to eat/live better, I’m eating wholemeal, drinking ridiculous amounts of water (I’m so thirsty), walking more and eating more fruit/veg but honestly I’ve never had less energy or felt worse - is this normal?

I literally feel awful, I feel nauseous a lot and my mouth is always dry. I’ve still got two months before my review, am I doing the right things? It doesn’t feel like it
Click to expand...
It may not be due to the diabetes. I strongly suggest you talk to your surgery and get your nausea and dry mouth checked out, just as you would before your diagnosis.

Best wishes.
 
Hello and welcome @Smarties_xo

Well I agree with the previous posters :)

I do agree with @lucylocket61 that any new symptoms you get should be checked out by a doctor. It can be very easy to assume that everything is caused by diabetes but it may not be related.

I also highly recommend that you get a meter. A meter is a tool that will give you instant feedback. This lets you know if your levels are in range which would make any symptoms less likely to be caused by diabetes. It also lets you know what effect eatingthe wholemeal carbs recommended is having on your body.

Good luck and welcome :)
 
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