Hello. So I was diagnosed about 2 weeks ago with type 2 and really struggling to comprehend things. My mum is type 1, started with gestational diabetes 40 years ago. My dad is type 2 on insulin, diagnosed about 15 years ago so you would think I’d be more educated on it. My 1st hba1c was 84, repeated 4 weeks later and it was down to 78 (I have no idea what these numbers mean) I started metformin and had horrific side effects so I’m now on slow release ones which are much better for me. I’ve got my first appointment with the nurse next week but at the moment im finding things difficult in regards to food and work. I suffer with mental health and even though I was warned a while ago that I was on the verge of diabetes I didn’t take any notice but it’s still come as a shock. I’m scared to eat anything and find myself obsessing over nutrition values. I suppose I’m just here to speak to others in the same situation. Yes, I have my parents but it’s just easier to speak to strangers behind a screen. I hope you’re all well and got to the bottom of my rambling post
Welcome to the "club no one willingly joins" Pandrea. It's been a LONG long time since I joined, and I will add my voice to the chorus of wisdom here with the advice that made all the difference to me 25 years ago when I was the newbie.
Get a glucometer, test test test!
Figure out what YOUR body does with various foods and then eat to your meter. (Every body is a little different. For a long time, I could eat potatoes without too much trouble, but even the smallest amount of any grain would send my bg into the stratosphere. Evidently, my body eventually read the book, because now it behaves a lot more like "the common wisdom".)
The way you eat to your meter is to test before your first bite of food and then at one, two, and three hours later. You will soon discover when your body usually reaches its peak blood sugar. Then you switch to testing before you eat and at the point when your blood sugar will be reaching its peak.
Twenty five years ago, we believed that if you could reach a peak of no more than 7.8, it was safe. Now, the rules, based on 25 years more experience, is a little different. I think @
JoKalsbeek has a nutritional thingy that might be more explicit. I'm not a numbers person, so I'm not going to risk getting it wrong, but I recommend that you read that. It's in her signature and very helpful. If I'm wrong about where I read the new guidelines, I hope someone else will pipe up.
Anyway, I found this technique the most helpful to me because it put *me* in the diver's seat. I became a test case of one and my body's rules were what mattered rather than a whole lot of things to remember. It eventually saw me eating what has become known as classical low carb, but I made decisions based on what my normal foods were. To keep from having to change entirely, I sought out "low carb recipes" for what I was used to eating. What I ate was not ideal for a long time, but it was changes I could maintain. Ie instead of giving up porridge, I made mine from almond flour. Now I eat other things, but I needed not to have too many changes while I was learning.
Good luck to you, Pandrea. It's not an easy learning curve, but you can do this and we are here to help!
