Newly diagnosed and freaking out :(

[melliemars]

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed Type 2 diabetic a month ago. I'm 31. It's only just become real the past two weeks and I can't stop crying and having panic attacks (already a very anxious person and am also withdrawing from Citalopram so that might be the reason I'm so highly strung about this). There's just so much confusing contradicting information out there and I have no idea what to do for the best. I've never been so devastated in my life. It's all my own fault for being a carb and sugar addict.

I have A LOT of weight to lose and have already lost 10lbs in the past 3 weeks and I exercise daily now. I was ready to lose it anyway, but I didn't think I would be *this* forced into it. The sheer thought of never being able to have a cheat meal or a drink because I'm on 2000mg Metformin just kills me. To be honest, I have caught myself thinking "What's the point?.

I joined a group on FB called Type 2 Diabetes Rebels and they were OBSESSED with LCHF diet. No cheat days and if you had anything that wasn't LCHF they would say that you were going to die a horrific slow death and that people who factor in cheats are just going to die young and horrifically. They would tag me in photos they uploaded of people with rotting feet and blindness saying, "This is what your cheat day will get you".

I kicked off about it today and here's how it went down ....



I have no idea what I'm doing. They said that if I don't follow what they say to the letter, I'm harming myself and not to trust what doctors or anyone else says. I'm someone who loves my food, and I would be happy with a cheat meal (still in moderation) every month or 6 weeks and LCHF the rest of the time, but they say it all adds up to harming you and them BOOM, out of nowhere you start the horrific suffering.

I haven't been on the course yet, I can't get on it till January if I'm lucky. I have no support. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what diet to follow or what I can and can't have as a diabetic. I don't know how much sugar or carb I can have each day if any. If anyone could reach out to me and give me some support on this I would just be so thankful. I feel like I've been given a death sentence (sorry for the dramatics, I probably need a slap). Thank you for reading xx

-Melanie

 

[himtoo]

Hi @melliemars
welcome to the forum
bless you hun -- you are going through the wars right now with emotional and physical issues all taking their toll.

for right now you need to slow down and just think that D is pretty much for life but can be managed successfully.with the right attitude -- and some adjustments to your diet.

I am tagging @daisy1 for her great starter pack of info -- have a read and please doo continue to post here
we are a very supportive community and in time you will be able to help those that follow after you ...........all the best !

 

[azure]

Hi Melanie

If it was me, I'd leave that group. You need support not bullying.

Can you give us an idea of what you currently eat and then maybe people can make suggestions? (You may get more replues tomorrow as its getiing late now)

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I think you need to ignore that group on FB or even ignore FB! Everything you need to know about diabetes you will find on this forum. Low carb is the way to go but you don't need to be obsessive about it. The occasional treat is OK as long as any excess weight keeps dropping. BTW alcohol is OK in occasional, sensible quantities.

 

[Energize]

Hi Melanie

That Facebook group is certainly not helpful, in my opinion. As Azure says, I would just dump the lot of them. Scaremongering does no one any good and there's no need.

You'll find this forum very helpful and encouraging. Many of us 'fall off the wagon' at times. We're only human, after all. People on here will help you pick yourself up again, dust you down, and help you on your journey again. We do the best we can to stick to suitable foods but what suits one person, may not suit another. We're all different

I, too, love my food, particularly sweet stuff. I try to watch the carbs; my weight is coming down and by blood sugars are much more in line these days BUT it took me a long time to get my head around, and accept, what I SHOULD eat and what I WANTED to eat. I'm getting there but some days I struggle more than others.

Don't beat yourself up, nor let others, if you eat something you shouldn't. You'll get there. I've had a lot of issues which sound like what you describe. You WILL get there PM me if you feel you want to chat

Julie

 

[oopsie]

Sending hugs, Diagnosed 3 weeks ago, so I know what your going through (everyone on here has been through it) & they have been great with tips, advice & support. Now it's sinking in & I'm feeling more positive that my life's not over. It was a shock I guess I needed for me to take control of my life. Yes its a condition for the rest of my life & yes its been hard cutting carbs, but the longer I've done it, the more I find I don't want them. If you need a treat as a goal then do it. Every journey begins with a step & I've just started my journey & the people here will help you on yours.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Crikey that Facebook Group are demons!!

First off, its going to be overwhelming, let alone withdrawing from citilopram at the same time.

There are people here that are fantastic and so many people come here as they are struggling, you aren't the first and won't be the last.

I think this forum has a wide variety of different persons following eating styles that they can manage and give good results..

One of first questions to you is whether your Gp practice has offered you a blood meter to test your readings? Some T2's can het them but a lot can't.. Bit of a postcode lottery really.

To take control of your health is good but you need support.... Could you give us any clue what your test results were for the diabetes and whether they tested your cholesterol too?

A good starting point is to give us a list of types of food that you eat in a day...and then we could perhaps help to say alternatives that would help?

For example if you were to do homebaking with flour and sugar.. You may wish to look at using xylitol or stevia sweeteners instead of sugar. Instead of flour you may wish to change to ground almonds etc unless you have nut allergies).

Your healthy lifestyle needs to be based perhaps on healthier changes.. But its your choice how many carbs you wish to eat.

Have a look around the forum and you'll find lots of advice..

You've done well to lose 10lb, well done...

 

[melliemars]

Thank you so so much everyone. I can't tell you all how much your words have helped.

I've left the group and the feeling was of instant relief. I think it was mostly if not all Americans and they tend to have an extreme distrust of doctors and health care. Not all, of course!!! But a lot of the ones I've met, at least (hope any Americans don't take offence reading that lol).

Every day I've literally been scared to eat anything other than salmon and greens grown above soil, cottage cheese, a few eggs and a couple of babybel cheeses.

My daily food is like this -

Breakfast - Two egg omelette, (sometimes with spinach)
Lunch - Salmon, kale, cottage cheese with garlic salt, 1 babybel light
dinner - Salmon, kale, 1 babybel light. Two table spoons of sugar free jelly.
Water with a touch of sugar free Robinsons diluty juice.

(What I wished it was: - Pizza pizza pizza ...and chocolate cake lol)

That's it. I work out for half an hour (cardio tape) every day and go power walking 2 - 3 times a week. I want to reverse this and get off Metformin. I intend to lose all of my weight and get very healthy. I will get there, though, by hook or by crook.

I have ordered a blood sugar monitor off of Amazon as well.

Thank you again, everyone, I appreciate the hugs, likes and support so much xx

 

[melliemars]

@donnellysdogs Hi! Ah thank you, yes I'm proud of the 10lbs. Slowly slowly catchy monkey haha.

They didn't tell me my A1C or anything like that. At least I don't think. The doctor told me "It's 41 to be diabetic, you're 91" ...that's all I know. That's the only numbers I was given. I was put straight on Metformin 2000g and left to go on my merry way. I have an appointment with a dietician on Sept 6. I'm in Newcastle, UK, and to be honest, I don't think there's much funding up here plus there's a lot of overweight people up here so I think, unfortunately, the demand for diabetes resources is quite high.

Is it true that stress can raise blood sugar? If so, I'm a tad worried about that as I have a bit of a stressful life with added anxiety on top :s

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Welcome to the forum. An occasional cheat meal won't kill you. However, LCHF does seem to work for a lot of people, both for weight loss and blood sugar control. And the health care systems of most countries are generally abysmal at treating type 2. To be frank, this forum will be a better resource for managing your type 2 than the NHS.

The 91 number is your HbA1c. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

You'll likely be told to eat a high carb low fat diet by the dietitian, which is terrible advice in my opinion.

Yes, stress can raise your blood sugar level. The best thing you can do is learn as much as you can about type 2 diabetes - that will reduce your stress considerably. I suggest you start with this web site:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

When you're finished reading it you'll likely know more about type 2 than your doctor.

Also, get a print out of your test results every time you get lab tests. It can be very useful to see exactly where you're at and to track your progress.

You might also find this web site useful for figuring out what to eat:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Good luck!

 

[donnellysdogs]

Hi @melliars

91 certainly makes you diabetic!! Well done though on thoughts wanting to get control yourself and come off meds...highly commendable as so many diabetics do only want to take the meds and not change.. So you are already heading for success..

Your food is certainly low carb... But you can make things easier for yourself and make some flexibility..
Ie get some blueberries frozen are good) and some greek yogurt. Defrost berries overnight in a ramekin and dollop on yogurt in morning.. Or sausage egg and tomatoes at weekends..
I make a delicious avocado chocolate mousse which is really yum and takes away any craves for sweets etc.

Many people but 70% + dark choc and have two squares a night.

I would advise asking for a cholesterol test as you would like to have a starting point to improving your health. They are unlikely to refuse.

I'm afraid my eating is very limited due to stomach probs and I've run out of alternative thoughts for tonight.. There is a low carb section which gives fantastic ideas for absolutely delicious recipes.

Diabetes.co.uk have lots of recipes and thoughts on low carb etc..

Dieticians may not be totally open to low carb.

Many people also eat lidl protein rolls as they are bread if missing bread.

Cauliflower rice is brilliant as an alternative to rice with a lovely curry..and so easy!! I use to buy cheap cauli's (10p, blitz and freeze them. Then take out overnight and put on tray with Barts med herbs and oil and roast with a lovely salmon or chicken and chickpea curry.

Depends on foods you like...My hubby lost 4 st by going lower carb and has kept it off for over 3 years. I've always been lean except when eating carbs for 6ish months...my carbs used to be upto around 60 a day.. Nowadays I've got probs that aren't diabetes related but limit my food so I barely eat..sometimes I go 48 hours without any food..

You're doing so brilliantly..personally I liked lower carb but never minded having a blowout...but I am a T1 on insulin..

Other T2's will be along but I would say give yourself a round of applause.

Stress causes my levels to go up.. But stress comes in varying degrees..

Thinking of you....

 

[ickihun]

@melliemars if you're a chocoholic try 90% dark chocolate ( I like lindt) melted and add double cream and stevia sprinkles (morrisons do their own make version). A lovely thick choc sauce. Some of the atkins bars from Amazon are low carb too. Some sites for low carb cookie or cake making ingredients are worth visiting to stock up on low carb treats. Loads of alternatives on Amazon and low carb sites. I like Joseph's low carb tortilla wraps, great fun.
I am a veggie stir-fry queen at mo. My last one left me with a 5.6 reading 2 hours later. My pre-meal reading can be a lot higher.
Small steps works for me.
Sugar/carb cravings will put a mucker on your good works. We have loads of tricks to teach you to reach your goals.
Feel free to jump in anytime in 'type 2 life' thread. We are a friendly bunch and very protective of each other. You're welcome anytime.

 

[daisy1]

@melliemars

Hello and welcome to the forum I'm glad you have left that horrible group. You have made brilliant progress so far and have joined the right forum for support. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...cose-testing-supplies-incl-test-strips.19002/


You may also be interested to read
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/questions-to-ask-at-a-diabetes-clinic.17091/


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

 

[chalup]

Wow.... Just wow.... I left another forum because I thought the general attitude was harsh and bullying to anyone that did not do exactly what they said but they had nothing on that lovely group of fanatics. You are well rid of them. The people here cover a whole spectrum of diet and medication regimens and will always recognize that we are all different with differing needs. Most agree that carb control at some level is the best method of getting diabetes under control but low carb means different things to different people. I am at about 20 grams or less a day and that is very low, others are at 50 or 80 or even higher. Getting a meter and learning what your body tolerates and does not tolerate is a very good idea. I hope you will find the support and help here that you need and I believe you will do well. Take a deep breath, calm down, and take this day by day. You have found friends

 

[seadragon]

I think you are well rid of that group on Facebook. nobody needs that sort of bullying least of all newly diagnosed diabetics. It's enough to take in without that awful attitude they have.

I highly recommend the dietdoctor.com website too ,as it actually had an article about cheat days recently. An occasional treat that means you can stick to la ifestyle diet most of the time, is way better than ending up obsessing about what you can't have and then you are likely to want it all the more.

If you let yourself have the occasional treat you will probably feel much better overall. And then if you can decide to have the treat 'tomorrow' instead of today you might find the cravings go away before the 'tomorrow comes.

I eat a mainly LCHF diet. My go to treat is berries and double cream wit the occasional square or two of dark chocolate.

The best thing you can do to take control is to get a meter (buy your own if doctor wont give you one) and check before eating and then 1 hour and two hours after food. This will show what foods do to your system personally as everyone's different and you may be lucky and find some of your favourites do not spike you. Wheat is my worst culprit.

Dietdoctor.com also has some great recipe sections and lots of success stories and it is all feee info and backed up by current scientific research - although you might find it hard to convince UK health professionals of that.

Once you have your mete you can also test whether a brisk walk after a meal will help to lower any spike that may occur. If have a cheat meal then I find a 20 minute walk will usually get blood levels back down (because glusose in the blood is used up straight away by the walk.

Any way welcome to forum and well done on weight loss so far.

 

[melliemars]

Thanks again, everyone. I've lost another stone in a week as I haven't been eating much, scared to eat anything other than chicken, tuna and salad. I have a meter but I don't want to test. It feels too overwhelming. I just want to lose the weight and it'll all go away.

I had half a banana and some cream and berries yesterday so that was good, faced my fears. I know we shouldn't eat bananas but they're good for potassium and I feel like I'll be doing myself damage if I don't have half of one, will that be ok?

 

[chalup]

I personally do not eat bananas because they spike me but what you need to do is test before eating one and then 1 and 2 hours after to see if your body tolerates them. There are other foods with potassium. Most of the world for most of history did not have access to bananas and seemed to do just fine. Look up high potassium foods on the internet and see which are low carb or research supplements if you are worried about it. The berries and cream are a good meal. Have you looked at the threads describing what other people are eating to get some ideas? It's great that you are losing weight and that will help with everything but 14 pounds in a week is a lot. Please don't starve yourself as that is not good for you. It sounds like you are getting your head around this thing. Just give yourself time, and credit for progress made

 

[emlet]

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed Type 2 diabetic a month ago. I'm 31. It's only just become real the past two weeks and I can't stop crying and having panic attacks (already a very anxious person and am also withdrawing from Citalopram so that might be the reason I'm so highly strung about this). There's just so much confusing contradicting information out there and I have no idea what to do for the best. I've never been so devastated in my life. It's all my own fault for being a carb and sugar addict.

I have A LOT of weight to lose and have already lost 10lbs in the past 3 weeks and I exercise daily now. I was ready to lose it anyway, but I didn't think I would be *this* forced into it. The sheer thought of never being able to have a cheat meal or a drink because I'm on 2000mg Metformin just kills me. To be honest, I have caught myself thinking "What's the point?.

I joined a group on FB called Type 2 Diabetes Rebels and they were OBSESSED with LCHF diet. No cheat days and if you had anything that wasn't LCHF they would say that you were going to die a horrific slow death and that people who factor in cheats are just going to die young and horrifically. They would tag me in photos they uploaded of people with rotting feet and blindness saying, "This is what your cheat day will get you".

I kicked off about it today and here's how it went down ....



I have no idea what I'm doing. They said that if I don't follow what they say to the letter, I'm harming myself and not to trust what doctors or anyone else says. I'm someone who loves my food, and I would be happy with a cheat meal (still in moderation) every month or 6 weeks and LCHF the rest of the time, but they say it all adds up to harming you and them BOOM, out of nowhere you start the horrific suffering.

I haven't been on the course yet, I can't get on it till January if I'm lucky. I have no support. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what diet to follow or what I can and can't have as a diabetic. I don't know how much sugar or carb I can have each day if any. If anyone could reach out to me and give me some support on this I would just be so thankful. I feel like I've been given a death sentence (sorry for the dramatics, I probably need a slap). Thank you for reading xx

-Melanie

Hiya I'm in same place as you! Just got diagnosed properly today maybe we can help each other on hereI suffer with panic attacks and sugar and carb addict.....you don't need a slap! I really understand how u feeling....hope things get easier for you

 

[Heretic1]

Thanks again, everyone. I've lost another stone in a week as I haven't been eating much, scared to eat anything other than chicken, tuna and salad. I have a meter but I don't want to test. It feels too overwhelming. I just want to lose the weight and it'll all go away.

I had half a banana and some cream and berries yesterday so that was good, faced my fears. I know we shouldn't eat bananas but they're good for potassium and I feel like I'll be doing myself damage if I don't have half of one, will that be ok?

@melliemars
It sounds like you are doing brilliantly on the weight loss ...... Superb start!
If you don't want to 'test' yet - don't do li!, it sounds like you are doing all the right stuff anyway!
If it's any consolation, I'm 4 months in, I've lost almost 5 stone (my BMI is now 25), ALL of my results are normal..... Including my hba1c. (Was 97 now 44), and outside of the hba1c results I have been 'finger pricked' the total of 3 times. I, like you felt it would be overwhelming and scary, I've got this far without it, and it is something I might consider in the future ..... If I feel the need to do so. YOU do what is right for YOU - don't be pushed!
Keep it up.

 

[Heretic1]

Btw....
Just as a footnote to the above. You so right, Bananas are a little carb heavy, but don't panic too much. I always have (even before I was labelled) had banana before doing any good physical exercise. I am more carb conscious now, but I still have my 'nana' pre exercise.... It gives me the fuel I feel I need.
Try to get some good exercise too ... It all helped me drop the pounds quickly!

Again the best of luck. If a knackered cynical ****** like me can do it - anyone can.