griffy
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- Being restricted! Taking tablets!! Not understanding things.
I'm so happy!!!
Now I know that's an unusual headline for posts in this forum, but I am very happy! I'm not here to gloat, just to share good news because when I was first diagnosed with T2 at the beginning of June this year I didn't quite know what had hit me and I want people to understand that you can make a difference (although I do totally understand that isn't always the case) but I hope this will inspire any newbie's that it's not ALL doom and gloom. So, this is what I did after I stopped the panic:
1. I cut out the rubbish in my diet and cut down the portion sizes. I allowed myself a little of what I wasn't allowed and a lot of what I was allowed! However, I do on the whole avoid chocolate, puddings, crisps and pre-packed foods unless there's an emergency! I now eat more fish and lean meats, fruit and veg.
2. I went to see a proper nutritionist who told me not to eat bananas and melons due to their sugar content. She diagnosed an intolerance to citrus fruits, so now I have mango, berries and apples. I also really love mango & berry smoothies (produced at a health food shop whilst you wait) . The nutritionist has also put me on Cholesterase with my doctor's permission, they both agree this is a good halfway house rather than statins to sort cholesterol problem due to diabetes(I have some liver problems so statins weren't ideal).
3. I cut down somewhat on the carbs but didn't cut them out significantly, I have new potatoes and the odd jacket spud but chips are out (apart from birthday treats!). I also shifted from brown bread, pasta and rice and switched to wholegrain, but I tend to keep all this to a minimum.
4. I started swimming, between once and twice a week and I walk the dog faster (important) rather than dawdling.
5. I stopped drinking alcohol, although I now drink a glass of red or a dark rum & diet coke once every 10 days or so - and enjoy it thoroughly I have to say, probably more so than when I drank regularly and didn't appreciate it.
6. Went on metformin, 1500mg per day.
7. I stopped worrying about the negative effects of diabetes and started to think about what I wanted to enjoy in my life. This was key I think in keeping me on the straight and narrow. If you sit thinking about all the negative stuff, guess what, you become negative. Now how does that help? If my diabetes gets worse thats when I'll worry, but for now I'm doing all I can for that not to happen.
So, end result? Came back from my doctors today who's reported my cholesterol has come down from 9 to 4.1 and also the good/bad ratio has improved (still more to go though). He was very worried about my liver function (from yellow jaundice and glandular fever some 11 years ago) and one of the tests (that should have come out under 30) was 155 three months ago, today is 53.
Oh, and I've lost 2.5 stone . Sugar levels were 10, now averaging 6 - again some work to do there and still have another 2 stone to lose. :?
I had to share this with some of you who were really there for me in the early days. I haven't been on this Forum much over the last few months as I've been living life and I think that's where some people can get the wrong impression with this forum. Just because there's a lot of people asking for help here and there can be some negative messages, that doesn't mean you can't win (or keep diabetes under control). It just means that some people once they've got their head around it don't come back and report the up side and that's precisely why I wanted to submit this post.
I'm not saying everything's going to be fantastic in the future, no idea what will happen next, but I've found that I can hopefully take control.
So good luck to everyone and if I can answer any questions I'll try - but remember I am still a relative novice and this is only my own experience. An early valuable lesson was that everyone is individual and their symptoms/results can vary.
Griffy.
Now I know that's an unusual headline for posts in this forum, but I am very happy! I'm not here to gloat, just to share good news because when I was first diagnosed with T2 at the beginning of June this year I didn't quite know what had hit me and I want people to understand that you can make a difference (although I do totally understand that isn't always the case) but I hope this will inspire any newbie's that it's not ALL doom and gloom. So, this is what I did after I stopped the panic:
1. I cut out the rubbish in my diet and cut down the portion sizes. I allowed myself a little of what I wasn't allowed and a lot of what I was allowed! However, I do on the whole avoid chocolate, puddings, crisps and pre-packed foods unless there's an emergency! I now eat more fish and lean meats, fruit and veg.
2. I went to see a proper nutritionist who told me not to eat bananas and melons due to their sugar content. She diagnosed an intolerance to citrus fruits, so now I have mango, berries and apples. I also really love mango & berry smoothies (produced at a health food shop whilst you wait) . The nutritionist has also put me on Cholesterase with my doctor's permission, they both agree this is a good halfway house rather than statins to sort cholesterol problem due to diabetes(I have some liver problems so statins weren't ideal).
3. I cut down somewhat on the carbs but didn't cut them out significantly, I have new potatoes and the odd jacket spud but chips are out (apart from birthday treats!). I also shifted from brown bread, pasta and rice and switched to wholegrain, but I tend to keep all this to a minimum.
4. I started swimming, between once and twice a week and I walk the dog faster (important) rather than dawdling.
5. I stopped drinking alcohol, although I now drink a glass of red or a dark rum & diet coke once every 10 days or so - and enjoy it thoroughly I have to say, probably more so than when I drank regularly and didn't appreciate it.
6. Went on metformin, 1500mg per day.
7. I stopped worrying about the negative effects of diabetes and started to think about what I wanted to enjoy in my life. This was key I think in keeping me on the straight and narrow. If you sit thinking about all the negative stuff, guess what, you become negative. Now how does that help? If my diabetes gets worse thats when I'll worry, but for now I'm doing all I can for that not to happen.
So, end result? Came back from my doctors today who's reported my cholesterol has come down from 9 to 4.1 and also the good/bad ratio has improved (still more to go though). He was very worried about my liver function (from yellow jaundice and glandular fever some 11 years ago) and one of the tests (that should have come out under 30) was 155 three months ago, today is 53.
Oh, and I've lost 2.5 stone . Sugar levels were 10, now averaging 6 - again some work to do there and still have another 2 stone to lose. :?
I had to share this with some of you who were really there for me in the early days. I haven't been on this Forum much over the last few months as I've been living life and I think that's where some people can get the wrong impression with this forum. Just because there's a lot of people asking for help here and there can be some negative messages, that doesn't mean you can't win (or keep diabetes under control). It just means that some people once they've got their head around it don't come back and report the up side and that's precisely why I wanted to submit this post.
I'm not saying everything's going to be fantastic in the future, no idea what will happen next, but I've found that I can hopefully take control.
So good luck to everyone and if I can answer any questions I'll try - but remember I am still a relative novice and this is only my own experience. An early valuable lesson was that everyone is individual and their symptoms/results can vary.
Griffy.