I'm glad your DN will see you, mine rang me once to say your HBA1C was 93 and needed to go to glicazide as doctor prescribed metformin but it affected my stomach.
At the end of that call she said I'll leave you to it and ring you in 3 months. Nothing else just that and was gone. I've only been full diabetic for 6 weeks or so. It's like I don't exist. Still getting readings upto 19.7 regularly. Pic below was 3 hours after I ate homemade chicken soup. I give up.
I just want to let you know you're not alone. I was diagnosed in July with T2. I had BG readings in the 17s. Had my blood tests, got thrown on some tablets (I declined them, although I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you're confident about diet/lifestyle changes), got called about my test results a couple of days later, and was told I'd been referred to diabetes training and the nurse wouldn't speak to me until after that. My first diabetes training session is next week, so had I not made a pain out of myself, the nurse would have gone from July through to October (when the diabetes training completes for me) without saying another word to me.
I went low carb the day my first blood test was done. Like you, I'm the main cook in our house, and I have 2 kids. I started simple. Very simple. I had a Greek yogurt for breakfast and an omelette for lunch - every day for a week, while I researched and learnt about low carb (mostly on this forum). For dinner, I cooked the kids theirs, then I'd sort mine and my wife's dinner (she's joined me on the dinners to support me). My process for dinner design:
1) Pick your protein of choice. Any protein will do at the start pretty much, as long as it's not breaded or battered.
2) Forget that carbs exist. They're just filler on your plate, taking up valuable room.
3) Pick some vegetables that go nice with step 1 - not potato, parsnip, carrot or other high carb ones, think more brocolli, cauliflower, spinach, most above ground grown ones. Fill the rest of your plate with them, including where the carbs used to go.
It doesn't have to be massively expensive unless you want it to be. It's stressful getting to grips with it, step 2 above took me weeks to fully get into the swing of doing, but you can do it. As you lower your carbs, you'll see the blood glucose readings improve, slowly at first, but it speeds up once you get into low carbing.
You can do this if you put your mind to it. Don't let the clinical and impersonal approach of the NHS defeat you, you're worth more than that! Just give it a try maybe, what have you got to lose? Worst case is you go on meds and that's that, but if you don't give it a go, you'll always wonder.
6.5 weeks later and my blood glucose has been under control for 5 weeks. I've lost 2 stone. My blood pressure has come down and I've been taken off 1 of my 3 tablets for it. It's possible to do - terrifying and hard work, admittedly - but possible. Give it a go if you can, you might even like it!
