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Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LOL

M

Muppet

Newbie
Messages
4
Location
South Wales
Dislikes
salad, sprouts, sweetcorn
Hello everyone ………..

I found this website last week after my glucose tolerance test. I have been unwell since Christmas, lots of infections, raised white blood cells, tired, unmotivated and very high blood pressure. After several visits to the doctors for fasting bloods, which I was failing, I was taken into hospital with a BP of 210/118 and a pounding pain in my head. The BP is now falling with yet more medication, white blood cells are being investigated and diagnoses of T2 straight on a start dose of metformin building up to 1g BD.

I knew the diagnosis was coming, my partner is on insulin (T2) and I would check my blood sugars and they were nearly always between 8 and 15. There is diabetes on both my parents’ families and being a total and I mean TOTAL junk food addict it was inevitable, already on BP and cholesterol meds, I thought I would have a few more years but no, I have managed to eat my way to T2 by 37.
Since getting married 3 years ago I have nagged, moaned and whinged at my other half about being the worst possible diabetic out there, she has neglected herself so badly she has lost 1/3 of her sight along with a whole load of other health related problems. Now I realise my past eating habits have taken me to exactly the same door as she was at 15 years ago. What scares me is her physical condition but what terrifies me is that I won’t change and I will face the same.

We have talked of nothing else in the last few days, she knows I want to die seeing with my feet on………. LOL funny someone else on here says that too. She knows I have to change my eating and do some exercise and I’m 100% sure she will walk with me and eat better herself. Mad how our loved ones will do things for the better of our health but not do it for their own.

I have a fantastic GP and I know I will get the best medical help, my family are great and will nag me, my friends will support me and sit on me when I wrestle them to the floor for a caramel kitkat and my wife will change her life to help me and who knows she might even die with her own feet on too LOL

I know there are going to be tough days ahead and although I have a fab group of people around me none of them are diabetic, so I hope you guys will be my extra support. I have a great sense of humour and hope I will be in time a welcomed friend to many of you.

Oh yes and so you know how really naughty I am I smoke too…………….. I know in time that has to go also but I can only battle one addiction at a time and I think my battle with food has to come first. Having tried and failed to give up smoking before and always pile on the weight eating more rubbish.

I have read all the advice in the forum about chocolate and I know I’m not going to be a one square of the dark chocolate kind of girl. I am a sugar rush junkie so I know it has to go totally, no doubt I will fall off the wagon and consume the relatives kids selection boxes, but hopefully I will feel so ill and guilty I will drag my sorry ‘butt’ here and take my beating with a carrot stick gracefully. :?
I don’t drink alcohol though so you don’t need to help me battle that one too LOL. I’m sorry I have gone on abit, I wanted to be as honest as I could from the start :roll:

Mand.
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

Hi Mand and welcome to the forum. I can really understand what you are saying and I can almost guarantee there are many who would know what you are saying as well!

The condition is serious and impacts our lives. Even now, I think of the foods I used to eat and how I can't have them now. It isn't easy but over time it does get easier as long as you remain focused. The 'good' thing is that both you and your partner have diabetes so you can live it together. I also have a fantastic team at my health centre and that accounts for so much. Anyway, welcome and I hope you find some answers here!
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

Mand
Welcome.
When I got thrown into the world of diabetes like you I was really sick and emotionally dead. I found my "cure" in a low carb diet. At around 30 to 50grams a day some here would say very low. But I feel reborn. Ailments have disappeared and I'm living life to the max in ways I haven't done for ages. Check out the low carb section here and google the hell out of low carb diet. M
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

First of all, check out all the Forum areas......low and non low carb areas before you decide what is best for you. What suits one may not suit you for various reasons. Medical or otherwise....your choice.

Here is the information we give out to newly diagnosed Type 2's which may be of benefit to you. Have a read.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Ken / Sue.
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Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

thank you all for your warm welcome. we are reading our way through the forums, I think we will end up Low(er) carbing but at the moment I am trying my best to deal with the shakes from cutting out the sugar............. thank god my doc has told me not to even consider giving up the ciggies yet LOL :lol:

I am still sleeping for GB but at least I am thinking before I put anything in my mouth :P I have bought Franks diabetic ice cream and am suprised at how yummy it is :o I have my first review in 6 weeks so will just concentrate on getting rid of sugar out of my diet and increasing my exercise from nil :oops:
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

Muppet, we can advise from our experience, but only you can help yourself. Diabetes is a serious condition that can be controlled & its effects minimised. It may be possible to reverse some effects. 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a leg problem - numbness in my right thigh - & the Dr suspected diabetic nuropathy. If anything is going wrong, that's where I feel it first. I've had two sessions of crippling leg pain, & have corrected it, & still play tennis at club standard (at 71.)

On diagnosis I was told everything that could go wrong, & went to an education programme. I was in a state of shock & scared not to follow ALL the advice. I also was told that diabetes is progressive & I would progress from diet to tables to insulin .... with increasing complications. I ate my complex carbs & my 5-a-day like a good boy, & have maintained an active lifestyle.

The first problem was muscle pains, & the Dr wasn't able to help. That came on after I was given simvastatin for a slightly raised cholesterol. I learned from a letter in "Balance" that statins could cause such problems. I stopped the statin & in a few days I was OK. Dr confirmed the side effect.

Two years ago crippling leg muscle pains developed. It took 5 minutes to get out of bed & I had difficulty driving. Physical activity was ended. At that point I discovered this forum & learned the problems with carbs. I cut the carbs, & within 3 months I was playing tennis again. My latest retina screening indicates no problem. Previously I have had a slight problem in one eye. I would not dare go back to the NHS/DUK complex carb diet. People have now given up offering me sweets & biscuits, etc, as they know I will say "No." My health is good again, & I am less sleepy. [I could doze off during sermons - & I am church organist!]

If you want to get the best possible outcome & health, you must radically change your diet & lifestyle. Smoking won't affect your blood sugar, but will agravate the diabetic complications, so it may be alright to continue in the short term. Obviously the sooner you give up, the better. Encourage each other - you have everything to gain - many years of improved health.
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

If you want to get the best possible outcome & health, you must radically change your diet & lifestyle. Smoking won't affect your blood sugar, but will agravate the diabetic complications, so it may be alright to continue in the short term. Obviously the sooner you give up, the better. Encourage each other - you have everything to gain - many years of improved health.
Click to expand...

Smoking cigarettes will create a rise in your blood sugar level. It's due to the nicotine in the cigarette mixing together with the adrenal system. When this happens, blood sugar levels go higher.
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

Smoking won't affect your blood sugar,
Click to expand...

Not so.......it can and does affect Bg levels. I know to my cost as I had a largish Cigar recently which I later found out had 22 times more Nicotine in it than an ordinary cigarette........Aaaargh ! My Bg levels shot up alarmingly within 20 minutes of smoking the Cigar.

Cigarette smoking impairs glucose tolerance and alters serum levels of hormones involved in glucose metabolism.

Ken
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

thank you again for your input, I know the ciggies have to go but i if i set myself too many goals at this early stage i will probably fail and be in a worse mess :(

my partner has suffered the concequences of smoking but she gave up nearly 3 years ago and hasn't had laser surgery since so i do appreciate the importance of giving up and I'm taking my diagnoses seriously, I guess I am still in shock and a bit sorry for myself. By the time I have my first diabetic appointment I hope to be able to say I have cut the sugar, doing exercise and looking more posative about my future :)
 
Re: Scared newbie needing the comforting hand on shoulder LO

Hi Muppet and welcome. :)

This is a good place for support! 8) :D
 
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