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Stressed and worried

@Gargoyletaz So glad to hear from you and that you are coping ok.

Wow! Why am I still shocked when I read stories like this about nurses / doctors?

I have set my goals to exactly the same as you because I too have no idea of what they should be.

As time goes on and you get your diabetes under control, you may be able to reintroduce certain foods back into your eating regime, depending on your meter.
For instance, 6 months ago I couldn’t eat even one strawberry. Now I can eat 3 huge ones or 6 small ones with cream.

Yes, you will always be diabetic, and I understand it is often genetic unless you have damaged your pancreas. (I know I will be corrected on this ). However, you will be able to live life without the fear of amputation or blindness, just by choosing the right food to eat.

It’s mindset thing, to a degree. If you were gluten or lactose intolerant, or allergic to nuts, you wouldn’t think twice about avoiding foods containing those things. So cutting carbs down and not eating a bag of crisps or a whole slab of chocolate ( my kryptonites) will become a way of life.

*picks up her soapbox and departs*
 
@Gargoyletaz so glad you are doing ok. Your story about your nurse makes my blood boil - it just reinforces my belief that you have to do your own research and be your own advocate. Over the years I have gradually lost faith in a lot of doctors and nurses - being told my i was suffering from menopause symptoms for 3 years when in fact I had an undiagnosed underactive thyroid (only got tested because I asked). Told I had pulled a muscle in my leg when I had ruptured my cruciate ligament, I knew I had done this but they wouldn’t listen so I ended up going private to a specialist to get diagnosed. recently my GP saying I was at no risk of type 2 diabetes just because my brother had just been diagnosed - I pushed for a test and it came back as pre-diabetic.

in short, do what is right for you. I hope eventually you will get a better DN/GP.

Rant over!
 
I see it as long term I crash dieted but the word sustainable is important too. Do the best you can don’t beat yourself up. We all binge I think comfort food over losing loved ones etc. it’s between you and doc nurse.

just remember its Long term. When I got on here it was I know consequences of diabetes but do what you can. I do now but it was dark terrifying at start for me
 

I use my bg monitor check a couple of hours after eating from time to time. Recently I was struggling with getting back to normal HbA1c, and checked foods I thought were okay. Berries turn out to not be okay for me.
That’s the beauty of the monitors, you get to work out what is okay food for you.

The other little gem I finally worked out and paid attention to, is the size of my portions matters. If you eat a cup of berries, they have twice as much carbs as half a cup of berries! Can’t believe how long it took me to get to that!
 

It’s more likely you have dawn phenomenon. Low carb diets seem to amplify this for some people (me included). I find I often get high readings before I break my fast, but before my second and third meal I’m back to 5ish. Didnt’t seem to affect me improving my HbA1c, it’s back in normal range.
 

Did either of your parents try low carb - I’m guessing not. IMO, Having a tendency to insulin resistance may be genetic, but whether that means you are in the diabetic range, prediabetic, or normal is usually up to what you do.

Can you pay for your own HbA1c? (I’m in NZ and we can). That would give you some encouragement in the meantime?

I’ve found that once i had a few good HbA1c they changed my diagnosis to insulin resistant.

There’s a doctor in NZ who won doctor of the year in 2021, he has hundreds of patients in remission by promoting low carb, so maybe your nurse is just one of those who can’t change her mind. You only need to convince yourself, who knows, if you keep it up you may convince her.

And it is possible to not have the things you listed forever, though once you are settled in to low carb, you may be able to do unimaginable things like have 3 fries and realise that was enough and not eat them again for months!

You’re doing so well!

And well done for taking an important step in preparing your child for adulthood and coping while lots of other hard things happening.
 
Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been a while.

I realised by the end of January that my tolerance to carbs was greatly lower than previous years when I slipped into prediabetic levels.

I started Merformin the beginning of February and I am now on 4 x 500mg a day. My doctor arranged for another HBA1C test mid April.

My pre meal levels are still 'high' in the late 7s or 8s, but my post meal levels hardly move. At worse, the rise is well within 2 mmol.

I am on a keto diet because I'm all or nothing when it comes to bread, potatoes, rice etc


I am absolutely over the moon to say my HBA1C came back today as 41! Non diabetic range


I honestly couldn't have done it without this forum and everyone who posts on here.

My advice to anyone newly diagnosed is:

1) get a glucose monitor
2) cut down on carbs (potatoes & bread in any form, rice and pasta in any colour)
3) check the carb content of foods you regularly eat & make any changes that you can
3) cut out anything sugary
4) understand sugar free does not mean carb free
‍

5) don't let diabetes control you, take control of your diabetes
6) ask questions on here. There is always someone on here that will know the answer


There is life after diagnosis
 
Thank you, @Michellenz

Both my parents were in their 60's when they were diagnosed and were never advised to cut carbs. I wasn't advised either, but thankfully, I've been a member of here for a few years, so I was well educated on how carbs affect our glucose levels.

It has been interesting seeing what advice people from different countries have been given and also what support they have been given.

I am ever so grateful for this site and the vast amount of knowledge it holds
 
@Gargoyletaz There are lots of great resources on this site but others I find useful are:

Resources – Public Health Collaboration

phcuk.org
https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

A Low Carb Diet Guide for Beginners – Diet Doctor

In this top low-carb guide, we show you what to eat, what to avoid and how to avoid side effects. Get delicious low-carb recipes and meal plans.
www.dietdoctor.com
 
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