• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

The Silver Lining

Celeriac

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,065
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
It's Monday morning (just) and since Mondays are always bleargh I figured that some positive thinking is in order.

Diabetes is horrible, that's a given. But sometimes there can be silver lining moments, even if only small ones.

Mine would be:

Going organic.
Discovering new vegetables and different ways to cook the usuals.
Enthusing husband to try cooking new things.
Developing the taste for dark chocolate.
Eating as much clotted cream as I feel like pigging.
Getting over the fainting every time I see blood thing.
Getting over the passing out anytime I have to have a blood test thing.
Getting over the passing out every time I have a shot thing.
Not having the flu since 2007, thanks to annual flu shot.
Being followed by Dr Robert Lustig MD on Twitter.
Joining this forum
Feeling confident enough to argue my point with HCPs.
Feeling more empowered to make a difference to my own health by my own actions.

So, hoping that lots of you can also come up with things which are positives, to cheer us all up on a Monday and especially newbies lurking.
 
Great idea for a thread, Celeriac!

I was only recently diagnosed, and am still getting used to my new circumstances, but I was just thinking earlier how much I'm enjoying my new way of eating. I'm cooking and experimenting with so many new foods and techniques and it's been a lot of fun (and delicious to boot - yay for fat!).
 
The positives about being diabetic? That's a different idea and I'm going to give it a go. I'll need a bit of thinking time but being new to all this, it gives a different way to look at my situation. I borrowed the pic from @Diabetescouk Twitter feed.
 
Great thread idea. Positives for me:

  • Clotted cream... om nom nom!
  • No more bloated feeling from too many carbs
  • More energy from not eating so many carbs
  • Losing 8 stone and all the joy that brought
  • Being confronted with the choice to stay sick or get well
  • Knowing how to help family and friends prevent diabetes
  • Joining this forum
 
Realising GPs don't know it all.
Having a better idea of what a healthy diet is.
Being much more aware of what's going on inside me, BP, BG, eyes etc etc.
Feeling better than I have done for years, still work in progress.
 
I woke up this morning feeling super awake and strong, ready to tackle the day I had delicious, filling meals yesterday and then went out for a fun indoor climbing session. Well, no TV, no sweets, instead a good night's sleep. Listening to my colleagues yawning at their desks today reminds me that my life is actually quite alright

Diabetes is a good excuse to get the tasty foods, and to decline the sandwiches (I have never liked them!). Usually I have the fanciest lunchbox, too
 
Ah yes, that mid afternoon slump in the office, was torture.
Thankfully it is totally a thing of the past for me.

I look around and see them all yawning, drifting and zoning out, and think 'so what did you have for lunch? sandwich, crisps and a coke, I bet. I hope someone is checking you for glucose tolerance issues...'
 
I still suffer a mid-afternoon slump in the office. Not so sure it is always to do with carbs...
 
It can be food intolerances too - but with me, the carbs were always the worst of the two...

Milk will make me yawn til the tears run. Even just a dash in a cup of tea.
 
I am formulating a blog which I will post soon on more or less the same topic.
The biggest and most important is knowledge!
And how, the 'basic, staple foods' that were trying their utmost to turn me into a corpse!!!!
 
Since being diagnosed, I am no longer:

Sleeping 11hrs a night and still feeling tired.
Losing weight at an alarming rate.
Drinking pop to quench a never ending thirst.
Peeing like a race horse every 5 minutes.
Not able to see things properly including the TV.

I am now able to look forward to things, with some planning. I can deal with why I was feeling ****** and look after myself so it doesn't happen again. I also appreciate family and friends even more, thanks to the support they have given, and still are doing.

There's still a lot to learn but with professional help, friends and this forum, life is not impossible.

I'd still prefer not to be a type 1 diabetic but I can live with it.
 
Great thread topic @Celeriac. It's interesting to read the posts...then go "Oh yeah, me too!" My silver linings would be:

  • "Meeting" some lovely people on this forum. Especially the fun & knowledgable "Old Timers."
  • Discovering how much I LOVE steak, roast Asparagus & a good old British Breakfast fry-up.
  • Passing on the knowledge I've learnt from other members to newbies, who arrive here lost, bewildered, overwhelmed & frightened...especially if they're newly diagnosed too. What a joy to see them turn it around & successfully manage their diabetes, and then go on to give advice to other newbies.
  • Weight loss due to dietary changes.
  • Finding out I look "FABULOUS DARLING" in reading glasses...eyesight got worse leading up to diagnosis, and although it's much, much improved, it's never gonna be 20/20 vision again.
 
Sorry Ali, I am 'young!'
You are as old as you feel! And I feel great.

I do agree about us oaps though, but you are only jealous because you ain't got a free bus pass!

Totally agree about the banter on here and some great knowledgeable posters, that know their stuff!
 
Forgot to add to mine, buying food from new places. We used to buy food from Lidl and Sainsbury's, with the occasional foray into ASDA. Now we shop at Ocado, Waitrose, Iceland, Fortnum and Mason, Holland and Barrett,Tesco, Perfectly Paleo, Morrisons, Aldi, St Marcus Fine Foods and more as well. New shops to explore (walking is exercise), new food and parcels !
 

Hi @nosher8355. When using the term "old timers," i meant it in the nicest possible way. It's to do with the length of time as members on the forum, and achieving the status of "Legend." Bejeebers, I wouldn't DARE use it in reference to age!! Not unless I want to be strung up verbally. I ain't that brave, believe me. @Brunneria would never let me get away with calling you old timers "old timers" in a derogatory way. I bet she's scary (but magnificent) when angry. Lol. And, of course...there is the free bus pass thing. X
 
@Alisonjane10 Lol.

In honour of that post, i feel like changing my avatar.

And sadly, I have been known to scare myself when angry. Not something i am proud of, believe me!
 
Brunneria said:
@Alisonjane10 Lol.

In honour of that post, i feel like changing my avatar.

And sadly, I have been known to scare myself when angry. Not something i am proud of, believe me!
Click to expand...

Nawwww! Not your avatar pet!! I've got an image of you as a voluptuous, seductive, feisty woman wandering around your home in a long cocktail dress, Sky high heels & chasing Mr B around the dining table with a pork chop in one hand & a bulletproof champagne in the other.
 

Ah, the power of an avatar, eh?

Love it!!!

Don't resemble it AT ALL, but if it floats yer boat to imagine me like that... Go for it!

(Did you know that @Scandichic selected my avatar for me? I was a blue flower (brunnera) back before my rebirth as the sexiest toon in the history of the world.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/the-perfect-avatar.63450/
 
Silver linings include
Being able to fit into dresses I loved but haven't been able to get into for 20 years!
Eating berries and double cream while feeling virtuous rather than guilty
Improving my general health due to the much better diet I am following now with it's low carbs
Discovering I really like a lot of vegetables especially courgette spaghetti and especially served with a dollop of creme fraiche, a little mustard and some peri-peri spice.
The lovely people on this forum
 
Well I had mostly changed my diet way before diagnosis.

The only silver lining I can see is that my GP seems to understand and respect me more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…