Diagnosed a week ago t2 spent the last week fasting and looking into the various complications I could now have lurking since I hadn’t been to the doctor for 6 years also feeling guilty because I’m was 16st I’m 56 and have 2 teenage children so I worry about the impact on my family if I get really sick or die
Sorry if its depressing
Sorry if it's depressing? Seriously? When you just get diagosed and you start googling just what T2
could mean, there's nothing to be cheerful about. So please, no apologies. Your feelings are perfectly valid, and we all had them when we were in your shoes.
Now, here comes the good news: You can tackle this and avoid complications. Including the nastiest one, death. (We all keel over some time of course, but it's not in your immediate future, and it doesn't have to be a T2 related kicking-of-the-bucket) Personally, I was right where you are, and no-one could offer me any reassurance... Just that T2 is a progressive disease, and considering I saw what it did to friends and family members, I was convinced I had one foot in the grave. I cried my eyes out. For weeks. My husband is already my carer, and I saw his future looking rather bleak: more work for him, and early widower-hood to boot. So I read, a lot. I mean, seriously, a LOT. Would all have gone a lot quicker if I'd found this place sooner, as I made mistakes at the start, but.... My HbA1c (average of 3 months) has been in the normal/healthy range since 3 months after my diagnosis, 3 years ago. So, it can be done, and I did it on diet alone. (I started out with Metformin, got really ill, got switched to Gliclazide, and could drop that and the statins after starting the diet. Three months in I was medication-free). So... No complications, and I'm not dropping dead any time soon either, unless a truck hits me or something. Better yet, I have more energy and I have had no complications (like thrush and never-healing wounds) whatsoever.
Bottom line: You can do something about this. I wrote a little quick-start guide,
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ , and for more in-depth stuff go to this forum's website, as well as dietdoctor.com, and maybe read Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code. It's all good, scientific stuff.
You're not about to push up daisies. And for your information, those 16 stones were caused by you slowly becoming a T2, it's a
symptom, not a cause. If you don't know why the weight is piling on, you can't do anything about it. I know I tried, but since I didn't know I had a metabolic condition meaning I couldn't process carbs right, well... Conventional diets of brown carbs and low fat just made a bad thing worse. (I went from obese to morbidly obese, topping out at over 102 kilo's. On Low Carb/High Fat however, I lost 25 kilo's/50 pounds).
In any case... Your current feelings are normal. I just wish to offer you some hope. A lot of T2's here follow the Low Carb/High Fat diet, or the strickter version, Keto (I switched to that last year), or any of the other carb-restricting diets: Mediterranian, carnivore, Scandinavian, Newcastle... Just get yourself a meter (most T2's aren't given one, but self-fund), and find out what your meals mean for your bloodsugars. Anything carby'll spike you, meaning straight sugars, yes, but also potatoes, bread and all grain-based foods, pasta, rice, corn, cereal/muesli, most fruits (except for berries, starfruit, avocado and tomatoes), most underground veggies and legumes. That sounds like a lot to scratch, but there's plenty left to enjoy: meat, fish, poultry, cheese, double cream, clotted cream, cheese, eggs, full fat greek yoghurt, above-ground veggies, mushrooms, berries, olives, extra dark chocolate (85% and up), certain nuts...
Just be careful. I don't know what meds you've been put on if any, but gliclazide, medication like it and insulin in combination with a low carb diet
will cause hypo's. So don't rush into anything blindly (meaning, without a meter), and discuss any dietary changes with your medical team. Metformin is fine, but the rest is a little iffy. Keep jellybabies or dextro on hand if you feel unsure.
So.... Chin up. You're not dead yet, and you CAN actually fight this thing. And you're about to find out just how versatile cauliflower rice is. And bacon's your new best friend.
Welcome. You're going to be fine.
Jo