Hi,
Being diagnosed with diabetes is a shock for any. We go through variety of feelings: fright, worry, anger, confusion, etc., etc... All this is normal and eventually once you accept it, at least psychologically you feel better.
Looking at your glucose values I would say that they are high but not disastrously high. Don't panic over them. Remember, our bodies are not exactly machines with fixed values.
Now about your diabetes. I'd it is T2, there are steps of management and treatment. Firstly, you are encouraged to eat less sugars and carbohydrates. You'd be surprised how many things have them. However, our bodies need some for energy, so I think excluding all may not be advisable. You will find in the forum a lot of talk about low carb diet, keto diet, etc. These diets are based on excluding the carbohydrates from the diet and in particular the so called Keto diet which essentially works by removing all carbs from diet and forcing the body to break down the formed fats for energy. This is a process which the body uses to survive in some situations like starving. One of the end products of this process is ketone, a substance that is not very good for the body. You may want to discuss it with your doctor. This is my opinion, and the opinion of most dieticians, diabetes specialist nurses and diabetic specialists. This is not what a lot of people think and you'll see many comments supporting it. As I said, discuss it with your gp.
Diet doesn't work on its own. It must be accompanied by exercise. Here may I suggest that you take up some form of exercise if you haven't done it already. It doesn't have to be strenuous. Brisk walk will most likely do.
The next step in the treatment process is medication. There are several different types of meds. Some make your body less resistant to insulin (the cause of raised BS). Others are lowering the BS itself. These work together with diet and exercise.
If it still doesn't work, the next step is insulin injections.
Now something personal, I have gone through all these and now am using insulin. For myself I wish I did it long ago, for all the good diets and meds did me. I was really afraid especially from the injections. Pleasantly surprised to find that they are practically painless.
Medics view diabetes T2 as a progressive illness. In some cases with weight loss, exercise, meds and diet some reversal may be seen, but in no way it is sustainable. My doctor told me after diagnosis when I asked about the prognosis that most people end up on insulin. It is worth noting that this is very individual. I have familial history of diabetes, so I'm one of these.
I was tested for T1 after for a long time my BS did not respond to treatment. At the time I was taking 3 meds at max doses. Well, it was T2, as the doctor thought. I think that most doctors are quite good at judging what type it is and when to test for other types. You can always discuss it with yours. If you are interested there is a wealth of information on the Diabetes.co.uk site.
Back to the sugars and carbohydrates. Almost any vegetable and fruit contains some carbohydrates. You can look them up if you Google them. For example, search for "carrot carbs". That way you can learn about the food you eat. In general, carbohydrates are in three forms: sugars, starches and soluble fibers.
Not only the quantity of carbs you eat matters, but the quality. You would've heard about glycerin index or GI. It is a number showing how quickly the carbs are digested and absorbed into the blood stream. For example, sugar is absorbed very quickly, causing a spike of the BS. The slowest is the soluble fiber. What it means is that it provides slow release over longer time and therefore more stable BS. Again, there is lots of information and you can Google it.
Meat and fats are carb negative.
You should try and eat from all food groups as each has components that the body needs: vitamins, minerals, aminoacids, natural hormones, etc. If you are on very restrictive diet you may suffer side effects due to lack of these. Maybe ask your doctor to refer you to dietician. They have better understanding about nutrition and the needs of the body.
All of the above is to try and give you an overall picture and make it less frightening. It is not a sentence. Just remember, we are not machines. Our bodies need some time to adjust to the changes we make. I would strongly advise you to check your BS once a week unless your doctor advised you otherwise. Certainly 6 times daily every day is too much. It becomes a focus, you become stressed and that causes the BS to rise further. Many things affect it -from bad diet to stress, to illness. This is normal, so everybody will be telling you not to stress and worry.
Don't expect instant results. For example I did not eat regularly before diagnosis. After I forced myself to have 3 meals a day. What happened? I was constantly hungry for about 6 months or thereabouts. When I started on Insulin, the same thing happened.
I'm sure that there are many more things that you'll wonder about, but hey, it takes time to learn. And we will be learning all the time. Aim to live a normal life and don't let the diabetes control you. You can have good quality of life if you are the one controlling it.
Wishing you plain sailing after getting out of the reefs.