Type 2 Newbie. Feeling sad.

Welcome. Many of us type 2s on here have been where you are now. I know I was for a while. It's not a good feeling. However, just joining this forum means you haven't lost all hope. Many of us on here have managed to turn our health issues around simply through diet and moderate exercise. The diet that will work is NOT the official government "healthy" diet of high crabs and low fat. That is a death spiral for type 2 diabetics in my opinion and experience - it was for sure slowly killing me. The key is to cut way back on carbs and replace the calories with healthy fat. Healthy fat is also not what the government says. Healthy fat is dairy (butter, full fat milk/yogurt/cheese), eggs, animal fat and a few cold pressed fats like olive oil. Things like margarine and chemically processed vegetable oil are bad fats. Here's a couple of links regarding a proper diet for a type 2:
http://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes and http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf. The best part of the diet is that it is easy to stay on, unlike a calorie restricted high carb low fat diet, which I never could follow for very long.

About a year ago I had a BMI of 30, was 50 pounds overweight, and newly diagnosed as type 2. Following (or at least trying to follow) the government recommended diet had been slowly destroying my health for years. Then I tried a low carb/high fat diet (LCHF). Now my BMI is 25, I've lost 50 pounds and my blood sugar levels are pretty much non-diabetic if I don't eat massive amounts of carbs in a meal, and I am off all diabetic meds. I literally feel healthier and fitter than when I was in my 20s and I just turned 50.

Please don't think you've lost 20 years of your life. There is a good chance you can manage this and maybe even thrive.

This is a brilliant website to start with to get a better understand of what you are up against: http://www.phlaunt.com/

Stick with this forum and ask questions and read posts and I have no doubt that within not too long you'll be posting messages like mine to newbies on the forum.

Others will be along here soon with more encouragement.

AngelaSun said:

Thing is, I gained 20lbs in six months BECAUSE of the diabetes.

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I don't understand this bit. Perhaps more information will help.

AngelaSun said:

Been feeling very down. The biggest thought I've had to come to terms with has been "I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."
I'm very sad. Suddenly I feel old, broken, unhealthy, and like life is slipping away from me. I feel robbed.

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Don't think for one second you won't find ANY number of members who haven't felt like you do. As i was taught when I was diagnosed 6 months ago, PLEASE heed this advice. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, STAY CALM AND BREATHE !!!

People will be on here shortly (given they're mostly Nthn Hemispshere people just waking up unlike me living deep downunder) to give you some guidance. Stay with this group, ensure you ask questions (and please respond as they will take their time to help you) and assess / read everything they have to say

Mike

AngelaSun said:

I have six children. Had GD with at least three of them, the 6th being on insulin.
Thankfully because of all that, I've been spared from the initial shock of dealing with Diabetes, lancets, diet, and what everything means.
A1C after birth was low 5's for four years.
Recently (November) ate a bunch of cake, fell asleep suddenly, and woke up with 300mgdl (2hrs after the cake binge).
I collected data for a weekend and then called my GP. She put me on Metformin right away.
Now taking 2,000mg/day ER. It has helped, but I'm not at the target yet.
Fasting is in the 140's -160's. 2hr PP (post prandial) stays between 130's - 150's on average, though two months into treatment it seems to be going back up (200's+).

Been feeling very down. The biggest thought I've had to come to terms with has been "I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."
I'm very sad. Suddenly I feel old, broken, unhealthy, and like life is slipping away from me. I feel robbed.
I've worked so hard at accepting my body as something beautiful and good, even though I'm overweight.
Now I'm back to fussing about food and calories and carbs, and how they like to stick to my hips and belly.
Thing is, I gained 20lbs in six months BECAUSE of the diabetes. So I'm feeling kind of hopeless right now.

*shrug* I don't know.

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Angela - I don't know what makes you think: "........"I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."......" If you do nothing about your condition, and don't make the effort to maintain yourself, then I would accept it has a potential to be negatively life changing, but for many of us who have managed, by hard work, to get ourselves and our bloods in shape, we are living full, healthy lives, and I certainly hope I will have a normal lifespan. Of course that last bit won't be proven for quite some time, I hope!

From things I have read, unfortunately suffering from gestational diabetes is sometimes a warning you may be at risk of T2 in the future.

Anyway, moving forward, I see you are taking good old Metformin. Metformin will help you use your naturally occurring insulin better. It can also act as an appetite suppressant, which is useful if you need to trim up, as many of us do at the outset. What it doesn't do is reduce your blood scores dramatically. The only thing that will really do that is what you eat and drink, so it is important to get your diet into shape.

Your bloods are still a bit on the high side, and I see you are noting they are increasing? Is this rise slow and consistent, or is it sometimes, after particular foods?

Some of us are lucky and almost stumble upon a way of eating that suits us fairly quickly, but for many it does take time to work things out. If you could give us an indication of what you are eating at mealtimes, it might help us to give you some tips you could find helpful.

AngelaSun said:

... The biggest thought I've had to come to terms with has been "I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."

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There is no evidence that this is or will be the case if you can get your blood sugar levels in check
There are old diabetics in the world - so there is hope

Once you get things sorted your body will start to use some of its stored fat (from sugars (glucose)) and your weight will reduce too
This is normal

Hi angelasun, welcome to the forum , the advice given here is tried and tested by diabetics over time..the world we live in promotes fast food ...food fads and all manner of ...eat this its good for u....but what we eat is vital and especially so as diabetics...most of the successful posters on here eat a lchf diet and have managed to lose weight and get their blood sugars under good control.
Have a read of some posts here and u will see what works for diabetics,its your health and wellbeing, and it is not true that u have lost 20 yrs off your life.if you listen and apply these advices,you will have not lost anything except your worries:)

Hi and welcome.

If as your doctor says excess glucose floats about in your blood stream and gets stored as fat cells, the way to combat this is to reduce the amount of glucose. The way to do this is to reduce carbs to a bare minimum, or to a level your body can cope with (because we cope with different levels).

Possibly the bread and popcorn are not doing you any favours. You need to do the before and 2 hours after tests to see what some of your meals are doing to your levels.

@AngelaSun

Hello Angela and welcome to the forum

I realise that you already have experience in the field of diabetes, having had gestational D yourself, but I think you may find this information helpful to update your knowledge, particularly on diet and carbs. You will get lots of help from members here as you are already getting advice from people. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able to answer.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

AngelaSun said:

Things I eat? Hmmmmm. I'm definitely aiming for proteins and avoiding carbs. I generally try to be grain-free.
Breakfast: Eggs, onions, peppers, butter, and a regular coffee with a bit of "fake" hazelnut creamer (my guilty pleasure). Sometimes I get sick of that, so I have a back-up of fancy high-protein/low-carb cereal with soy milk.
Snacks: some kind of healthy snack bar (I try to keep it under 14g carbs), or fruit, or crackers, or a protein shake. And add a serving of protein with it.
Lunch: Sandwich (this is when I usually have bread). I just can't stand eating veggies for lunch. I need more substance, and less crunch.
Dinner: This is the hard part... whatever my family (there are 10 of us) has, but in smaller portions. This could mean mac n cheese, meat loaf, chili, or Chinese food. Whatever. I usually reduce the portion of what they're eating and replace it with a buttload of vegetables.
I like popcorn at night.

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Welcome to the forum, Angela! As others have said, diabetes doesn't have to be a death sentence - it's not diabetes per se that's dangerous, it's uncontrolled blood glucose levels that cause all the problems so that's what you need to focus on sorting out.

The best way of controlling your BG levels is to control the amount of carbs you eat - unfortunately, that sample day above is pretty high in carbs and is probably not doing you any favours: 14g carbs in a snack bar is pretty high, fruit can be very high in quick acting carbs (particularly bananas), and even protein shakes can contain significant carbs (particularly the "diet" shakes) so you need to check the label. Bread should probably be avoided at all costs as should pasta

When I was diagnosed in November I had a fasting BG of > 300 - it's now less than 90. My medication is 2x500mg metformin a day so IMO the vast majority of that reduction is down to the fact I've virtually eliminated carbs from my diet (I typically have less than 25g of carbs per day now) - I work on the basis that if I don't introduce much glucose into my system through carbs my body can't kill itself with it!

Have a read of the Low carb forum on here for some great meal ideas and there are many more experienced people than me (I'm still a relative newbie) on this forum who are only too willing to give you brilliant advice and support in getting control of your condition. Good luck!

Hi. AS the other psoters have said, you can overcome this and have anormal life ahead of you. AS the Gp said, your excess weight has caused insulin resistance which prevents the body using blood glucose properly. Get rid of that and you will find the diabetes will recede. The solution is to reduce the carbs a lot; perhaps down to 150gm/day or less if you can. Use the meter to guide you. Don't think calories; just think carbs. The Metformin you are tkaing will be helping with the insulin resistance but the right diet is the real solution. Go for it and I think you will find success!

AngelaSun said:

I have six children. Had GD with at least three of them, the 6th being on insulin.
Thankfully because of all that, I've been spared from the initial shock of dealing with Diabetes, lancets, diet, and what everything means.
A1C after birth was low 5's for four years.
Recently (November) ate a bunch of cake, fell asleep suddenly, and woke up with 300mgdl (2hrs after the cake binge).
I collected data for a weekend and then called my GP. She put me on Metformin right away.
Now taking 2,000mg/day ER. It has helped, but I'm not at the target yet.
Fasting is in the 140's -160's. 2hr PP (post prandial) stays between 130's - 150's on average, though two months into treatment it seems to be going back up (200's+).

Been feeling very down. The biggest thought I've had to come to terms with has been "I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."
I'm very sad. Suddenly I feel old, broken, unhealthy, and like life is slipping away from me. I feel robbed.
I've worked so hard at accepting my body as something beautiful and good, even though I'm overweight.
Now I'm back to fussing about food and calories and carbs, and how they like to stick to my hips and belly.
Thing is, I gained 20lbs in six months BECAUSE of the diabetes. So I'm feeling kind of hopeless right now.

*shrug* I don't know.

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Hi Angela Sun what a wonderful profile name....Welcome....I had the thoughts you had for about 20 minutes then said OK down to action and I'm nearly 59. I had a distant uncle who was diagnosed with Diabetes at the age of 40 and he was in the army.... he died 2 years ago at the age of 89..so don't know where you get "I've lost 20 years off my lifespan with this diagnosis."..Now I have improved I would say my diagnosis has added 20 years to my lifespan....Don't panic and slowly, patiently, with belief and faith start managing your situation. You gained 20lbs no surprise there . I have just lost almost that in under 3 months. If I can do it ANYONE can....you have loads of support here, they are wonderful frank and knowledgeable people who are always there at the end of the internet. GOOD LUCK and BEST WISHES to a healthier and more fulfilling next 50 years of life and longer!!