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Useless GP appointment

Daibell said:
First, insulin doesn't make you more hungry and it only causes weight gain if you eat too many carbs; that's the carbs not the insulin. You know you have to reduce the carbs. Taking insulin when overweight can make it very difficult to get the balance right due to insulin resistance so it really will help if you can get nearer to a good BMI. It does take good discipline but if you can break snacking carbs by having nuts or cheese and gradually reducing the carbs you will stop craving them. Good luck.
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And this is why I wrote my post to you, clay mic. It's not that anyone wants to go against their doc but those of us who eat low carb or LCHF have met with so much resistance. The worst thing is, when we ask why we should eat limited carbs and portion control no one is able to answer the question. I have repeatedly asked the question here but to no avail. I can only work on the basis that my weight has gone down substantially, my BMI has decreased, my hba1c has halved. Good luck on your journey, whatever you decide to do. Big hug.
 
popsy said:
I am 61. I have binge eaten for the majority of my life. I thought it would comfort me in times of trouble and it did...for about 5 minutes. Food is just food, it's fuel we can't do without. It won't take the place of friends, it won't cure loneliness or disease, it can't possibly be your friend or give you advice. It's simply food. My wake up was my diabetes and not even that straight away. Ignored it until I had to go onto Glipizide and THEN I found out about what I was dealing with, found this Forum and my life changed, completely and absolutely changed forever. As Squire Fulwood said, until you can take responsibility for what you do, you will never change. It's a harsh reality but it's true.

I know that you of all people might understand what it feels like not to have that overwhelming feeling of eating until you feel sick and can't move and then the guilt afterwards. Well, I feel fantastic claymic, I feel as if I could conquer the world and know what? So can you! You have to get a grip on this or the saying "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you've always got" is going to be inevitable. My binge eating led to my diabetes, that isn't under dispute. I got myself in this position and only I could have got myself out of it and with the help of this forum and the amazing people on it, I have. I had hardly any advice from my doctor, quite honestly it's only here that I have found out how to change my life but at least I did have here and so do you. Counselling will only take you so far, in he end it's you who's stood in front of the fridge or the chocolate counter at the supermarket and it's only you who can walk away.

You can do this you know. And in this place there are people who will help you, support you and provide you with the tools you need to change. Insulin may be inevitable for you but even there it's possible to deal with it and still come out the other side in triumph.

Diabetes saved my life, strange but true.

Good luck :)
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I also have had a rubbish relationship with food which I am trying to break. I found your post very moving and admire your courage and honesty. Take carex
 
I smoke as soon I get up I have never tried to give up I dread the day I find out it is too late damage is done maybe these nasty people try everyday to be nice but fail and thinkI'll I try harder tomorrow we wish lol
 
tizzy said:
I smoke as soon I get up I have never tried to give up I dread the day I find out it is too late damage is done maybe these nasty people try everyday to be nice but fail and thinkI'll I try harder tomorrow we wish lol
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??


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Anyone who is nasty really I'm likening to op first post about how they were treated maybe they sruggle to be nice as some of us struggle with food drink smoking drugs whatever our vice maybe we try the next day but don't always succeed maybe they try aswell sorry I do go of on a tangent
 
Tizzy I know what you mean. This year it would be three years i gave up smoking. Compared to quitting food, quitting smoking was just piece of cake. Pretty much went cold turkey but I do remember I was determined.

I know that doctors etc are all very busy and they see tens of patients a day but I got upset because it feels that we are only a hba1c result and sorry but some people are a bit more complicated. I admire you guys who are so able to get a grip and just do stuff.

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I got fed up of wanting to press the like button for every post I read on this thread. I just want to say that this thread is the single most emotionally charged thread i personally have read on this site, because I identify with all the experiences. Moved to tears. I won't give advice because it's all been said here.

I'm reminded once again of words posted by a member recently:

"Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot."

And if you trip up just dust yourself off and get back on the path.




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I have started reading Dr Bernstein book yesterday. I am hoping it will prepare me for things to come and also give me confidence that the insulin will not create more problems than it solves

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I wanted to add my two penneth, because I identify with so much that has been said here.

I thought I was a binge eater for years.
I was the fat kid at school, and never happy with that. I did turn to food for comfort and did find some form of comfort in it, but not for long. My life continued for years with the cycle of being appalled by my self-image, and turning to mostly chocolate for solace. I would diet, lose some weight, but then something would happen to stress me out, and I would go back to my foodie safety net.
As I said, I "thought" I was a binge eater. I had a bad relationship with food, and thought that the cycle was an emotional reaction.

Last year I was diagnosed type 2. I'd gone to the doctor for another reason and was sent straight to the hospital with very high blood sugar.
I found this website almost right away, joined up, and read all about the low carb high fat diet. I threw myself headfirst into that way of life, and immediately my blood sugar reduced.
After a few weeks of the diet, my desire to binge eat had vanished completely. At first I didn't notice, but after the first couple of months I realised that I had a lot more money left at the end of each month because I was buying so much snack food.
My rationale is that consistently high blood sugar increases the desire to eat more starchy, sugary, bad food. When we're in this state our bodies think they are starving because they can't access the sugar floating around our system. I read someone here use the analogy of a locked door.
Insulin is the key which allows the body to get to the glucose in our blood stream. If the key is broken, or not there at all, then the body can't access the sugar so sends out messages to eat more and more.

Recently I moved house (which quite frankly I'm happy to never ever do again lol). In the process of this we didn't have a working oven, and my diet went a bit awry with takeaways and easy-to-prepare food. My blood sugar went up a bit, and with it the desire to eat cadbury's creme eggs by the bucket load came back. I gained a few pounds, I felt rubbish, the low self esteem came back, along with the tiredness and my general zest for life went into hibernation. I got my kitchen in working order, got back on to the lchf way of life, and normality has now been restored.

Like someone else said, one step at a time. Insulin is the next step for you, take it, embrace it, but don't worry too much about the steps ahead of that until you get there.
 
claymic said:
I have started reading Dr Bernstein book yesterday. I am hoping it will prepare me for things to come and also give me confidence that the insulin will not create more problems than it solves

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One thing about Bernstein. He is brilliant and the science is great, but the way he presents his carb counting method in his book can be hard to follow. I would look elsewhere for simpler explanations of carb counting with insulin. But do read the book.

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Low levels can make you want to binge eat too!!

Blimey, those non diabetics can binge eat with normal bloods..
So to me its not your bloods its the transfats, the **** food.


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Yes in the good old pre db days I could stuff my face with a vengeance but vanity was the only emotion then now it's guilt about damage I may be causing the feet start tingling just to make sure I know what I have done I so agree that they just see patients as a number they don't see behind the face but even though I don't expect them to know or care I do expect to be treated with kindness I am a carer I come across all sorts of people the human spirit never ceases to amaze me I really really hope I have never made anybody feel the way I have been made to feel
 
Hi Claymic,
I'm not a type 2 so can only imagine how difficult the choice must be about whether to start on insulin or not, but as a type 1 I had a similar problem- I've been binge eating pretty much since diagnosis (14 years), but added to that I was so scared of weight gain that I wouldn't take insulin for what I'd eaten until the end of the day, and I'd underdose too. I recently had to decide whether to start on an insulin pump or not, and if I did start on it the idea was that I HAD to give insulin properly no matter how many carbs I'd eaten. I did it, and it led to a HUGE jump in insulin levels and I DID put weight on (as quick as 2 weeks from starting on it) but it was because the more insulin was in my system, the worse my binge eating got. I tried reducing the amount of sugary food I would eat, but that never worked because if I eat say a chocolate bar, I then crave more chocolate like I don't know what, and I feel completely out of control and just eat until the guilt catches up with me. There was one time I managed to get over it, and therapy REALLY helped (I had hypnotherapy, it worked for me because I'm quite susceptible to it- I REALLY wanted it to work and believed that it could, and it did :) ). But I had to cut out sugary food altogether. Fruit was fine but anything chocolatey or sweets etc would instantly make me moody and anxious until eating more, so I cut it ALL out. It was tough for the first week, (REALLY tough, I won't lie!) with mood swings, feeling hypo when my sugars were fine, and a lack of energy, but after that first week the cravings literally disappeared. I did really well for a long time and didn't even miss those foods. Unfortunately in my case I later had unrelated problems which led to depression and stupidly took to eating chocolate again and have only just managed to break the cycle again this last week. Day 4 of no sugar today and I'm already feeling better (days 1 and 2 were horrendous, I had to get my boyfriend to stop me leaving the house so I couldn't sneak to the shop and buy something lol) and my insulin levels have decreased by over half, and my weight isn't going up anymore.
I know it's a daunting idea but if you could try giving up sugary stuff altogether, and hopefully find someone to support you during the first few days, it would really pay off. And the therapy's always a good idea just in case some of the craving is about dealing with psychological issues and not all just a physical craving if that makes sense. In my case I think the therapy gave me the confidence I needed to be able to give it up in the first place- when I started I was like "There is NO WAY I can give up sugar, that's impossible! I don't even want to!" and after a few months I was saying "Well I know it's going to be hard but I don't want to feel like this anymore, I deserve to be healthy and I CAN do it."
Good luck with it all, and let us know how you get on!

Take care,

Sarah
 
AndBreathe said:
I wish I knew what to say to help.

If your HbA1c is really high, it's likely you will feel better with lower numbers, but I understand the route to those lower numbers feels unpalatable right now. It sounds like counselling could be of benefit through this stage.

But, whatever you decide, I hope you find a positive way forward.[/QUOTE
AndBreathe said:
I wish I knew what to say to help.

If your HbA1c is really high, it's likely you will feel better with lower numbers, but I understand the route to those lower numbers feels unpalatable right now. It sounds like counselling could be of benefit through this stage.

But, whatever you decide, I hope you find a positive way forward.
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I agree its counselling you need. Its a great thing once you get over the stigma. Just talking for hours on end about yourself is a great outlet.
Best thing i ever did.

Andy
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Just a thought - if you go onto insulin then it doesn't mean you are on insulin for the rest of your life.

If you take control of your diet it is quite possible that you won't need insulin in the long term.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Just a thought - if you go onto insulin then it doesn't mean you are on insulin for the rest of your life.

If you take control of your diet it is quite possible that you won't need insulin in the long term.
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I can give this my +1:)
I was put on Basal/Bolus Insulin at diagnosis and weaned myself off to Gliclazide then Diet & Exercise, largely by cutting my carbs down!:cool:
 
Hi Claymic

Don't forget as far as counselling goes, they can only really help if you tell them everything relating to the help you need.

The Counsellor I went to with hubby was so direct and blunt it did actually tear us apart.. However.. When we actually thought about what he said and went back again... The Counsellor said he knew we could take the bluntness....mine being the fact that I deserve better and that feeling bad cos of diabetes diagnosis 30 years ago etc.... And hubby too, however I had been to a Counsellor in Wales who ***** footed around and basically because of that she knew I would be going back regularly..... But some of that was my fault as well because I actually talk better and more open to men. Last counsellor was a male... And haven't looked back since. Honest I'm the happiest I've been in decades.....

So going to you.. Be open and honest and prepared to accept challenges to your behaviour and why you do certain things..

You can so hugely improve things for yourself and I'm sure you will. Good weight, eating and your happiness is achievable and you have got a huge amount of support here. I can't believe how many people have got "likes" in answer to your posting... Just proves that we all have felt like you or been there or want to help you.

Let us know how you are getting on..thinking of you


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