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

Why this forum is GOOD

Administrator

Administrator

Well-Known Member
Staff Member
Administrator
Moderator
Messages
1,624
Location
Warwick
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
There's been a lot of controversy and some very sad departures in the last week, so I thought it was worth reminding ourselves why this forum is good and how it can genuinely help people. If you have been helped by this forum, please tell everyone about it here, because I think we could all do with cheering up today!

Best,

Dan
 
Of course this forum is good,it probably save my life! When I came on here and read the good common sense and knowledgeable advice given I knew I had found somewhere that i could trust for information.There are some really nice,kind people on here who go out of their way to help frightened newbies to learn and get control of their diabetes.They don't have to be here,most of them have excellent control and therefore don't need the forum ,as such,but they stay.Why? Because ,like me,they are grateful to this forum for helping them and they want to give something back to the community.I say well done to all of you.
 
I'm happy to respond to this thread! I am soooooo grateful that I found this forum on the day that I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes. Although my family were sympathetic and concerned for me, they were unable to offer any constructive advice. Instinctively, I knew that the grubby photostat of a Diabetes UK diet advice booklet (the only material given to me by my GP) was not going to cut the mustard or help me control this frightening disease.

This forum has been such a valuable lifeline. Here, I have found advice, experience and support. It is comforting to know that whatever the problem, someone will have have some good practical advice to share, or a different perspective to offer. Although we must each manage our individual response to this disease, there is a community of common experience and support - also the shared desire to challenge the boundaries set by health professionals who don't live with our realities of diabetes. I have found it empowering to come here and be encouraged to take control for myself - to know that it really is OK to seek to achieve non-diabetic BG numbers, and to know that during the times that I don't get it right, there will still be non-judgmental advice and encouragement to get up and try again!

Thanks again to everyone who contributes to this forum - it is a safe haven in very stormy seas.
 
I found this forum by accident and was soo glad,
i have learnt so much as i didnt know any other diabetics and my gp wasnt exactly knowledgable, i was just drifting along learning myself..
i am a big believer in experts by expertise,it is so much better hearing what works and doesnt for other people and then deciding whether to change your own regime,
i am very grateful to sarah who told me to put my foot down with the dr,whereas some didnt have an answer to help me but nevertheless made me feel a part of the forum, im sure u will all agree just knowing others are in the same boat gives u a boost and takes away some of the isolation u can feel,
i now hope to be able to advise others on their journey and even if i can help just one person then it is all worthwhile, i was debating leaving this forum as the arguments were offputting,there is no reason for them,the reason i stayed is because i have led a turbulent life and have knowledge that can help others and i was brought up to believe that helping other people is the way to live
i now have friends who are diabetic and dont feel alone with the burden,so thankyou forum :D :D :D :D :D
 
I think this forum really is a lifesaver. Again, my GP either knows nothing or doesn't want to tell me.. God alone knows why... so I had to find out the ins and outs for myself. My boyfriend and his family are telling me not to go against her advice, after all, I "don't know any more than doctors do"... this from a family where a member had prostate cancer for nearly a year, which wasn't picked up until it had spread and caused bone cancer (my father-in-law)... :roll:
A GP means GENERAL practitioner, they are not experts on diabetes. This forum helped me get a handle on it, otherwise I would still be in the dark! And scared!
 
I like many others found this forum by accident, I've had diabetes for years and only recently has it been spiralling out of control but I'm on new medication now which without the help of this board would not have gone so easily and I am soooo grateful to various board members for their help, advice and support when I was in tears over things, at least there is someone lurking around the board more or less 24/7 to answer even the most daftest question, my DSN is only available between 8.30am and 5pm.
Thank you everyone who has helped me, at least we are not alone with our conditions and it helps to share the problems.
 
I would like to add my comments, especially to Dennis who has been so supportive since my change to Byetta, you have all been so helpful with my continual trials with Type 2.

Thank you all so much.

Pauline
 
YES DAN, I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGRRE !! When I was first diagnosde, (Feb 08), I truly admit i was petrified and didn't know what to do. I can't remember how I came across this site but for me it has literally been a life saver. From being in the mid to high twenties :cry: to my last HBA1c which was 6.3 in the space of 10 months :D .

I, as many of you know have a GP who is less that adequate and according to my consultant he was one of the reasons why i spent a week in hospital. How have i got to the stage i'm at now ?????????? Err let me think. This site, that's how. It has brought me from a rabbit in the head lights back to the confident, pleasant person that i was, (my wife's words, not mine). So yes thank you to you all for the invaluable information (new and old members) because without you all i don't even know if i'd have still been here.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ALL OF YOU FOR THE SAKE OF MYSELF AND THE MANY OTHERS WHO USE THIS SITE AND WHO NEED YOUR HELP, SUPPORT AND ADVICE.

BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL :D :D :D :D :D

Hazey !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I have followed the NHS/DUK dietary & lifestyle advice for 8 years when the predicted complications set in. In my case, crippling muscle pain. There was also the beginning of retinopathy.

I have an excellent & listening Dr, but all he could offer was quinine for cramp. On this website I found practical advice on carb reduction. My active life is restored, HBA, cholesterol & weight reduced, & all pain is gone.

My Dr is still listening & is very interested :D

Thanks, folk.

Ian
 
hazey276 said:
YES DAN, I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGRRE !! When I was first diagnosde, (Feb 08), I truly admit i was petrified and didn't know what to do. I can't remember how I came across this site but for me it has literally been a life saver. From being in the mid to high twenties :cry: to my last HBA1c which was 6.3 in the space of 10 months :D .

I, as many of you know have a GP who is less that adequate and according to my consultant he was one of the reasons why i spent a week in hospital. How have i got to the stage i'm at now ?????????? Err let me think. This site, that's how. It has brought me from a rabbit in the head lights back to the confident, pleasant person that i was, (my wife's words, not mine). So yes thank you to you all for the invaluable information (new and old members) because without you all i don't even know if i'd have still been here.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ALL OF YOU FOR THE SAKE OF MYSELF AND THE MANY OTHERS WHO USE THIS SITE AND WHO NEED YOUR HELP, SUPPORT AND ADVICE.

BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL :D :D :D :D :D
Hazey !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Hazey,you have cheered up my day!!I well remember when you first came onto the forum,terrified,knowing nothing about diabetes and with a BS that made me wince!!Now look at you ,happy,BS under control,you have got your life back on track .NOW....that is why this forum is good!!That is why I stick with it.
 
For me this forum is terrific because, like Sue, it was a life-saver for me. Before I joined I had already started on the path of improving my control by changing my diet, but without any real understanding of what to do and how to do it. It was the great support and advice from people on here like Sue and Sarah and Karen (Chocfish) and Martin that taught me how to do it properly.

I have now managed to achieve the control that I previously only dreamed of, with blood sugars that are (mostly) at the upper end of the non-diabetic range so, when I was asked to become a moderator, I jumped at the chance so I could pass on what I have learned to others. We now have a great team of regulars, both mods and members, all of them as keen to help others as I was. Those numbers of willing helpers increase by the week, so the forum is not only good but is in great shape for the future.
 
I have found the advice given on this forum to be invaluable. I doubt very much if I could have achieved an A1C of 5.0 by following the advice of my HCP alone. Thanks to all who have replied to my questions. If the main aim of the forum is to help newbies, then this has proved, in my case, to be an unmitigated success. Irresponsible and self-agrandizing postings should not be allowed to detract from this.
 
Diagnosed Sept 2008

Without this forum I would not have

-Emotional reassurance after discharge from hospital that I would NOT die within the week :oops:

-Knowledge of what basal bolus is or that there are any other types of regime available to the one Im on.

-Have a clue of the impact on bs re reducing carbs (from my previous portions and in general). I know this debate has raged recently but can honestly say hand on heart if I had not read this forum then I would likely be on higher doses of insulin, reduced my honeymoon phase (seems silly I know, pancreas is going to give up eventually but having something left helps the ole newly diagnosed psyche), have put weight on, ran higher sugars for longer

-That at some point in my life, I can have chocolate, or a cake, or something nice again!! Trite, I know, but had resigned myself to never having a life again

-Meeting lots of people in the same boat who you can discuss any aspect of diabetes that worries you , and get a varied response (and not carte blanche one size fits all). Options give you hope that irrespective of problems there might just be something that works for you

-A laugh

-Above all, hope that despite a possible lifetime of this condition, that it can be managed

x
 
I was diagnosed type 1 fpur months ago. I felt, like many do, that my life was over. Then I found this forum. If I hadn't I truly think I would have gone mad with fright and terror. In such a short space of time I now have a very positive outlook on life. I still can't believe how scared I was. Thanks to the kind, helpful people on here who have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share my life is now back on track. This forum truly is a life saver.

Caitycakes x
 
Where else would I get all the support and information and all questions answered and do battle with Graham and Sue

my cup runs over with delight :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
Thank the gods of the google bot that I found this place and that I chose to see the sense made by various members ... this forum has been my book and lifeline.

Maybe I've only been diagnosed 3 months.

Maybe my hba1c "wasn't that bad".

Maybe I could've followed the frankly poisonous advice given out by my diabetes nurse.

Thankfully I feel better than I have done in years and it is due entirely to this forum!

Thank you Dan and (almost) everyone else here for giving me back my life - for giving me a future where I can play with and see my son grow up strong.
 
Thank you everyone on this forum - when I first joined I'd had a bit of a scare myself and had a reading of over 8 on a fasting blood glucose test. Because my mum is Type 2 and virtually blind and my gran went blind as well because of her type 2 (and if she hadn't died when she did she would have lost one of her feet to gangrene) all I knew about diabetes was doom and gloom. After reading through the posts, I realised it wasn't just sugar that needed to be avoided but cutting carbs would help as well. I started cutting down on carbs gradually until I hit the 100 a day mark and realised this was best for me. I also visit my mum at least twice a week and always update her on what's been going on on the site, she loves listening to some of the stories (and appreciates the jokes thread!) Now I have lost over a stone in weight and have gone from a size 16 to a size 12 in jeans. I feel better than I ever did, and I'm convinced that if I hadn't taken the advice on this site I would have been diagnosed diabetic by now. THANK YOU EVERYONE, and don't give up. Pleeeeease!

Many many thanks,

Bubsy
 
this forum is good because without it i would of ended up like my mother.

brief history, my mother grew up in a world with no internet. my mother got the standard lectures on diabetes, how it was her fault, stick to this diet and in 10 years we'll look at the problems. my mother is now one leg less and virtually blind, so much for doctors and what they know. Ive studied intently now, and i figure, the docs either know nothing, or cannot say how to help yourself. either way, it's causing needless suffering throughout the world. I had an argument with a diabetic friend who would not concede i was right, until pointed out she was the one on medication and suffering complications where as i was on no medications and my worst sympton was giving bread a miss. lol
 
Ozzie - missing bread IS a symptom I agree, but (in the same vain you posted) it's one I'll happily put up with if it means longer healthier more complete life!!! nice words :) xxx

(goes off to imagine what it would be like eating a whole stick of tiger bread with a pound of butter)

:) ;) :lol:
 
i ahve been diabetic for 19 years, starting with diet alone, then tabs, then when found out pregnant had to go onto insulin( asked gp before pregs about changing meds and told no) went to clinic after baby and have been on insulin ever since ( clinic asked if was thinking of more children and if so might as well stop on insulin, so as not having to keep swapping and changing meds).
I am type 2, during these 19 years i have seen my father die of diabetic related probs (he ended up losing a leg). my sister had heart failure dignosed when she was 34 and had loads of probs, including diabetes, she sadly died last year at the age of 39.
Anyway, my point is... if i had been able to access a site like this i know for a fact i would have been able to cope and understand my and their conditions better, in just the short space of time i have been a member on here my life and outlook have increased by 100%.
Sometimes someone will post a comment, suggestion etc and theres always an answer off someone who knows what they are talking about, sometimes i read through something and i go 'my god i never knew that', or sometimes you feel paranoid, then read on hear and find out you are not.
On the whole this forum is not GOOD, its FANTASTIC :!:
Sorry for going on i just couldnt stop :roll:
 
Back
Top