A bad month

[Catbanj]

I've been absent for a while .... I just ran away from everything and then it was difficult to come back.

I now realise that I shot myself in the foot when I was told I was T2 diabetic 18 months ago. I fixed things myself fast and hard so the next HbA1C came back in prediabetic range. That means that my GP/NHS don't consider me diabetic but if I ate vaguely normally I would be. That means I don't get any help, advice or support other than "look up what to do on the internet"

Anyhow, I went to the GP in June as I'm having all sorts of digestive problems. As part of the conversation I tried to explain what I ate ... and realised that my diet is completely impossible and unmanageable.

I realised this when I burst into tears at the GPs when trying to explain I need some help.

To give you some context .....

Each day I aim for
- less than 130g carbs - if I eat more my BG goes through the roof. I also have to eat the right carbs eg. any bread makes me high and it takes about 10 hours to go down. I used a CGM to work out what I can tolerate.
- low fat - I have gall stones. Eating high fat gives a lot of pain so I don't.
- less than 1200 cal- I am still very overweight and probably have another 5 stone to loose to get close to a healthy BMI. I am now the lightest I have been in the last 40 years ... but its not good enough. The NHS will refuse to treat me for gallstones if I needed surgery - I did about 6 years ago and was refused.
- low salt - I've had an awful time trying to get my BP under control this year. Its been stable for years but I became intolerant to indapamide and the last year its been bonkers with beta blockers (made me faint a lot when my pulse rate really dropped), alpha blockers ( gave me vertigo) and others.
- high fibre - more than 30g natural fibre from food

It's just too hard to manage on my own. My husband is lovely but doesn't get that I'm struggling. He has CFS so I'm his carer when he needs it - he has enough dealing with his issues because there is no treatment or likleyhood of improvement, its not that he isn't interested, he just doesn't have the energy to support me.

This GP listened and said I am T2, just managing it. It's the same as an asthmatic who uses an inhaler when they need it - they are still asthmatic but its under control. He was horrified that I'd been told to go google and offered me the NHS T2 course along with tests for digestive problems.

I was so excited to call and book a place on the course, until they said it's 9 sessions on a Tuesday afternoon, no times outside of working hours are available . I would have to take 9 days off work and I can't afford to do that. There is an app but there's no human interaction so its basically counting, the same as I do already.

So, I basically said "F*** It" and have just had a month of eating what I wanted. No testing, no counting, no weighing and have felt unwell for most of the time.

I'm back from holiday now and back eating properly this week. I do feel much calmer about it, even though nothing has really changed. I am thinking about trying councelling/hypnosis to help me accept this is how things are if it gets bad again .... but it'll be about £500 which is a lot of money.

Possibly I had to get to that low to restart and reboot, I don't know. The test will be how long I can sustain it for I guess.

 

[Ieva DUK]

I'm sorry to hear you weren't supported appropriately in the beginning @Catbanj . It's unfair that if people do manage to make positive changes in the first couple of months, they sometimes are just let go to be on their 'merry way' without much support or information. From what you've written so far, it sounds like you took on all at the same time and with everything else going on in your life, those quick drastic changes weren't manageable. Feeling supported, whether that's your GP, a friend or the forum, but please don't bear this whole burden on yourself. The changes you make need to be sustainable and whether that's done through small habit building, one step at a time or in other ways - that's what will help you in the long run to not 'fall back'. Despite that, it's ok if it happens, you're learning to manage your T2 with plenty of other things, so please don't be hard on yourself.

 

[JITR]

Quick reply.
Others, not only diabetics, have found a less restrictive diet like this can work wonders:
What should we eat? https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2021/08/what-should-we-eat/
Just a thought for you to consider.

 

[Catbanj]

Quick reply.
Others, not only diabetics, have found a less restrictive diet like this can work wonders:
What should we eat? https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2021/08/what-should-we-eat/
Just a thought for you to consider.

That's really interesting. It focusses on the point of eating.... whereas I am using it instead of medical intervention.

Food for thought 😉

 

[Catbanj]

I'm sorry to hear you weren't supported appropriately in the beginning @Catbanj . It's unfair that if people do manage to make positive changes in the first couple of months, they sometimes are just let go to be on their 'merry way' without much support or information. From what you've written so far, it sounds like you took on all at the same time and with everything else going on in your life, those quick drastic changes weren't manageable. Feeling supported, whether that's your GP, a friend or the forum, but please don't bear this whole burden on yourself. The changes you make need to be sustainable and whether that's done through small habit building, one step at a time or in other ways - that's what will help you in the long run to not 'fall back'. Despite that, it's ok if it happens, you're learning to manage your T2 with plenty of other things, so please don't be hard on yourself.

Thank you leva. You are right - small steps with the right support will make this more sustainable.