Denial (2)

N

Nick_Neophix

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
So, back in August 2021 I was told during a routine health check that I was Type 2 Diabetic, big deal I thought, In September of 2021 I joined this site with a thread titled Denial with lots of lovely people commenting, but I stayed firmly in denial. On my second health check (2022) everything had gotten worse (wonder why?) and I was told to go on Metaformin, take statins. Yeah well, denial is better and I told myself that medication is a figment of your imagination and decided to take non of it and just continue as usual, eating what I want when I want and changing nothing (if anything actually doing more of the things I was told not too) Last years eye exam revealed the beginning of a problem and this is the kicker. So recently I have been really really struggling with my mental health and depression, so much so that the very idea of taking medication to make me last longer was really a reason to not take my medication as why the hell would I want things to last longer. Newsflash, my low and high blood sugars (now tried and tested) were the very reason for my depression and that does not help your mental health which was affected as a direct result along with the simple fact that I was struggling with the idea of diabetes. I can't push no blame anywhere else other than to my own front door. Its affected my wife and my kids and I am a bloody idiot. I don't feel that help was provided when diagnosed (but I never went looking) I also don't feel the complications were explained (everyone's different but I had to dig deep for depression and mood) When I say tried and tested, I started taking my Metaformin (not the statin, one step at a time thankyou) and after 2-3 days I was instantly brighter, more alert and a whole lot calmer, I was not eating well, but I was eating slightly better. So my journey that started August 2021 and put on hold for 3 years now officially starts August 2024. I am looking back at the basics (very lost) and looking at trying to come up with a plan to actually do something about it and try to slow or reverse the problem. Just thought I would share.

Idiot signing off!
 
Hi and welcome back.

One of the very worst things about diabetes is that it allows you to ignore it before it eventually bites you in the bot. Unlike other illnesses, it doesn't give you pain or discomfort or stop you doing things you enjoy, so that you want or have to deal with it. It just sits there with you day after day silently tallying up all the times you ignore it and when it decides that your tab has got too long and you are too far into debt to it, it starts taking it's pound of flesh.

You are not alone is struggling with the denial. It is the very easiest course of action and we all want to make life easy. The important thing is that you now get to grips with it as best you can now and this forum can certainly help you with that, so well done for coming back to us, but please try to remain with us this time. Diabetes and mental health are closely linked and there are a lot of us who struggle with our mental health here, but managing our diabetes as well as we can is something which helps both mental health and diabetes and in fact many other health issues, some of them quite serious have dramatically improved as a result of changing my diet because of my diabetes management, so I am actually in better health now and fully intend to live longer as a result of my diabetes.

It is never too late to start making changes to improve things and the body has the ability to repair to some extent, so perhaps with better diabetes management, you will see some improvement in whatever diabetic complications you are developing but at the very least, slow or stop deterioration. For instance I had a background retinopathy result 3 years ago, but it resolved the following year and I have had the all clear since then.

Would you be comfortable telling us more about your current diabetes status and what issues you are having. Things like your most recent HbA1c result and what complication you are experiencing with your sight and any planned treatment? Was this detected at your retinal screening? Have you been attending retinal screening appointments or was that part of your denial? Or was it something your optician picked up and if so, have you been referred for treatment?

I would just like to say that whilst it was not easy changing my diet, it was the best thing to come out of my diagnosis and it doesn't have to be all sack cloth and ashes. It is all about finding a new way of eating which is also enjoyable but involves different foods than those we used to eat, or less of the high carb ones and more of the lower carb ones. One thing that helped for me was realising that I could base my menu on protein and fat and then just have veggies or salad to fill up my plate, instead of the bland, beige carbs like bread and pasta and rice and potatoes. I still have steak and chips occasionally but I have a nice juicy rib eye steak with plenty of fat on it and fried mushrooms and celeriac chips instead of potato and a big side salad with a big dollop of coleslaw. I have curry and chilli but instead of having it on rice, I have it on a bed of shredded cabbage cooked with a knob of butter or some people use grated cauliflower instead of rice and I always have plenty of coleslaw with my chilli.
I have mashed cauliflower with my bangers or on my cottage pie instead of potato, with plenty of grated cheese on top to give it lots of flavour. I still have the odd takeaway, but I make different lower carb choices. I have a fish and chip supper once a month but I share a portion with my partner and I just have a few chips.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that life can get better but you need to take control in order for that to happen. Knowledge is power with diabetes, so you do need to accept the challenge and face up to it and we will all stand beside you to support you with that challenge.
 
I have not had any blood tests since October 23 when the HbA1c was reported as 56mmol, back in February 23 it was reported as 59mmol, Aug 2022 57mmol, Aug 2021 51mmol. Need to chase up my GP as they seem to be allowing me to ignore it by ignoring me. The eye issues was identified from my annual screening, its only very early stages, first seen Dec 2023. Hopefully the extra abuse over the last 8 months of denial has not had to much of an impact, I am sure I will find out soon enough as I have been assigned to a service which offers assistance to idiots like me that ignore everything. My depression led me into the path of a service that highlighted some of the blindingly obvious things that I could do to help myself and also identified my need for extra help from professionals in this field.
 
What people often don't realise is it is they themselves that have to take control over managing their condition and not be reliant on their GP or diabetic nurse as more and more people are not getting the support that you would imagine they should.
You can still have lots of tasty meals and to give you some ideas then have a look at this link as a good place to start to make a plan and modify your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
Some of us were diagnosed with an HbA1c in 3 figures but were still able to turn things around, and in many cases come off medication. You're in a much better position to try and do so provided you put in the effort. It's not easy to begin with but it gets easier, and seeing an improvements in BG levels is a real incentive to stick at it.
 
Well, that is much better than I had envisaged from your previous post and hopefully not too late to reverse the damage that is starting to occur with your eyes. Much better than getting to the stage of needing injections in your eyes and/or losing sight or having constant pain in your legs and feet that pain killers can only take the edge off or the many other issues which can arise from uncontrolled diabetes.

A current HbA1c result would be helpful so yes, get that testing underway with your GP practice and I would recommend you start monitoring your levels with a home testing kit, so that you can start "seeing" your diabetes in numbers on the meter and from that figure out which foods are doing you harm and which you can get away with. It seems complicated but once you get into the swing of it, it becomes just a part of your routine. It can also motivate you to exercise when you see how that reduces levels..... although some exercise can that stresses your body can increase your levels over the short term, but all exercise improves them over the long term. I find walking the simplest and easiest and most useful activity to lower my levels and also improve my mental health.
 
Nick_Neophix said:
I have not had any blood tests since October 23 when the HbA1c was reported as 56mmol, back in February 23 it was reported as 59mmol, Aug 2022 57mmol, Aug 2021 51mmol. Need to chase up my GP as they seem to be allowing me to ignore it by ignoring me. The eye issues was identified from my annual screening, its only very early stages, first seen Dec 2023. Hopefully the extra abuse over the last 8 months of denial has not had to much of an impact, I am sure I will find out soon enough as I have been assigned to a service which offers assistance to idiots like me that ignore everything. My depression led me into the path of a service that highlighted some of the blindingly obvious things that I could do to help myself and also identified my need for extra help from professionals in this field.
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Good Luck - your figures are not that bad - small steps - cut out the bad stuff and try and eat healthy - go for a walk... I am starting at 81 and I am determined to get that number down.
 
In the first instance i considered that as my results were borderline, the GP was being overly cautious, i used to monitor my blood sugar, on a daily basis i was either 3-3.5 mmol on a low (after skipping meals) or 8.5 - 9 on a normal day and a number of hours after food i was always high teens but never anything over 20. Not measured it for a few years.
 
Nick_Neophix said:
In the first instance i considered that as my results were borderline, the GP was being overly cautious, i used to monitor my blood sugar, on a daily basis i was either 3-3.5 mmol on a low (after skipping meals) or 8.5 - 9 on a normal day and a number of hours after food i was always high teens but never anything over 20. Not measured it for a few years.
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If you still have your monitor with in date strips you could start doing some strategic testing which is more useful than something random.
You will be aiming at 4-7mmol/l before meals and morning/fasting and no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours after eating. If your levels are still high than it is useful to see what the increase is as a result of eating so look at no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase 2 hours after eating.
 
Leadinglights said:
If you still have your monitor with in date strips you could start doing some strategic testing which is more useful than something random.
You will be aiming at 4-7mmol/l before meals and morning/fasting and no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours after eating. If your levels are still high than it is useful to see what the increase is as a result of eating so look at no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase 2 hours after eating
Click to expand...
 
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