Following in my mother's footsteps

[Perlafantastica]

Just received confirmation of type 2 diabetes. Given medication and awaiting an appointment with a nurse.
I believe I know the basics of what is involved but it is a confusing time. I would really like to be able to manage without medication and know that losing some weight will help that but I think that will take a while.
Curious how many other people have a family history of late onset diabetes like me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kopiert]

Hi @Perlafantastica and welcome to the forum. I was the first in the family (as far as we know) to have any version of diabetes - given I was not particularly overweight it was all a bit of a shock. Although I was travelling quite a lot for work which is never a good lifestyle choice!

I am managing on diet alone at the moment, many here gravitate to a low carb or lower carb diet to help manage the condition (which often leads to weight loss).

 

[Gwynn]

Yup here too low carb, weight loss, T2 in (unofficial) remission. Feel great now too.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @Perlafantastica
So good that you have joined the forum, there is plenty of help and support here.
There are some good solutions available, and many members control their glucose levels by diet and lifestyle changes.
Some of us, me included find that we need some medication to help with this.
It does all take time to find what’s right for you and adjust your lifestyle, but please be patient, it will be very worthwhile.

For me it has been a healthier diet, and increased exercise, that has worked. As well as cutting out all the sugary things, I cut down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and mainly eat fresh fish and poultry and have learned to love vegetables (although that took a while!). I also try to avoid too much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds and pulses. There are many good recipes to make these things really tasty.

There are many other good solutions.
I would suggest starting by reading Maggie Davey's letter, which gives a lot of information on how this lady approached the problem.

Please let us know how you get on, and ask us any questions you may have. We will always try to find and answer.

 

[grovesy]

I have it at least 2 generations of my family and paternal and maternal.

 

[Drummer]

There was diabetes on both sides of the family - I am now the oldest surviving person in the family, both sides.
I concentrated on getting my blood glucose back in the normal range and the weightloss just happened without my even thinking about it.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Perlafantastica

I believe various types of diabetes have a fairly strong genetic link. We have a variety of members in both camps (and with different types!)

How did your Mum’s diabetes treat her? Was she able to manage it fairly well?

It will be interesting to see how things unfold for you, and whether you end up using similar strategies and tactics to your Mum, or very different ones. Diabetes can be a very individual condition, so it’s often very much a case of finding out what works for you as you go along.

If you feel there might be some haps you’d like to fill in, the Learning Zone (link in the main menu) has lots of modules you can work through. Alternatively, many T2 members have found Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, a very useful resource - though that may cover lots of ground you are already familiar with.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂