Hi!! Im a newbie!!

[Karen83!]

Hi!! I'm very very new to this!! I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes!! I really havent a clue wat to do, my GP didnt give me a lot of information!! Does it get any easier? I've mental health diagnoses too so I'm very stressed to be honest!!

Thanks

 

[Paulbreen]

Hi @Karen83!
First welcome to here, you will find lots of people who will be able to advise you regarding the T2 diagnosis and I’m sure there’s a few about who have some experience with the mental health side of things.
It can be daunting but there are things you can do, start looking at your diet and most people will suggest reducing carbs, think about some more exercise you can do, all this will help.
Most of all try to be as positive as you can, I’m sure your shortly going to get loads of questions from the T2 people so they can give you some of the advice you are looking for

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Karen and welcome from me too.

Firstly, try not to panic. We all know how overwhelming it is to get that diagnosis and that it takes a while for a lot of what you are told to sink in or even really know what it all means. The good thing about diabetes is that it is pretty slow moving, so you have plenty of time to learn more about it and then make some changes to get it under control and possibly even push it into remission.
Yes I can assure you it does definitely get easier, you just have to tackle it one small step at a time.

Diabetes is largely about your body no longer being able to effectively process the carbohydrates in your food.... these are the starchy and sugary foods, so the obvious sugar, sweets, cakes and biscuits and even some fruit but also the stodgy stuff like pasta and rice and potatoes and bread and breakfast cereals.... things made from grains and root vegetables.
That doesn't mean you can't eat these things but you do need to cut down on them. Ideally avoid as much of the sweet stuff as you can and also cut back on your portion size of the starchy foods..... so if you normally have 4 potatoes with your dinner, try just having 2 or 3 and eat more vegetables like cabbage and broccoli and cauliflower to fill your plate up. If you have 2 shredded wheat on a morning or 2 slices of toast, have just one instead.

Many of us found that it helped to start off keeping a brutally honest food diary of everything we ate and drank in a day so that we could go over it and see where all the mindless and unnecessary carbohydrates were coming from, that we could cut out straight away. Seeing it all written down is a bit of a shocker if you are anything like me as I was a big comfort eater and I freely admit I had become a sugar addict as well as eating far too much bread and potatoes etc.

If you want to share some of that information with us so that we can advise you on alternative things you could eat instead we could try to do that.

It would help to know if your doctor has given you any medication for the diabetes and if so what and did he mention a test result which was quite a big number.... usually 48 or more? This is the test result which is used to diagnose diabetes and 48 is the point at which you cross the line but it can go as high as above 100 so it helps to know this number as it tells us where on the diabetes scale you are at the moment and we can tailor our suggestions taking that number into consideration.

We will be here to support you and answer any questions you have and talk you through it all, as and when you are ready to take each small step. I for one can say that I am far fitter and healthier and lighter than I was 21 months ago at diagnosis and in fact in better shape than I have been for the past 20, maybe even 30 years, so try not to focus too much on the negatives but more about what you can do to improve your health and wellbeing.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Karen83

Sorry to hear that you are are feeling stressed by your diagnosis

For a bit of background reading and a useful grounding in T2 diabetes you might find these helpful - Maggie Davey's letter and for a bit more detail you might try Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker.

If you are interested in using a BG meter to check your current menu and see which meals raise your BG. ore than others you can try
Test, Review, Adjust by Alan S

And keep asking questions - it’s perfectly natural to feel quite overwhelmed at the start, but take things steady one day at a time and you’ll get there 🙂

 

[Karen83!]

Hi everyone!! I'm not sure if this is the right place to post!! I was started on metformin and I had to come off it a week ago as I've took an allergic reaction to the drug!! My GP hasnt prescribed me anything else!! My blood sugar is low most of the time!! I just dont know where to turn too with all this!! Stressed to the max!!

Any help is welcome!!

Thanks!!

 

[grovesy]

What do you mean by low blood sugar?