In that first week and just can't get past the diagnosis. I am 58 and now thinking my future and will it be cut short etc. Hate the food choices I now seemingly have to make but I dont want to get ill. Life's a bitch and I feel really bad right now.
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Just had my T2 diagnosis - gutted
- Thread starter inkspot
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nonethewiser
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Life's good mate, keep the faith.
Bloden
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Hi @inkspot and welcome to the forum. 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. There’s lots of friendly and experienced people here with Type 2 who eat food they enjoy. I’m sure some of them’ll be along soon to reassure you. In the meantime, why not have a look at some of the threads about food - there’s one called Food ideas with photos that can give you some starting ideas. 🙂
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Welcome to the forum @inkspot
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - it's not at all uncommon to feel knocked sideways by a diagnosis. Not helped in the slightest by the pervasive (and very unfair) cloud of stigma and blame in pop culture.
Try not to be disheartened about your diagnosis, many people on the forum later reflect that their diagnosis became a sort of catalyst - a turning point which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Perhaps changes that they had been intending to make for years, but never quite managed. Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy.
There may even be positives in time. Sometimes you don’t realise how weary, worn down and lethargic you have been feeling. Erratic and elevated blood glucose levels can be exhausting and are linked with low mood, but this may have come on quite gradually, so you may just have got used to feeling that way. Making a few positive changes can give you more energy, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook. Plus the regular checks you get after a diagnosis with diabetes mean that any potential problems may be spotted earlier, and can be sorted out sooner.
Food choices can be a little confusing to begin with, and it can feel slightly like you are backed into a corner and there literally isn't anything left to eat. The foods which have least effect on blood glucose levels like meats and fats don't always have the best reputation for heart health. While whole grain carbs which are sometimes recommended have all the glucose-raising potential of their processed and refined counterparts.
There isn't one single diet that will work for everyone, and many new arrivals on the forum find that moderating their carbohydrate content to a lower daily amount is a helpful start in reducing blood glucose levels. But lower carb doesn't mean no carb, and it's important to make changes that are sustainable with a menu that is flexible enough to stick with.
Perhaps it would help to keep a food diary of what you are eating and drinking for a week or two, just to get a sort of baseline. Make an estimate of the total carbohydrate content of your meals and snacks (total carbohydrate is much more useful than 'of which sugars'). Then once you can see which meals are your 'big hitters' you might spot some possible options for swaps, changes, and portion reductions.
Good luck, and let us know how things go. We are rooting for you 🙂
Thank you so much, it is really daunting. The surgery has put me on Metformin with a test in another 3 months. I read a lot about testing on here but they havent suggested that as a way forward. Just asked me to change my diet to eating more veg and cutting out sugar/carbs
Lucyr
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Changing diet, taking metformin and retesting in 3 months sounds a sensible plan. Don’t forget adding any exercise you can do too. If it’s still higher than you want in 3 months you could buy a test kit and review your diet again then?
Don't forget you can also have more meat too... and probably get a lot healthier along with it.
Deb_l
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Please don’t feel too down hearted. There is light at the end of the tunnel, although it probably all feels quite overwhelming at the moment.
This forum is excellent for advice and support. My GP has been brilliant but I have also learned so much from here. Keep logging in. Take time to breathe and don’t panic. Yes, you will need to make changes but it’s all doable and take it from someone who adores food, you won’t have to go hungry to achieve your goals.
Take each day at a time and you will get there. Take care xx
This forum is excellent for advice and support. My GP has been brilliant but I have also learned so much from here. Keep logging in. Take time to breathe and don’t panic. Yes, you will need to make changes but it’s all doable and take it from someone who adores food, you won’t have to go hungry to achieve your goals.
Take each day at a time and you will get there. Take care xx
Hi @inkspot and welcome to the forum.
It's strange to see that you feel your future will be cut short by the diagnosis Many people feel just the opposite! meaning that it was the T2D diagnosis which gave them the kick in the pants to make them actually do something about their health.
Which food choices do you feel you have to make? After around 20yrs of following the NHS recommendations of 5 a day, whole grains, low fat and that not preventing me needing a triple bypass plus getting Type 2 diabetes and slowly gaining weight over that time, I finally made the choice that such a way of eating didn't suit me and so switched back to a Low Carb version of what I ate back in the 1960's and 70's.
At first I felt nervous about eating all that delicious fatty meat and full fat dairy, but my Blood Glucose meter showed how badly my body reacts to the grains and fruits that the NHS pushes, so I had evidence of how little dieticians actually know, particularly when they say people should avoid fat in order to prevent obesity. The exact reverse is true in that it's carbohydrates tend to cause diabetes and obesity (and are not actually require for life) while dietary fat contains many vitamins, keeps you slim, keeps the immune system strong, helps produce hormones (including sex hormones) and tastes great!
Nile DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Hi @inkspot hang on in there we're in this together. Adjusting to the new eating habits is always the hardest part because we all hate being restricted in what we can eat or do. However, you can do this there many healthy recipes on our website that still should have some of your favourite foods in them. It is always good o have people you can talk to about how your feeling , if needs be give us a call on our helpline at : 03451232399
D
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I felt much the same way.
Take a step back.
Decide how you want to go forwards, and find a way that lets you make the choices you want to make.
Once you take control for yourself, it gets a lot better.
Many people look on diagnosis as a major benefit.. I know I do..
So much healthier than I was 8 years ago and many conditions gone.
If you are a meat eater concentrate on that and watch your blood sugar numbers drop and your T2 go into remission.
Cut out the starchy fillers and sugars. green veg and salads if you like them but always plenty of meaty proteins and fats.
Drummer
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So no real explanation, I would deduce.
Carbs are starch and sugar, so you could eat the carbs you can cope with as sugar if you like - it makes no difference if the carbs come from 'healthy' brown bread or pasta or porridge or from a chocolate éclair full of cream.
I have a list of low carb vegetables and have found various packs of frozen things in the supermarkets I use - stirfry, mixed veges without sweetcorn, frozen mushrooms for when I run out of fresh, I get mixed berries as well as they are convenient, and of course don't spoil like fresh ones if portion control is difficult.
I ued a test meter to check my meals were the right amount and choice of ingredints, and I wanted to see under 8mmol/l at 2 hours after starting to eat. Once I got that I stuck to the same meals and my numbers continued to go down. I assume that was as my metabolism recovered.
These days I only eat twice a day at the most. Recently, after 5 years from diagnosis I find that I am only eating once a day - not planned at all, it just happened. I tend to follow how I feel, as long as it is also logical.
Today's first meal was to be stirfry with some leftover meat, and some of the fresh mushrooms but it is almost 4pm and I'm not hungry.
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KellySuffolk
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I know exactly what you are going through, I was diagnosed in March with type 2 and I am on metformin and my next blood test is in June. I found it hard especially when it comes to food and what I can have, the traffic light system on foods is a great help for although my weekly shop does takes longer than usual. I am now walking most nights after work and I have lost over a stone in weight. There a plenty of people who understand what you are going through, you are not alone with having to deal with being diagnosed with diabetes. I have posted a couple of questions and the responses have been a great help for me.
Leadinglights
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You sound to be doing really well with your weight loss and your walking it will all be helping. Unfortunately the traffic light system on packets is about as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to making good choices as it only show the 'sugar' not the total carbohydrates and many foods can be low sugar but still very high carbohydrate and therefore would not be a good choice. You need to look on the back of the packet, jar etc for the total carbohydrate as that is the relevant number.
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Nile DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Yes literally a plan that your motivated to stick to is always best, so there is certainty your health will be better in the long run
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