JimG92
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi everyone,
A bit of an update - even though I'm still very much in the "newly diagnosed" category - thanks so much again for all the kind words from everyone when I announced myself in the "Newbies" thread. I've now had the second visit to the nurse, roughly a month after the initial diagnosis and to be honest, I don't feel that much further forward with them... In fairness though, the COVID 19 fallout has a lot to do with the amount of support that most GP's can offer to anyone these days.
In that meeting, she still wouldn't tell me what my blood sugar reading was (or indeed what it should be) that led to my original diagnosis, instead saying that it was just a bit high (despite me asking directly a number of times), My BP was OK but still a bit higher than they would like and she only appeared to want to talk about a low fat diet (one example, "if you like cheese, then a couple of slivers on a cracker once a month should be ok..." 😱) and to then ask me if I wanted to start on a course of statins in January (is there something up with my cholesterol levels then? Why January? I asked - no clear answer was forthcoming - see the doctor in January...).
When I was weighed, she said I had lost 900 grams in the entire month following diagnosis which was surprising (and really disappointing) as I had made a real effort eating-wise and my family/friends had all been commenting on how much I appeared to lose. This was bolstered by the fact that I was now getting into shirts and trousers that I hadn't been able to get into for years. When I challenged this small weight loss, she then said, "Oh, I think those might not be the same scales that you stood on the last time you were here and they've since had new batteries and need calibrated, and, etc....
". When I got home feeling very deflated, my wife didn't believe it and everyone says that I've definitely look like I've lost more.
Incidentally, to get around this, we bought some new scales for ourselves last week and now use them once a week (Sunday morning) on the stone floor in the conservatory and in the last week, I've managed to lose 2.1Kg and my better half lost 1.5Kg. I know I'm still very heavy but it's nice to know that I'm heading in the right direction. My blood pressure on Sunday was 132/82 at 74bpm which I believe is OK too.
Although not Diabetic, my wife Ali is supporting me by following the same eating regime as me more or less and it seems to be helping her lose a bit as well.
It's mainly massive thanks due to everyone on here (especially and firstly with the available information food wise) and the site content that I'm seeing, more than anything offered by the GP surgery, that I seem to be moving in the right direction (sort of). We're both still very much learning about carbs, starches and sugars and healthy ,Diabetes friendly, eating generally. The biggest frustration for me personally? This 3 month "wait and see" thing with the GP when I feel I could be doing more positive things to get myself on track. I asked again about buying a monitor but was told to wait until I see him in January. I'm assuming that I'll get another blood test to see what's changed over the previous 12 weeks and things can be planned from there - I really hope so.
I do know that it's a (life)long road and I can come to terms with that...I just don't want to be causing myself more damage in the short term - it's frustrating enough to get me reaching for a very large bar or two of Dairy Milk 🙄 - I do miss chocolate though...
I've now received the welcome pack from Diabetes UK and the eating guide in there is also proving very useful in giving recipes, ideas and substitutions although I'm still waiting on my Log in and Password from the NHS My Diabetes/My Way website which I know will maybe answer a few of my questions on my blood readings. I've had my first eye check which came back fine - still to get my foot check appointment. No side effects from my twice daily Metformin tablet either - apart from what appears to be referred to the "Metfartin" effect 😎.
More than all that, though, these forums here are proving a goldmine of useful information and support - even reading through them is enough to make me realise that some other person has already travelled down the same path - even in part - that I'm on just now.
Initially in the earliest and darkest days after diagnosis and despite being told not to, both I and some family members made the huge mistake and started reading things on the web (I know that you really shouldn't look at Google for some things...) about Diabetes, it's causes and some of the potential side effects rocked my world more than a bit (it also caused quite a few heated family debates about what I should and shouldn't be doing - instant experts.blah! blah!...).
One (American) website quite starkly stated "So you've got Diabetes? "Your life will be shortened by at least ten years and you'll most likely die of a heart attack or a stroke after one or more amputations" Well, thanks very much guys, Any good news? It was frankly terrifying.
Now I'm getting things into a bit more of a realistic perspective, I've printed off Maggie Davies' letter and I'll happily show it to anyone who thinks that Diabetes is "nothing really much to bother about and is just because you're a bit fat and eat too much sugar" and I'm also in the process of reading Gretchen Becker's book too. These two publications alone are great inspirers and levellers for both me and others.
I am still struggling to get my head to catch up with all that's happened to my body over the last 3 months and I freely admit that I am still very angry inside personally with myself about contracting the illness that has ultimately led me here (a combination of the HiB virus which manifested itself very quickly in massive simultaneous and separate infections in my both lymph glands and in my epiglottis closing off my airway and almost going to full sepsis that nearly saw me off...permanently). All the resulting IV antibiotics and IV steroid treatments during my hospital stay sent my bloods haywire ultimately leading to my Type 2.
Life has been a bit tough on me over the last couple of years - losing my adopted mother, a sister-in-law followed by a sister and a brother all in in the space of 18 months (the latter two in the space of 4 weeks..) handed out a bit of a kicking.
The doctors now suspect that all of this stress and grief (bottling things up is definitely NOT good - I've found this out the hard way) may have possibly led to my auto-immune system being weakened and compromised to the point that allowed the initial infection to get me in the first place.
Sleep can still be a bit broken just now - often waking up in the wee hours with a million thoughts going through my addled bonce, a few tears and feeling a bit lost. Keeping concentration at work has recently been a bit difficult too but I know that's temporary - my employers are very understanding and counselling is available if I need it. Ali is my rock and keeps me on the ground too.
However, after all that, I am still here (and still whingeing) and if I can learn to manage the Type 2 - and maybe even get it into remission in the next 24 months or so. Either way, I now know that I can live a full life with my (much) better half (Alison - 36 years and counting - poor girl 😉), and I'll be delighted and thankful for that - we can still go travelling, I can still play my guitars and I can still mess around in my old Land Rover (the finest collection,of niggling oil leaks in Edinburgh - ask our driveway!) so it can't be all bad....
Thanks so much again boys and girls - because of all you amazing people, I know that I can make this work for me (and Ali) - I promise that I'll keep watching these forums and keep you updated.
Jim
A bit of an update - even though I'm still very much in the "newly diagnosed" category - thanks so much again for all the kind words from everyone when I announced myself in the "Newbies" thread. I've now had the second visit to the nurse, roughly a month after the initial diagnosis and to be honest, I don't feel that much further forward with them... In fairness though, the COVID 19 fallout has a lot to do with the amount of support that most GP's can offer to anyone these days.
In that meeting, she still wouldn't tell me what my blood sugar reading was (or indeed what it should be) that led to my original diagnosis, instead saying that it was just a bit high (despite me asking directly a number of times), My BP was OK but still a bit higher than they would like and she only appeared to want to talk about a low fat diet (one example, "if you like cheese, then a couple of slivers on a cracker once a month should be ok..." 😱) and to then ask me if I wanted to start on a course of statins in January (is there something up with my cholesterol levels then? Why January? I asked - no clear answer was forthcoming - see the doctor in January...).
When I was weighed, she said I had lost 900 grams in the entire month following diagnosis which was surprising (and really disappointing) as I had made a real effort eating-wise and my family/friends had all been commenting on how much I appeared to lose. This was bolstered by the fact that I was now getting into shirts and trousers that I hadn't been able to get into for years. When I challenged this small weight loss, she then said, "Oh, I think those might not be the same scales that you stood on the last time you were here and they've since had new batteries and need calibrated, and, etc....
". When I got home feeling very deflated, my wife didn't believe it and everyone says that I've definitely look like I've lost more.Incidentally, to get around this, we bought some new scales for ourselves last week and now use them once a week (Sunday morning) on the stone floor in the conservatory and in the last week, I've managed to lose 2.1Kg and my better half lost 1.5Kg. I know I'm still very heavy but it's nice to know that I'm heading in the right direction. My blood pressure on Sunday was 132/82 at 74bpm which I believe is OK too.
Although not Diabetic, my wife Ali is supporting me by following the same eating regime as me more or less and it seems to be helping her lose a bit as well.
It's mainly massive thanks due to everyone on here (especially and firstly with the available information food wise) and the site content that I'm seeing, more than anything offered by the GP surgery, that I seem to be moving in the right direction (sort of). We're both still very much learning about carbs, starches and sugars and healthy ,Diabetes friendly, eating generally. The biggest frustration for me personally? This 3 month "wait and see" thing with the GP when I feel I could be doing more positive things to get myself on track. I asked again about buying a monitor but was told to wait until I see him in January. I'm assuming that I'll get another blood test to see what's changed over the previous 12 weeks and things can be planned from there - I really hope so.
I do know that it's a (life)long road and I can come to terms with that...I just don't want to be causing myself more damage in the short term - it's frustrating enough to get me reaching for a very large bar or two of Dairy Milk 🙄 - I do miss chocolate though...
I've now received the welcome pack from Diabetes UK and the eating guide in there is also proving very useful in giving recipes, ideas and substitutions although I'm still waiting on my Log in and Password from the NHS My Diabetes/My Way website which I know will maybe answer a few of my questions on my blood readings. I've had my first eye check which came back fine - still to get my foot check appointment. No side effects from my twice daily Metformin tablet either - apart from what appears to be referred to the "Metfartin" effect 😎.
More than all that, though, these forums here are proving a goldmine of useful information and support - even reading through them is enough to make me realise that some other person has already travelled down the same path - even in part - that I'm on just now.
Initially in the earliest and darkest days after diagnosis and despite being told not to, both I and some family members made the huge mistake and started reading things on the web (I know that you really shouldn't look at Google for some things...) about Diabetes, it's causes and some of the potential side effects rocked my world more than a bit (it also caused quite a few heated family debates about what I should and shouldn't be doing - instant experts.blah! blah!...).
One (American) website quite starkly stated "So you've got Diabetes? "Your life will be shortened by at least ten years and you'll most likely die of a heart attack or a stroke after one or more amputations" Well, thanks very much guys, Any good news? It was frankly terrifying.
Now I'm getting things into a bit more of a realistic perspective, I've printed off Maggie Davies' letter and I'll happily show it to anyone who thinks that Diabetes is "nothing really much to bother about and is just because you're a bit fat and eat too much sugar" and I'm also in the process of reading Gretchen Becker's book too. These two publications alone are great inspirers and levellers for both me and others.
I am still struggling to get my head to catch up with all that's happened to my body over the last 3 months and I freely admit that I am still very angry inside personally with myself about contracting the illness that has ultimately led me here (a combination of the HiB virus which manifested itself very quickly in massive simultaneous and separate infections in my both lymph glands and in my epiglottis closing off my airway and almost going to full sepsis that nearly saw me off...permanently). All the resulting IV antibiotics and IV steroid treatments during my hospital stay sent my bloods haywire ultimately leading to my Type 2.
Life has been a bit tough on me over the last couple of years - losing my adopted mother, a sister-in-law followed by a sister and a brother all in in the space of 18 months (the latter two in the space of 4 weeks..) handed out a bit of a kicking.
The doctors now suspect that all of this stress and grief (bottling things up is definitely NOT good - I've found this out the hard way) may have possibly led to my auto-immune system being weakened and compromised to the point that allowed the initial infection to get me in the first place.
Sleep can still be a bit broken just now - often waking up in the wee hours with a million thoughts going through my addled bonce, a few tears and feeling a bit lost. Keeping concentration at work has recently been a bit difficult too but I know that's temporary - my employers are very understanding and counselling is available if I need it. Ali is my rock and keeps me on the ground too.
However, after all that, I am still here (and still whingeing) and if I can learn to manage the Type 2 - and maybe even get it into remission in the next 24 months or so. Either way, I now know that I can live a full life with my (much) better half (Alison - 36 years and counting - poor girl 😉), and I'll be delighted and thankful for that - we can still go travelling, I can still play my guitars and I can still mess around in my old Land Rover (the finest collection,of niggling oil leaks in Edinburgh - ask our driveway!) so it can't be all bad....
Thanks so much again boys and girls - because of all you amazing people, I know that I can make this work for me (and Ali) - I promise that I'll keep watching these forums and keep you updated.
Jim
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