Living with type2 for 3 years.

[eli78]

Hello to all,
I was diagnosed with type 2 three years ago but always been a 'poor controller' of the BG. I am now 34 yrs old and starting to realise the need of keeping me alive to support my family.( I have a 4 years old daughter and like to live little bit longer to support her).
I come from asian background and really find it difficult to eat healthy since my meals are mostly rice rich and oversized. To make things worse I have excess alcoholl intake habit aswell ( I can easily drink a bottle of whisky in a week and smoke). I am kind of stressed now sometimes feel helpless. Any suggestions and guide is appreciated.

 

[Alba37]

Hello to all,
I was diagnosed with type 2 three years ago but always been a 'poor controller' of the BG. I am now 34 yrs old and starting to realise the need of keeping me alive to support my family.( I have a 4 years old daughter and like to live little bit longer to support her).
I come from asian background and really find it difficult to eat healthy since my meals are mostly rice rich and oversized. To make things worse I have excess alcoholl intake habit aswell ( I can easily drink a bottle of whisky in a week and smoke). I am kind of stressed now sometimes feel helpless. Any suggestions and guide is appreciated.

Welcome Eli. How has your control been, what have your hba1c's been like over the last 3 years? I think you know yourself what you need to do. I found reducing carbs has been the most successful way for me to get better control. I understand it will be difficult with your diet, but if you can replace rice with veg and cut back on the alcohol you will be giving yourself a better chance of a healthier future. Your daughter needs you to be around for her too. I know smoking isn't good either, but as stopping smoking normally means weight gain, I think personally I'd try and reduce carbs and alcohol first if I was you. Unfortunately only you can make the changes, but you really can do them if you want to. Good luck 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hi Eli, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear that you have been struggling, but glad you found us - it sounds like you are ready to really get to grips with things and make changes for the better. My advice would be to take small steps - don't overwhelm yourself by trying to change everything at once. I would recommend you start a food diary. Eat normally and record everything you eat and drink each day, noting down in particular the amount of carbs in everything (you may find a book like Collins Gem Calorie Counter useful for working out the carbs). This diary will then provide you with a guide to areas where you might be able to make changes, such as substituting more diabetes-friendly veg etc. It will also give you a more accurate picture of your carb consumption.

Also, I would recommend reading A good place to start is by reading Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter and getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. Although you are not newly-diagnosed, it can be helpful to start from scratch as though you were. Put the past behind you and start afresh! 🙂

Are you on any medication for your diabetes? Do you exercise regularly? Exercise will really help you with your blood sugar control as it will make you more sensitive to insulin. And you probably know that stopping smoking would be of enormous benefit to you - stopping would also help with your blood sugar control. I found Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking very good at helping me to stop.

I've given you a lot of information here, but take your time to absorb it. This is a marathon, not a sprint, so you need to make your changes at a pace you can sustain.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have - everyone is really friendly and helpful and no question is considered 'silly', so we would be happy to hear from you 🙂

 

[Mark T]

Welcome to the forum eli78 🙂