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Mentoring

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Pennyr

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Im a disabled lady,with T2 since 2000.Im alone with no family and i live in rural Scotland.I just wondered if there maybe someone who could mentor me.I need some support as im over weight.I suffer with chronic pain,as mygp refuses to give me pain meds,i tend to eat the wronge things.Unfortunatly changing gp,s ,is not an option.As this is my nearest surgery,but several miles from where i live.
 
Welcome Penny and sorry to hear you are feeling isolated. You have come to a great forum with loads of support here, not individual mentoring but nevertheless we all care very much about each other. We discuss lots of things, not just our diabetes and there is a weight loss section particularly for those struggling with their weight. Please have a look around the site and feel free to ask any questions, make comments, even have a rant whenever you wish as there is usually somebody in the site at most times of the day. Again welcome to you. Sue x
 
Hi Penny and welcome.

Do you have a diagnosis for your pain? And are you able to take any over the counter meds for it?


We can encourage you to make change to your diet and generally chat and help you feel less isolated.
 
Hello @Pennyr

Welcome to the forum. I’ve moved your thread into the ‘General’ messageboard so that it doesn’t get missed.

Hope you find support and encouragement here. Members aren’t medically trained (with a few coincidental exceptions!), but we all understand the challenges and difficulties... and occasionally victories... that come with living with diabetes. So feel free to ask questions, rant, share your experiences, be encouraged and encourage others.
 
Hello Penny and welcome to the forum, I hope we will be able to help you.
Can you tell us a little bit more about your diabetes? Do you know what your HB1ac blood glucose reading is, and has it changed much over time? Are you on any diabetes medication?
We can give you some pointers to how some of us cope with what to eat if this would help.
 
Hi Penny, whereabouts (approximately) do you live in God’s own country? I used to live on the Isle of Mull, which is almost as rural you can get, but fortunately with excellent GPs. I would suggest giving Diabetes UK Scotland a ring to explain your situation. They will know of any diabetes support groups in your area, and you could maybe find someone who could transport you to meetings.

The number for Diabetes UK Scotland is 0141 2456380, the helpline number is 0141 212 8710.
 
Hi and welcome from me too.
Of all the things you mention, diet is something you have control over and as someone who also ate the wrong things I can say that changing the way you eat can impact on not just your diabetes, but other things like weight loss and joint pain too. It certainly did for me.
You obviously want to make a change because you have come to the forum for support and we are happy to offer that, so lets go forward together.
As others have said it would help to know if you are on any medication for diabetes, what your most recent HbA1c reading was and an idea of what you eat on average for breakfast lunch and tea as well as any snacks, so that we can make suggestions for lower carb substitutions which might help your diabetes..... some of them might be more pleasant than you think....
It helps to be able to test your Blood Glucose (BG) levels at home and many people self fund a BG meter and test strips. Meters are relatively inexpensive at approx. £15 but the on going cost of buying test strips for them can tot up the expenses and for this reason, here on the forum, most people buy the SD Codefree Blood Glucose Monitor or the Spirit Health TEE2 BG meter. Both have the cheapest test strips on the market at £8 for a pot of 50 as compared to £15-£25 for some other brands. Being able to test your own blood at home enables you to identify the foods which spike your BG the most and reduce or eliminate those from your diet. It is carbohydrates that mostly cause us problems, which are not just sugary products but also food which contain natural sugars like fruit but also starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals including your native and normally healthy porridge. The good news is that meat, fish, eggs and nuts are all low carb and full fat dairy is usually on the menu along with plenty of leafy veg like cabbage, sprouts, kale and cauliflower is a diabetic wonder as it can be mashed with a good dollop of cream cheese to replace mashed potato or grated/finely chopped to replace rice or couscous. Celeriac can similarly be cooked and mashed or chipped to replace tatties. Mediterranean veg like tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, and peppers are all good and olives make a great low carb snack if you like them.... or can develop a taste for them. Cheese,nuts and boiled eggs also make great low carbohydrate snacks.
Look forward to hearing more info from you so that we can help you to make positive changes.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. 🙂
 
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