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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
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- Thread starter deedee
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Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi deedee, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - how did you come to be diagnosed?
Although it can be a big shock, there is positive news - diabetes, although a serious and sometimes complicated condition, is something that can be controlled well and doesn't have to have a negative impact on your life. The knowledge you gain and the adaptations you make to control it can benefit you in so many other ways, and it is quite possible that - if you keep learning and working at it - you can end up much happier and healthier than you may have felt for some time 🙂
I don't know what information you may have been given so far, but I would recommend a few good sources to get you clued up on things: have a read of Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter for starters, and I would recommend getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. Do you have a meter and test strips so you can test your reactions to food at home, to determine what you tolerate well, and what you don't? If so, that's great - if not, I would highly recommend asking for the facility from your nurse or GP. They may be reluctant and say you don't need to test, but it is really the only practical way to learn what you can eat safely and what you need to avoid, or limit in quantity. Using a meter will allow you to retain the maximum flexibility in your diet, at the same time as giving you the best chance of keeping your blood sugar levels under close control 🙂
If necessary, you can buy your own supplies - the cheapest option we have come across here is the SD Codefree Meter with test strips at around £7/£8 for 50. (prices for strips can be up to £30 for 50 elsewhere). Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how testing helps.
Finally, do let us know if there are any questions or concerns you may have, we will be more than happy to help out! 🙂
Although it can be a big shock, there is positive news - diabetes, although a serious and sometimes complicated condition, is something that can be controlled well and doesn't have to have a negative impact on your life. The knowledge you gain and the adaptations you make to control it can benefit you in so many other ways, and it is quite possible that - if you keep learning and working at it - you can end up much happier and healthier than you may have felt for some time 🙂
I don't know what information you may have been given so far, but I would recommend a few good sources to get you clued up on things: have a read of Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter for starters, and I would recommend getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. Do you have a meter and test strips so you can test your reactions to food at home, to determine what you tolerate well, and what you don't? If so, that's great - if not, I would highly recommend asking for the facility from your nurse or GP. They may be reluctant and say you don't need to test, but it is really the only practical way to learn what you can eat safely and what you need to avoid, or limit in quantity. Using a meter will allow you to retain the maximum flexibility in your diet, at the same time as giving you the best chance of keeping your blood sugar levels under close control 🙂
If necessary, you can buy your own supplies - the cheapest option we have come across here is the SD Codefree Meter with test strips at around £7/£8 for 50. (prices for strips can be up to £30 for 50 elsewhere). Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how testing helps.
Finally, do let us know if there are any questions or concerns you may have, we will be more than happy to help out! 🙂
Welcome, there is a lot of advice & encouragement on this forum
Firstly, realise that you are not alone. Lots of people have more or less normal lives, with no side effects; but also realise that you have to work at things like blood glucose levels, correct diet and so on, for yourself. The expression to describe this process is 'managing your diabetes'.
Join Diabetes UK. They have a magazine, a helpline, and a good introductory booklet
Get books from your library. Some of them might be a bit dated, but they will help to understand and explain your condition, and help you get used to the jargon.
I remember a doctor making the comment "If you've got to have an incurable condition, be grateful it's diabetes - we can do more for that than anything else'.
Firstly, realise that you are not alone. Lots of people have more or less normal lives, with no side effects; but also realise that you have to work at things like blood glucose levels, correct diet and so on, for yourself. The expression to describe this process is 'managing your diabetes'.
Join Diabetes UK. They have a magazine, a helpline, and a good introductory booklet
Get books from your library. Some of them might be a bit dated, but they will help to understand and explain your condition, and help you get used to the jargon.
I remember a doctor making the comment "If you've got to have an incurable condition, be grateful it's diabetes - we can do more for that than anything else'.
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