Newbie, diagnosed today

[Kerbil]

Hi everyone,
I've been diagnosed with T2 diabetes this morning. I can't say I'm overly surprised as my lifestyle is far from healthy. Speaking to the nurse & reading up on the condition has left me terrified though. I'm determined to get some weight off & make better choices so I hope to be a regular visitor to this site for support & inspiration. Wish me luck!

 

[admc26]

Hi there @Kerbil. I'm really sorry to hear that you're a bit fearful after your very recent diagnosis. Some of the info that they give you may seem scary but it's necessary that you know it so that you know the risks that come with Diabetes. Unfortunately your diabetic care team wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't tell you some of the scary bits!

But it sounds like you've got a really positive attitude towards your T2D so I am sure a lot of the scary info won't apply to you! Have you been put on any medication yet? Metformin perhaps?

Please do feel free to ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone willing to answer. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[janw]

Hi and welcome from a "still quite new" member here - this is a brilliant place to talk to fellow D's, no matter which type. Lots of helpful advice and suggestions, plenty to give us an idea of what to do. If you haven't been given one (highly unlikely, sadly) then get yourself a blood glucose meter, it is a lifeline for helping you help yourself. The GlucoNavii is a good one and, currently, has the cheapest test strips available. I just changed to that one myself - order extra test strips and lancets as the starter kit only has 10 a-piece. They have their own site but also available on Amazon (click the box to say you are a diabetic to get the VAT relief).
Don't be scared, it is overwhelming, but once you start testing and keeping an online food diary, you will be pretty much in control and that feels so much better. Low carbs will help with lowering your BG as well as weight loss if needed. Best of luck - need any questions or queries answered - just ask - no such thing as a daft question 🙂

 

[Drummer]

The one piece of advice which ought to be given to the newly diagnosed is 'well an ordinary type two has only to reduce their carbohydrate intake to what they can cope with and in a few weeks they'll not be in the diabetic ranges and they'll probably stay there as long as they eat low carb'.
Add in feeling so much better and being able to lose a bit of weight and most people ought to be reassured about their future.
I did end up joining a team of morris dancers though - you might watch out for that as an unwanted side effect.

 

[Gwynn]

Hmm the NHS must be a bit behind the times there as I can't see Morris dancing as one of the symptoms of DB listed anywhere.

 

[Abida DUK]

Hi @Kerbil. I'm sorry to hear that you've been left feeling fearful after your recent diagnosis, but please know that if you ever want to have a one-to-one chat about this with any of the advisors on our Helpline you can call us on 0345 123 2399 or you can send us an email to helpline@diabetes.org.uk. We'd be more than happy to help in any way we can. Of course, the community here on the forum is really supportive and knowledgeable so you are more than welcome to drop by here anytime.

And it goes without saying that your positivity and determination to make a change in your lifestyle is so admirable and definitely inspiring to others going through the same experience - I wish you the very best of luck! 🙂

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Just want to wish you luck in your journey with diabetes and finding the new healthier you. There are quite a few of us here who took our diagnosis as the "kick up the backside" we needed to become slimmer, fitter, healthier and happier and feel younger so your diagnosis could actually be a gateway to a longer and healthier life, if you are committed to making those lifestyle changes and it isn't all sack cloth and ashes by any means. Many of us have found we enjoy food more and have experimented with new foods and new recipes and actually have a more colourful and varied diet, rather than eating a lot of that beige stodge we used to eat.... bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.

If you have any questions, just ask. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here on the forum to dig into.

 

[Drummer]

Hmm the NHS must be a bit behind the times there as I can't see Morris dancing as one of the symptoms of DB listed anywhere.

More a side effect of unmedicated control of type 2....

 

[Kerbil]

The one piece of advice which ought to be given to the newly diagnosed is 'well an ordinary type two has only to reduce their carbohydrate intake to what they can cope with and in a few weeks they'll not be in the diabetic ranges and they'll probably stay there as long as they eat low carb'.
Add in feeling so much better and being able to lose a bit of weight and most people ought to be reassured about their future.
I did end up joining a team of morris dancers though - you might watch out for that as an unwanted side effect.

Thanks for your comment & putting a smile on my face @Drummer.

 

[Kerbil]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Just want to wish you luck in your journey with diabetes and finding the new healthier you. There are quite a few of us here who took our diagnosis as the "kick up the backside" we needed to become slimmer, fitter, healthier and happier and feel younger so your diagnosis could actually be a gateway to a longer and healthier life, if you are committed to making those lifestyle changes and it isn't all sack cloth and ashes by any means. Many of us have found we enjoy food more and have experimented with new foods and new recipes and actually have a more colourful and varied diet, rather than eating a lot of that beige stodge we used to eat.... bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.

If you have any questions, just ask. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here on the forum to dig into.

Thank you for your warm greeting, Barbara. I certainly agree with your "kick up the backside" comment. I'm up & running now & my shopping trolley has never looked so healthy. Even the cashier said "what, no wine"? lol

 

[rebrascora]

Thank you for your warm greeting, Barbara. I certainly agree with your "kick up the backside" comment. I'm up & running now & my shopping trolley has never looked so healthy. Even the cashier said "what, no wine"? lol

Don't want to totally burst your bubble, but "healthy" can be a complicated term to understand....
For instance wine and full fat produce, fatty meats including red meat and lots of cheeses and cream and whole (blue top milk) and lovely olive oil feature in my shopping trolley and the occasional bottle of rum or gin. What doesn't get a place is bread, pasta, rice, couscous even wholemeal or brown versions, even porridge oats and very little fruit goes in to my trolley, just a few berries, but plenty of veg and salad. This diet is healthy for me and helps me to manage my diabetes and more importantly, gives me control over my disordered eating.

Fat keeps me from feeling hungry and it may even be that the low fat advice we have been trying to follow for years has in part lead to the obesity and diabetes epidemic our generation are now part of. Food doesn't taste so good with the fat removed and it is thin and watery, so they add sugars and starches (cheap carbohydrates) to make it taste more palatable and thicken it up. Yoghurt is a prime example of this but it has happened throughout the food industry. The skimmed off cream could be sold separately for a profit and we were paying for a poorer quality product doctored with sugar and starch to make it more appealing. The more sugar that crept into our diet, the more our tastes changes and the more we wanted and we had much less fat in our diet to keep us feeling full, so we needed a snack every couple of hours, which has become the norm for people and our insulin production to deal with it has needed to be ramped up. Insulin is a fat storage hormone, so it helped us put on weight.

What I am saying is that you may need to review what you consider healthy, because it is not nearly as clear cut as you imagine or as the NHS or even Diabetes UK would have us believe.