Newly diagnosed T2

[Dylusional dandelion]

I was diagnosed T2 a month ago, my hba1c was 50, but wasn’t given any other details. I was given a couple of booklets and Metformin was prescribed, have been taking 1 a day in the morning. The nurse was going to double the dose at my last appointment but decided not to as I had Covid at the time.
So far I have read lots of information on here and bought a couple of the recommended books. The trouble is that I struggle to retain information following a stroke I had 10 years ago. I’m feeling so guilty, confused and overwhelmed by it all.
I thought my diet was reasonably healthy but it obviously wasn’t. Mealtimes have become stressful as I just don’t know what to eat and hubby, who does all the cooking, keeps serving up things I’m trying to avoid despite me telling him several times! He just says a little bit won’t hurt you … I’m at a loss what to do for the best

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, you are not unusual to be left to your own devises following a diagnosis but your blood glucose at 50mmol/mol is not desperately far into the diabetic zone and many GPs would allow people to try for 3 months by making dietary changes before medication.
The danger foods are carbohydrates, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals , pastry as well as obvious cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice, but there are plenty of foods you can have and basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables and salads and fruit like berries but small portions of the high carb foods which will give you tasty meals.
Sadly what people who are not diabetic can happily eat are not so good if Type 2 diabetic.
If you and your husband have a look at this link that may help to find meals that will suit you and his abilities as the cook. There are a few do's and dont's and some good explanation of managing diabetes. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
That is often where the rot starts in thinking 'just a little bit won't harm' and it becomes a slippery slope.

 

[Dylusional dandelion]

Welcome to the forum, you are not unusual to be left to your own devises following a diagnosis but your blood glucose at 50mmol/mol is not desperately far into the diabetic zone and many GPs would allow people to try for 3 months by making dietary changes before medication.
The danger foods are carbohydrates, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals , pastry as well as obvious cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice, but there are plenty of foods you can have and basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables and salads and fruit like berries but small portions of the high carb foods which will give you tasty meals.
Sadly what people who are not diabetic can happily eat are not so good if Type 2 diabetic.
If you and your husband have a look at this link that may help to find meals that will suit you and his abilities as the cook. There are a few do's and dont's and some good explanation of managing diabetes. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
That is often where the rot starts in thinking 'just a little bit won't harm' and it becomes a slippery slope.

Thank you, I will check it out

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you, I will check it out

It also occurred to me that having Covid can increase blood glucose in many people so if your test was near towhen you had it that may have affected the result. However you may still have been in the 'at risk' zone so still worth looking at making some dietary changes.

 

[Transistor]

>He just says a little bit won’t hurt you …

Hubby needs to realise that this is serious and that a little bit of diabetes with a little bit of sugar can result in loss of toes and eyesight eventually. I've seen it with my dad and it was not nice.
I was fortunate that my wife was already on a keto, low carbs diet to sort out energy level fluctuations (it worked) so the day I got my HbA1c result of 91 I went home and did an abrupt switch to a low carb diet. Some people can suffer a little with an abrupt change but I didn't have any difficulty. You can see the results of my low-carb / no meds in my chart below.

The diet approach is very doable - especially when you're only just into the diabetic range - so I would encourage you to try it and monitor the results with a glucose meter.

One simple technique I use when shopping is to quickly check the nutritional information on food and if it's more than 10% carbs (10 g / 100 g) then I put it back on the shelf unless it would be consumed in very low quantities.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Dylusional dandelion, warm welcome to the forum.

It's easier said that done but no need to feel guilty, there are people with all sorts of lifestyles and diets who end up with diabetes for one reason or another.

Things do get tricky when others in the household don't share the same dietary needs so I understand how difficult it must be. Could you maybe make some side dishes as the bulk of your meal and just have the protein that's been cooked?

Something like a hearty salad, garlic roasted veg and anything you like which has a low carb content. It may also be helpful to keep a food diary for a week so you can see what could be adjusted in terms of reducing carbs.

Managing diabetes can take a while to get your head round but slow and steady wins the race. Have a look at the advice given and feel free to ask as many question as you have along this journey as we're right here to support you every step of the way.

 

[Dylusional dandelion]

Thank you everyone, I will take on board your suggestions. Hopefully if I train myself first I can train (retrain lol) hubby after.

 

[Drummer]

Thank you everyone, I will take on board your suggestions. Hopefully if I train myself first I can train (retrain lol) hubby after.

I suggest having a serious discussion with your husband and ask him why he won't believe just how dangerous eating high carb foods is for you.
I saw my grandmother slowly dying from complications of diabetes, and it was horrible.
If he still will not take instruction, then you might have to go on strike and not eat the wrong things.
The sad part is that it is probably just as easy to make low carb meals than high carb ones.
My husband has potatoes and I have swede, and to cook them to make mash I simply stack two perforated containers in the pressure cooker, the potato on top, and it takes 10 minutes, during which time I can cook some fish and peas and do a salad for myself. I add a few peas to the coleslaw for myself and in 20 minutes we are sitting down to eat. Very easy and uncomplicated even though he won't eat anything but peas as a second vegetable.