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Please say hello- first time user

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Juliaa123

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello I’m type 2 take glicazide 160 mg per day- I was diagnosed 4 years ago. In honesty I’ve pretty much been in denial- my husband was type 1 and died in 2014 diabetic complications. My current situation is , having hit self destruct my sugars are running at about 15 due to my- even knowing better- over eating the wrong foods. I’m 57 menopausal and suffer with generalised anxiety disorder. Wow quite a heavy intro- I’m am hoping to reach out to you all to give me the kick I need, with advice and understanding.
Many thanks and I can assure you I look forward to any reply
Julia
 
Hello @Juliaa123
Welcome to the forum, and thank you for telling us about yourself and your diabetes.
There are many people on here with experience of living with the challenges diabetes gives us and I hope we can help.

We are all different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ and you need to find what right for you.

For me, a new way of eating, and increased exercise, plus some medication has worked. As well as cutting out all the sugary things, I cut down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and mainly eat fresh fish and poultry, some dairy like yoghurt and milk and a little cheese. I have learnt to love vegetables, which form a big part of my eating now. I also try to avoid too much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds and pulses. There are many good recipes to make these things really tasty.

I would suggest starting by reading Maggie Davey's letter, which gives a lot of information on how this lady approached the problem.

Do you have a glucose meter?
This can help find out which foods cause your blood sugars to rise, and eventually arrive at a lists that lets you maintain good blood sugar levels, that you enjoy eating, and fits your lifestyle in terms of how much preparation and cooking you like and have time to do.
We can give you more information on how to do this, if it is of interest.

I hope you find a good way through that is right for you. I am sure you if you can, as well a lowering blood sugars you will start to feel a lot better. It has certainly given me a lot more energy and zest for life.

Hope you will let us know how it goes for you and please ask about anything you would like to know more about..
 
Hi Julia and welcome to the forum. Denial certainly grabs many of us by the short and curlies but eventually we have to succumb to the right way of doing things and surprisingly it isn't as bad as you think. Having said that at present I am having more carbs than I should but do generally do my best to be 'good'. You will find a wealth of information on this site and so many people who are able to offer advice. As Kay says there is no 'one size fits all' so a meter is an excellent tool as it really does give a great idea of what foods do and do not suit you. There are people who are fine with some foods that others dare not touch.
I think removing all bad things from your cupboard is an excellent start as then you are not tempted. I also have a book called Carbs and Cals which gives a great indication of what foods contain carb wise and is full of photos to give you a visual guide to what amount of food you should be having, its worth investing in.
If you have any particular worries or questions please feel free to ask as we are all more than happy to help. Take care. Sue
 
Hello Julia and welcome to the forum.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @Juliaa123 🙂

I've been in denial since I was diagnosed Feb 2016 but have just got with it yesterday, have even made a shopping list and menu out in my diary. The reason is I'm listening to a book on Audible and the fella tells me I'm rotting from the inside, good grief. This boring book has given me the kick I need and also a headache, I don't really like audio books but I wouldn't sit down and read this so...the book is called The Diabetes Code by Dr Jason Fung.
 
Welcome to the forum @Juliaa123 . Glad that you have found us.

You have already been given plenty of advice from others with T2, and if you look around the threads there is so much useful information. However if you have any questions at all, just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here.
 
Hi Julia and welcome from me too.

It is totally understandable that you would comfort eat during the grief of losing a loved one but now is a great time to start a fresh and become a new and better controlled you and with the support of this forum I am pretty certain you can do it..... mainly because I have and was a complete sugar and carb addict pre diagnosis. I also struggle with stress and depression and used sugar/sweets chocolate etc to help me cope... although in reality it was just fuelling the problem.
I found that it was helpful to find treats that were low carb, which I could hit when I needed some comfort and make sure I was well stocked with them. I have also found that eating more fat and less carbs has reduced my cravings and kept me feeling satisfied for longer enabling me to mostly get by on just 2 meals a day. Things like a chunk of my favourite cheese, or a pot of olives, or a boiled egg with full fat mayonnaise or a sausage or chicken drumstick, or a handful of nuts or a plate of veggie sticks with a sour cream and chive dip and if I am going to be really naughty, a packet of pork scratchings or a square of 80% cocoa chocolate with a spoonful of peanut butter. These are all things which help to get me through the days when I struggle and might otherwise turn to sweets or biscuits or crisps.

I have also cut bread from my diet and pasta and rice but eat lots of fresh veg cooked with butter or cream or cheese or olive oil. I very occasionally eat a very small portion of potato/sweet potato but cauliflower or celeriac makes a great substitute for mash or rice and of course is gorgeous as cauliflower cheese as well.

Testing your BG levels before and 2 hours after food is the best way to find the foods that your body will tolerate as we are all different.

With you being on Gliclazide you will need to reduce your carbohydrate intake slowly because otherwise it could take you too low, so start by keeping a diary of everything you eat and drink for a few days and tot up how many carbs you consume on a daily basis.... you will need to weight and measure and check the nutritional info on the back of packets (the traffic light system on the front of packaging is of no use to us diabetics) Then look at maybe just replacing snacks with low carb options like those I have suggested above for the first week. Then choose one meal and half the carb content of that the next week..... for instance, if you have 2 slices of bread/toast for breakfast, cut it to just one but have 2 eggs with it, so that you still feel full. If you have cereal for breakfast, half the portion but add some creamy Greek full fat natural yoghurt instead of milk and seeds and chopped nuts and maybe a few raspberries or strawberries, to bulk it out.

If your BG levels start to come down a bit low, discuss reducing your Gliclazide medication with your nurse or GP. It is entirely possible that eating a low carb higher fat menu, you could eventually come off medication altogether eventually (wouldn't that be great), but it needs to be done slowly and steadily.

Anyway, just a few suggestions to get you going.

Many people are frightened of eating more fat because we have been indoctrinated all our lives to believe that fat is bad, but many of us here on the forum are eating more fat than at any time in our lives and feeling fitter and healthier both physically and mentally than we ever have and many of us are also seeing our weight and cholesterol come down. This is in conjunction with a significant reduction in carbohydrates though. If you continue to eat a lot of carbs and eat fat as well then you will put on weight, so it is a question of slowly increasing one whilst decreasing the other.

Good luck with your new diabetes journey. We are here to support you every step of the way.
 
Hi Julia. Welcome. Ask any question you like no matter how small or stupid you might think it is. I did, and I cannot thank this lot enough especially when I was anxious and panicky.
 
Welcome to the forum @Juliaa123

I am so sorry to hear about your husband, that must have been a terrible blow. I hope you are finding ways to make it through, and find some light and hope and that your moments in the darkness of ‘the valley’ are less frequent and shorter lived now. My wife died after a brief, brutal encounter with pancreatic cancer in 2018, so I have some idea what you may have been living through.

I completely recognise the anxiety, anger and self-destruction that you allude to. It isn’t fair what you have been going through. But life can go on, it will be better and you deserve to be happy. There are lots of people who care about you, and want the best for you. Including the folks on this forum that you are just ‘meeting’ now.

Getting to grips with your diabetes management isn’t easy, there will be hard moments, and at times you will want to give in. But you and I must fight against those tendencies - because they are not where happiness and a brighter future lies.

You’ve done a great thing joining here. Now you have a whole team of people cheering you on, who want you to make a success of this. and soon enough you will be sharing your amazing, positive story of how you turned things around, and how much better you now feel with other nervous newbies who are just starting on their road to better diabetes self-management.
 
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