Scared of doctors and diabetic nurse

[Verny g]

Hi all I'm new here I've been diagnosed with T2 since 2014 it is in my family so was unable to avoid it the problem I'm having is that I really hate taking medication as I strongly disagree with pushing meds although I'm fully aware that I need to take them and have been taking them but get extremely stressed when i feel pushed to keep uping the dose.Ive been doing my very best to eat healthily and try to exercise when I can but also having general anxiety does not help at all I've joined this forum to connect with others who know how horrible this disease can make you feel mentally.

 

[Inka]

Hi @Verny g 🙂 The way I look at it is that I’m not doing this for anyone else - just for me. It used to upset me a lot when I was younger and healthcare professionals commented on my numbers, but now I’d stand up for myself.

If you concentrate on improving your health for your sake, nobody else’s, then that helps. As for the meds, try to look on them as a support for you in your quest for good blood sugars, not something pushed on you against your will. If they’re helping control your blood sugars for you, then they’re a good thing.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Verny g

Well done for taking meds to support your body, even though that isnt something you want to do. There is no shame or stigma in needing medications - some people‘s bodies just need a little extra support.

Of course mads can’t work in isolation - diabetes management is a combination of meds (if required), plus food/carb intake, and activity levels. Alongside many other factors that affect BG like stress (or anxiety, or excitement), hormones etc.

Which meds are you currently taking?

We have members here who also would prefer not to use meds if they can, and have managed to reduce or remove the need for meds by making changes to their meal plans, reducing general carb content (not just the obvious sweet/sugary things, but all carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, cereals, bakery items, and many fruits). Plus also checking their BG response to different meals and choosing the amount and types of carbs which give better outcomes for them as an individual.

Everyone is different, and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ diet that will work for everyone. Differences in the gut biome and genetics significantly affect the way the same food will be absorbed by two different people with diabetes, so the only way to be sure is to check your individual responses for yourself.

Test Review Adjust, is a helpful framework for that process - https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

Glad you have joined the forum, and look forward to hearing more of your story.

 

[Drummer]

I reduced my intake of carbs, starch and sugars, to the point where I was seeing normal numbers, did not require medication and my GP has ignored me, the appointments I have had with nurses simply reinforce my normal status and so I go on being the least bother I can be to everyone.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Verny g .

I am not sure I can add anything to the information that you have already been given.
So I will just say please ask any questions that you have.
No questions are considered silly on here.
Just ask.

 

[PaulG]

Everyones body needs certain things. Food, liquids, exercise, mental exercise and many other things.

Some people need more of a particular thing, perhaps less of others. Personally I put on weight if I just walk past
a chippy and yet the bean stalk next door has it twice a week. Unless her plate resembles Everest its only a snack.

My mate and his Missis lived in restaurants (before Coronavirus). He is skin hanging on bone and she was the
inspiration for the R101.

So your body requires a couple of supplements that happen to be in pill form. So what? So does mine.

I don't like pills. A pint of water is better for a headache than paracetamol but I don't worry about it.

Stay safe,
Paul G

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Hi all I'm new here I've been diagnosed with T2 since 2014 it is in my family so was unable to avoid it the problem I'm having is that I really hate taking medication as I strongly disagree with pushing meds although I'm fully aware that I need to take them and have been taking them but get extremely stressed when i feel pushed to keep uping the dose.Ive been doing my very best to eat healthily and try to exercise when I can but also having general anxiety does not help at all I've joined this forum to connect with others who know how horrible this disease can make you feel mentally.

Hello Verny g - deep breaths, relax shoulders and prepare to read my wall of text

I have always been a worrier and as years went on I have had various anxiety problems including hyper vigilance (which is great fun at the moment although I consider it a super power right now) PTSD, social anxiety, panic attacks etc etc

Meds have always been an issue for me because I get panicky over possible side effects and in any case my body has never tolerated meds well - maybe psychosomatic maybe not but that is how it works out for me.

Yet believe it or not I am actually enjoying living with type 2 diabetes.

Because I decided it was simple if I dealt with it this way:

All carbohydrates are a problem so I went for the simple solution

1. Reduce carb count to 20g per day wherever possible.

2. Eat good fats without worry (because they keep me from having cravings and so far have done nothing but provable good for my overall health, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels)

3. Enjoy all the meats and cheeses and salami and bacon I always loved but used to feel guilty about eating pre-diagnosis

4. Have fun experimenting with turning the recipes I used to enjoy but were high carb into keto versions that I enjoy even more.



You'll see my history with my diabetes journey from my signature under this post.

I took metformin to begin with but after a short while I had changed my diet so much that the metformin was not needed at all.

The new diet changes sorted out my hormone imbalances and my blood pressure and I also found my anxiety levels reduced and my mood improved - possibly because I had a general issue with stress and cortisol and my liver was struggling to cope - I also had the beginnings of fatty liver disease when my Type 2 was diagnosed - and within six months of eating keto everything was back to normal levels and I was and am feeling better than I have done since I was in my twenties and cutting carbs gave my liver a nice rest and then when I stopped the meds as well my liver had even more of a rest.

The huge plus for me is now I can eat cream cakes (home made using almond flour and psyllium husk and erythritol sweeteners) and home made jams that don't move my blood sugars at all from a nice normal level AND the new way of cooking is faster and easier - cakes take ten to twenty minutes (from getting the ingredients out of the cupboard and them cooling and being decorated and ready to eat) and I don't end up with a pile of washing up like I used to with carb baking and though I'm eating what I once thought of as 'naughty' foods I am actually losing weight slowly and steadily and not counting calories either.

Have a look at the What did you eat yesterday? thread on here - I share lots of recipe tips and I have a Facebook page with basic recipes to introduce you to keto cookery in an easily achievable way.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/MeTacklingDiabetes/posts/

 

[bimsbims]

please can you share your keto diet I am in the exact same starting situation as you , diagnosed January 2020 with HbA1c of 64. struggling with carbs and desperate to go on keto. I am doing 16:8 fasting since end of march and mid waist slowly shrinking , however need to reduce carbs. Thanks

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

please can you share your keto diet I am in the exact same starting situation as you , diagnosed January 2020 with HbA1c of 64. struggling with carbs and desperate to go on keto. I am doing 16:8 fasting since end of march and mid waist slowly shrinking , however need to reduce carbs. Thanks

Have a look at my Facebook page (the link is in my post above) and if you have any questions after a good rummage about on there give me a message and I'll be happy to help. I don't have 'a diet' as such - just a list of foods I find don't affect my blood sugars and are very low in carbs and I simply work with them to put my meals together.

I am starting to be a weeny bit more adventurous now and allow a few little carb treats back in - I've been learning to make 100% wholemeal sourdough bread and that is hard to resist - but I just get even stricter with the other foods if I have some bread and don't eat anything with carbs other than that bread all day.

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi @NotWorriedAtAll , I've just looked at your Facebook page and printed off a couple of recipes - I'm not a baker or much of a cook but we've started to do more during this lockdown, and we're having a go at different things (we've got the Fathead pizza down nicely now!), so thanks for your FB tip to @bimsbims 🙂 😎

 

[Drummer]

I am starting to be a weeny bit more adventurous now and allow a few little carb treats back in - I've been learning to make 100% wholemeal sourdough bread and that is hard to resist - but I just get even stricter with the other foods if I have some bread and don't eat anything with carbs other than that bread all day.

Try using some wheat gluten and substituting milled seeds, psyllium flour, maybe almond and coconut flour for some of the wheat flour - even a small slice of all wheat flour bread sent my BG level stratospheric, and kept it high for 24 hours or more. Wheat flour is very low in nutrition, so if you are not eating anything else with carbs you are missing all your vitamins and other micronutrients for the day.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Try using some wheat gluten and substituting milled seeds, psyllium flour, maybe almond and coconut flour for some of the wheat flour - even a small slice of all wheat flour bread sent my BG level stratospheric, and kept it high for 24 hours or more. Wheat flour is very low in nutrition, so if you are not eating anything else with carbs you are missing all your vitamins and other micronutrients for the day.

I use 100% organic stone ground wholemeal (wholegrain) flour with all the germ, endosperm and bran left in and it is actually very nutritionally dense and full of fibre and micronutrients and the sourdough process increases the availability of the nutritional content and introduces friendly bacteria and yeasts.

I've been testing after eating a slice and my blood sugars only go up about 1mmol/L and I go onto my exercise bike straight afterwards and it brings it right back down again and keeps it down for the rest of the day.

I'm not going to mess about with my sourdough bread making - my husband does without so much in order to keep me company with my eating and he deserves to have the very best bread I can make for him.

I can easily make myself keto bread - in fact today while my sourdough bread is taking eight hours to settle in the fridge I made a fantastic keto roll with a mix of linseed and chia seeds, coconut flour, psyllium husk and a teaspoon of sourdough starter (which I made from wholegrain flour and water and fermented it over a few days) and a tablespoon of diet seven up.

Turned out brilliant. I don't mind playing about with my keto recipes but I want to keep my wholemeal sourdough bread making game pure :🙂

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Hi @NotWorriedAtAll , I've just looked at your Facebook page and printed off a couple of recipes - I'm not a baker or much of a cook but we've started to do more during this lockdown, and we're having a go at different things (we've got the Fathead pizza down nicely now!), so thanks for your FB tip to @bimsbims 🙂 😎

Oh brilliant!! So happy it has been helpful 🙂

 

[Drummer]

You are lucky to be able to cope with such a load of starches - keep cycling.
What is the seven up for?

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

You are lucky to be able to cope with such a load of starches - keep cycling.
What is the seven up for?

It adds some rise as well as moisture and a slight sweet flavour that works quite well. I wouldn't use it often but as a one-off it was fairly successful.