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Type 2
- Thread starter Rowanfire
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- Type 1
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Welcome to the forum @Rowanfire
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
It’s quite common to feel anxious and overwhelmed at the beginning. Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy.
If you would like a good overview of T2 diabetes, you might want to register for an account with the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu) which is packed full of informative bite-sized modules. Additionally, for a more personal take, members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter to the Newly Diagnosed and Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, which you can work through gradually and will give you a solid starting point.
And keep asking questions here too. Facing diabetes can be an isolating experience, and it can be really helpful to have a friendly crowd of people around you who are facing the same challenges every day, and who instinctively ‘get it’.
Let us know how you get on 🙂
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
It’s quite common to feel anxious and overwhelmed at the beginning. Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy.
If you would like a good overview of T2 diabetes, you might want to register for an account with the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu) which is packed full of informative bite-sized modules. Additionally, for a more personal take, members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter to the Newly Diagnosed and Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, which you can work through gradually and will give you a solid starting point.
And keep asking questions here too. Facing diabetes can be an isolating experience, and it can be really helpful to have a friendly crowd of people around you who are facing the same challenges every day, and who instinctively ‘get it’.
Let us know how you get on 🙂
Thank you for your warm welcome. I am still all over the place at the moment but have tried to stick as rigidly as i can to a strict diet and lost 8lbs this week (so some positive results) I am worried as the Dr put me om Metformin which I reacted to, so the took me off them and have not offered me any further medication or an appointment with a diabetic nurse. I feel in utter LIMBO and its playing on my mind as to where best to turn. Can you advise?
Vonny
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
It's a huge thing to adjust to, but you will get there @Rowanfire. If you're not on any medication then reducing your carb intake should still help you a lot. There are people on here who have successfully put their diabetes into remission by diet and lifestyle alone.
You will almost certainly get another appointment with a diabetic nurse. I was seen 3 months after diagnosis, then 6 months and am now on an annual check. However, it does vary depending on your NHS trust so if you've heard nothing after 3 months it would be worth giving them a call to check.
Just cutting back on potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (besides the more obvious sugary food) should really help your blood glucose levels. It's best to reduce them gradually to avoid potential problems with eyesight. I just cut them all out straightaway (because I'm an all or nothing person) and only discovered the potential eyesight problems from this forum. Luckily it didn't affect me.
You need to be aiming for a sustainable new way of eating rather than a "diet". That doesn't mean you need to be unhappy with what you eat. At 64 I now feel 2 decades younger having got diabetes under control and that means more to me than eating a chip butty. Something I never imagined I could say pre-diagnosis! Best of luck, and please fire away with any questions x
You will almost certainly get another appointment with a diabetic nurse. I was seen 3 months after diagnosis, then 6 months and am now on an annual check. However, it does vary depending on your NHS trust so if you've heard nothing after 3 months it would be worth giving them a call to check.
Just cutting back on potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (besides the more obvious sugary food) should really help your blood glucose levels. It's best to reduce them gradually to avoid potential problems with eyesight. I just cut them all out straightaway (because I'm an all or nothing person) and only discovered the potential eyesight problems from this forum. Luckily it didn't affect me.
You need to be aiming for a sustainable new way of eating rather than a "diet". That doesn't mean you need to be unhappy with what you eat. At 64 I now feel 2 decades younger having got diabetes under control and that means more to me than eating a chip butty. Something I never imagined I could say pre-diagnosis! Best of luck, and please fire away with any questions x
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I suggest you call your GP surgery and ask for your HbA1c results - you are entitled to know - and need to know where you are starting from. Persist - and don't let them fob you off. The fact that they have not replaced the Metformin would hopefully suggest you are at the lower end of the diabetic scale, and some enlightened surgeries will give the person the opportunity to help themselves by lifestyle changes. An HbA1c of 41mmol/mol or less is normal: 42mmol/mol - 47mmol/mol is pre-diabetic; 48mmol/mol and above is diabetic.
It sounds as if you have made a positive start with your weight loss, which I hope means you are eating less carbs. Your eating pattern needs to be enjoyable and sustainable. I did 2 things on diagnosis - join Diabetes.org.uk and got an app to keep an honest food diary, recording both cals and carbs. It is suggested one should aim for less than 130gm carbs a day. Everyone is different so it's trial and error to find out what suits your body. I also tested my blood glucose levels before and 2 hours after each meal, to work out what foods triggered a spike in my glucose levels. Again everyone reacts differently. I only test now for new foods, but I've been at this for 4 years now.
Finally, if you've not been recalled for another HbA1c by the end of June, chase them up. You need to know whether your efforts are working. Best wishes
It sounds as if you have made a positive start with your weight loss, which I hope means you are eating less carbs. Your eating pattern needs to be enjoyable and sustainable. I did 2 things on diagnosis - join Diabetes.org.uk and got an app to keep an honest food diary, recording both cals and carbs. It is suggested one should aim for less than 130gm carbs a day. Everyone is different so it's trial and error to find out what suits your body. I also tested my blood glucose levels before and 2 hours after each meal, to work out what foods triggered a spike in my glucose levels. Again everyone reacts differently. I only test now for new foods, but I've been at this for 4 years now.
Finally, if you've not been recalled for another HbA1c by the end of June, chase them up. You need to know whether your efforts are working. Best wishes
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