[gingerose]

I feel as though I am in a tornado and not sure when the spinning will ever stop.

I went to the doctor for a new patient appointment on Monday. On Tuesday, I get a phone call telling me that I have diabetes and need to make as appointment ASAP. Wednesday, I was so nervous about eating anything so remained hungry most of the day.

Well, today is Thursday and I go to the diabetic specialist (not sure what her official title is) this afternoon as well as a nutritionist. Try to remember everything the told me on the phone on Tuesday but to be honest most of my hearing stopped after the statement, "You have diabetes and it is at a dangerous level."

I guess I will find out more this afternoon. I have been reading about diabetes on the internet which has pretty much caused me to be more nervous.

I stumbled into this site this morning. (Yes, I have not slept very much since the phone call on Tuesday.) Decided to join thinking that you guys might be able to help with the thousands of questions I will probably have after this afternoons appointment. I hope there are some people that are up to that challenge.

Thanks for letting me rumble a bit!

 

[Shanny]

Welcome, gingerose. I think we can help you figure out safe things to eat, and I think we can help with the overall anxiety - we've all been exactly where you're sitting now & it's overwhelming, to say the least. For now you can eat all protein & fats without too much uproar. Just stay away from the carbohydrates - stuff like pasta, potatoes, sweets, anything made with grain (wheat, oats, rice, corn, etc.). Carbs are what raises blood sugar.

Get a deep breath & then just ask everything you wanna know! If we don't know the answers, we know somebody else that does know.

Take care & visit us often!

 

[fgummett]

Hi gingerose and Welcome!

It can be pretty overwhelming at first but rest assured that there are many here who have been where are you today and have come through OK (many are better than OK).

Questions are inevitable and to be expected... remember "there are NO stupid questions" -- also remember that "knowledge is power" so please feel free to ask away.

Good luck with your appointment today. Please do let us know how it goes.

:canada:

 

[d33na]

hiya ginger...welcome to a very exclusive club...

 

[Joshua Shorter]

Hey!! Welcome to the forum!! It is normal to be nervous or upset. Remember that people are living with this and managing it every single day. It is so possible to live a healthy life with diabetes, sometimes even healthier.

I hope you come back and visit often. We are a great group of people who love to hear grumblings, pleas for support, advice and encouragement.

Hang in there, you'll be awesome!!

 

[Patdart]

Welcome, Ginger. I'll bet you have questions when tonight comes, so come back and tell us what's happened this afternoon. Good luck!

 

[PC76]

I went through 3 days of the sit and wait. I called my docs office to make an appoinment for my blood work and the reception said to me "WE'll get you in Thursday, Doc really needs to see you, your blood sugar is really high". So I was basically told by reception. So for 3 days I stewed and worried to find out what I already knew. Try to relax, you know it's there. Now concentrate of fixing it as best you can.

 

[naynay]

Welcome gingerose...btw, love the name. Receiving a diagnosis of diabetes is not a death sentence unless you choose to ignore it and not be proactive in controlling. With that said, I believe since you found us here at the DF, you plan to be proactive and control. Everybody on this forum has such a wealth of information, and pretty much know more than most of the specialists and doctors do about diabetes and its effects. You have certainly reached the right place to become informed and to help yourself. I hope your doctors appointment goes well for you and keep us up to date on your situation. We are all here to support and encourage you through this. Relax and take care.

 

[moon]

Joining the Welcome Wagon chorus ... welcome!

The learning curve is steep for those of us who knew nothing about diabetes at diagnosis, but it will start coming together quicker than you can right now imagine.

Will be interested in hearing what you learn this afternoon.

 

[gingerose]

Thank you so much for a warm welcome. I hope that as I go through this tornado of mine that I don't bother you too much. I am back from my appointment and I found out that my a1c is 8.3.

Several things can out of today's meeting:
1- The nutritionist was not available so I will be going back in 2 weeks to meet with her. Until I met with the nutritionist, I need to cut back on what I eat. They did give me some information for me to follow until then. I have alot of weight that will have to go away!
2- They have showed my how to check my blood sugar and want me to keep a journal. In two weeks I will also meet with the diabetes educator again.
3- Although, I need to excerise. I am to stay off my feet as I am having alot of problems with my feet. (On a side note, I happen to go to a podiatrist last week to partial remove the left big toe nail for the second time in a month with plans to do the left one again as well. We now have a good idea why they are not healing correctly. On top of that the bottom of my feet have been hurting for quite awhile now. The podiatrist was going to address that problem after the toe nails healed. I return to him in a little over a week so I will be informing him of this new discovery.)
4- Several issues that I just shrugged off for the past few months should improve such some blurry vision, a few headaches, and being so tired all the time. I had a very busy summer so I just was think I was over doing it.
5- I start meds in the morning. It is called Januvia. I have not had time to read up about it so don't know anything except that I am to take it everyday.

Well, I better go figure out what I can do for dinner since the first thing in my information says "Avoid all types of sugar and limit fat" (both of these are in bold and underlined).

Thank you again for everyone kindness,
gingerose

 

[moon]

Hi Ginger, thanks for the update. It's a lot to take in, but the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. (Wonder why all my favorite sayings have to do with eating?)

The most important thing to do coming out of the gate is limit carbs (sugars, flour, grains, fruit, milk, cereal, bread) - that made my blood sugar plummet in (fairly) short order. When I decreased carbs, I increased healthy fat (olive oil, butter, cream, avocado, coconut oil), and that was tough for me as I had followed a fairly low-fat diet for decades. But - it was satiating and healthy so I did it. As a result, I started dropping weight and have lost almost 50 lbs this year.

In addition to the weight loss and obviously feeling better, my cholesterol numbers improved dramatically. But you'll see what works for you in time, after reading and learning and absorbing lots of new info bit by bit.

You're at the beginning of a journey which will bring you better health - that's the exciting news!

 

[gingerose]

Well, it has been a little over a week since diagnosis.

My feet are feeling better this week. They had all but quite hurting until yesterday. We had parent teacher conferences at school so I was on them more and that started them hurting again. My plans are to stay off of them as much as possible this weekend. My toes do not look to ggod especially my left big one. I go to the podiotrist on Monday.

As far as eating as concern, I have pretty much stuck to salads and tuna this week. I will finally get to meet with the nutritionist next Thursday so maybe I will feel like I can eat something else. My counts are looking pretty good, I think, so we will see.

Thanks so all the kind and encouraging words. This tornado of mine will hopefully just be a thunderstorm soon.

 

[Precious]

It is difficult to not just accept that you have to cange life long habits but that you need to learn all new ones.

I like the saying: take it one day at a time, and if that does not work, take it one meal at a time.

Good luck
Precious

 

[Joshua Shorter]

Please don't starve yourself. Eat any kind of meat, plenty of cheese, vegetables, nuts, eggs, etc.

You will learn what your body can handle and go from there. There are so many good, enjoyable foods for us to eat out there.

You're doing great. I am proud of you.