Newly diagnosed & scared
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Welcome to the forum. There's a ton of information here - and support.
You say you have a lot of questions - ask away! Many will be answered as you read through historical threads. I know I was up all night for days just devouring all the information I could.
Sorry about your diagnosis. I know it's a shock. I'm a 3-month veteran and can testify that it all becomes easier exponentially. Really.
Glad you're here.
You say you have a lot of questions - ask away! Many will be answered as you read through historical threads. I know I was up all night for days just devouring all the information I could.
Sorry about your diagnosis. I know it's a shock. I'm a 3-month veteran and can testify that it all becomes easier exponentially. Really.
Glad you're here.
Hi ChezzaH - glad you've found us.
Receiving a diabetes diagnosis is definitely not fun. How did it come up for you? I'm a T1 who was diagnosed in the ER with blood sugar of 750 and an A1C of 15.5!
A good place to start with your treatment is to befriend your meter. You may have been told that you only need to test a couple of times a week. BUNK. By testing before you eat, then a couple of hours after to see the difference between your baseline BG and the increase caused by carbs in your meal, you'll begin to develop a personalized list of you-friendly carbs. A non-diabetic's blood sugar will rise about 30 or 40 points and return to baseline within an hour or two. For those of us who are pancreatically challenged, it might be tough to mimic that. You're looking for your blood sugar to rise no more than about 50 points and to be headed back down by that two hour mark. If your increase is more than that, you can consider reducing the amount of that carb or eliminating it from your food list.
Many of us have found that reducing or eliminating starchy carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta, dried beans, etc.), and restricting some fruits - berries being a big exception - goes a long way towards making diabetes managable. Don't think you need to feel deprived though - look at the Recipes section here for tons of great ideas for low(er) carb meals and snacks. Don't think you need to buy new "diabetic" cookbooks either - nearly any recipe in any book you already have can be adapted to your new lifestyle. You'll need to think differently about food - fats are your friends, carbs not so much. If you want some books dedicated to low carb recipes, try Dana Carpender's very helpful volumes.
There is a lot to learn, and once you've gotten over the shock and grief the whole process will get a lot easier. I promise! We've all been where you are and know that it can seem quite overwhelming. Let us know how you do.
Jen
Receiving a diabetes diagnosis is definitely not fun. How did it come up for you? I'm a T1 who was diagnosed in the ER with blood sugar of 750 and an A1C of 15.5!
A good place to start with your treatment is to befriend your meter. You may have been told that you only need to test a couple of times a week. BUNK. By testing before you eat, then a couple of hours after to see the difference between your baseline BG and the increase caused by carbs in your meal, you'll begin to develop a personalized list of you-friendly carbs. A non-diabetic's blood sugar will rise about 30 or 40 points and return to baseline within an hour or two. For those of us who are pancreatically challenged, it might be tough to mimic that. You're looking for your blood sugar to rise no more than about 50 points and to be headed back down by that two hour mark. If your increase is more than that, you can consider reducing the amount of that carb or eliminating it from your food list.
Many of us have found that reducing or eliminating starchy carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta, dried beans, etc.), and restricting some fruits - berries being a big exception - goes a long way towards making diabetes managable. Don't think you need to feel deprived though - look at the Recipes section here for tons of great ideas for low(er) carb meals and snacks. Don't think you need to buy new "diabetic" cookbooks either - nearly any recipe in any book you already have can be adapted to your new lifestyle. You'll need to think differently about food - fats are your friends, carbs not so much. If you want some books dedicated to low carb recipes, try Dana Carpender's very helpful volumes.
There is a lot to learn, and once you've gotten over the shock and grief the whole process will get a lot easier. I promise! We've all been where you are and know that it can seem quite overwhelming. Let us know how you do.
Jen
You aren't alone anymore, Chezza . . . you just lucked in to a whole houseful of fellow diabetics of all kinds/shapes/sizes!
Ask all the questions you have - no matter what. Someone around here will have been through it & know how to guide you. There are many of us who find the medical community isn't much help.Welcome aboard & thank you for joining us.
Welcome to this kindly group of fellow travelers. I was blessed by no education and found some great information on the internet and Blood Sugar 101 (bloodsugar101.com) I think, and it will help to read Dr. Richard Bernstein's Book and if you need to lose some weight, try Atkins or Dr. Bernstein's way of eating...we don't call it dieting. It is our Way of Eating!
Ask away...lots of wisdom here!
Ask away...lots of wisdom here!
You are type 2, which means your pancreas is still producing some insulin, that's good.
Those of us who don't take meds handle our diabetes somewhat differently than those who do, but there are plenty of type 2's on the forum who take Metformin and can give you very sound advice.
Glad you found us and welcome.
Those of us who don't take meds handle our diabetes somewhat differently than those who do, but there are plenty of type 2's on the forum who take Metformin and can give you very sound advice.
Glad you found us and welcome.
I have to say that even those few messages have made a big difference. Mine was diagnosed after having suffered many symptoms and after the doctors gave me an appointment for two weeks later I took it upon myself to get checked at my local asda who then insisted the docs to give an earlier appointment. It was and still is hard to take in. I kinda panicked. Am I allowed to eat cake and the food at my wedding in october? What kind of things are a big no no?
Thank you so much for support its hard to find good advice out there xx
Thank you so much for support its hard to find good advice out there xx
Welcome to the forum. You are not alone but part of a huge community that is here to support you. Most of us have had the same experience. The doc tells us we are diabetic, may give us a Rx and that is it. My doctor didn't even tell me to get a meter and test. The only thing he said was maybe you could lose weight and exercise more. At the time I was 148, not really overweight and I worked out 2-3 hours most days. So exercising more was not an option. Actually when I started to test I found that exercise causes my bg to spike. So I have actually reduced my exercise. What I have learned about diabetes I have learned on online forums. I agree doctors need to do a much better job of telling patients what diabetes is and how it can be managed.
When it comes to food, it is mainly the carbs you need to worry about, so there are lots of good things that can be served at your reception that you can eat and the guests will like.
As for the cake, I don't know what anyone else is going to advise, but as long as your sugar is under good control by October, you have my permission to eat a sliver of your wedding cake.
As a type 2, probably, I also give you MY permission. If you get it under good control and you have plenty of time to do so. And, if you eat low carb/high fat you'll probably love the side effect...you'll lose a good bit of weight if you want to. My daughter got married a couple of weeks ago and I ate a pretty good slice of her wedding cake and didn't even worry about it. (It was delicious!).
You could challenge your baker to do a low carb cake - there are some great ways to do it.
Just kidding - one thing you'll find is that falling off the wagon for a day will not kill you as long as you don't let that become the excuse to fall off the next day, and the next.....Since diabetes is going to be a long-term companion, you have to form a relationship with food that you can enjoy over the long haul.
Enjoy the cake. And congratulations!
Jen
Just kidding - one thing you'll find is that falling off the wagon for a day will not kill you as long as you don't let that become the excuse to fall off the next day, and the next.....Since diabetes is going to be a long-term companion, you have to form a relationship with food that you can enjoy over the long haul.
Enjoy the cake. And congratulations!
Jen
Joined
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1,891 Posts
Welcome to the forum.
Forget about the cake and other crap like it. You don't need at stuff anymore
Forget about the cake and other crap like it. You don't need at stuff anymore
G
Guest
·Welcome Chezza everyone is different with their diabetes management. Goodness... when it comes to celebrating, go ahead and enjoy your wedding cake! Just be careful of the portion size you have when having treats at all though. Over time you will get to find out what foods work best for you. People approach things differently and that's Ok. Some go cold turkey, and others reduce drastically their carb intake. There is no right or wrong answer and the information on this forum is what works for the individual that posted it usually. But I'm sure you will find that this is a good place for support and info. You will get to way up ideas and learn from others who are actually diabetic. Keep us posted on how you're doing.
everyone is different with their diabetes management. Goodness... when it comes to celebrating, go ahead and enjoy your wedding cake! Just be careful of the portion size you have when having treats at all though. Over time you will get to find out what foods work best for you. People approach things differently and that's Ok. Some go cold turkey, and others reduce drastically their carb intake. There is no right or wrong answer and the information on this forum is what works for the individual that posted it usually. But I'm sure you will find that this is a good place for support and info. You will get to way up ideas and learn from others who are actually diabetic. Keep us posted on how you're doing.1 - 15 of 15 Posts
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