New to site

hi everyone, Im new to the site, been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 6 weeks ago.
Just letting you know a little about me.
I have a very complicated home live which puts alot of stress on me, I have 2 children, 14 years old and 22 months old.
Im full time carer for hubby who is epileptic. My older son has hyper mobility syndrome, my toddler has autism and epilepsy and hypermonility.
Well me i have alot of health problems, elther danlos type 3, underactive thyroid, osteo arthritis etc.
At the moment I just feel so unwell, I have had a sickness bug, and now just feel so drained and washed out, I have no appetite and having to force myself to eat.
Any suggestions as my blood sugar keeps spiking? x

Hi, I take metaformin, spiking between 9.2 and 12.9, but before being ill, my blood sugar was really good, 5.7 to 7.1 . I just feel so run down, all i want to do is sleep but dont have much chance to as my younger son dosent sleep much :( x

Welcome, I'm glad you found us. After I was diagnosed with T2, the doctor gave me a pill and later he sent me for "diabetes education." The pill helped some, but I still had high blood sugars. And while I learned some things in my diabetes class, it was only later I really learned about the role of carbohydrates in my blood sugar problems. I was eating way too many carbs, my body could not handle it. So I cut back on the carbs. It was hard at first, I didn't know what to eat, but now it just seems natural and I eat really well.

And another thing you should know, a low carb diet has been found to be a very effective treatment for epilepsy, ask your doctor.

Welcome deedee! It seems you have so much in your hands right now. Im glad that you have found this community, Much studies show that stress and anxiety causes blood sugar to spike. It may be a contributory factor.

Hi,Many thanks for your reply, the nurse i went to see said stress and disturbed sleep will, not help my blood sugar. One thing i am worried about is I know i have to lose weight, but i have lost 12 kilos in 5 weeks, do you think this is to fast or ok?

Many thanks for your reply, how many carbs do you aim for per meal? x

Diets are a very individual thing. In my diabetes classes I was advised to eat 60 g of carbs at each meal. This was far to many carbs for me. Today, I follow a very low carb diet such as that advocated by Dr. Bernstein in his book "Diabetes Solution." Not everyone eats as few carbs as I do, but many of us have found that restricting carbs really helps. You will find that many people find that eating 100-150 g of carbs is much, much better than the 300g I was advised in my diabetes classes.

Hi DeeDee: I am so sorry for all you are going through. When you say you have an underactive thyroid, do you mean you have Hashimoto's Disease (autoimmune hypothyroidism)? If you have Hashimoto's, and with your very rapid weight loss, you might want to ask your doctor for tests to see if you have Type 1 diabetes. The tests are autoantibody tests (GAD, ICA, IA-2, zinc transporter). Hashimoto's and Type 1 diabetes frequently occur together (I have both). Glad you found TuDiabetes, it is a great place to get support.

Hi melitta, my doctors are useless, im not sure what type of underactive thyroid problem i have, all i was told take 75mg thyroxine a day, getting tested for anything is so hard at my gp x

I know it is difficult, but if you can I would ask your doctor for the tests (autoantibody and c-peptide) to see if you have Type 1 diabetes/at least rule it out. If you have Type 1, you should be on insulin. And Type 2s who struggle to maintain normal blood sugars find that insulin is really helpful! I would just encourage you to be your own best advocate. Best of luck, I am cheering for you!

Appropriate weight loss per week may vary individually. Our metabolism rate differs. Although studies show that 1 to 2 lbs per week is "reasonable". It can be done by decreasing daily calorie intake and increasing activities. Sustainable weight loss comes with a gradual approach. A sensible nutrition and reasonable daily exercise and activities can get you there. I say this as well since you also have numerous things juggling in your hands right now. But Im sure you can do this :)