Type 2 diabetes

1

hello everyone…Iam new to this diabetes thing…I would love to learn more about this disease…I have type 2 diabetes…does anyone have any good advise on how you control your type 2?

2

Welcome to the club Marcella. There are different tools available to us to help control. Among the choices are diet, exercise, medications and insulin. Some people control strictly with diet and exercise and some use all four. I use all four to accomplish control. Each of us vastly different in our needs and responses to D and some experimentation is in order. In the end it is about striking a balance among the choices that works for us on an individual level. Research, ask and try and see what works for you. Do home testing, this is helps to verify what is working and what isn’t on the fly. Keep a log of your BG readings, this will help you to see trends and successes to decide what is working and what itsn’t. Have you started any meds yet?

3

Hello Marcella =)
Kiva is right… Watch your diet, regular physical activity and proper medication. Most T2’s have these for diabetes management. When I was first diagnosed I kept a journal for my daily activity, meals and bg readings. This will help you and your medical team to monitor and establish proper diabetes management appropriate for you. Getting things started: Find a good endo that you are comfortable with, a nutritionist to determine proper diet (number of carbs per day) or if you need to lose some weight, do you have a glucometer already?, a support group helps a lot too like family, friends, on line community, etc, and try to empower yourself with information about diabetes.
You’re not alone…you can do this =)

4

Read the book “The Diabetes Solution” by Dr Richard Bernstein. He tells you all the detail your medical team dont have time to tell you. Hes been a Type 1 since the 40s, and a diabetologist (I think that 's whats its called). His information on diabetes is pure gold.

He also has a management system - its not an easy system to follow at first, but you will get good results if you can.

Good luck with it. I’m 1.5 years into being a type 1 at 45 (they call it LADA or type 1.5). I’ve been on the Bernstein system for nearly a year and its working out well.

5

The most important thing for me is always testing and making adjustments based on those tests. I test 6 to 10 times a day. I always like to know where I am at before I put food in my mouth

6

+1 on wil’s advice I test and keep track of what I eat, exercise and test results. I’m a little science experiment to see what works and what doesn’t (but alas sometimes it makes sense and soemtimes not). i test before meals and two hours post meal as well as just before bed and when I wake up. it can be annoying but gives me some control of my diesase. welcome to the site. and let us know if you got any more questions

7
  1. Cut back on the carbohydrates and add fiber such as leafy greens, non-starchy veggies, and berries; eat lean meats, and plenty of Omega 3 fats like nuts, and olive oil, and portion out your servings.
  2. Drink plenty of water.
  3. Exercise regularly, and 30 minutes after meals, when you can. A nice 20 minute walk, works well.
  4. Care for your eyes, feet, and teeth: Visit an eye doctor, and a dentist. Floss, brush, and use mouthwash, and examine your feet regularly to make sure you don’t have any little ulcers, or injuries. Sometimes we lose feeling, and can’t tell something’s there. Wash and moisturize your feet, regularly… Wear socks, and try not to go barefoot too much. :slight_smile: I’m guilty of that. lol
  5. Do not skip any meals, and have a snack when you’re hungry.
  6. Test, test, test. Test before a meal, and after a meal – to learn how that meal affects you, and to learn your peak blood glucose times. Try testing at 1 hour, at 75 minutes, 90 minutes, etc, until you find what your average peak is, and try to always test at that time. Test when sick, test before and after exercise, test randomly, or when you just feel ‘off.’ Test in the morning, or before bed. Rotate what you test, and when you test it. Keep good notes of what you tested, why, and how it affected you. If your numbers are too high, cut back on your carbohydrate serving, or drink more water if dehydrated…or if too low, add an extra serving of carbs. Adjust things based on those numbers.
  7. De-stress. Take a little moment, each day, to relax, and love yourself. :slight_smile: Read a book, take a bath, do yoga, enjoy your family, etc. :slight_smile:
  8. Be patient, stop and learn from your failures, and learn to forgive yourself. :slight_smile: Tomorrow is yet, another day, and this is a marathon, and not a sprint race. :slight_smile:
  9. Enlist your family in your daily war against Diabetes, teach them the basics, and how they can help you.
  10. Join a support group or Diabetes Online Community, and ask questions regularly, which is what you’re doing now… :slight_smile:

Hope that helps ya get a little head start. :))

8

Welcome to our world, Marcella. You are among friends. My best advice about joining the ranks and being good to yourself is to get a referral from your doc to visit with a CDE (Certified Diabetic Educator) and a nutritionalist. Both of those should be covered by health plans, and if they are not contact your community health dept for referrals. But they can help you with questions perhaps your doc (who has had about 10 mins of diabetic education) might not give you. They will help you with food questions, med questions, etc. Then put on your shoes and if you are able, start walking, even 15 mins twice a day to start. Keep a journal of your blood sugar numbers, and your food intake…AND come here often…we’re great company.