Chemist tested me for diabetes - sent me to the Dr TODAY urgently...please come and talk to me...

[MyHeadWasInTheSandNowNot]

These are my questions

1: The reading the chemist got was 20 - can anyone tell me what this means (ie how 'serious' it is) and if they think it could be controlled and/or preferably gotten rid of through diet and exercise.

2: What will the Dr do today.

The rest is whittering background.

Also, I just wanted to say that I'll have to go in about an hour and wont be able to get back on line until tomorrow afternoon, but I haven't done a runner and will be grateful for any help/advice.

[I'm a regular - I've namechanged because I'm not sure yet if I want to tell anyone or not and I have a few RL friends on MN. It's not that I mind people knowing as such it's just that I don't want it to turn into A Big Deal]

I have been wondering for quite some time if I might have diabetes. A few things have made me wonder about it such as

• Excessive thirst (always having to have a bottle of water on me)

• Eyes a bit blurry at night (been blaming the overhead light and the small tv screen with tivo bright red background and only a problem at night and spending too much time looking at screens)

• Occasional 'shakes'

• I am overweight and struggle with feeling like my 'blood sugars' aren't right

...but what made me 'man up' to getting tested was that last week & yesterday I had a couple of episodes of light headedness/feeling faint when doing things such as changing a lightbulb, I had also been having them in the shower, but put that down to it being hot/steamy etc

I called the chemist about a year ago to see if they did the tests, but ended up not going

I also went to my Dr about 3-4 years ago with constant tiredness and no real reason for it.... he put it down to my weight (which although I'm overweight was not stopping me doing anything, being reasonably fit etc), he really wasn't interested in looking further. I haven't been back, but am and have been pretty much constantly tired since before then. I know I should have seen another Dr but it's hard when you are overweight and they don't seem interested in seeing past that and accept their might be something other excess weight causing the problem.

I wonder now how long I might have had it for and thus how much damage I might have done already to my body, especially my eyes, that's pretty scary.

I was already overweight, but I was pretty fit - then something quite lifechanging happened and I've put on more weight, stopped exercising and I am not unfit. I'm certainly not can't move off the couch unfit - I could still easily walk 4 miles, run for the bus (i'd be panting but I could do it and would recover pretty quickly) - but something else I've noticed (just yesterday I really 'thought' about it) is that I have been putting off doing stuff like walking places (now I take the car), running up the stairs (now only ever walk), kicking the ball about with the kids etc and I realised yesterday it's because when I do I feel awful - not just tired/worn out but light headed and a bit pukey - it's been a gradual thing.

I am totally committed to exercising - a minimum of 30 minutes every day without fail (have just been for an hours walk - about 3 miles) and to improving my diet (which I fully accept hasn't been great for a while, since this 'thing' happened and for a wee bit before then).

I'm not looking for any magic cure - I just want to know if I can get rid of the diabetes through diet and exercise.

Thank you if you made it this far - or even if you didn't wade through it all but can help.

Yes, it's difficult balancing the weight loss with the BS levels. DH is eating quite a lot of cheese and nuts because they're satisfying and don't affect his levels, but are of course fattening! His weight is going down steadily though, he's lost exactly a stone in the 10 weeks since diagnosis, so he's happy with that. He'd like to lose another stone, which would take him well into the 'normal' weight for his height.

Eating out is a problem isn't it? We were away for a few days on business a couple of weeks ago and it was almost impossible to low carb. Hope you had a nice time with your friend anyway!

MyHead So what are you eating? I know I am being horribly nosey but just interested. I was veggie for years but then crumbled and started on fish and free range chicken and stopped there.

I was going to go to the Diabetic nurse with DH tomorrow but I have had a bad fall and seem to have whiplash and a sore head . Comfort food needed unfortunately.

I am hoping to low carb during Lent to give myself a kick up my ample backside.

Sazpops - Your DH is doing really well, both with his levels and his weight :) Unfortunately I have much more than 1 stone (or even his original two) to get me into the 'normal/healthy' weight range for my height :/

Yes, I had a nice time with my friend. Her baby is only a few months old and I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks so needed to catch up on cuddles!!

Low carb, low fat & vegetarian is a little bit of a mission :) I've been including avocado & a bit of cheese, so not totally 'low fat' but not the 'high fat' that usually accompanies a low carb diet.

We ended up with a bit more free time than we'd thought, so we went to the local chef & brewer and had soup. It was a country vegetable soup and I checked it was vegetarian and without potato - which it was, but it wasn't what I was expecting when it arrived. It was thicker than I'd hoped for, lots of carrot and I think some barley maybe? It was 'ok' and although it was probably highish in carbs - it wasn't simple carbs or high fat or whatever else bad it could have been - I'll live. I was really good and didn't even have a nibble on the lovely bread that came with it.

I haven't even had a latte today, so the carbs I normally have in the milk can be traded for some of the carbs in the soup :)

Low carbing as a meat eater is definitely much easier... but nothing will induce me to eat meat.

If you're not sick of cauliflower, you can grate it, steam it, and use it instead of rice. Don't let it get too mushy. With a good strong curry sauce on top, you can't really tell!

Exit - what happened?? How on earth did you do so much damage falling? I hope you are feeling better soon!

Ask away :) I really don't mind. What am I eating...

Breakfast: Avocado and cheese on this stuff that's sold with the bread, but really isn't It's organic and wheatfree, falls apart when you so much as look at it, but toasts nicely to make a thin crunchy base. However, although it's wheatfree, it's still high in carbs so I've knocked that on the head for now and will have just the avocado and cheese (25g) and see how that goes (if it keeps me feeling satisified, if not I'll either add the 'bread' back in or find something else). It also depends on how it does when I get the monitor and then I can see if it shoots my bg levels up or not.

This morning I had half a tub (100g) of the small 'Total Yogurt' (the 100 full fat one recommended on BIWI's Bootcamp) as I had it a bit late and didn't want to have too much/too many carbs/too much fat/too many calories before eating lunch out so I could be a bit more flexible. It was OK. Edible but not nice enough you want to keep eating it (probably really nice with some berries of banana), so perfect really, but I need to check it out on the bootcamp thread as it seems quite high in carbs to me. (3.9 per 100g I think).

Lunch & dinner: I've mostly been having finely chopped purple cabbage, grated carrot & bits of whatever else there is (mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc) with a spoon or two of egg free mayonaise (Granovita) and either a little bit avocado, cheddar, brie, cold veggie sausage or a spoonful of a hot topping such as chillie beans, chillie lentils etc (except I have stopped having them as well the past few days).

Last night I made Thai Green Curry using the cheats packets - the packet is 4.9g of carbs and I've got half left tonight. I put in cauli, brocolli, mushrooms, red pepper, asparagus, courgette and a shed load of spinach. I did miss the rice with it though, so I think I might try the cauliflower rice recipe IF I can do it without a food processor.

I need to get a monitor and try to work out what's OK for my BGL and what isn't, then work out what's OK for me to eat and still lose weight and what isn't. This level of cutting out/back is OK as a short term measure but isn't sustainable (for me) long term. I definitely feel less 'satisfied' and more hungry since I've cut most of the fat and beans/lentils out.

Do you think you can rally around enough to go with DH tomorrow? I think it would be good for both of you if you can.

Hello Bertha - were you reading my mind as I wrote my post :) ? Can you steam it in the microwave or do you need a steamer?

I believe you can make cauli rice by using a simple box grater, MyHead, although I've never tried it myself!

Also - just to say - if you are doing low carb, you can do high fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. It will, though, stop you feeling hungry.

BIWI - I'm just a bit concerned that if I'm not low carbing low enough that I'm not in ketosis that the fat wont get 'used' and will just get stored instead. I thought that was the whole point of being in ketosis? (which I'm sure I wouldn't be).

well you certainly seem determined ex ostrich

I have an accucheck aviva and I can get the strips ofr as little as £10 per pack 50 on ebay..... but there are cheaper strips I found after I bought the meter... as low as a fiver for 50.

I much prefer monitoring this way as it lets me know what is going to work at getting BG numbers down rather than wait for the three ( if you are lucky) monthly HbA1c... snd that only tells you generally what an average is for that period, not waht shoots each [ersons BG up.

Some pople for example can tolerate bread.. I can for example tolerate 1 slice in the morning with an egg ( or cheese).... its an ordinary wholemeal granary or seeded bread so "off the shelf". I cannot have two though not even if the total carbs are below say 40g in a main meal.
I cannot tolerate even a little bit of white bread ( I luuuuurve french bread).

Re crackers ... some people can have them.. I do . I have them with cheese for lunch. However soup is generally a no no unless home made and I can enure no thickener etc in it.

Cereals I can have a little of ... but only stuff like shredded wheat type ones and only once a week.... trying to find other things I like as I dont like greek yoghurt that lots people have reccomended.

I loved jacket potatoes but cannot tolerate any more than 100g which is tiny really so I just dont have it ... once a week maybe will have baby pots.

Had curry with cauli rice tonight..... just grated the cauli with box grater and roasted it. Normally BG would be fine with it but tonight thanks to virus I have BG is now 8.7

I have lost 19lbs since starting this three months ago so not bad ... cant say I am never hungry or never yearn for my "comfort food" .. but the though of the potential damage to my eyes in particular is high motivation indeed !!! ( I already have another eye condition so need to preserve the sight I have !!!)

A**a sells meters if you are near one and most chemists... though prob dearer there...... however if you are diagnosed diabetic you can get one free... just google and there are loads but just check out the cost of strips before you get one.

Some gps will resist to the hilt prescribing strips but it can depend on how much you demontrate that this will definately change your habits ( and knowledge)..... so many people dont take their advice on baoird they kinda get used to people conrinuing in old habits and are not willing to throw more money at someone that will not benefit.... I can kinda understand that point of view as I know some diabetics who DO have thier heads in the sand and carry on eating horrid diets ( not even sticking to the nhs guidelines) then getting shocked when diagnosed with the complications... its kinda too late then

best of luck ....... no not luck cos its not that ... luck can be what you make of it. Luck only in that you get the support you need to manage the condition !!

I have not tested myself but dont think I am in ketosis.. I think one has to be below 20 -30 G a day for that ...... and I have still lost weight ( see above)

Hi Tazzle :) I am a determined ostrich. I think it's 'easy' at the moment as I'm focusing on the diet and weight loss - trying not to think about the life long restrictions, monitoring, medication etc and horrible possible consequences, especially as it appears I've been an undiagnosed diabetic for quite a few years. I got the letter through for the eye test, so I need to phone and book that asap.

When do you expect to get your results?

Thanks for the info on which monitor you have. It's a bit confusing with the stuff I don't (yet) understand - things like 'no coding' 'no calibration' etc and how long do lancets last? Do you have a new 'needle' each time or do you keep using the same one as it's for you - some appeared to be a 4 uses then it's thrown away... I don't know what things to look for (ie how they record your various tests) and what it's possible to do with them... I've seen one cute little one but I've no idea if it will do the job or not? and the strips seem more expensive. There seems to be several type of accucheck strips??

It's interesting to read what you can and can't tolerate.

It hit me again when you said 'I luuuuuuurve french bread' - I hadn't even thought about the loss of that in my life. I think I'm trying not to look too far ahead , focusing on the 'here & now' and what I can do to reduce my levels with diet, exercise and weight loss. I think the impact of diabetes being For Life will hit me later once I've lost some weight and my levels are better (whether that's through diet & exercise or medication) and yet I still can't have a lot of things :(

Can you tell me exactly which breads you fnd you can tolerate a little of and I'll file it away for 'to test later on'. I looked the other day, but they all seem to be really high in carbs with not much variation from white bread or crumpets. The 'not bread bread' I was buying is higher in carbs than crumpets!!

Crackers with cheese for lunch... something to hold out hope for still being able to have occasionally :)

Soup - I'm sure the one I had today wasn't great. I felt really really sleepy afterwards. I was hoping soup would be one of those fairly OK fall backs, but probably not.

Cereal, jackets pots etc, in time when I've lost some weight they'll all be things to 'try'.

Had curry with cauli rice tonight..... just grated the cauli with box grater and roasted it sounds lovely!! I had the second portion of the Thai Curry, but by the time my friend got off the phone I couldn't be bothered to faff with the cauli rice (and it had a lot of cauli in it anyway). What do you do with it when you roast it?

Is your virus clearing up?... hope you are feeling better soon.

What is your usual BG reading?

I have lost 19lbs since starting this three months ago so not bad That's really good! Do you have much left to lose?

cant say I am never hungry or never yearn for my "comfort food" .. but the though of the potential damage to my eyes in particular is high motivation indeed !!! I could have written that, it'a a huge motivation isn't it!

I googled the free meters the other night and ended up in a draw for one, but I don't think they're doing it for ages. I couldn't find one I could just 'request'. Should have another look.

My Diabetes Nurse will not prescribe for T2 D's. She thinks diet plays basically no part in your BGL's and it's pointless testing and that I should 'make the most of not having to test'

Oh I know you don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight. I just meant I don't want to up my fat too much the way you generally can with low carbing because I don't think my carbs are low enough to put me in ketosis so my body wont burn the fat and I'll end up either putting on weight or standing still.

Twas a strange accident involving a haynet, tension, broken string and a stable wall......

Most All my injuries are horse/dog related.

This all still makes my head explode to be honest. To my mind MyHead you are eating barely enough to keep a flea alive. I am not sure I could manage avocado and cheese for breakfast, but I do like a veggie sausage.

It is also odd that the medical profession is so far behind the conceived wisdom on here that diet can reverse diabetes. Although I was with a friend yesterday who is a nurse and who wholeheartedly agreed with the concept. I wonder why they are so averse to dietary changes?

MyHead - as you know, I'm a low carber primarily for weight loss (although I'm also now a confirmed low carber on the basis of heath grounds). I've never had to do it to deal with diabetes.

Having been following it as a WOE for over a year now (with a few lapses here and there ), I can reassure you that you do get used to a diet without things like bread, rice and pasta - and it becomes easy. In many ways, it's like changing any kind of behaviour - it just takes time to break a habit/develop a new one.

You are in a phase of transition at the moment, so it's inevitable that you are going to find it difficult. You're also learning about a whole new way to eat, which isn't easy! My best advice to you is to not try to find substitutes for the high carb things you're eating now. IME, the substitutes are rarely the same, and it's very easy to start looking resentfully at the substitute foods and longingly at the original ones - and thus you become tempted to cheat.

This is one of the reasons I've never had cauliflower rice. So if I cook a meal for the family that is a conventional rice dish, e.g. curry or chilli, I just don't have any rice. If I make a curry, I have the curry and a vegetable dish to go with it. If I have chilli (obviously also minus the kidney beans!), then I have it in a bowl with cheese and sour cream/yoghurt on the top.

I thought I would never be able to go without pasta, because I love it so much - and on the odd lapse when I have had it, I have enjoyed it. But I don't crave it, nor do I feel resentful that I can't have it. I just see it for what it is - a bowl full of sugar.

Anyway, this is a long ramble to say 'stick with it' and it will soon become second nature to you. Made a lot easier when you see your weight drop and your blood readings stabilising, hopefully!

Exit - you do realise that provokes more questions than it answers??

How are you feeling today? Are you going with DH?

I'm eating plenty, honest. I also need to have another read through the bootcamp recipe thread and pinch all of the veggie recipe ideas that aren't too high in fat.

I'm only eating 'full fat' stuff, not 'low fat' stuff when I am eating 'fat'. (I don't like the stuff they put in to make low fat stuff taste acceptable.)

Drug companies fund research - they aren't exactly going to be shouting it from the rooftops when a dietary change is effective for treating/controlling something.

BIWI A few years ago I did McDougal for 2 years (basically natural food, no processed stuff and quite low carb), but this is different - with the diagnosis of diabetes - (for me anyway) it's knowing I can't have it/do it, not that I'm choosing not to do it (for weight loss or general belief of it being healthier). For example - I can no longer go to the beach and get some hot chips or when in France just pick up a cheese baguette, or be completely relaxed about going to a friends house for dinner, or have a 'big night out' not caring about the carbs/calories in alcohol - you can, it will just slow down your weight loss/put you out of ketosis for a day or two. It's that mental adjustment that's hard. Does that make sense?

As I said, I did McDougal for two years - it was OK and I couldn't understand why everyone didn't eat that way, I couldn't understand how people couldn't see it was The Answer... I was a convert to that WOE, as you are to Lo-Carbing WOE and many others are, it will be interesting to see how many are doing it in 5/10/15 years time. I'm not criticising how you are feeling, what you are doing or how it's working for you - I'm just saying that although you think it's been easy to change your WOE and that this is The Answer, you might not feel in time that it is as I didn't with McDougal.

The other (I feel significant) thing is that I'm a no egg eating vegetarian. It's not so easy to be low carb - especially when out.

BIWI - I'm really not trying to find substitutes - I'm just looking for FOOD I can eat Low carb, no egg, vegetarian breakfasts for example. I don't want left over Thai and I don't want more of the mixed coleslaw type dish. Any suggestions? (other than my current avocado and cheese)

Cauliflower rice is just cauli cooked in a different way though, so no different to a vegetable side dish... you are having a meat curry, with a vegetable side dish - I'm having a vegetable curry, with a vegetable side dish...?!

I had the Thai curry the first night and it wasn't 'enough' (either in variety or texture or quantity) and I wanted something else with it last night. What would you have had? (Vegetarian).

If I have chillie, minus the beans, I'm having chillie veg, there isn't that 'base' of meat - it's just not satisfying. There's not a lot of protein/substance and I can't keep adding cheese to everything.

I thought I would never be able to go without pasta, because I love it so much - and on the odd lapse when I have had it, I have enjoyed it That's the thing that's hard to come to terms with though really, the fact that you (non diabetics) can choose to have it, you can have a 'lapse' and it really doesn't make any difference to your life - but it will to mine.

But I don't crave it, nor do I feel resentful that I can't have it. I just see it for what it is - a bowl full of sugar Yes, a bowl full of sugar will help to stay away from stuff like that.

Being a vegetarian (no eggs) when eating out is difficult enough at times - now it's getting bloody impossible :( and certainly not enjoyable.

Travelling as a vegetarian (no eggs) is incredibly difficult at times (not eating is an option I've often had to take, which now isn't too smart either) - having had a whole bunch of 'safe' foods completely whipped away from under me is HARD. I can't fall back on bread, pasta, rice.

Anyway, this is a long ramble to say 'stick with it' and it will soon become second nature to you. Made a lot easier when you see your weight drop and your blood readings stabilising, hopefully!

But at the moment that's not my focus or I'd be going completely up the wall!!

Right now I need to work out what I can add back into my diet and keep the weight loss going and the bs/bgl low. Beans? Lentils? Cheese? or something entirely different??

BIWI - Thank you :) When you have time, please keep replying - I need people to hash it out with!! The fact the scales are changing daily is certainly helping

Ah, you misunderstand me, though, MyHead.

I'm not trying to say what I do is what you should do - obviously it's not, hence my initial sentence/caveat as you know, I'm a low carber primarily for weight loss (although I'm also now a confirmed low carber on the basis of heath grounds). I've never had to do it to deal with diabetes.

The examples I gave - e.g. the cauliflower rice - are about me - not you. You are in a period of transition, which is why it's hard for you.

What I was trying to say - evidently not well enough! - was that it will become easier for you and it will become second nature, especially once you have established that it works for you.

Obviously things are different for me, not being diabetic.

I get that it's difficult for you being a vegetarian (no eggs)

BIWI - please don't run away!!

It just feels so bloody unfair :(

... and sodding difficult as a vegetarian

... (no eggs)

I want to cry, in fact, I think I'm leaking a bit...

Hi Op I haven't had time to respond properly to your posts but don't be too downhearted about your diet. Once you've worked out what works for you it becomes much easier. I mostly eat what I've always eaten but in moderation except for bread, which i find sends my BG shooting up - but even then I don't totally deprive myself - if I go out for a meal I may well have a piece of baguette.
I rarely snack between meals and I never have eaten 'nibble' before a meal in someone elses house eg nuts and crisps.

My typical diet is:
Breakfast: porridge cooked with water and sprinkled with enough articfical sugar to give it a slight sweet taste plus 2 cups of coffee with skimmed milk
Lunch: half a carton of soup (any variety I like) plus a roll and soya spread (or sometimes 2 oat cakes with soya, which are are better for my BG levels)

Evening: usually 2 or 3 small boiled potatoes, loads of veg and a fishcake or a meat chop or chicken breast.
If I feel hungry before bed I'll have another oatcake or three.

None of the above is rigid - for example yesterday i went out for a birthday meal and had posh beefburger and chips, glass of champagne and 2 pieces of birthday cake.

I think that once you understand what affects your bg levels you can make some informed choices about your diet and what risks you're prepared to take in eating so called forbidden food.

Going out to coffee shops can be very difficult as they tend to sell muffins and prepacked sandwiches stuffed with ingredients. I try to avoid them.

I think you can avoid telling your friends you have diabetes2 though-just tell them you're on a health kick and decided to cut out all the food you think is bad for you. You can still eat out at their house or in restaurants - but don't snack, and have smaller portions. And don't draw attention to your diet.

It didn't go well with the nurse I am afraid. DH really thought it would answer all his questions, but when he went in she asked him why he was there Maybe we expect too much from the medical profession, but he had been told last week that he had a life changing condition and the appointment with the Diabetes Nurse was made for him, but she had not bothered to check her appointments for the day (he was first in) or to look at his medical history. She also said that as it was his first appt it should have been for made for an hour - so she did not have time to do any blood tests etc. He asked about a machine (prompted by this thread) and she said he could not have one at this stage. She gave him two thin leaflets (British Heart Foundation) and wrote some figures on the back for what levels he should look out for, but as he does not have a machine he will not know what level he is . She told him to eat lots of bread and rice and pasta, and gave him a card to give to me so that I will know what to look out for when shopping (again British Heart Foundation traffice light system) and said he should be taking 30 minuts exercise per day. At the beginning of the appointment she could tell that DH was not very happy and told him that he was unsettling her and causing her to shake. She then gave him a form to fill in if he wanted to complain about her.

He was warned that his tablets might have side effects, such as diarrohea, but it is having the opposite effect on him. He told the nurse who said he should increase his tablets to two a day. He is only on one a day. His levels had come down to 15 today which is in the right direction. She also told him he could go blind and he should go and see an eye specialist, but that the wait would be 8 weeks. He is now not sure if she is making the appointment or not.

DH has now made an appointment to go and talk to one of the doctors but as the doctor he saw originally failed to spot that the sores on the bottom of his legs plus his weight and his age could be diabetes, and gave him some cream for ringworm (and blaming the dog) he does not have much confidence there now.

Ho hum

I posted on this thread early on and have just had a quick skim to try to catch up. Not read all of it but a bit that OP considering NOT taking metformin. They are prescribed for a reason and I do hope you are taking them. You don't always get awful side effects but if you do, sometimes its just a case of weighing up the pros and cons like with all medication. Starting on 2 a day is sensible and then building up. I was started on 1 a day for first week then 2 a day and am now on 4 a day (2 morning 2 evening) and no side effects at all. They are prescribed for a reason so please don't just decide not to.

I saw that you were unsure about statins as was I. I dr (who I'd never seen before) wanted to put me on them after my first set of bloods after diagnosis as cholestral was up but apparently this is very common within a few months of diagnosis and many try to sort this out themselves with a careful diet.

Hope all is going well now

exit, what a pain! It does seem completely pot luck what advice or help you get from doctors/nurses.

When my DH was diagnosed he wasn't really given any advice other than to start testing and see what foods affected him - he got a bit panicky about the whole thing so I have made it my 'project' and researched all I can to try to help him control it. Luckily his was picked up on a routine blood test and his levels weren't sky high, so he probably hasn't been diabetic for long, which is why he's managing to control it with diet and exercise.

If you haven't already been on the diabetes.co.uk website I would recommend it. The contributors to the forum there have stacks of experience and I've picked up lots of useful hints and food tips from there.

myhead , have you got a meter yet? Honestly, until you are testing you are floundering in the dark; you might be cutting out loads of stuff that you could actually eat! Today I am trying a rather bizarre sounding recipe which I shall report back on tomorrow! It's for a pizza, where the base is made from our old friend cauliflower, mixed with soft goats cheese and egg (I expect you could leave out the egg!). If it works, I'll post a link. By the way (sorry to be nosy, don't answer if you don't want to), is it that you can't eat eggs, or just don't like them? It's such a shame as they are so useful in this situation. Have a good day.

Mirry - thanks again :) It sounds like you have quite a lot of carbs but are still able to maintain good bg levels - in the long term that's very encouraging. What is your reading normally after porridge?

I've just been looking at meters/strips/lancets again and will order one this afternoon.

I am hating keeping it from my friends, I'm lying to them and I don't like it - it doesn't sit right with me... but I just don't want it to be an issue all the time. It's already having an impact though as I've been invited to a friends to have dinner with them next week (the friend I had lunch with yesterday). She already has a weaning baby, semi fussy toddler and very fussy DH and my 'vegetarianism' to cope with, throwing the low-carb in there too was just an 'omg what are we going to have' moment and I don't want to stress my friends out... I've always been so easy going - as long as it's vegetarian (no eggs) I'll eat it and if that's beans on toast or a cheese sandwich that's fine - I'm the 'easy' one, even though I'm veg... until now, when I'm probably going to be the bloody awkward one :(

Once again, the 'vegetarian' bit is making it very hard - but I can't/wont change that. I just couldn't.

Though, as you say, I will just have to see what my bgl's are like - I might be able to cope with some things when eating out/at friends.

Thanks again for posting.

Why on earth can you not tell your friends? You have diabetes, not leprosy! At least if you tell them, they can support you.

Exit - that's terrible, but unsurprising sadly :( I just don't know what we need to do to improve medical care in this country - it's dreadful. Can you press DH into reading this thread perhaphs? At least he will see that high carbs is not necessarily the answer and more importantly he isn't alone in struggling with this and the lack of help from the diabetes nurse.

I have spent days googling, following links, trying to get to grips with the science and the reasons we all react differently. What I am 100% convinced about is that high processed starchy carbs are NOT the answer, even though that would be easy/convenient/lovely.

Is your DH going to buy a monitor and testing strips?

How are you feeling today?