Getting Started

Diagnosis Day
I had two options here. A chat about my own D-day, or some ideas for people reading here who just got the news.

I’ll leave the chat for some other time.

So, you’ve just found out you have type 2 diabetes? Or Impaired Glucose Tolerance? Or Pre-diabetes? Or the doctor said "you’ve got a touch of sugar" or something similar?

And you’re in shock?

Why me?

Well, I don’t really have an answer for that. To me it seemed bloody unfair. Why me? And I railed against the world for a while – but then I decided to get on with it. Because I can’t change the past, and how do I correct the mistake of choosing the wrong grand-parents? Particularly as I liked mine:-)

So my first suggestion to any newly diagnosed person reading this is the most important one of all:

It’s NOT your fault. Take a deep breath, sit back, and relax.

Forget the hype and the TV ads about obesity (10-15% of type 2’s are normal or underweight at diagnosis), lifestyle, whatever – that’s in the past, even if it was relevant, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

OK – so you’ve got a flawed glucose/insulin system. I don’t care what label they put on it, or what stage you’re at – what matters is what you intend to do about it. So first, the good news. Unless you’ve been diagnosed at a very late stage, this is a slow-moving disease – you have time to learn, time to correct things, and time to improve your health for a long-term future. And there is more good news: nearly every person I’ve met who used this diagnosis as a kick-start to get fitter and healthier has improved all sorts of other aspects of their health at the same time.

What to do next? I’ll give some detailed ideas based on what I did in the next post. But there are some general points first. In everything I say, I assume that anyone reading here will always be seeing their doctor on a regular basis, be taking the medicines prescribed by their doctors, and checking any suggestions here with their doctors.

However, never forget that the person who will be most affected by poor advice from any source will be you – not me, not your doctor, but you. In my opinion, more than nearly any other condition, the success of management of diabetes depends on the diabetic. So, while your medics can advise and prescribe – it’s your decisions and your actions that will decide your future.

In broad terms, this is the plan, in addition to anything the docs prescribe:

1. If you are overweight – lose it. I’ve posted some ideas on what I did as my Weight Loss Cooking and Eating Plan

2. Obtain a blood glucose test meter. Until you do, here are some tips on What to Eat Until You Get Your Meter.

3. Learn how to test your blood glucose (BG). I’ve posted some hints on painless testing methods as Painless Pricks

4. Use those tests to adjust your menu to get those blood glucose numbers into the non-diabetic range. I've given some ideas on how to do that in the next post titled Test, Review, Adjust

5. Add at least half an hour of moderate exercise to your day. That’s a minimum, not a maximum. If that’s a new activity for you, start easy and work up slowly – but do it.

6. Later, as your diet for optimum weight and optimum BG’s starts to work, review it and adjust to ensure you aren’t missing anything vital.

There’s more – but that’s enough to start with. So stop reading, go and have a glass of wine or a diet soda and think about something else for a while:-)

And remember my sig:

Alan, T2, Australia

Everything in Moderation - Except laughter