Hi, Jeannette - nice to meet you! I've only been dx'd about 18 months, so I
haven't had a case of serious burnout yet - not looking forward to it!
Anticipating it is one of the reasons I continue to hang out here, where
there'll always be someone who's been there, done that and will listen
whilst I rant!

Do you have a particular rant in mind? : )

Nicky.

denial is common amongst all people with a chronic illness.  You've
come to the right place to discuss that issue.  Welcome to the group
and be specific about your questions and points and you'll get the
better responses.

Hi Jeannette. How long has it been since you've been diagnosed? It seems
to be fairly common to be in denial right at first because there is a
lot to learn, and it goes on for a lifetime because the conditions can
change over time. I'm going into my eighth year and I still go through
stages where I'm totally sick of the whole thing, but the alternatives
are so much worse than keeping a handle on it, so I just keep on keeping
on as they say. Best to you and post often.

--
Cheri

pverburgh wrote in message ...

Jeanette

come talk to us live in chat........ it's easier
to develop a conversation and get the feed back
right away

most of the people in chat are type 2 although
they do have token type 1's like myself there

busiest time is 5pm MST thru 9pm MST.......... but
you will most likely find someone only 5 min away
during the day

kate (see info in my sig file for getting to chat)

Hi Jeannette

I was wondering if anyone would ask outright where Oromocto is. I knew
;-)

Being in denial is very common. You have taken the first step out of
your denial by coming here and introducing yourself.

The next step is to work your way through it by testing. Here's the sage
advice given to all newbies, and those oldies wishing to gain control,
courtesy of our very own Jennifer. It has helped countless people gain
control over this disease we all wrestle with every day.

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

This will help establish for you which foods you need to "work on" to
achieve numbers that will make your doctor jump for joy. Print out a
copy. Read it often. Devise a plan.

Soooo, how about exercise? Do you get some exercise every day? Did you
know that a good brisk walk is the easiest and healthiest way to get rid
of a high bg reading?

Oh, and to get mg/dl readings from our mmol/l meters, just multiply by
18. Mg/dl is used by the Americans, everybody else uses mmol/l.

Again, welcome.

Vicki
T1, pumper
Gatineau, Quebec

Welcome Jeannette to our little family that no one really wants to
qualify for.

It took me some time to do, but Laurie (my wife) and I have taught
ourselves to automatically count carbs and read the label on all the
things that go into our grocery cart.

Learning to "eat to your meter" by testing before and at least once
after a meal when trying a new food will give you an idea if that
particular food spikes you.

Portion control helps tremendously. It may take a bit of doing, but if
you just start reducing the size of the portions you put on your plate
a little at a time you will soon get a handle on it. I put everything
on my plate that I am going eat before taking the first bite and it is
extremely rare for me to take even a small second helping. Another
trick is that I lay my fork down between mouths full and I purposely
eat very slowly.

If you slip and fall instead of beating yourself up, just do like the
song says, "Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off and start all over
again."

Believe it or not this disease can be a blessing if you use it to
teach you healthy eating habits and to prompt you to become more
physically active.

Best of luck to you.
Remember to test, test, test.

here who

others who

diabetes.

I have never had the problems you have but my ex did. He
grieved at diagnosis and he admitted it was grief over the
loss of large McDonald's meals, large hot fries as snacks,
milkshakes, big desserts etc etc.

Would it help to make a list of all the reasons it is
important to you to keep from getting complications? For me
the number one reason is I am an older mother (single) with
4 kids still at home, the youngest disabled. That is pretty
strong incentive for me to remain as healthy as I can be.
You might have similar things important to you.

What part of the diabetic "rules" are you finding hard to
cope with?
I have seen people upset at having to eat small meals and
find they are eating a small piece of meat and a few
tablespoons of green beans for a main meal, that would get
me upset too! Diabetes is not about having small meals, just
smaller amounts of certain things.

Having a rant in here is perfectly acceptable by the way.
Some people feel better unburdening in places like this
rather than to concerned spouses etc. So if you can expand a
bit on your diabetic "worries"......

Jeannette, I had my rant a few weeks ago when I came back to the list.
I was IGT for a long time; I used this list and misc.health.diabetes
for information on trying to keep my bg in the igt range; then I got
complacent, and too cheap to keep buying strips, and ignored everything
for a couple of years.  In April I got the diagnosis I should have
known was coming. So I am back here;; a lot is familiar, but the wide
use of metformin is new.  I am planning to ask my doc for it when I see
her again in January because I think it would give me better control
than diet and exercise is.  Not that diet and exercise don't do a lot
of good, but the metformin people who manage diet and exercise are
getting better numbers than I am.

I'm still in retuning phase, doing research and experimenting, but I
already know that holding to a decent diet for lower bg and weight loss
is very difficult when I eat outside my home.  Restaurant meals just
don't often allow for the lower carb diet I aim for.  Fast food is
really hard to manage, and the cheap stuff is not good for me.  It is a
frustration to eat lunch on campus, where I work.  There are Indian
restaurants, Mexican restaurants, Oriental restaurants, and lots of
fast food places, all with high-carb foods and very little that fits my
needs.  It is frustrating, and expensive, because I can't rely on the
left-over lentils and casseroles from the night before that used to be
my mainstay.

Jenny's advice is good.  Working past the denial is not something I've
handled yet, but I am expecting some issuse this winter, because I used
to to a lot of baking of lovely whole and part whole-wheat bread, and
eat a couple of slices strainght from the oven, then toast and slices
with every meal.  That can't happen this winter.  My husband will miss
it, my staff at work will miss it, I will miss it.  I am keeping before
me the complications I am most afraid of - retinopathy and kidney
problems.

Exercise is a help for me, because I am waliking through nice
neighborhoods near campus at lunch.  They have trees, and older houses,
and good places to walk.  When the snow flys I'll have to do something
else, but I can get in at least 30 minutes on my lunch hour; it feels
good, I feel responsible and it seems to do good for my post-prandial
readings even in to the evening.  If you can work pleasuralble brisk
walks into your daily routine that might help.  One thing it does for
me is keep me from being around food I should not eat during the lunch
hour

Keep coming here, and posting, and reading the posts of others.  A
couple of people here have a lot of knowledge of the dietary benefits
of all those vegetables you know are good for you, and make them sound
tempting.  Look for Quentin's posts, and Annette's for inspiration to
eat well without eating a lot of flour and starch.   I am not an eager
cook, but I am slowing experimenting with some of the foods Quentin has
mentioned.

Life is change, but there may be joy in the morning.

Susan Adiar

Jeanette,

It is very possible that a huge part of your "denial" stems from having
been given outdated dietary guidelines that make you hungry and
exhausted all the time.

If you are eating a lot of carbohydrates and cutting way back on fat,
you may be worsening your blood sugar and putting yourself on the up and
down blood sugar roller coaster that makes for misery.

I'd like to add to the voices suggesting you follow Jennifer's excellent
advice at http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm and
that you cut back your carbohydrate intake until you can reach those
targets.

If you need help in finding foods you can eat, there are a ton of low
carbohydrate cookbooks available.

On a lowered carbohydrate plan, you can eat enough food to feel
satisfied, and more importantly raging hunger becomes a thing of the past.

It is well worth a try.

--Jenny

http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/  Type 2 Diabetes info
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/  Low Carb info

Jeannette, welcome to our group.  You will find we all have had that
problem at one time or another.  It took me about two and a half years
to get control, so for sure you are not alone.

Please ask all the questions you want,  Also, lets have some information
as to your age, your diagnosis, your aic levels.

Stay with us, We walk the journey

Loretta

--
In tribute to the United States of America and the State
of Israel, two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and
terrorism.