Lessons for People New to Type 2 Diabetes, Part 2

Moving from the shock and anger on the day or days following learning from the doctor that you have diabetes, you will also possible experience denial and maybe some depression or sadness, grief, or sorrow. When you accept your diagnosis, then progress happens in managing your diabetes. Just because this is the list of what most people can have, does not mean that everyone has them in the same order. I have known people that have acceptance first and later have denial. Some people do not have anger or shock because they know that diabetes runs in the family. Just remember that everyone may react differently.

Another point that many people with type 2 diabetes learn quickly is not telling people they have type 2 diabetes. Secrecy can be a good thing when out in public, but when you are around other people with type 2 diabetes or attending a support group meeting, secrecy can be bad and you need to open up and ask questions to take full advantage of the experiences of others and learn as much as possible. In our community, we presently have three diabetes support groups for type 2 diabetes. Two of the groups have mainly people on oral medications and the group I belong to has most of its members on insulin. All three groups have a few members that have been able to get off of all medications.

One thing you should do after diagnosis is ask the doctor if there are support groups available, as these can be a safe place to ask questions and receive help. This does not mean that you have to become a life-long member, but you should consider this if you live alone. Several members of our group check-in on other members that live alone. We have not had any problems, but I know from talking to these members that they are more relaxed knowing that if they don't check in with their friends, someone will be checking on them. Some of our members work and their employers know if they don't show up for work without calling in, they have telephone numbers to call so that people can check on them. There can be many other advantages associated with support groups. And though I don't like to admit it, there can be disadvantages to some support groups.

Before getting into food plans, I would like to use a few blogs to introduce some ideas for newbie's to diabetes. The first is my blog on diabetes may simplify life's choices. This is from January 2011 and shows how some opinions do change. I would now suggest ignoring the last two paragraphs as I have changed my opinion on these and have found that salt is necessary. The 2300 milligrams seems to satisfy my need for salt. 

There are two links to David Mendosa's website that should be helpful to begin with for people new to diabetes. The first one is this link which will take you to the directory for his site and also this link for newbie's. The link is a good read and gives you plenty to think about in addition to what I may write about in the blogs coming in the next few days.

Help From Diabetes Support for Type 2 Diabetes

When I first read this, I have some serious doubts about what WebMd was advising, but after rereading the article, there are some excellent points and some I may ignore.

When you live with a chronic illness like Type 2 diabetes, it can often be overwhelming at times. There are times when we feel that no one understands the stress that we feel from living 24/7 with diabetes. If this is prolonged, these feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation can become a barricade to your goal of wellness.

While the last statement can be true for many people, there are alternatives not mentioned in the article that I feel need to be said. These may not work for all people with Type 2 diabetes, but if you make it a priority and part of your daily life, a positive attitude, positive thinking, and positive acting can get you past many of the feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation. Just realizing that I must have that positive attitude about daily living has helped me get past these feelings many times. Even when I felt like I was going down the path to a depression, thinking positive and acting positive stopped it cold and I felt like moving on with life.

Another tip not mentioned is what I am doing now – writing this blog. This is therapeutic in and of itself. Then I also read other bloggers which can make me laugh, nod my head in agreement with, release my frustrations with them, and cry once in a while. Commenting on another persons blog can be helpful at times. More often you will be offering them support or encouragement, but this can feed back to you many times over.

Now back to the WebMD article. They state that whether your main support comes from your spouse, a close friend, your physician, or a diabetes support group, there are people who care and can help.

They do make some very accurate statements in the article about the need for doctors that give an accurate diagnosis and understands diabetes. This is important because Type 2 diabetes requires regular medical checkups and for this you need a doctor that will help educate you about diabetes, diabetes medications and will help you devise an effective treatment plan. Yes, there can also be ophthalmologists, pharmacists,, dietitians, and educators that can also be helpful, but unless you live in an area that has all of these available, you may need to depend on a doctors and pharmacist only.

Wisely, the article does suggest when possible to see an endocrinologist that specializes in diabetes, even for Type 2 diabetes. Another important statement is about seeing a therapist. This should be a therapist that is knowledgeable about diabetes and the types of problems people with diabetes encounter.

Yes, I know the resistance people have to therapists – they don't like this because they are all wrapped up in the myth that people that say this imply that the disease is “all in your head.” The fact that people with diabetes get depression and often suffer from stress, makes this even more important. Both can make diabetes more difficult to manage and by talking to a therapist can often help reduce stress and make depression more recognizable and easier to get past mild to moderate episodes of depression.

This can be a key for better diabetes management. The emotional toll that diabetes exerts on your everyday life with diabetes can be eased by talks with a therapist specializing in diabetes. Your better health is important.

Please take time to read the entire article here and take advantage of what it offers.