type 2 diabetes for me

hi,
I just found out I have type 2 diabetes this past Friday. I am 37 years old. I am not sure what it all means at this point. I know I am very scared and confused and freaking out more than a little bit. The doctor put me on some pill twice a day - men something or other. So I have been taking those since Friday night. I bought some diabetes vitamins that come in a pre-packaged thing. Bought fish oil and coconut oil pills as well. All supposedly supposed to be good for helping. Ordered some books and spent the rest of the weekend in bed. A friend suggested I join a support group so here I am.
Any suggestions, info, knowledge etc. for the newbie would be more than greatly appreciated.
Not sure what else to say. Thanks in advance.

By Kristy

Hi Kristy and welcome.

Slowly you'll start to learn stuff. IMO, at first it's most important to learn about *you* and what this means to you, not to anyone else. Start to memorize things about yourself-- that your medication is called metformin, for instance. Most of us here have been put on that med at one time or another, many of us are still on it-- it's probably the most common type 2 medication.

Find out what your fasting blood sugar was when you had your blood drawn at the lab, and what your A1c level was, and keep those numbers in the back of your mind for later comparison.

Save your money with the diabetes vitamins and other supplements-- worthless. Fish oil might be good for overall health, but it won't do a blasted thing for or about your glucose level. Same with any vitamin, and I have no idea about coconut oil pills-- that's a new one to me. It's a good idea to take a quality multi vitamin with minerals every day, but that's just for overall health, not directly to influence your blood glucose levels. Mega doses of any vitamin and most supplements (IMO, all of them, but there are others who would argue with me, I'm sure) do nothing but line the pockets of the manufacturers.

Did the doc recommend for you to get a home glucose monitor? It's really important to test your glucose a couple of times a day so you can see how you're doing. The books you bought will teach you about what numbers are in the normal range. The meters are usually free (ask your pharmacist, or go online and google free glucose monitor) but the test strips are pricey-- if you have insurance, you can get them taken care of as a prescription and you just have to pay your co-pay.

Are you going to be going to a nutritionist? Not a bad idea, if you have insurance, or if you can afford it. For now, start to make dietary changes-- cut out any refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and white flour foods. Go easy on bread, cereal, pasta and crackers, even the whole grain kinds. Don't drink your carbs (no regular soda, energy drinks, sweet tea, and cool your jets about milk). Take a walk every day if you can, or do some other exercise.

When does your doctor want to see you again?

Judy D.