First appointment with Diabetic Nurse

She was lovely. Just the right mix of straight talking and compassion.

She explained to us the mechanics of diabetes, its symptoms and complications using a sketch that she drew as she went along.  T was told that type 2 diabetes is like a key that doesn't work properly to unlock the cells so that they can use glucose effectively; this may be simplistic, but it makes sense to us.

She went through the complications in a very matter of fact way (a particular highlight was 'and if some of the bits that float off in your blood vessels get lodged in the vessels in your brain, that's a stroke'), but she was going through them quickly as though she had to do it before telling T that they are hopefully avoidable.

We were told about; heart disease, stroke, blindness (DB is apparently the no.1 cause of blindness in the UK), kidney disease (ditto), amputation (ditto after war injuries - perhaps that's a worldwide stat?), nerve damage, and impotence.

In fact, I think that just about the only thing that she didn't mention is cancer, and T has already had that.

She weighed him (105 kg ish), measured him (in the red section of tape and needing to lose 4"), spiked him (13.9 mmol 2 hours after a banana), and seemed happyish that he wants to continue to try diet and exercise. He needs to get below 10 mmol, but as he is not on medication, our Health Trust won't prescribe testing strips and we will have to pay for them ourselves if he wants to use them.  She said that he can be tested again in three months time and to go back sooner if he becomes more symptomatic.  Urine testing would be cheaper and BG levels below 10 mmol wouldn't show up as glucose in urine, but they wouldn't be more accurate than that.  I think I will get some test strips and a monitor for him so we can figure out which foods he reacts better to than others.

We are being put forward for a couple of classes with DESMOND, so hopefully that will provide more information on nutrition; she also recommended a book for us to read if we are serious about nutrition.  I'll get it so we can have a look.  T needs to look at portion sizes; it's so hard when you feel hungry.

Emotionally, personally, I still can't quite believe it; I have those few seconds upon waking where everything is okay and than I remember.  It feels like it is going to go away, but we are being given literature that says otherwise. Scary stuff with pictures of holes in people's feet. I hate this and it hasn't even become real yet. And if I feel like this when I am not even living with the disease, how the hell do people feel who are?

I wish I could do more than read, listen, and try new recipes.