Newly diagnosed with Type II diabetes.........scared and confused

I'm not familiar with the Libre 2. With the Libre 3 there is no checking, it records every minute of every hour of every day with no action on your part and the home site has more stored info on your status than you can imagine. I have found that after a couple days it's good to check the device against a finger prick. I have had a few faulty units whose readings made no sense. But by and large the Libre 3 is spot on. Good day to you, your doing just fine.

I don’t have a LIBRE 2. But I did buy some for about 5 months, unfortunately I couldn’t afford it anymore. Insurance will not cover it for me. I am not on insulin. But by using it for the extra amount of time, I was able to lower my blood A1C 5.1 and 5.4 from 7.0. The BIGGEST benefit was to get a better understanding of how much food will affect your numbers and then cut out or reduce the amount of food that you eat that will raise your blood glucose levels to the extreme. Understanding how and what foods are good and bad are essential for your health in diabetes care.

My mom was a 4-shots-a-day diabetic. She had 3 brothers All were diabetic One was Type I and they had not yet invented insulin when he was first diagnosed. When they did, he was one of the "miracle" kids whose life was literally saved by the miracle drug insulin. (My mom was born in 1907). Mom lived until 2002 with diabetes and would have been 96 had she made it through the month of May. I was diagnosed abut 7 years ago, first with pre-diabetes and then with an A1C of 7.2. I began doctoring with an endocrinologist in Austin in 2017 and have lost 44 pounds in the intervening years. I don't have to take shots (yet) and my diabetes is well-controlled at 5.2 to 5.4. I'm also dealing with fibroyalgia, breast cancer and---as a result of the Anastrozole adjuvant therapy---osteoporosis. My doctor, too, has said, "Cancer probably won't kill you. Something else will kill you first." I am not the organized type my mom was and don't remember to carry snacks and the like with me at all times, but I have learned enough to get by and I'm juggling all of the symptoms of these diseases while reviewing film at film festivals and living life. It can be done! My biggest fear right now is that the endocrinologist won't let me continue on Mounjaro for weight loss, because my diabetes is so well-controlled, which owes very little to how great I eat or avoiding the known triggers for high blood sugar. I try, but I'm not the disciplined sort my mother is and, right now, I'm dealing with a CT scan with contrast for my abdomen and pelvis that has stemmed from routine blood work that showed elevated liver numbers (which I also blame on the adjuvant therapy drugs). My liver was fine on Nov. 21, 2022 when I went in to volunteer for a clinical trial on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and they gave me the test and I was fine. And now I'm not. This concerns me, since my father had colon cancer that metastasized to his liver and killed him in 6 months,

You surely have a lot on your plate! I would guess your A1C is where it is BECAUSE of the Mounjaro, so I wouldn't think your doctor would discontinue it.

My Libre 2 tells me all I need to know without involving my moody iphone. I have the choice everytime I put a new sensor on to use either my cell phone or the reader. I always choose the reader and it has NEVER let me down!

This discussion has been going on for over a year. It is still REALLY relevant to so many people! I decided to jump back into it for whatever it’s worth. Diabetes is not a one size fits all problem. There are many types of diabetes and a variety of causes. Add to that, more than one thing can be going on at any given time. There is no black & white. If only it were that simple! Think 50 shades of gray. Each individual’s treatment requires some customization. Have you ever heard the phrase “you are special, just like everybody else”? Well, it’s true!

There are basic elements to living well with diabetes that all have some things in common. Then the tweaking can begin. Some choices will be limited depending on your specific diagnosis &/or insurance. Here goes:

1) A medical provider &/or team - primary, endocrinologist, nurse practitioner, diabetes educator, dietitian, nutritionist.
2) Means of monitoring - lab tests, home monitoring, glucometer, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), continual glucose monitoring (CGM), ketone monitoring. There are a lot of services and devices.
3) Diet - there’s a huge variety of programs and systems. It often comes down to personal likes and dislikes.
4) Exercise - any increase in body movement is helpful. “Use it or lose it”. It is similar to dietary considerations in that if you absolutely hate it you won’t do it. There are classes, groups, clubs, hobbies & sports, TV sessions and tutorials …. Find something you like and get started.
5) Treatment - supplements, oral medication, injectable medication, insulin (a variety of types and delivery systems). You and your provider will have to work this one out for appropriate strength, dose, route … that is applicable for your situation.

I got the same shock at 78 years old! No one in my family had it. My doctor put me on 70/30 insulin but it's taken me until now (82) to figure out how to use it without going too low. If your doctor said you might be able to get in "remission" I would grab every book you can and read up. There is a lot of info out there to help you. I would say most of it (unless you are over weight) is about carbs. Just knowing how many carbs are in the food you eat will help you toward your goal. Good luck!

I haven’t read it yet so I can’t vouch for it 100% but I’m just starting a book called

Mayo Clinic the Essential Diabetes Book

It is available from Mayo Clinic Press.

Do you happen to have any other endocrine disorders? If so, that can sometimes cause certain people to be diagnosed with diabetes. Another issue is when people are overweight. One of the most important things we can do when we are first diagnosed with DB2 is to lose weight if we are overweight - even losing just 10% of excess weight can really help along with eating a healthy diet.

You shouldn't be scared, if it is not controlled with diet and life style changes, there are many good drugs which not only will control your diabetes, they also protect your heart, brain, eyes and kidney from the damaging effects of diabetes on these organs.