r/diabetes_t2

Hey,

I’m hoping someone can help me. I was diagnosed type 2 a few years ago (currently on alogliptin but it’s making me incredibly nauseous). I’m really struggling with depression after having all of my teeth removed (7 years of dentures making me vomit and are intolerable, dentist can’t help). & so looking after myself has been very much sidelined and I haven’t changed my diet at all since diagnosis other than cutting out fizzy drinks. I also have quite severe anaemia (on medication for this) - I need to focus on my diet and losing weight but without teeth it’s incredibly difficult chewing, I can’t eat anything such as chewy meat (steak, pork etc), leafy greens or salad greens, anything too slippery, crunchy (nuts etc), my diet is very limited and restricted to soft foods but I’m finding a lot of these are unhealthy or too carb heavy (mashed potato, pasta, bread). Does anyone have any kind of meal ideas that can help get my levels more under control and shift a bit of weight?

Previously I was working out 3 days a week bc I had a foot injury and even just walking was painful. I’ve rehabbed my foot and have added more workouts, walking 3 miles per day now and going to Pilates 2-3 days a week as well. More active than I have been in the past 7 months since I have way less pain now. So why are my numbers looking worse? I was getting 150-154 readings and now this week they’re more like 167–173 ish. This disease is baffling and I’m sick of it.

Is this bad ? I felt really sleepy after eating them .I had three small pancakes with sugar free syrup.

Another question I had , should I do away with almost all packaged food? Sometimes I don't feel like cooking from scratch and that shit is expensive so sometimes I eat a frozen pizza or tv dinner.

What range should my blood sugar be in an hour after eating ?

The first thing I figured out was never eat carbs alone. Sounds obvious in retrospect but nobody said it to me directly. A banana by itself sends me past 180. Same banana with two tablespoons of almond butter and I barely move. I remember standing in my kitchen genuinely shocked the first time I saw that. Fat or protein with every carb, every time, no exceptions.

Walking after dinner was the other one. Not a workout — just around the block. I ran two weeks of alternating walking nights vs. couch nights because I'm the kind of person who doesn't believe something until I've tested it myself. Walking nights were 25-40 points lower at the one-hour mark, consistently.

Eat in order was the weird one — vegetables first, protein second, carbs last. Same food, same amounts, just rearranged. I kept thinking it couldn't be real so I tested it more times than I want to admit. It's real.

Stress and sleep messed with my numbers more than I expected. I blamed food for everything at first. Then I had a rough week at work — bad sleep, running hot — and my fasting numbers were wrecked every morning despite eating the same things. Cortisol apparently signals your liver to release glucose on its own. Once I understood that, a lot of confusing readings started making sense.

Last thing: check the arrow first, number second. A 160 trending down is a completely different situation than a 160 trending up. Used to just see 160 and feel bad. Now I look at where it's going before I react.

Hello!

I work in a small office, there are 4 of us. We are quite close as far as people you work with go. Just to clarify in advance, this absolutely is someone who would want this type of support and interaction.

One of my employees has struggled with their health for a while. I would never ask questions, but they volunteer stuff sometimes and I try to be supportive. This person loves treats and surprises, and over the 5 years we have worked together I have frequently brought them things when I come in (favorite fruit, drinks, coffee, baked goods, juice, candy). Today, they let me know they just found out they had type 2 diabetes and they specifically mentioned they were sad that they wouldn't be able to have the treats I bring in.

Obviously I can ask them what they want, but they really enjoy the surprises and I don't want to take that away from them! I'm looking for suggestions. They don't even know what type of things they are interested in, as they're saying they're going to have to completely change their diet. I'm interested in suggestions of T2D friendly things they might like to try. That would be mostly caffeinated beverages and premade snacks you can buy at the store, although I do occasionally bake as well. There are of course obvious things but I'm sure there are also niche things that people discover.

I'm also open to anything an employer could do to be supportive in this situation. In the past, they have asked for support in lifestyle changes which I have happily accommodated but I'm sure there are more. For example, they spoke about being concerned that sitting at a desk all day could be contributing to their issues and we found some more active tasks that could be done if they felt up for it.

My diabetes specialist has suggested I try ozempic for lowering my blood sugars.
I’m a little on the fence, as I’ve read some studies with some quite negative side effects from it, but also benefits too.

For those that have been on it/are currently on it for blood sugar control, what’s your opinion?
Any nasty side effects?
Was it beneficial for you?

I've been on metformin for 6 months now, taking 1000mg. My glucose stays around 85 - 120. Great. I try to eat pretty strict keto and eat almost zero sugar. Great.

But like, what is the end goal here. Can i eat fruit if it doesnt kick my glucose up too much? Should i not eat fruit? Am i trying to flat-line my glucose at 100 (or whatever) with no drugs? Are we all trying to get all the way off drugs like metformin and manage type 2 without?

Thanks!

Hello.

Im 45. Female.

I have cerebral palsy and for years my doctors blamed everything on my Cerebral palsy. Anxiety? Well you have CP. Any issue was. "Well. You have CP."

I finally got a new doctor after moving and she found that I have type 2 diabetes. As well as low iron and PCOS.

I had suspected PCOS for years but my then doctor and my gyno all said no. I have regular cycles so I couldn't possibly have PCOS.

How wrong they were.

Im so disappointed with myself for not changing doctors. For not demanding answers and not just taking my doctors at their word.

But I didn't. And now my life is finger pricking and diabetes.

Im too much of a chicken to prick my finger yet. ( i just got my monitor today along with my diagnosis.)

I just feel so overwhelmed and hurt and angry at myself. Thanks for letting me vent.

I'm on Mojarro and it has given me chronic constipation. I started eating those Grunns fiber and "greens" gummies-- bad bad idea as they caused a serious spike. But I really liked what they did for my digestion so I tried the sugar-free formula and I think it still caused a spike although that may be because I didn't take the dose with any food.

Do you have any fiber gummies or something else that isn't disgusting that you're taking for GLP-1 constipation? Thanks, team.

Hello. I have had T2 diabetes for a while now and have been working on things like eating better and moving more. I don't prick my fingers because it triggers the temptation to self-harm. My doctor knows this and has been fine with this. My doctor recently introduced me to the Freestyle Libre program where I can get 2 sensors a month for $75 since my insurance won't cover them unless I'm on insulin. Now I'm able to see better what foods really skyrocket my blood sugar and that sort of thing.

On top of T2 diabetes, I have several mental illnesses, including Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly multiple personalities). Having DID means that I have parts who can simply take control of the body and eat what they want. It also means that I have parts that are under the age of 10 - several of them are 4 and under. This plays havoc with the average age of my palate and what we like to eat. I'm also neurodivergent and have problems with textures. On top of it all, I have chronic fatigue which puts a limit on how much exercise I can do without putting myself in bed for 3 days. I currently do some walking, but I can't do too much or then I can't get outta bed. It's frustrating. Someone said walking 10K a day helps them keep their sugar in line. I'm happy if I consistently get 1200 steps in a day thanks to chronic fatigue.

My A1c went up a little in February from 7.5 to 8.4. I knew it was going to go up based on some family health issues & me being overwhelmed from caregiving that occurred toward the end of 2025. I actually thought I got off easy. I expected it to possibly even hit 9 as for about 5-6 weeks I was living on sugar and caffeine. It was the only way to do everything I had to do at home and still stay awake at work. Since February, we have been really working on eating better. Most of our DID parts have been working together to do this. However, we're having trouble with which things make our blood sugar go up or down. It seems like the only time our sugar is "in range" (70-180) is first thing in the morning and if we haven't eaten anything in more than 4 hours.

I have always been a huge fruit person. Apples, canteloupe, grapes, berries, cherries, bananas and more. In the summer I practically live on fruit. And now we're realizing that we can't eat as much fruit because it skyrockets the sugar. It's been really hard on us. We use the terms "growing foods" and "just because foods" so there is no morality to food. Being that fruit is a "growing" food, my little ones don't understand why they can't eat it more. They really like grapes and apples and canteloupe. Many of them are very little - 4 and under. They just don't understand.

My doctor says "You can eat all the vegetables you want". With 9 DID parts under the age of 10, plus serious aversions to textures, that sentence holds no joy for us. We're trying. There are a few veggies we like, but even those aren't easy to eat a lot. Carrots cut into matchsticks or chips are okay, but baby carrots and regular carrot sticks are "too crunchy". Red bell peppers are okay - but not the other colors. Cucumbers are hit or miss. Mushrooms are hit or miss. Sugar snap peas raw are okay in small numbers, but not a favorite. Tomatoes I'm super picky on type and juice ratio. I've tried bribing the little ones to eat the veggies with M&Ms (i.e. eat 7 peapods and get 5 M&Ms type thing). It doesn't work. I've tried several different types of treats and none of them entices the kiddos to eat the veggies. So, I eat the veggies, but they aren't my favorite either so I have to force myself to choose veggies.

Having the CGM and knowing my sugar levels better now and being able to see what makes it go higher/lower was supposed to make choosing foods to eat easier. So far all it's done is taken all the joy out of eating. It's just a chore now. I feel like I must stuff something in so the body has fuel - yippie. More times than not, we just end up not eating much. I know that's not a great solution, but we feel pretty hopeless about it all at this point.

I'm hoping maybe some of you have helpful, gentle advice you can give.

Does anyone on here take mounjaro and insulin?

If so how do you get on with it.

Managed to go from 103 to 52 in 3 months. Cholesterol is still too high, but diabetic nurse said if I carry on I might even be able to come off insulin by the next test. Haven't been perfect, but I've been a lot better than what I was to get myself in such a bad way. Next goal is to double down on diet and exercise, continue to lower my A1C and get my Cholesterol below 5.

Hopefully I can come off insulin long term.

I have type 2 and am 80 lbs overweight. The last 2 years I have tried to control my diabetes with a very low carb diet. I have been pretty successful BUT lately I am having such bad heart palps and also metabolic acidosis Dx. I was told no more keto a while ago and now I dont know what to do. I have a CGM and am testing foods like beans and apples and Ezekiel bread to see if I can eat low GI without going extremely low carb. I am so frustrated and close to saying "F" it. I was on Metformin extended release but my body hates it, I had constant headaches and fatigue. Does anyone control type 2 with a low GI diet? Would counting calories so I can JUST lose weight help? I feel like crying and just giving up. I have supplemented with all types of and combos of electrolytes.

So, I am not diagnosed with type 2 (yet), but everyone else in my family is and I’m pretty sure I’m insulin resistant. I’m seeing an endo in a couple weeks about it.

I find that unless I eat like a diabetic, I get full on crashes after I eat anything with too many process carbs (not gluten, I’ve checked). So, that pretty much means I can’t eat normal chips. Lately, I’ve been trying out chick pea chips and they seem to not cause such a crash for me.

Has anyone else tried them and found them to be more helpful at keeping blood sugar stable?

I'll eat just about anything but depression is at an all time high and I want something that I can eat every day for lunch that takes very little prep and is low carb

Any help would be appreciated