Good luck with your job,clock and blood sugar.
Finding out one is diabetic is a bit of a shocker
but not as dire as it once was.
Even Type one folk have it easier.
I'm going to guess you're closer to Type 2 because of your age and ethnicity.
I.E. you make insulin but need help utilizing it fully.
With luck,you may never be totally dependent on supplemental insulin injections.
But,even if you do have to take insulin,that's been made easier,too.
Monitors,pumps,sci-fi type watches,logging software,etc. all make it easier to
maintain good sugar levels.
I prefer 'tight control'.
I take my blood often since it is so easy and comfortable (big needle-phobe here)
and never let it get very high or low.
That avoids the extreme shifts which can be a bigger hassle than a high high or low low.
(I used to get a lot of spiking-and felt like crap.)
Once you get yourself on track,maintainance isn't so hard.
You'll feel FAR healthier than as an undiagnosed diabetic.
You'll have more stamina,rest better,have better skin and hair,
heal faster,feel more clear-headed and emotionally stable and
feel less itchy,queasy,etc.
If you've had blurred vision,chest pains,burning sensations,dry tissues
and who knows what else-blame it on the diabetes.
You'll have healthier heart,kidneys and everything.
The diet's not so bad,either.
People understand diabetes much better now so you have more
flexibility.
Diabetics are put on the same regime they want for cancer,heart,
immune disorders,hypertension and pert near everybody else.
Lots of small,nutritious meals with a big emphasis on indigenous
foods and a near boycott of high fat,high sodium,high simple sugar food.
I enjoy food more now because I *have* to eat about every four hours.
I 'm *required* to eat a variety of fresh,high grade,low cost,full-flavored
foods.
Diabetics can't fast all day then pig out on something tasteless that covers its lack of
nutrition by adding fat,sugar,salt,caffeine or fake ingredients.
Without the artifice,it needs real food value and that tastes better and satisfies you
more per bite.
You eat things that would make you feel guilty-except they're required.
Yeah,you'll miss old favorites at first and have to think about your meals.
But new recipes,new preparation,and new habits will help.
You'll start to respect your body more.
You might use the diabetes to start some good things you've put off and
dump whatever hasn't worked for you.
Couple this with a new job and you can 'reboot' yourself in a lot of positive ways.
I'd say the disease is a gorram pain-in-the-tuckis but the process of overcoming diabetes
has been a blast.
I feel eleventy billion times better at 51 than I did at 21.
No telling how much better I'd do if I tried to look good,too.
My blood sugar stays about 118.
My b.p. stays about 130/90.
My cholesterol ratio stays around 4-1.
(Don't ask about the triglycerides,they know when I cheat and I still
picked all the wrong ancestors.)
No old broad with my family,my history and my lifestyle should feel
this good.
I attribute a lot of that to the self-limiting factors of diabetes.
I don't have the luxury of going too far astray so I catch problems before
they get out of hand.
I can indulge my disease when I hadn't the gumption to care for my healthy self.
(I hear guys do the same when 'in training' or women when pregnant.)
Give yourself time to learn and tweak your new life but it might prove a milestone
rather than a stumbling block.