Let’s face it - anytime someone is given a diagnosis that they have a disease that could take their life, it takes their breath away. Getting a diagnosis that you have diabetes can give you some of the same feelings that are experienced by someone that has learned they are dying. Needless to say, that in addition to taking your breath away, a diabetes diagnosis can also elicit strong feelings of denial and anger.

Perhaps when you were first diagnosed with diabetes, you went into denial mode. Many do. Despite the test results, many ask for a second, or even a third test. It’s not hard to go into denial when, in many cases, doctors like to sugar coat the results. Some will tell you that you may just barely have diabetes. Nonsense. That’s like saying that a woman is just barely pregnant. No dice. Either you have it or you don’t. But when doctors try to “let you down easy”, it’s easy to see why you may go into denial. After all, if you just barely have diabetes, perhaps the test results were wrong. You naturally look for any reason that this diagnosis was a mistake.

You will end up getting past the denial, but it can be tough - especially if it comes out of left field. Those that have been told in the past that they are candidates for the disease may not even end up going into denial. After all, if you’ve been told to take medication, stop eating all the junk food you’ve been eating, to start exercising regularly, to lose some weight or to stop smoking, yet you failed to do any of this, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why you now have diabetes.

The best thing you can do once you are diagnosed is to share this information with your co-workers, friends and family. It’s nothing to be ashamed about and you are going to be happy to have the support of these folks. You’d be amazed at how supportive people can be with you in your efforts to keep your diabetes under control. But you’ve got to tell them if you expect the support. These people will now know not to tempt you with sugary sweets or other junk food. Another important reason for them to all know is so that you you can show them how to give you glucagon in the unlikely event that should black out due to an insulin reaction. But, the main reason these people need to know is so that they can offer their continual support - especially in times when you may be down and not wanting to continue following the rules of good diabetic care.

Keep in mind that your diabetes diagnosis is something you can’t change. Don’t belabor the fact that you may have been able to do something about this in earlier years. And don’t think that just because you are now a diabetic that society will look down upon you. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more commonplace. And remember, it’s not contagious, so you aren’t going to be able to give to anyone.

In the end, it’s really important that you be open and accepting of the fact you’ve got diabetes. When you are open and accepting of the disease, you’ll quickly realize that you certainly aren’t alone. While this won’t make your diabetes go away, it will indeed make you feel better about the situation. And you’ll have something in common that you can talk about with others in your same predicament. You never know - if you are single and looking, this could be a way to open the door to that good looking girl or guy who you know is a diabetic!

Often times, once you’ve gotten past the denial stage, you may end up becoming very angry that you’ve now got to deal with this “awful” diagnosis. But fear not. Once you do some research into the disease, you’ll quickly realize that while you’ll have to likely make some changes in your lifestyle, diabetes can be managed and that it’s not so “awful” after all. Face it - there are no pills you can take to reverse the situation and that you’ll always have the disease the rest of your life, but being angry about it certainly won’t help the situation.

In fact, it can have a number of negative effects right out of the box.

1. If you are angry, you aren’t able to function in a problem solving frame of mind. You are going to have to focus clearly on dealing with your diabetes. Don’t waste your energy on anger - focus it on coming up with some creative solutions to deal with your diagnosis.

2. Feelings of guilt that the anger you feel from your diagnosis is negatively impacting not only yourself, but loved ones as well.

3. Some people end up focusing their anger on an individual. When this happens, you can end up damaging relationship.

I can’t stress enough that you’ve got to get past the feelings of denial and anger as quickly as possible. I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but the sooner you are able to do this, the quicker you can get down to the business of managing your diabetes and moving towards a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Receiving a diagnosis of Type II Diabetes can cause very different responses and reactions. There are around 10,000 people that are diagnosed with this serious condition in the United States each year, so remember you are not alone.

One of the first reactions from many people is to feel angry. They are angry to think that this disease could have entered into their lives and be a threat to the future they had all nicely planned out. The cry of “Why me?” can be frequently heard. Unfortunately as anger can be a very destructive emotion as well as a powerful force for good, you need to understand why you are so angry and then put this towards fighting diabetes, rather than using it against the disease itself. To comment that you hate the disease or want nothing to do with it, is not really going to help, although it is a natural reaction.

Another very common reaction to being told you are Type II Diabetic is pure denial. This happens particularly when the diagnosis has been made in the early stages of the disease when the symptoms may be particularly mild.

Type II diabetes will usually progress quite slowly, so if you go into denial it will not cause too much of a problem, and your medical team will often be quite happy to let you get used to the idea for a while anyway.

Denial will only really become a problem if it continues, and you try to carry on with your life in the same old way as before. Failure to accept the fact you have diabetes and therefore not to accept any treatment can and does lead to very serious complications.

From the very first day on which you are given your diagnoses of Diabetes, it is imperative to learn how to control your disease and to understand what your blood glucose levels mean to your diabetes. You will be advised when you first receive your diagnosis about the meter that you will need to use to keep a daily (or however often you have been advised) check on your sugar levels.

One of the easiest Blood Glucose Meters to use is the Accu-Chek Advantage - this will automatically turn on as soon as your testing strip has been inserted, which is much easier than some of the other available meters, which necessitate you pushing the strip in the machine in a certain way before the reading will commence. The Accu Chek Advantage is also able to store 480 readings, so you will easily be able to inform your diabetes care team of your readings, and the time and date they were taken. The Advantage Blood Glucose Meter will also enable you to download the readings onto your computer with the pc download kit which is available separately.

Something simple like making sure that you buy the appropriate blood glucose meter will make your life much easier, as this will quickly become just another part of your routine, and it really will not take very long at all to get the necessary readings so that you, and your medical team, can keep a check on your sugar levels.

Diabetes will not just disappear, and you really do need to accept this fact and begin to work with your medical team to learn how to control the disease.

Remember that you need to learn to manage the disease, and not let the disease manage you.

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So alongside 10,000 other people in the U.S, you have received a diagnosis of Type II Diabetes. Hearing this can cause people to react in many ways, and as already discussed this can be with anger, or denial. Becoming depressed is another reaction that is quite common.

To actually start living with your diabetes can be difficult some times, and this is especially so as the disease begins to progress, leaving you suffering with some of the complications of diabetes. It is quite a natural reaction for you to begin to feel as though you are fighting a losing battle.

It is also hard to keep your blood sugar levels under control at times, and sometimes you can feel as though you are fighting a losing battle. One way to help with keeping blood sugar levels under control is to ensure that you are using a top brand blood glucose meter, such as Accu-Chek Advantage, as this is simple to use, keeps a record of the last 480 readings including the date and time they were taken, and all the information can be downloaded to your computer with the help of the extra pc download kit that is available separately.

Should you feel that you are getting depressed then make sure you talk to your medical team and don’t just bottle it all up - it could be that there is an actual physical cause for how you are feeling which can be treated easily and quickly. Your team will be experienced in helping patients with these feelings, and you can find that talking things through with someone who you feel understands your problems and what you are going through can be a great help to you, and they will be able to help you come up with a plan to overcome your depression.

There is a lot to learn and to take on board once you know you have type II diabetes, and your feelings about this are bound to alter, especially in the beginning. That is why it is so important for you to be able to feel that you are able to control your disease, and not just literally lie back and let everyone else sort it out for you.

At the end of the day, it is you, and your family who are going to have to adjust to life with diabetes. You should not feel alone though, as there are many groups that are available to you, to help get through this difficult adjustment period.

Your medical team will be happy to put you in touch with people that can help and guide you through the first few confusing days, weeks and months as you come to terms with your type II diabetes. Many self help groups exist where other people that have diabetes get together and just talk - it is surprising how much better you can feel in yourself to actually meet and speak to someone who is going through the same thing as you are.

Remember diabetes will only change your life as much as you allow it to.

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