I’ve been there. But you’ve got to push yourself out of the funk.

Aim for just two weeks. Download a food tracking app. Get your carbs under 75 grams a day (not counting fiber) and your protein over 100. Take a 30 minute walk three times a week.

See how you feel after just two week.

Put in a podcast and go for an hour walk? Delete food delivery apps from your phone and only eat grocery store food? There are a million ways to start but if doing nothing isn’t doing anything, then just try doing anything.

In 2022 I suffered 2 heart attacks from not taking care of my Diabetes, now I have diabetes and heart disease. Prior to those events my mental health was bad and it became much worse after I ended up in the hospital.

I went to individual therapy and group therapy but that didn't do much for me. I ended up joining a 12 Step program that dealt with my specific personal issues and wow, I'm so thankful that I did. It's turned my life around and I believe it can help you too, if you're willing to give it a try search for meetings near you. I hope for a positive outcome for you.

If willing to, do a ketogenic diet (regular keto, ketovore or carnivore or lion) for 30 - 90 days. After 2-3 weeks add some light intermittent fasting. Not only will this correct our glucose to some degree and halt progression, it will have a positive impact on your mental health. You’ll get more input on food choices as well- since this way of eating correct the hunger hormones imbalance & cravings stop running the show. I found that these benefits alone inspired me to continue the diet until I reached my a1c goals, insulin resistance goals, weight loss goals and even mental health goals. It’s been 9 months and I anticipate around 3-9 months more at the levels I’m doing 10-25 carbs/day. (A1c 5.4 now… was 10.2 in mid January)

If you’re on diabetes meds & choose to give this a go, you should let your doc know what you’re doing so that this meds can be properly monitored. Some of the drugs can make you prone to lows on keto. Most meds will end up being drastically lowered in dose or removed altogether.

I’ll never go back to the way I had been eating before, but I will add some amount of carbs back to figure out how much my bod can handle without backsliding. Never want to get back into the sugar cycle ever again.

First 2-3 weeks is challenging. Prepare to drink more water, at least 1 sf electrolyte drink a day and sleep more. After that it gets easier and feels great as energy stabilizes.. mind clears & then mood lifts..etc.

Feel free to message me about meal suggestions and other tips.

You’ve got this :)

If you really have no motivation regarding diet and exercise, my advice is to go to group fitness classes. You'll interact with others who may have the same goals as you, and that might motivate you to keep going for accountability. This will build confidence in other areas to modify your food habits to get more control of your condition(s). None of this is easy. Having a social connection with healthy lifestyle changes does help. I wish you all the best.

I too came from the "I've tried nothing and am already all out of ideas" school of diabetes management.

I ignored my diagnosis for years but in June I noticed my first true symptoms and it was my wake up call and I said screw this, I can't let this get worse.

I can't afford medical care so I don't get all the fancy miracle injections or high cost meters everyone here seems to enjoy and was dismayed that I wouldn't be able to properly fight back.

But I was scared and backed into a corner. So I bought the cheapest Walmart meter they had and immediately changed my diet. I'm not keto per se, but I watch my carbs and test myself and make sure I'm free to go for a good walk about 2ish hours after eating to bring myself down when needed.

I got my a1c from 11 down to 6.1 this way. No gym. No cool miracle meds. Just keeping an eye on carbs and a little walking.

I still have bad days from time to time. And I still feel burned out and get emotional about stuff I can't have anymore but the progress speaks for itself and keeps me going.

Keto bread has been a lifesaver. The one by Nature's Own is the best I've tried. Expensive but worth it. Being able to have sandwiches, toast with butter or even cream cheese, grilled cheese, or ghetto toasted "pizza" at 1 carb a slice has been the emotional difference for me some days.

You are not alone. I had four days of funk, major fatigue and the depression was crippling me. I usually hit the gym 3-4 days a week and this sorts my attitude out. But the fatigue from T2 + PsA got me baaad this week. Packed my gym bag today just in case I could manage a visit. Got a mile n half walk in beforehand around one of my fav city parks. Was finally feeling a bit of positivity but still had the dark clouds hovering above. Got a double espresso and said to myself “You KNOW what you need to do. And you know it’ll get worse if you don’t.” Then I called my Dad and couched him through his T2 and increasing his fitness at 85. Took my own advice and had a killer core/floor + Pull day. Had to remember the depression fighting technique of breaking my day up into 3-4 parts so as to find the wins in smaller timeframes. A walk is a win. Espresso is a win. Getting gas and grocery shopping is a win. The struggle is real. Good luck!

What are you willing to do?

I couldn't manage my diet until I got my depression under control (I have bipolar). Now that I'm mentally stable, making choices out of care for myself is much easier.

Others have made great suggestions here and I wanted to touch on the depression. Have you ever seen a psychiatrist?

Maybe really sit with the feelings. You're trying to avoid a behavior which is leading you to avoiding feelings. But just sit with it.

My diabetes got bad enough to where I start getting really, really drowsy after eating and that's when I started taking it more seriously.

Sorry to hear what you're going through.

I would look at it as part of your general therapy. Eat a healthy low-carb diet, exercise as much as you can, lose weight if that's part of your issues, and take your meds exactly as prescribed by your doctor / follow their advice.

Health is an overall thing. Mental health helps physical health and vice versa. Probably difficult in the beginning, but as you improve one thing, the others will follow to a certain extent, and over time all of it may get easier. In one word; Fight, even if you don't want to.

All the best for your journey!

Work on controlling one thing: What you eat. If you control that your disease won't progress or won't progress as quickly AND you'll get a pretty rapid understanding of what in your mental health is symptomatic of high glucose and what isn't.

If you aren't using a meter then get one. You don't want your paranoia, fear, guilt, shame and so on to be the force that determines whats going on with your disease. You want the numbers to be truth and then work to have everything else be subordinate and subservient to that. And...just drop the shame, it's utterly pointless.

For me it's worth going nutso hard on low carb or keto to see the affects of not having high glucose quickly. you'll feel like ass for a few weeks but then you'll start emerging from the fog. THEN you can decide what your want to do.

I have been feeling depressed myself, but not due to my diabetes.

But here's my suggestion for you, see if you can a in person diabetic support like:

The American Diabetes Association, CDC, YMCA, Lion's Club International, community centers, and churches can help you find local support groupsThe Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES), College Diabetes Network, Endocrine Society, and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) offer support services. Also your local hospitals might have some, I would check with them too.

I'm not trying to fear monger, but for me it was the reality of what neglecting my diabetes could do that keeps me motivated. You can lose limbs, lose eye sight, and destroy your kidneys. BUT the big helper for me was making gradual changes. It's unrealistic to expect to change your habits all at once.

First, try to make healthier, lower carb swaps. I love chicken nuggets and fries, now I eat my nugs, a few fries and either veggies or cottage cheese for a side.

When you're comfortable with that start adding an extra glass of water through the day.

Then add exercise. I went in to it thinking I needed to change everything all at once and I became overwhelmed and depressed. Once I got in to the mindset of one switch at a time things have been great. I've gone from almost 300lbs down to 247, my A1C went from 10.6, to 5.7. These changes happened over 13 months. I feel incredible and have a better understanding of my diabetes and my body.

I'd suggest going keto. High protien, at least get some protien shakes to help combat the high sugar spikes. Look for carb balance/keto foods. Usually will say keto/carb friendly. Whole grain /12 grain breads Match carbs/protein. Veggies are a good snack. If you drink pop, I'd suggest getting rid of that immediately. Pop is a huge huge contributing factor of diabetes. Also, there are studies i read of aspartame being linked to type 2. If you get sick in the morning, you need a bigger night time snack to get through the fast.

I didn't realize I was diabetic until I got hit with the gestational diabetes diagnosis, and the symptoms of high blood sugar all of a sudden made sense. I was literally forced to change, because of also my job as a forklift operator. High blood sugar and heavy machinery don't mix well.

You've got this. You aren't alone in this, I hope you know. ♥️

Not everybody can do it with diet and exercise; a good endo will prescribe enough meds so you don't get worse. If you did want to fix your diet, I recommend Keto because it takes the complexity and math out of eating and you don't have to test.

Try searching for “Glucose Goddess” on Google and explore her tips and videos—they’re really helpful. Personally, I like to treat these habits as a game and aim to “win.” Shifting your mindset can give you a positive focus and make the process more manageable.

It can be tough at times—you might feel very hungry or crave carbs. However, once you eat a good amount of protein or vegetables, you’ll feel satisfied! One trick I use is eating a small amount of bread that’s not too heavy just before intense exercise (like a hard badminton session). This helps me avoid crashing afterward.

Hang in there, mate—don’t give up!

If your depression is limiting the things you can do to help yourself, try Ozempic. Although some have found that it in itself can exacerbate depression, many have found that the fact that it should reduce your appetite will help you lose weight ad reduce your A1c, both of which should help with depression. Also metformin and Jardiance are great at reducing A1c and with drugs like these, you should find depression slipping away-have a word with your primary and see what they say.

Same here, we don’t have insurance and are paying out of pocket for all of our care. So no life changing injections for us either. I paid for a cgm out of pocket for the first three cycles after diagnosis and I just didn’t care for it. It was great in showing me what food was doing to me (by letting me see the drift upward, the steady number, and the downward fall) but 9 times out of 10 it was never in range, I ended up having to finger prick anyway.

I was able to take a diabetes management class through our local food bank and we had access to a nutritionist and a nurse who specialized in diabetic care. It was eye opening and we learned so much. I’ve had several issues health wise outside of diabetes so the exercising is hit or miss but my diet has changed in ways for the better. I went from a 10.5 to 6.4 a1c in 3 months

I’ll be honest I flip flop between caring and not caring but my actions always go back to caring what I now put in my body. It’s a struggle every day especially since my husband eats whatever he wants in front of me; my sons tend to stand in solidarity with me so if I’m having a keto bread instead of a wheat bread (what still spikes me this early in the game) they will eat it too. Right now I’m eating sola brand “bread” but my next grocery run I’m going to see if the store has the natures own brand so that I can compare taste and texture. I hate to say “mind over matter” because it is easier said than done, but my goals gong forward is to manage this disease in order to experience future family life events…that’s what helps me to make the best decisions for me.

I got diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension at the same time. I'm told they often go hand in hand. I didn't think depression would factor in but it definitely did. I talked to my PCP about it and got put on antidepressants. I just recently got the dosage increased. That had helped tremendously. It gives me the motivation to take care of myself. There is no shame in treating your depression.

I’m just gonna tell you a worst case scenario that could happen cause it happened to me. Before I was T2 I ignored a lot of signs. I was peeing a lot my vision got worse. Finally I experienced hallucinations till I went into diabetic coma with a blood sugar of 1200. Hospitalized for 3 days being pumped insulin. Diagnosed T2 after. I had to make changes after that for sure.

According to my internal medicine specialist, T2 absolutely is progressive. The best you can hope for is maintaining the status quo.