How confident are you that your doctor gave you the necessary info to take the best possible care of yourself? My dad's doctor really dropped the ball and didn't tell him much of anything about diet aside from "no white foods." Refined grains, etc.
Also could you explain the blister popping deal? I've never heard of that. I'm guessing something to do with circulation & infections but am not completely sure.
The blister popping is about infection prevention. I'm a nutritionist and physiologist so I work a lot with diabetics and have seen people lose both legs and get gangrenous infections in their arms from what started as simple scrapes or cuts.
And, unfortunately, a lot of the information and education provided for new diabetics is really poor. Most people walk away from their doctor's office, or doctor recommended diabetes class more confused than ever. The best pieces of advice for new diabetics are to do cardiovascular exercise, eat at least every 3 hours and eat the proper macronutrient balance. Your calorie breakdown should look something like this: 55% carbs (non-refined grains + fruits and veggies) 30% fats (unsaturated as much as possible) and 15% protein. The biggest mistake many new diabetics make is not eating enough carbs. Carbs are the only fuel your brain uses and when you don't eat enough, or your insulin sensitivity gets so bad you can't use what you are eating, you begin to turn stored protein into glucose. This process leaves ammonia as a by-product, which in large amounts is poisonous to your body. This leads to diabetic ketoacidosis, which is deadly, in fact with diabetes is listed as a cause of death, it is actually ketoacidosis that does you in.
Sorry to be a downer with that last part, but I see so many clients who do not take this seriously at all. Hope any of this helps, stack-o-tracks, or anyone else!
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