Hi, I'm new
 

My name is Tom, and I have been diabetic for some time now. I have never gotten my sugars under control, either by diet or medications. I just let them go unchecked until this past week. I had what I thought was an ingrown hair but it turns out it was cellulitis. The infection spread terribly and by Wednesday this past week I had to have outpatient surgery in the er to remove the abscess. The surgery was in a "extremely sensitive" place. It truly has been the most painful thing that has ever happened to me, and I could have prevented it all, if I had just listened to my doctors. I am committed to getting my a1c down to where it should be. My wife is planning all of my meals and she gave me some reading to do to educate myself about what I must do going forward. Bloodsugar101.com directed me to this page as a way to talk to other people with similar diabetic issues. I welcome whatever help or criticism you care to share with me. I am just learning, but I am very committed to getting better so I can be here for my family.

Congrats on making this commitment and first step, you are for sure in the right place, you will get tons of info and support on this forum, I personally know absolutely nothing about diabetes, except that it is a horrible disease, but I can tell you, you will learn how to eat properly with feeling like you are giving up things, your energy will increase, your general well being will improve and I guarantee your #'s will improve.

Best of Luck to you, and welcome. ttyl

Welcome Tom :wave:
You have found a great forum to help you Reverse your Diabetes. Here's a short TED talk to get you started, now with over 2.1 million views. https://youtu.be/da1vvigy5tQ

There is a sub-forum here on Diabetes, post your questions there.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45
Read the Caution sticky thread at the top if you are on medication. A LC/Keto diet can be very powerful and may drop your BG readings quickly.
Then read back through a page or two of threads, you will find many topics with advice from many members.

Since you are new to this diet...the Newbie Advice forum will be helpful also.
The #1 tip to start is to "know your plan", follow some rules to start, read a book on diabetes advice. Dr Richard Bernstein's book, plus his You Tube Diabetes University for extra information is highly recommended. As for his diet, here is a super simple one page overview, with a link to another one page "Start Guide" that covers all the basics, food lists, recipes.
https://www.verywell.com/bernsteins...verview-2241679

Very similar plan based on a simple food list is Dr Westman's clinic diet at Duke, No sugar, No starch. 20g total carbs for day.
http://www.kostdoktorn.se/wp-conten...starch_diet.pdf
You can find many talks and interviews with Dr Westman on DietDoctor, including this one on his 20 years of clinical experience where he shares the Why of the diet and how he adjusts meds in response to BG levels. https://www.dietdoctor.com/member/p...ns/westman-vail

DietDoctor also has an excellent guide to Reversing Diabetes
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes
and you could watch other terrific movies and talks on this topic with his free trial month of membership.

Enough to get started! All the best,