[princesslinda]

Welcome elawton. Glad you found the forums.

I think it's only natural to feel sad/angry/depressed/confused, all kinds of different emotions whenever you're given a life-changing diagnosis such as diabetes. However, I promise you things will get easier for you emotionally as time passes. It soon becomes just another part of your life that you learn to deal with.

Testing is very important. Walmart, Target and the pharmacies all have a "generic" meter with cheaper strips.

Testing 2 hrs after your first bite of food will allow you to see how different foods affect your blood sugars and help you make smarter food choices.

You can't rely on how you are feeling to tell if you are high or low. At diagnosis, most of us have had really high blood sugars for some time, and our bodies get used to the high numbers. When our blood sugars start to normalize (due to diet/exercise/meds), our more normal #s can actually feel low to us.

Many here find that watching carbs (esp. white foods like bread, rice, potatoes, pasta) and getting regular exercise help keep numbers stable.

There's a great book you should read, "The First Year, Type 2 Diabetes, " by Gretchen Becker. It has a lot of helpful information in it.

Hope you post often, ask lots of questions and learn all you can about this new chapter in your life. By reading all these posts, you'll see it is possible to have a pretty normal life with diabetes....You're not alone, and you will be fine.