Thank you, Kathleen -- I appreciate your calm! I'm dealing with an HB A1C of 11, my doc wants it to be closer to 7. I'm not clear what the other measurement was called, but it should be 40-50 and mine is 80.

I am hoping that the fact that I had such an off-balance summer and have already cut out crisps, cereal, and sugary drinks (all of which I was having daily) and moved other sugar back to meals means those numbers will be moving in the right direction, and I'm taking Metformin but the side-effects are making me feel very unwell. I also have a fatiguing illness and likely thyroid issues (having additional blood tests this week.)

I know that focusing on step one will help everything, and I'm going to make that my priority, but I have been doing a rice cake with butter for my potato for a while, even as the rest of my program wanders, and am wondering if I should be? And if there's anything else I need to tweak or bear in mind re carbs or any other aspect of the program? Grateful for any guidance you can offer.

: I am glad you wrote and made a
: connection. I think it can be very
: unsettling to
: get a new diagnosis. And O can't give
: you an across the board suggestion
: without
: more data. It depends on the severity
: of what you are dealing with. If
: your A1c is 12, it is
: different from an A1c of 6.0

: And no, you do not need to panic. Put
: your energy into a solid step 1
: and give me a little more info.

: Kathleen