Welcome

I will assume that you are reading this section because you just got the news that you are diabetic. Most of us who have heard that news were shocked and confused, wondering what it all meant. This confusion is also compounded by incomplete or conflicting advice from medical professionals, and many popular public misconceptions about diabetes.

The major reason for the existence of this website and associated chatroom is to help you over this hump, and let you understand that it is quite possible to live a long and normal life with diabetes, if you are willing to learn how to do it. Literally, we are diabetics helping diabetics, and use the chatroom to do this one-on-one in real-time.

Our chatroom is staunchly non-commercial and as non-political as possible when humans congregate. So, we will never try to sell you anything, or convince you that our way is the only way. We have no agenda other than trying to help our fellow diabetics.

How You Feel Right Now

It is absolutely normal for you to have raging emotions right now. After all, up until you were diagnosed, you probably never thought much about diabetes, unless you had a friend or family member who was in the club. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, noted psychiatrist and author, has told us that there are five stages of grief: anger-denial-bargaining-depression-acceptance. It is common for newly diagnosed diabetics to go through these stages. We hope to help you over the first four stages quickly, so you can get on with your life.

What to Do Next

You are already taking the most important first step--learning about diabetes. This website is not going to provide you with an all-inclusive overview of diabetes. Rather, we will provide you with pointers to information in our Resources section. Make sure to visit our FAQs Page. Surf some web pages, read some books, and visit us in the chatroom to discuss what you have learned, or just to ask questions.

It is important to note that diabetes is a highly variable condition, and one of the common shorthand expressions you will see is YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), which means that what works for one diabetic will not necessarily work for another.

Be sure to read Jennifer's Advice to the Newly Diagnosed.