Yes I know today with the pump, life MAY BE A BIT EASIER, but the basics remain the same. There will be people who pay no attention to this. That will be your bad luck! If you want the truth about diabetes read this. I post this letter from time to time because it seems to help a lot of newbies and not so newbies to live better with diabetes. Hope you think so also.  I have hac 47 years of diabetes at 5 needles per day and 10 blood tests daily and have some nice complications. Some friendly advice for those who want it! This is for those starting or on the go with diabetes and not sticking to the rules! You may not feel anything now but it sure as h*ll will get you later. Diabetes will give you time to live, under what circumstances, is up to how you control your diabetes right FROM THE START! A good life can be had, having diabetes! That is really true, it is an opportunity that will give you a good diet to live by, preventing heart disease, preventing to be overweight and because you are forced to do your exercise you will remain slim or slimmer than you would be, if you carried on the old way. There are some "IF's" attached to this. Nothing comes without effort. You will ALWAYS have to stick to your diet, you will ALWAYS have to take your medication at THE SAME TIME, you will ALWAYS have to do your exercise, you will ALWAYS have to test your BLOODSUGAR so that you know you stay as much as possible where you want to be. Keep complete records of your testing. Sinning sometimes is ok as long as it is not on a regular basis Now here is something you don't want to hear! No matter how well you stick to the rules you will run into regular disappointments, to the point that you may want to pull the hair out of your head, because good adherence to the rules doesn't ALWAYS results into good control of your diabetes. On the other hand, if you decide NOT to follow the rules you will run into complications of diabetes that could shorten your life. It could blind you, kidney failure will make you have to experience dialysis, you could lose toes, feet and yes even legs! I could go on and on , but won't. To come to an end here, if you stick to the rules, your life can be a pleasant experience in spite of disappointments, and you will avoid all or most of the complications. See it as an opportunity for healthy living, and discipline in your everyday life. A big chance to live longer and better than you would possibly have had without it! Your dietitian will help you with what to eat and how much probably with counting your carbs. 47 Years ago we had to learn by estimating and making a good guess what has much sugar in it and that way I do my eating still today. Don’t panic!!! It all will come allright soon. On this board you can ask everything and learn fast. Basically it is more a matter of amounts that matters. Smaller amounts and avoid obvious sugary things, but bread and potatoes are also slower sugary things so SMALL AMOUNTS! The very best to you from, PS. If you have read this, will you please say so in the reply, so that I know I did help some people with this? Thank you, John V