I've had type 1 diabetes for about 30 years, diagnosed when I was just a little over age 30. You are going to need to make some lifestyle changes, and possibly some attitude changes especially about food. But this is not the end of the world. You will change some things, fall back into old habits, get reminded to get back in line, and you'll have varying degrees of success. But if you stick to them you WILL develop new habits, and eventually it will not seem so much like you are doing things so differently... it will become the "new normal".
Seeing a dietician is a great step. One sense in which type II is worse than type I is if you decide to have a piece of cake for desert, you can't just up the insulin dose to cover it. But a dietician can do a LOT to help you understand how foods are going to affect you, what you can substitute to reduce carb intake, even how exercise can help.
Also, if you haven't already, find a good Endocrinologist. See him/her regularly (probably at least twice a year, maybe more like 3-4 times per year especially at first). Or whatever he/she recommends.
Keep in mind that you are NEVER going to manage it perfectly. Sometimes you'll do well, sometimes you'll get off track. Just minimize the "off track" times, and do the best you can. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
But you are lucky in that you CAN treat and manage it. Had you lived 100 years ago, you would just have died from it.
You're about to find out that a lot of people you know also have diabetes. It's like when you buy a new car, you start noticing how many of that model are on the road that you hadn't noticed before.
Just get good advice from health care professionals, follow it as best you can, don't get too down on yourself if you get off track a little once in a while, and appreciate that there are a lot of things you can do. Chances are, you will make sure to take better care of yourself medically now than you would have otherwise.
And feel free to PM me if I can be of help in any way.
Aries
~Sign of the Rams
