If it can happen to me... (Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes)

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes
Date:	17/04/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's not the End of the World

Disadvantages: A challenge for those with a very sweet tooth

I have just been diagnosed as diabetic. It came as a bit of a shock I must admit. It was purely by chance that it was discovered. I'd originally gone for a cholesterol test as I hadn't had one done for around five years, and suggested that as they had my blood they might as well do a diabetes check, as I had never had one done, not for a moment thinking it would come back positive.

I don't really fit the profile of someone who is susceptible to the disease. I have no relations with it; I'm not overweight; I eat a healthy, balanced diet; I exercise regularly; I have never smoked; I don't drink excessively; I don't add much sugar to anything, such as tea or breakfast cereal. Consequently I can be fairly sure that in my case it isn't "self-inflicted".

I don't experience regular tiredness; I don't suffer from continual thirst and I don't find myself going to the loo excessively, especially like needing to get up in the night several times for a pee. I don't suffer from blurred vision; I don't find that I have minor injuries that take a long time to heal in fact, I heal quite rapidly. I don't suffer much from illnesses in fact, it's quite rare for me to be ill. So, none of the typical symptoms!

Since the statistics indicate that 1 in 5 of people over 65 (OK, I'm not quite there yet!) have diabetes, whether they are aware of it or not, I guess I must just chalk it up to the ageing process and a body that has seen more than its fair share of service over the years.

The good news (yes, there is good news even here) is that I appear to have Type 2 non-insulin dependent diabetes. This has been deduced from my blood glucose readings: two tests that returned 7.6 and 8.3 respectively. Anyone with a reading of 6 or below doesn't have diabetes; anyone with more than one reading over 7 does, it's a simple as that. These readings are obtained from blood taken after a period of 12 hours of fasting. However, just because you don't have it now, doesn't mean you won't get it at all.

As a result, managing my condition, I have been told, is simply a matter of watching my diet and eating healthily; I'm already doing that so it seems not a lot needs to change. I have already decided to cut out sugar in my tea but then I wasn't putting much in anyway. I've also cut out additional sugar on my Weetabix, but that is also not a challenge; Weetabix does contain some sugar but it is the next best thing after porridge, I'm told. I don't put sugar on anything else.

Mind you, I understand that avoiding sugar altogether is not essential; that may be news to you. The received wisdom over the years has been quite the opposite. These days opinion on this seems to have changed: sugar can still be a part of a balanced diet as long as it isn't done to excess. If you are the sort of person who has to be asked how much tea they want with their sugar, you may have to review your life-style. It's the wild peaks and troughs of glucose levels that is so damaging.

The advice is, "Eat regularly and take regular exercise". I confess that I have only been having breakfast and an evening meal. That started some years ago, when I was still working, when I went to the gym instead of having lunch. That habit persisted into retirement. In future, however, I will be having a snack at lunch and now my exercise run will be later on in the afternoon, just as soon as we start getting some better weather!

I suppose that the one good thing that has come out of this is that I am aware that I have the condition. Consequently I am now in a programme at my local health centre that will insure that the progression of the disease, (I am told that it is inevitable that it will progress, though how quickly is anyone's guess) is regularly monitored.

Excessive glucose in the blood can have a devastating effect on many of the body's organs, especially the kidneys and the eyes. There can also be blood circulatory problems caused by the glucose clogging up the capillaries and preventing blood reaching the extremities. Consequently, the feet are often the first to be affected.

In a diabetes sufferer the hormone, insulin, is either not produced at all or else not produced in sufficient quantities to fully control the use of glucose, which is essential for many of the body's functions. Generally, Type 2 sufferers fit the second situation; the pancreas, which produces the insulin, just doesn't work as well as it should.

There will be regular blood checks and retina checks; I understand that deterioration of the retina of the eye is a primary indicator. I am also booked in "to have my feet checked", for reasons I have explained earlier. At the moment I don't believe that anything untoward is going to be found. Still, better safe than sorry. Not to take advantage of all of the health care on offer would be irresponsible.

I have also had a lot of good help and advice from the Diabetes Org UK and NHS Direct websites. The former has a "2 minute test" that you can take, to tell you if you are at risk. It would have drawn a blank for me but that's no reason not to take it.

Most of all, my advice to you is go and get yourself checked. You may be like me, totally atypical of the profile of a diabetic. It doesn't mean you don't have diabetes. You local health centre is perfectly happy to do the test for you; it demonstrates to the NHS that they are doing their job. Hopefully, your results will be negative but if they're not, don't think it's the End of the World.

Whatever, today I can say I really don't feel any different than I did yesterday. I have always been the sort of person who takes the dramas of life in his stride. I don't get too het up about life's misfortunes. I guess that maybe something to do with me being an atheist: I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that this is how life is; just get on and enjoy your time on this Earth and do your best to help others do the same. When you leave this World behind, just do so feeling that you have made a positive contribution, no matter what crosses your path. That's why we're here.

Now, where did I leave that Easter Egg?

Summary: The Western "Life Style" disease that can affect anyone