In A Perverse Way Diabetes Has Probably Prolonged My Life

[Jon]

Well,hopefully it has.
10 years ago i was eating all the rubbish of the day,never looking at carbs,fats,sugars,etc.
If that state of affairs had been allowed to continue i would probably be about 20 stone now with sky high bp,cholesterol,sugars.
Now i am a lot more educated about food and even though i still have my sweet tooth at times all those risk factors are well under control and i my fitness has improved beyond all recognition.
Anyone else feel ironically it has made them more aware of a healthier lifestyle.
😉

 

[Silkman_Bob]

Definately - it sounds daft saying it but in some cases it is completely right

 

[Caroline]

I think as people with diabetes (we own it, it doesn't own us) we are more aware of what food will do and the effects of being idle, so we are able to make better informed choices on all the things we do.

 

[Northerner]

Absolutely. Although I was pretty fit and healthy before, I was starting to creep into some bad habits that would no doubt have gradually taken over had I not had the wake-up call of diagnosis 🙂

I do feel for those people who have been diagnosed late though, and don't have the same opportunities to turn their lives around. This is where I think Type 2 is often worse as it can be very insidious and damage can be done before you really realise that something is wrong. People can go to their doctors with symptoms, but it seems that many people are sent away without being tested and it is only when things come to a head that they get diagnosed and receive treatment.

Equally bad is the situation where a person has been diagnosed but receives little or no help or education about how to manage the condition. Hopefully, as awareness grows such cases will become less common and all can discover a hopeful and healthy future 🙂

 

[Robster65]

Never the slightest bit of doubt that it prolongs life by forcing improvements in health and lifestyle and, as you say, the self-awareness makes a huge difference.

Type 1 is slightly different, in that it tends to increase the chances of developing certain ailments (heart disease, etc) than would otherwise have been and doesn't have links with lifestyle choices.

Rob

 

[Natalie123]

I have a feeling with my sweet tooth, that having diabetes has prevented me from rapidly putting on weight when I left home and rebelled against my Mum's strict healthy eating, I guess I rebelled a little but not as much as I had planned before I was diagnosed 😱 I do worry about the complications for type one though

 

[Robster65]

I have a feeling with my sweet tooth, that having diabetes has prevented me from rapidly putting on weight when I left home and rebelled against my Mum's strict healthy eating, I guess I rebelled a little but not as much as I had planned before I was diagnosed 😱 I do worry about the complications for type one though

If you have no complications yet, then maintain your BGs as well as you can, avoiding the extremes and get yoru Hb to reasonable numbers and you should avoid the complications.

I'm working on that principle and so far I'm doing alright. Hope to get another 30 years or so under my belt so don't want to spoil it all just yet !

Rob

 

[wallycorker]

..................Anyone else feel ironically it has made them more aware of a healthier lifestyle......................

Without any doubt whatsoever as far as I am concerned dealing with my Type 2 condition has made me much more aware of the foods that caused my problems in the first place - i.e. overdoing the starchy carbohydrates that turn to sugar almost as soon as they enter our bodies!

Eleven years down the line from being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, then bowel cancer four months later and suffering a seizure eight months after that.

These days I'm so positive about the future and at 67 I have living until one hundred as my target. I don't know whether I'll make it but I'll definitely be giving it my best shot! 🙂

 

[Newtothis]

newtothis

Reading the above proves that lifestyle changes do have a massive impact but how do you concentrate on the positives rather than the negatives when everything you read highlights and constantly drums in the complications - I've only been diagnosed 2 weeks but can't see a light at the end of the tunnel Amanda

 

[Northerner]

Reading the above proves that lifestyle changes do have a massive impact but how do you concentrate on the positives rather than the negatives when everything you read highlights and constantly drums in the complications - I've only been diagnosed 2 weeks but can't see a light at the end of the tunnel Amanda

You have to remember that a lot of the horror stories you read or hear about diabetes and its complications apply either to times gone past or people who do not receive the right education and support to help them manage their disease. In some very unfortunate cases people do not get diagnosed until the complications are apparent. However, modern treatments and education programmes, which are improving all the time, mean that a person with diabetes can successfully manage their levels well and significantly reduce their risks of anything going wrong. Should things start to go wrong, then they are picked up on very quickly and again treatments are improving all the time.

As you have seen from the people in this thread, a diabetes diagnosis can spur you into taking much better care of yourself, which in turn will no doubt lower your risk of a number of other potential illnesses or crises. You are probably still in a state of shock at your diagnosis - it takes time to adjust to the 'new you' that has to make a conscious effort to consider your diet and lifestyle, but it will come - as long as you keep learning and keep talking. It will happen, but it rarely happens overnight. After 3 years I still stop and wonder about it all sometimes, and I think that's only natural, but the thing is to not dwell on what might go wrong but to get the most out of life that you can. I expect to be collecting my Nabarro Medal and my telegram from King William on my hundredth birthday - hope to see you there! 🙂

 

[Sheilagh1958]

Reading the above proves that lifestyle changes do have a massive impact but how do you concentrate on the positives rather than the negatives when everything you read highlights and constantly drums in the complications - I've only been diagnosed 2 weeks but can't see a light at the end of the tunnel Amanda

Hi Amanda

There definitely light at the end of the tunnel I was diagnosed just under a year ago and am a lot fitter and healthier now than I was then (even though I didn't think I was unhealthy back then). I have still got a long way to go but am heading in the right direction 🙂

Good luck 🙂