TrevorMorgan
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hello there
I have just read an article in the Balance magazine by Niall Anderson about psychological support. It is a very good article about the support for a diabetic which should not just be medical but a psychological condition too. All very well and good but how much psychological support did you get when you were diagnosed? I suggest very little unless you went private. I was lucky my wife, especially, and the extended family all supported me. Others may not be so lucky especially if they live alone.
It's my opinion that everyone is given support before they get diabetes and we should all change our mental attitude to it.
Recently, I watched, on television, old film footage from the VE celebrations in London in May 1945. Everyone was cheering, climbing telegraph poles or waving from the roof tops. The peace was not the only thing that they had in common: they were all slim , some would say skinny. T2DM was almost unheard of owing to poor diagnosis but mainly because no-one was malnourished. Nearly everyone ate wholesome food which they cooked themselves. They did not eat too much. They also exercised by walking their kids to school instead of driving them because most did not have cars. They walked to the posting box instead of driving.
Most of those cheering people would be regarded as deprived of food these days. No doubt they were stressed, but T2DM was rare.
From the 1970's, onwards T2DM started to take over as the primary form of diabetes. What caused it? I suggest that we all got used to excesses; too much food in general, too much junk food, too much lounging about watching television, not enough exercise.
When I look at my own case, in 1972 I was 178 cms and weighed around 61.5 kg. Nowadays after being diagnosed with T2DM I have had to go back to my 1972 weight to have any hope of achieving remission.
Most of my working life I travelled for my job and stayed in 5 star hotels and ate like a king, I had to work hard but i didn't have time to exercise hard. My weight went up to about 85 kg and most of it was around my tummy. I realised this when, one morning, in a five star shower I looked down and couldn't see my penis properly! My paunch was too big.
When I stopped travelling I followed NHS advice and got my weight down to 76 kg and luckily I could see that my penis was still there. I started jogging and walking again sometimes running 10 k per day. All of this was to no avail; the damage had already been done. The seeds of T2DM had been sown along with a genetic pre-disposition for pre-diabetes. Many people much heavier and, should I say, fatter than me do not get diabetes - so good for them and good luck. I think that my exotic and sometimes excessive lifestyle, which some were envious of, got the better of me. I did not, in my opinion, eat too many potatoes compared to some of my friends and family who quite often scoffed more than I did. Obviously, I did eat too many potatoes even organic ones and one croissant a week too many.
What has this got to do with psychology you may ask? Well, NHS advice tells you not to eat too much sugar, etc. It tells you that if you are overweight or obese then lots of nasty health problems will be conferred on you. Who wants to be told they are obese - it's an insult. Who wants to be told what to do, I don't as I am responsible for my own health. I want to be educated and told the facts and then make my own mind up, surely that is the responsible thing to do from a psychological point of view. I did not know that it is visceral fat that is the danger coupled with a genetic pre-dispostion - in my case. Had I known the full facts then I could have taken remedial action to prevent this cursed condition. Is personal health on the school rubric to educate our children?
While we are on the subject, I am constantly being told by many in the medical profession that I am too thin and what would happen if I had to go in for an operation? It does not help me, mentally, to be told that I am too thin especially by the medical profession; only my GP has told me that I am not too thin. I am not under nourished and all my health check readings are now good except for my Hba1c which indicates that I have the blood glucose levels of a pre-diabetic, no I don't, as I am a diabetic and will remain so.
Many days of the week I weigh out my rolled oats for breakfast; 37 grams with 60 ml of whole milk plus water is around 30 grams of carbohydrate. I can do weight exercises after eating this and do 10 minutes stepping indoors and then run 6 k and come back home without feeling that I don't have any energy left or that I need a snack. My diabetic diet and slim weight have improved my resilience no end. Before I was diagnosed I would eat two large slices of brown bread and a large banana for breakfast before I attempted a run, after my jog I then had to snack on a couple of biscuits or a croissant to get my energy "back : some would not consider this to be excessive but for me it was. The result was T2DM.
It does not help my psychological health to be told by my friends that I should put a bit of weight on - I don't need to. I explain what would happen to me , as I would be back on Humulin again in no time. Often I see some of my friends and family eat too for their own good. I see some of the diabetics and pre-diabetics stuffing their faces just like I used to some time ago. I often feel like saying something to encourage those pre-diabetics or potential ones to stop eating too much and being excessive , but i keep my opinions to myself unless I am asked. Perhaps, I should be psychologically more forthright. The diabetic epidemic is upon us and we all have a responsibility to try to arrest it and reverse it. The government and the NHS are getting nowhere with this, so it is probably up to individual and communal action, at a level much closer to society in general, to find a solution.
mcuh
I have just read an article in the Balance magazine by Niall Anderson about psychological support. It is a very good article about the support for a diabetic which should not just be medical but a psychological condition too. All very well and good but how much psychological support did you get when you were diagnosed? I suggest very little unless you went private. I was lucky my wife, especially, and the extended family all supported me. Others may not be so lucky especially if they live alone.
It's my opinion that everyone is given support before they get diabetes and we should all change our mental attitude to it.
Recently, I watched, on television, old film footage from the VE celebrations in London in May 1945. Everyone was cheering, climbing telegraph poles or waving from the roof tops. The peace was not the only thing that they had in common: they were all slim , some would say skinny. T2DM was almost unheard of owing to poor diagnosis but mainly because no-one was malnourished. Nearly everyone ate wholesome food which they cooked themselves. They did not eat too much. They also exercised by walking their kids to school instead of driving them because most did not have cars. They walked to the posting box instead of driving.
Most of those cheering people would be regarded as deprived of food these days. No doubt they were stressed, but T2DM was rare.
From the 1970's, onwards T2DM started to take over as the primary form of diabetes. What caused it? I suggest that we all got used to excesses; too much food in general, too much junk food, too much lounging about watching television, not enough exercise.
When I look at my own case, in 1972 I was 178 cms and weighed around 61.5 kg. Nowadays after being diagnosed with T2DM I have had to go back to my 1972 weight to have any hope of achieving remission.
Most of my working life I travelled for my job and stayed in 5 star hotels and ate like a king, I had to work hard but i didn't have time to exercise hard. My weight went up to about 85 kg and most of it was around my tummy. I realised this when, one morning, in a five star shower I looked down and couldn't see my penis properly! My paunch was too big.
When I stopped travelling I followed NHS advice and got my weight down to 76 kg and luckily I could see that my penis was still there. I started jogging and walking again sometimes running 10 k per day. All of this was to no avail; the damage had already been done. The seeds of T2DM had been sown along with a genetic pre-disposition for pre-diabetes. Many people much heavier and, should I say, fatter than me do not get diabetes - so good for them and good luck. I think that my exotic and sometimes excessive lifestyle, which some were envious of, got the better of me. I did not, in my opinion, eat too many potatoes compared to some of my friends and family who quite often scoffed more than I did. Obviously, I did eat too many potatoes even organic ones and one croissant a week too many.
What has this got to do with psychology you may ask? Well, NHS advice tells you not to eat too much sugar, etc. It tells you that if you are overweight or obese then lots of nasty health problems will be conferred on you. Who wants to be told they are obese - it's an insult. Who wants to be told what to do, I don't as I am responsible for my own health. I want to be educated and told the facts and then make my own mind up, surely that is the responsible thing to do from a psychological point of view. I did not know that it is visceral fat that is the danger coupled with a genetic pre-dispostion - in my case. Had I known the full facts then I could have taken remedial action to prevent this cursed condition. Is personal health on the school rubric to educate our children?
While we are on the subject, I am constantly being told by many in the medical profession that I am too thin and what would happen if I had to go in for an operation? It does not help me, mentally, to be told that I am too thin especially by the medical profession; only my GP has told me that I am not too thin. I am not under nourished and all my health check readings are now good except for my Hba1c which indicates that I have the blood glucose levels of a pre-diabetic, no I don't, as I am a diabetic and will remain so.
Many days of the week I weigh out my rolled oats for breakfast; 37 grams with 60 ml of whole milk plus water is around 30 grams of carbohydrate. I can do weight exercises after eating this and do 10 minutes stepping indoors and then run 6 k and come back home without feeling that I don't have any energy left or that I need a snack. My diabetic diet and slim weight have improved my resilience no end. Before I was diagnosed I would eat two large slices of brown bread and a large banana for breakfast before I attempted a run, after my jog I then had to snack on a couple of biscuits or a croissant to get my energy "back : some would not consider this to be excessive but for me it was. The result was T2DM.
It does not help my psychological health to be told by my friends that I should put a bit of weight on - I don't need to. I explain what would happen to me , as I would be back on Humulin again in no time. Often I see some of my friends and family eat too for their own good. I see some of the diabetics and pre-diabetics stuffing their faces just like I used to some time ago. I often feel like saying something to encourage those pre-diabetics or potential ones to stop eating too much and being excessive , but i keep my opinions to myself unless I am asked. Perhaps, I should be psychologically more forthright. The diabetic epidemic is upon us and we all have a responsibility to try to arrest it and reverse it. The government and the NHS are getting nowhere with this, so it is probably up to individual and communal action, at a level much closer to society in general, to find a solution.
mcuh
(Biodegradable ?? reformed paper pulp.)