Understanding is the key to coping

By KEN GRACE

Diabetes means that what used to be trivial decisions become momentous ones. Before I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes two years ago, a piece of fruit was never anything but a good, healthy choice.

These days I need to think about how much carbohydrate I've eaten in the last two or three hours and what my blood sugar level is at this moment.

My body doesn't handle carbohydrates the way yours does. Both our bodies convert the carbohydrates we eat such as fruit, bread, potatoes and so on into glucose. This glucose floats around in our bloodstream until our muscles need it as fuel.

Where your body has it over mine is in its ability to get the glucose from your bloodstream to your muscles. Mine struggles. My blood sugar levels can easily rise to high levels where they start doing damage to my body.

So I've had to learn to prevent that.

Twice a day I take metformin, a drug that helps my body perform the trick that yours does so easily.

I also try to get regular exercise. At first it was the gym. Now I do a lot of walking. I watch my weight. My type of diabetes is the result of what's called insulin resistance.

Insulin is the hormone that tells muscles to draw on glucose from the blood. The leaner I am, the less resistant my muscles are to the effects of insulin.

I'm one of the lucky ones. Type 1 diabetes, which I don't have, means the body produces no insulin at all and it must be injected.

I watch what I eat. Not too much carbohydrate at any one sitting - the equivalent of two slices of bread is about right for most meals.

Figuring out how much carbohydrate food contains is one of the challenges facing all diabetics. The answer is not always obvious.

A few times each day I also test my blood sugar level by taking a drop of blood from my finger (not as painful as you might think) and placing it on a test strip that slides into a meter.

Thirty seconds later the meter emits a beep and provides a reading. Anything reading under 8 within two hours of a meal is excellent.

Testing my blood sugars helps me to see how quickly my body converts different carbohydrates to glucose. Refined foods like white bread get converted quickly, and can produce undesirable spikes.

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes I did what any respectable bloke does. I slid into a deep depression.

The key to climbing out was discovering that I was still in charge.

Right now, I'm in the best shape I've been for years. I'm slimmer, fitter and more relaxed. If I choose to, I can stay that way.

I'm much more conscious of making that choice than I was in my fatty days. All in all, I'm not sure that's such a terrible thing.

Assess your risk of becoming diabetic:

If you can tick two or more of the following, you need to see your doctor or

nurse:

* Of European descent and over 40 years of age.

* Of Maori, Pacific Island or Asian descent and over 30 years of age.

* Overweight.

* Have a family history of diabetes.

* Have given birth to large babies (4kg or over).

* Had high blood glucose levels during pregnancy.

* Have high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

- Diabetes New Zealand


Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/health