If diabetes is a boxing match, I would be at ringside.
The analogy is appropriate without a reason. My younger sister and brother are diabetics, so are my remaining two uncles. More than five of the guys I play tennis with are diabetics. A cousin had his right leg amputated because of diabetes and a friend lost one of his eyes due to the disease.
I have attended countless wakes of close friends who died because of diabetes-related illnesses.
Each day I see and feel their struggles to live fully despite the chronic and debilitating effects of the disease on their bodies.
Because of its omnipresence, I thought of making you more informed about this 7th most common disease among seniors.
What is diabetes?
Most of the diabetic people I know define the disease from its symptoms, not its cause.
Simply put, diabetes is a medical condition that occurs when the body lacks or has no insulin at all, or its insulin cannot convert the sugar from the foods you eat into energy.
Among seniors, there are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 is characterized by the body’s insufficient production of insulin, requiring its daily administration to make up for the shortage.
To-date, the cause and cure of Type 1 diabetes are still out of reach by science and medicine.
Type 2 is characterized by the body’s inefficient use of the insulin it produces.
Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are generally the same as Type 1, but not as obvious. If fact, it might be years after you got it that you start feeling them.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common of the two and affects most of the 29 million diabetic Americans.
Both are incurable but can be managed, especially type 2 diabetes which is largely caused by inactivity and obesity.
Living with diabetes is like perpetually checking the Dos and Dont’s of daily living. But you don’t have a choice. If left unmanaged, it is fatal – after destroying every major organ of the body. In short, it is a very expensive and painful way to die.
Luckily, you don’t need to die or lose a leg or an eye. But you have to be disciplined in following these steps my diabetic friends are adhering to (I would do the same if I was one) if you want to live fully:
1. Exercise regularly:
Type 2 diabetes means you either have too much glucose in your blood because of insufficient insulin or the insulin isn’t used properly by your body. In any case, exercise helps reduce the glucose levels in your blood.
Besides nothing is cheaper and easier to stay healthy than a regular exercise, with diabetes or no diabetes.
2. Eat healthy foods:
Most people are funny. They gorge on anything until they get sick. Then they go on a diet which they never follow, anyway.will never follow;
Eating healthy foods becomes a default when you are a diabetic. You are constrained to eat foods low in sugar and saturated foods. Consult your doctor on the kinds of foods good for you.to take will never follow;
There is no truth that eating sweets can make you a diabetic. They just put you at greater risk especially when your metabolism has slowed down because of age.to take will never follow;
There is also no truth that there are good fruits for diabetics. All fruits are good, diabetic or not. Just limit your servings.
3. Check your glucose levels regularly:
My uncle and a close friend always carry glucose meter (ballpen-like devices they press to their skin) to check their glucose levels before taking a meal.
Don’t ever be without one. And if you have one, don’t use it until you feel or confused. It may be too late by then.
4. Don’t forget your medication:
It is easy to forget your medication if your memory is failing and you are taking more than one type a day.
Solve that by using a pillbox, or an alarm you can download into your smartphone or wristwatch.
If you are averse to new technology, use a chart to tick off each time you have taken medication.
Whatever you do, never miss your medication. Your life depends on it, especially if you are a live-alone senior.
5. Examine your feet daily:
Check your feet daily for cuts or rashes that can get infected.
Use a mirror or ask the help of a family member to check parts you cannot easily see.
Immediately see your doctor if you see any to avoid infections that can lose you a leg.
My cousin had his right leg amputated for ignoring an infected mosquito bite.
6. Regularly have a hearing test:
So far there is no direct correlation between diabetes and hearing loss except for the theory of damage to the small blood vessels inside the inner ear. But recent studies show that hearing loss is twice that among diabetics than those not afflicted by the disease.
To be sure, have your hearing regularly checked.
7. Get an anti-flu shot:
What has an anti-flu vaccine got to do with diabetes, you might ask.
An anti-flu vaccine is important for elderly people to avoid potential complication
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), an estimated 1.6 million deaths, worldwide, were due to diabetes with almost half of them of people below 70 years old.
Diabetes is an incurable, wasting disease. You cannot win against it. But by doing an overhaul of your lifestyle, you can live fully without losing a leg or an eye.
Please share and to help other seniors cope with diabetes.
Image: http://www.healthliker.com/index.php/2016/04/30/diabetes-types-diabetes/
~oOo~
