“Learning I had diabetes didn’t come as too much of a shock to be honest. On top of the fact that I was excessively thirsty and found myself needing the toilet all the time, you can’t eat like I had been and think that something wasn’t going to happen.
“Two years ago I gave up smoking and I started eating chocolate and chips as a replacement. My weight climbed steadily until I reached 130kg, a milestone that coincided with the yearly blood test my GP recommended.
“So when the results showed I had type 2, I wasn’t really all that surprised. Plus, my dad has type 2, too.”
Going into ‘diabetes mode’
“I was diagnosed just before Christmas and New Year’s so with a house full of people and food, it wasn’t until early January that I went into what I call ‘diabetes mode’. I knew I had to get stuck in and make some changes – that was never in question.
“I know a woman who lost her foot to diabetes because she refused to let it change how she was going to live her life and she didn’t look after herself. The thought of the same thing happening to me if I didn’t do something was terrifying. It’s the same reason I gave up smoking. I didn’t want my kids to have to look after me, as I’m now doing for my mum who has emphysema [a lung condition causing shortness of breath].
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