From personal experience, I believe God initiates blessing by bringing relationships to my life: I guess I must have truly been in sync with God when I persuaded Dr. Adesola Ajiboye to be a regular writer on this platform. Dr. Ajiboye is passionate about Public Health and will be taking readers who want to be informed about their health on an informative journey towards bodily redemption. Please, take your time to read and you will be glad you did:
It’s inevitable. This rite of passage every diabetic patient often pass through in a typical Nigerian hospital setting.
Mrs Kolade, a 45 year old civil servant, woke at 6am to check Fasting Blood Glucose , in preparation for her monthly doctor’s appointment. She got a result of 4.8mmol/L. In her bid to meet up with the doctor’s appointment, she rushed out without taking her breakfast.
As usual, the process of retrieving her folder took another hour. As she maneuvered herself towards the doctor’s office, the familiar sonorous voice of the Chief Nursing Officer welcomed her.” When would this people be through with their regular recitation and let us into the doctor’s room, don’t they ever get tired? , She muttered while scrambling for a space to sit. Tired and hungry, she stared endlessly at the Nurse waiting for her turn to see the doctor. After an agonizing 3 hours, It was her turn to see doctor. She got into the doctor’s room and barely sat before bombarding him with several questions on her condition and the management. The overwhelmed doctor who had nothing less than a 100 patient waiting, had to summarize his answers, As he gave his concluding remarks ,he emphasized that the CNO’ s morning talk would have done more justice to her questions.
Exhausted, Disappointed and Despaired. She took few steps towards the exit door, held the door handle and….. It was another hypoglycemic episode.
This article will not only enlighten you but empower you towards a better diabetes management.
Diabetes Mellitus (DM), a chronic medical condition characterized by a blood sugar level which is too high and an abnormal metabolism (body breakdown) of carbohydrate, protein and fat. It has an alarming global prevalence of 366 million, a figure expected to rise to 552 million by 2030 with Africa set for the highest incidence of growth during this period. This condition affects everyone. If you are not a diabetic yourself, you almost certainly have a family member, friend or colleague affected by this chronic disease.
Some years back, I worked in an endocrine team and I realized that a vast number of patient suffer and die from DM complications and not as a result of the disease itself. It hurts so bad to listen to experiences involving health information has been misinterpreted or poorly communicated. It will interest you to know that the literate are not left out. Ignorance is not only potentially dangerous (a vast number of diabetes sufferers are undiagnosed, risking serious complications); it also makes life very difficult for people living with diabetes.
Well, the truth is this; Diabetes cannot be cured medically, but a diabetic can live a healthy life.as long as its complications can be properly managed through strict compliance with prescribed drugs, proper dietary intake and regular open relationship with one’s doctor. Thus, a diabetic patient needs to know that he/she is the most important stakeholder and therefore he/she needs to be empowered with the right information.
SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES– Make a point to learn the symptoms of diabetes and share this information with friends and family.
For Type 1 diabetics, Drinking a lot of water, Passing a lot of urine (more than 4 episodes at night) Eating a lot of food , Rapid weight loss, deep, rapid breathing, dry skin and mouth, flushed face, fruit breath odour, nausea or vomiting (inability to keep down fluids) and stomach pain.
For type 2 diabetics, they include skin or other infections that are more frequent or heal slowly eg. Candidiasis (commonly known as Yeast), fatigue, hunger, increased thirst, increased urination, blurred vision, erectile dysfunction and pain or numbness in the feet or hands.
Now, I am going to break down some common myths about this condition in simple terms.
- Many people believe that “only fat people get diabetes“. However, DM is not exclusively a “fat people’s disease. Though being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, being thin does not safeguard you from diabetes. There are many other factors such as family history, ethnicity and age that also play a role. In fact, one of the first symptoms in people who develop Type 1 Diabetes often is rapid weight loss. Diabetes can also develop in an elderly person who is thin but whose pancreas is not functioning properly any more.
- ‘If I have to go on insulin, it means my diabetes is really bad’
Many people believe that having to take insulin means you are doomed. On the other hand, there are also people who believe not having to take any medication means their diabetes is nothing to worry about. Whether you have to go on insulin or not is determined by your body’s blood sugar (glucose) control. Sometimes changing your diet is enough to control blood glucose. However, in the case with type 1 diabetes where the pancreas has stopped producing insulin, artificial insulin is necessary.
- ‘Eating too much sugar causes diabetes’
The belief that eating too much sugar causes diabetes is one of the most common misconceptions around diabetes. There are three main types of diabetes. None of them are caused by too much sugar, but rather by the pancreas which does not work as it should.
Type 1 DM usually occurs among children and teenagers. Surprised? , How does it happen? Here, the body cannot produce adequate insulin due to genetic destruction of the pancreas- An organ that produces insulin. As a result, the glucose absorbed from the stomach and intestine will not be transferred to the body tissues. So what happens? The level of sugar in the blood keeps getting higher and higher.
Type 2 DM occurs more in the elderly, fat, sedentary and people with a positive family history of diabetes. In this case, the pancreas is still able to produce insulin but the production may be insufficient to deal with the glucose level in the blood. On the other hand, the pancreas may be producing enough insulin but the body tissue may resist it. This is called Insulin-resistant syndrome.
Gestational DM occurs in pregnant women. The hormonal change prevents insulin from working as it should and it usually resolves 6 weeks after delivery.
- “Diabetics have to follow a special diet”
Many people believe that diabetics have to give up on great, tasty foods and follow a bland, boring meal plan. There is, however, no such thing as a “special diet for diabetics” as they generally have to follow the same basic guidelines of a healthy non diabetic person.
What about those special diabetic foods on the shelves? They generally offer no special effect and can still raise blood sugar levels, especially with diabetics who tend to see “diabetic foods” as free foods and subsequently overindulge.
Taking consideration of your weight, food preferences and lifestyle, you should have 55%carbohydrate, 20%protein and 10%fat per meal intake.
The following are the food types to reduce because of its high glucose context
- Yam and its products
- Refined sugar and Honey
- Pastries
- Saturated oil e.g. groundnut oil, palm oil, margarine.
- Red meat
- Canned oily fish.
- Pineapple, Ripe banana/ Plantain , Pawpaw, Sugarcane
- Ice-cream and carbonated soda drinks, e.g. Coca-Cola.
- Alcohol and Cigarette
You can “play around” with these foods to ensure steady blood sugar levels and sustained energy levels.
- Wheat bread, Brown bread, Oatmeal, Plantain flour
- Garden egg
- Beans
- Boiled Unripe Plantain
- Irish Potatoes
- Custard, Corn pudding
- Soya beans milk
- Snail, Crayfish, Gizzard, Dried Fish, and Locust beans
- Mushrooms
- Fruits like Grapefruit, Carrots, Cucumber, Cabbage, Pear, Vegetables, Apples, Pears, Oranges, Peaches, Plums and Strawberries
- Artificial sweetener and Crackers Biscuits
Let’s take a pause at this moment and reflect on what we have read so far. I always tell my patients that “Information is Power”, but permit me to rephrase it as “Timely Information is Power”. I understand the complexities of our health system, long waiting times, out of pocket expenditures, poorly motivated staff, ethical decadence, the list is simply endless. You have choose either to make yourself vulnerable to these, or soar above the storm.
The good news is this; I am here to empower you to take charge of your health ,up to a level that your doctor’s input would be a mere supplement. Next week, I will shed more light on how we can identify signs of diabetic complications and the purpose/ importance of your routine investigations.
Stay tuned. It’s all about you and your health.
Contact: Adesola Ajiboye, M.D. @ adesola.ajiboye at gmail dot com
