I was told I was about to get diabetes – so I decided to act and have become a changed man
I had mixed feelings as I stepped onto the scales, first the trepidation of seeing how much I weighed, then the relief that it was not a speak-your-weight machine.
Embarrassing or what? I was, after all, among a group of about 10 people. All of whom had been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and on a new course. I didn't want them to snigger.
In technical terms, you become pre-diabetic when the glucose in your blood binds to haemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen in your red blood cells). This combination of glucose and haemoglobin is called haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).
The HbA1c in your blood reflects the average level of glucose in your blood during the last 2-3 months. If not well controlled, your blood glucose levels will be high causing higher HbA1c levels, leading almost inevitably to full blown diabetes.
The simple terms, there is a number scale for your HbA1c range. From 20-41 is seen as normal, 42 to 48 is pre-diabetic and 48 and above is diabetic.
I had tripped over to number 42. Hence pre-diabetic. I was on a journey down a dangerous road.
I suppose its like many diagnoses you hear about, you think it won't happen to you. In my case the shock of being told I was on the way to contracting a much heard of, but little understood disease, proved to be a game changer.
I knew I was overweight, seriously overweight, but when thinking of doing something about it, comforted myself with the thought of a Winston Churchill jibe, delivered when he was criticised for his drinking.
When being accused of being "disgustingly drunk", by a female politician, Churchill reportedly shot back: "My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly."
The point being that one of them had the ability to change, ie Churchill. The same was true for me.
You can be too fat, but you can always lose weight. Trouble was, you neglect bothering to try.
The attitude was: tomorrow is another day; mañana; any excuse; another pint of your finest please landlord and don't hold back with the nuts and scratchings. You know the kind of thing.
It also get harder as you age and when the diagnosis dropped, I was on my way to a significant birthday. One with a zero in it and yes, I wish it was 60.
It took that blood test over another not serious matter to reveal the hidden but serious issue.
There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 is a lifelong condition where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. Type 2, which the NHS says affects 90 per cent of people with diabetes, need not be a lifelong condition but comes about when the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body's cells do not react to insulin properly.
Symptoms can include frequent urination especially at night, feeling more tired than usual, cuts and wounds taking longer to heal and blurred vision.
