Managing diabetes – Discipline isn’t enough

A few years back, my friend Jasleen called me over for dinner and I was shocked at the sight of her husband – He’d lost a lot of weight.

However, he’d also lost his temper – A slight mistake, a misplaced item, a raised voice… any minor deviation from his routine could set him off.

I could sense the tension and the toxicity all around them. I poked a little to see if I could find out what the underlying issue was, but neither Jasleen nor her husband were willing to talk about it. Not wishing to intrude, I dropped the subject.

But a few months ago, I met Jasleen again. And I asked about her husband, and if things had improved. She happily replied that he was doing better and things were under control.

So, what was the problem?

She explained that her husband had gone for his mandatory annual health check-up at the office, and been diagnosed with diabetes. The doctors had asked him to come in for a consultation. But he’d refused to listen to them, always making excuses – He had urgent meetings, a heavy workload, etc. He latched on to any reason to avoid meeting the doctors again.

Instead, he placed his faith in his disciplined lifestyle. He ate and slept on time, read a lot, and didn’t go out much. He proclaimed that this was the perfect lifestyle and that by following it, no disease could affect him.

Reaching the tipping point

While Jasleen’s husband may have been confident his disciplined lifestyle could protect him from any disease, after a while, even he couldn’t ignore his massive weight loss. Driving the car was also getting difficult as his vision was getting hazy. He could feel his self-confidence ebbing away, and finally succumbed to office pressure and went to meet his doctor.

His doctor conducted more tests and confirmed that he had type 2 diabetes. As well as taking medicines to keep his sugar levels under control, he’d also have to make some lifestyle changes.

Jasleen’s husband agreed to take the medicines but declared he was going to make his lifestyle changes on his own.

This is when Jasleen stepped in. She told him he had to replace his morning breakfast of bread and butter with fresh vegetables and millet – He tried this, checked his sugar levels, and confirmed they were better.

He also replaced his daily banana with citrus fruits – Again, checking his sugar levels, he found they were better.

Rather than stick rigidly to his disciplined ways, he listened to Jasleen and focused on his body’s changing requirements. His carb-loaded lunch was replaced with a bowl of salad. His evening tea became lighter and healthier. And with guidance from his doctor and the support of his wife, he was able to bring his sugar levels under control.

Where he is now

Today, Jasleen’s husband is doing much better. He has a calmer state of mind. And as well as keeping his mind healthy, he goes for morning walks to keep his body healthy too.

He’s also reduced his workload at the office and delegates more to his juniors – This has helped greatly reduce his stress levels.

And his endless cups of tea during the day have been replaced with green tea and plain water.

He’s understood and accepted that discipline alone can’t keep ailments at bay and that he has to listen to his body’s changing requirements – Right now it needs exercise, reduced stress, adequate sleep and good nutrition, but to stay healthy and happy he needs to regularly monitor and tweak them to suit his needs!