Mr. Sebbo (not real name), 70 years, is diabetic. He discovered it 6 years ago. GWI caught up with him & he shared tips how he is managing. “It doesn’t have to be a death sentence” he says.
His story:
I was 64 years when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and I was in denial. I had never paid close attention to my blood sugar levels. I don’t know anyone who does until it is too late. I had followed my mother’s numbers as she became a diabetic in her 70’s, as a Type 2. But, not really. I was not serious.
Type 1 means a dependency on insulin shots to control blood sugar levels as it is released in your body. Pre-diabetes and Type 2 you can control with medicine (usually metformin or ozempic), diet and exercise. It is better to grab hold of this dreaded disease and manage it from the outset. I am Type 2 Diabetic & over the years I have developed some good habits to help keep mine under control.
My blood sugar numbers stay between a generally accepted range of 90-130, most of the time. I do get spikes in the morning, but rarely over 130. My late morning nos. are better, around 115 and in the afternoon/evening before my night meal, about 110-120. None of these are death sentence numbers, albeit higher than a ‘normal’ person.
AIC- try to keep below 6.5 (pre-diabetic). My last score was 6.7 in May which is below my fall nos. at 7.1 and 7.2.
In addition to only one metformin tablet (I take at about 8:00 p.m., 500 mgs., I tackle my condition with a good diet and exercise.
Both my grandfathers were diabetics so it is hard to combat genes in your body. My doctor told me that my exercise regimen over the years had most likely kept diabetes at bay until later in life.
In my view one has to incorporate a combination of exercise, medicine and diet to combat Type 2 diabetes.