Coping with diabetes...
Diabetes Type 2, often referred to as maturity onset Diabetes, develops most commonly in adults.
In the UK 3% of people aged over 40 and 10% of those over 65 years old live with the condition.
Clare Mehmet is 60 and is a Type 2 diabetic, and finds that being organised is the most effective way of coping.
‘You have to be in control as much as you can and if you think ahead a lot of the time you can be in control.’ Although, as any Type 2 diabetic will know, being fully prepared isn’t easy. Clare would, typically, make sure that ‘in my bag was my glucose gel in case I have a hypo’ and also ‘take my blood monitoring book and my hand held record book that gives the part b of my injection.’ This allows her to have all the information at hand–a must for any diabetic in case anything should happen.
She has also learnt to adapt her daily routine to accommodate her condition. This involves taking insulin injections four times each day and checking her blood sugar levels at least once - often more. And finally, making sure that she always stocks fruit juice and coca cola - just in case.
Learning to manage her own condition has enabled Clare to offer her services as a volunteer for Diabetes UK. Using the coping techniques gained through her own experience Clare now teaches others how to manage and take control of their Diabetes.
