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| Daily pricking is something that diabetics like me would have to learn to live by. |
For years, I didn't know I had diabetes. That's because seldom do I have my physical check up. And it's something that I regret even up to this day because had I known I was diabetic early on, then maybe my diabetic retinopathy wouldn't have reached its advanced stage. But I'm still grateful that I still have my vision although not as clearly as it used to be. And sadly, diabetic retinopathy is irreversible. I just need to make sure my blood sugar's maintained and keeping them low means my eyesight will be okay.
Over the years, diabetes has become one of the top causes of death in the Philippines according World Health Organization’s 2012 statistical profile of the country. The International Diabetes Federation also notes that the Philippines has become one of the world’s emerging diabetes hotspots, ranking as the top 15 in the world for diabetes prevalence where 4 million people are diagnosed with the diseases, and possibly a large unknown number of those who are unaware that they have diabetes. While diabetes can be passed down through heredity, factors like having an unhealthy lifestyle and becoming overweight or obese may contribute in developing diabetes, especially those who are in their middle age or older.
Diabetes could be kept at bay, if
people would just lead on to a better and a healthier lifestyle, like Lumen
Tamayo who was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes after she gave birth to her
second child. It wasn’t easy to take in at first, but she turned around all of
these ill-feelings about her diabetes and used it as a motivation to lead a
healthier lifestyle. As she started taking regular exercise and preparing more
healthy meals for herself, she gained a more positive disposition in dealing
with her diabetes. And knowing that stress could shoot up her sugar level, she
got into short meditations to ease off the tension. Here watch her testimonial video on how she had managed to change her lifestyle as well as eating habits:
