Living with diabetes: Amy's story

Examiner

“My mom had diabetes so I knew my risk was high. I had a glucose tolerance test and although the doctor did not even call me about it, I felt rotten for 2 days.” So began the battle over 10 years ago. Amy was fighting on several fronts. She saw diabetes looming on the horizon and like so many of us, was stressing about the future. Battles with weight, battles with diet, personal stresses; like many people she was not insured through work and the thought of being diagnosed as diabetic was, perhaps, more terrifying than the disease itself.

. “So tired, just exhausted all the time.” She remembered. “Later, someone told me about the Atkins Diet”. Amy lost weight but immediately gained it back. This is not uncommon as the diet involves avoiding carbohydrates and this leads to quick but often unsustainable weight loss. Nevertheless, the diet gave her more energy than she had felt in a while – so she tried to stay with it. The results were uneven. “Eventually all diabetics cheat,” she admitted. “Holidays will always be a time of cheating. It’s unavoidable and it is silly to think you can tough it out for the rest of your life”.

Read the entire story about Amy.