people living with diabetes in
Qatar about how they are coping
as well as their efforts to prevent
lifelong complications.
By Noimot Olayiwola
|
It is a known fact that diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious condition that can lead to severe complications if not diagnosed early and treated properly.
People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing a number of serious health problems and consistently high blood glucose levels can lead to serious diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and teeth.
In addition, people with diabetes also have a higher risk of developing infections.
In almost all high-income countries, diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), more than 371mn people worldwide have diabetes and the number is said to be increasing in every country as half of people with diabetes are oblivious of their condition.
The IDF claimed that another 280mn people are at high risk of developing DM while half a billion people are expected to be living with diabetes by 2030. IDF also said that 4.8mn people die from diabetes and $47bn were spent due to diabetes in 2012 while half of those who died were aged below 60 years.
According to a population-based study by the Hamad Medical Corporation in 2009, the overall prevalence of DM among adult Qatari population showed that it was high at 16.7% with diagnosed DM being 10.7% and newly diagnosed DM 5.9%.
However, despite its seriousness, diabetes can be avoided or managed if certain precautions are observed.
Against this backdrop, Community spoke to some people living with diabetes in Qatar about how they are managing and coping with their condition as well as their efforts in preventing lifelong complications.
“I was in complete shock when I first learnt of my diagnosis with diabetes, though I was relatively too young at the time to know the implications of having diabetes, I still felt bad at the news,” Jordanian Yousef Mohamed said.
When Mohamed was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes here at the age of eight, he did not know that the condition will, later in life, give him a strong passion and determination to cater to other people like him.
According to him, he was able to overcome his melancholic feelings earlier than expected when he learnt that some of his cousins were already living with DM thus underscoring the importance of support groups in managing the condition.
“When I discovered that some of my cousins also have diabetes, I didn’t feel as lonely, but still anxious, especially being the only one affected in my own nuclear family,” he recalled.
“None of my parents or siblings have diabetes and I felt really sad in the beginning but later on I learnt to live with it with the help of my mother, who always ensures that I eat healthy and exercise regularly,” he added.
Mohamed maintained that having heard many scary tales about diabetics losing their limbs or eyesight due to diabetes, he became more determined to prevent complications by following his medicine regimes and sticking to a healthy lifestyle.
He disclosed that, good diet and regular exercise aside, he presently uses both diabetes pills and insulin injection to keep his condition under check.
“I ensure that I take my medications as prescribed and also create time to exercise regularly apart from having healthy meals and staying away from conditions that can make me susceptible to complications.”
Mohamed, who will be 22 years this December, will be completing 16 years of living with DM.
He now holds dear a dream of becoming a diabetes nurse or educator in the nearest future having applied to study Nursing at the University of Calgary-Qatar (UC-Q).
Earlier in 2010/2011, he had completed a formal training in computer science in his home country – Jordan.
“I really hope to gain admission into UC-Q so that I can be in a position to help people with diabetes as well as those suffering from other diseases,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, the story about diagnosis is different for 42-year-old Buthania from Jordan and 50-year-old Samia from Tunisia, who were both previously at risk for getting diabetes due to a family history.
Buthania, whose father and grandfather as well as maternal aunty, were already living with diabetes before she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Jordan at the age of 22, said the news of the diagnosis did not surprise her.
“I have always been prepared that one day I might have diabetes because it seems to run in the family, in both my paternal and maternal side. And I have always been having symptoms related to the condition. So, when I was diagnosed I took it in my stride,” she stated.
Though, individuals can experience different signs and symptoms of diabetes, and sometimes there may be no signs, some of the signs commonly experienced include frequent urination, excessive thirst, increased hunger, weight loss, tiredness, lack of interest and concentration, a tingling sensation or numbness in the hands or feet, blurred vision, frequent infections, slow-healing wounds, vomiting and stomach pain (often mistaken as flu).
The IDF states that development of type 1 diabetes is usually sudden and dramatic while the symptoms can often be mild or absent in people with type 2 diabetes, making the latter hard to detect.
Type 1 diabetes develops when the cells that produce insulin are destroyed by the individual’s own immune system and the body fails to produce insulin.
Approximately, 50% of people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed before they reach 18 years.
On the other hand, with type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 85-95% of all cases of diabetes, the body produces insufficient quantities of insulin and or insulin has a reduced effect on the muscle and liver cells.
This type is said to be growing at an epidemic rate, especially in developing countries.
Lifestyle risk factors for type 2 diabetes include physical inactivity and being overweight while other risk factors can include diabetes during pregnancy, family history, evidence of impaired glucose tolerance and being aged above 45 years.
Buthania, who has been in Doha for the past five years, said she experienced some symptoms before her diagnosis, but has not had any serious or life-threatening complications after knowing her status until she got married and started giving birth.
“The only periods I found difficult of all those years I have been living with diabetes were during my pregnancies. The last one was particularly tough for me,” Buthania, who had her last baby some three months ago recalled.
She had all her three daughters through caesarean sections due to some other health issues, she mentioned.
“Complications of diabetes can be prevented in pregnancy if a diabetic woman takes precautions three-six months before conception in order to reduce any possible complications that may occur during the course of the pregnancy,” Qatar Diabetes Association’s (QDA) Health Care head Dr Amel Adam explained.
She claimed that DM and its complications are largely preventable and there are proven and affordable interventions available.
Buthania also said that depending on her family members when she suffers low blood sugar and feeling weak to move and the ever changing insulin injections, were other challenges she has faced.
“It feels really emotional when my family, especially my little daughter, has to look after me when I am down and need some help to get back on. That is a part I don’t like about having this condition,” she lamented adding: “Initially, the insulin injections used to be taking through a vial and syringe, which was typically difficult as it takes a lot of time to draw the injection from the vial and also very painful to inject. But, I am glad that technology has assisted with that as we now have a painless injection in a shape of ball pen that you just jab yourself with,” she said.
Insulin is a hormone produced in the body by an organ called the pancreas, near the stomach.
Insulin is vital in controlling how the body uses carbohydrates and fats as food.
Samia, who has had gestational diabetes long before she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes some seven years ago, said she suffered from panic attacks on hearing the news: “I panicked because I erroneously thought that having diabetes automatically means you will have complications such as blindness (due to diabetes retinopathy) or kidney failure. I was very depressed.”
Samia has been living in Qatar for 29 years.
She claimed to have remained complications-free due to lifestyle changes saying: “Initially, I also thought going on diet will mean not eating many of the food that I love, but I was later made to realise by QDA’s nutritionist that that is not the case and that a diabetic can eat any food but in small portions and with moderation.”
A long time Doha resident hair stylist and a mother of four, she maintained that controlling her diabetes through healthy diet and regularly exercise, has weaned her off taking four different types of pills and she is now wholly dependent on insulin injection.
Eating three to five pieces of vegetables and fruits per day can help prevent diabetes.
All the three diabetics maintained that healthy and active living have helped them in managing diabetes beyond their expectations.
“Exercising has helped me a great deal and, in fact, I believe that having diabetes has made me more conscious of my health and that of my family,” Buthania, married to a South African, said while mentioning that one of her daughter has thyroid gland issue.
They all commended the QDA for being there for them when it mattered most as well as making available gymnasiums where they can exercise.
Between 50-60 women visit the QDA gym (female section) every month, according to the gym trainer Fatima Hadouch.
The QDA, alongside others such as the Supreme Council of Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Healthcare Corporation, Maersk Oil Qatar and Novo Nordisk, is member of Action on Diabetes (AoD) initiative, which was launched two years ago.
The initiative aims to promote awareness about diabetes aside educating the medical staff as well as diabetics about their condition.