By 2004 I became a diabetic.
No diabetes in my family what so ever for three or four generations. My sisters who are doctors said my diabetes was brought on by medications that were prescribed post stroke also called drug induced diabetes, but endocrinologists in sydney said it was Type 2 Diabetes and I was another number to add to their queue of patients. You see them once in three months and pay them a fat wad and they review your BSL charts for a minute, give you a pep talk on diet and exercise and ask you to maintain the dosage or raise the medication and often ask you to go and see a dietician who gives sermons on Glycemic Indices of various foods.
No diabetes in my family what so ever for three or four generations. My sisters who are doctors said my diabetes was brought on by medications that were prescribed post stroke also called drug induced diabetes, but endocrinologists in sydney said it was Type 2 Diabetes and I was another number to add to their queue of patients. You see them once in three months and pay them a fat wad and they review your BSL charts for a minute, give you a pep talk on diet and exercise and ask you to maintain the dosage or raise the medication and often ask you to go and see a dietician who gives sermons on Glycemic Indices of various foods.
Within a year I was prescribed max dosage of Metformin or Diabex. And in another year I graduated to fast acting Insulin starting with some small dosage. By the end of two years I was on max 1000mgX3 Diabex a day and 30units of NovoRapid x 3 times a day. Yes 90 units of fast acting insulin, enough to kill an Ox but the insulin did nothing for me. It was not that I was eating much, Medications just would not bring the blood sugar levels down.
My endocrinologist told me I had developed very very high insulin resistance. Why I asked and she had no answers..
It is your immune system playing up she said. All we can do is do our best to keep the blood sugar levels down to avoid other diabetes related complications like impaired kidney function, retinal detachments and neuropathy etc and I had no choice but to take insulin as required to bring blood sugar levels down and HbAIc to an acceptable level.
My endocrinologist told me I had developed very very high insulin resistance. Why I asked and she had no answers..
It is your immune system playing up she said. All we can do is do our best to keep the blood sugar levels down to avoid other diabetes related complications like impaired kidney function, retinal detachments and neuropathy etc and I had no choice but to take insulin as required to bring blood sugar levels down and HbAIc to an acceptable level.
As if this was not enough my endocrinologist was not happy that my fasting blood sugars on waking up was as high as 10 ( 180) so she put me on Lantus ( Long acting Insulin ) I was to take before going to bed. I started with 5 units and it went up to 45 units at night but fasting blood sugar levels would not come down. It was between 8.0 and 10.0 So was asked to take one more shot in the mornings too and this dosage also went up to 45 units.
Here I was taking 3, 1000mg Diabex a day ( max dosage) plus 3 x 30 units of fast acting insulin with my three meals and 45 units x 2 of Lantus long acting insulin and my weight went up from 85 kilos to 110 kilos by 2011.
Here is some evidence as to what Diabetes can do in a matter of years
Here is some evidence as to what Diabetes can do in a matter of years
Healthy me at my 50th,with Mithu, Son Anand and Nephew Shyam
January 2000 before my Stroke after my mothers funeral. This was exactly when Kamal Hassan had released his movie Alavandhar. ( With my Older sister Dr Sharmila)
(the writing was on the wall but I just did not see it )
(the writing was on the wall but I just did not see it )
2004- Diagnosed as diabetic
2006
July 2011 - 110 kilos Thanks to drugs and insulin.
(With my Younger sister Dr Urmila who was a brilliant Gasteroenterologist and Anaesthetist who died in January 2012.)
(With my Younger sister Dr Urmila who was a brilliant Gasteroenterologist and Anaesthetist who died in January 2012.)
My older sister Nirmala passed away on 30th June 2011 and this affected me so much that I became a pure vegetarian and decided to eat just two meals a day and stopped taking all insulin. My doctor did not agree but I was not going to take any more insulin . Period..
By September 2012, my weight came down to 86 kilos down from 110 kilos. My endocrinologist saw me and asked me how I did it.
I told her if my dog needs just one meal a day why do I need three or more ? I also told her that I had stopped insulin altogether and was taking two bitter melon capsules before each meal. She told me there was no need for me to see her unless I needed to. Have not seen her since.
I told her if my dog needs just one meal a day why do I need three or more ? I also told her that I had stopped insulin altogether and was taking two bitter melon capsules before each meal. She told me there was no need for me to see her unless I needed to. Have not seen her since.
At Anand's wedding in Sydney on 11th Nov 2012 with Mithu and Ramanujam - looking good at 87 kilos
My son Anand made me break my fast and eat non veg at his wedding in Nov 2012 and my weight has crept up slowly to 95 kilos and along with weight increase and all the partying and dinners etc I needed insulin again as my HbA1c had gone up from 7.2 to 7.8.
Dec 2013 at Kumarakon Reunion
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