Struggle for diabetic patients continues

BULAWAYO — Diabetes mellitus is one of the most expensive diseases to maintain and its prevalence is continuously rising affecting the quality of life of people with the disease and their life expectancy.

Diabetes is a condition where by the body fails to utilise the ingested glucose properly. This could be due to lack of the hormone insulin or because the insulin that is available is not working effectively.

There are two types of diabetes — Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and occurs at a younger age or childhood. In these patients there is complete lack of the hormone insulin that mandates external administration of the hormone regularly as treatment. Type 1 diabetes mellitus requires one to inject themselves thrice a day before meals so as to regulate their glucose levels.

Around 75 percent of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes mellitus. This was earlier termed non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus. The number of people with Type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing. In Type 2 diabetes, not enough insulin is produced or the insulin that is made by the body is insufficient to meet the needs of the body. Obesity or being overweight predisposes to Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Charles Gwitira, a medical doctor, pointed out that diabetes was a disease that required one to change their diet and needed patients to take note of the amount of carbohydrates that they induced and that it could lead to strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure.

“Diabetes mellitus long-term causes include blindness, strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease leading to non-healing ulcers and possible lower limb amputations.

Socially, diabetic patients become restricted to certain diets, have a burden of having to stick to taking medicines for the rest of their lives. Relatives are also burdened in having to take care of diseased person when they get the long-term complications of blindness, stroke,” said Gwitira. He also pointed out that one of the disadvantages of diabetes was that it resulted in the slow healing of wounds.

“Slow healing of wounds in diabetic patients is caused by diabetic vasculopathy and immunopathy. Increased level of sugar in the blood causes its penetrations into small blood vessel wall and immune cells. Vessel walls harden and their lumens get smaller causing reduced blood flow to tissues therefore poor healing,” said Gwitira.

The bizarre contradictions of junk food being cheaper than healthy food combined with a bombardment of advertising — especially toward children — make it a challenge even for motivated people to eat healthfully. Sugary drinks in monster-size containers abound. And our fixation with screens large and small keeps us increasingly sedentary.

Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint. Although there have been a flurry of life changes right now, diabetes is something one will live with for the rest of their life. One will always have to be cognisant of what they eat. They will have to keep track of medications, glucose levels, carbohydrate intake, doctors’ appointments, exercise and weight. 

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