Gloria's Story - Diabetes

INTRODUCTION (:03)

My name is Gloria, I’m 50 years old, and I have diabetes. I have a strong family history of diabetes on both sides – maternal and paternal.

DIAGNOSIS (:13)

I was first diagnosed about 10 years ago. I didn’t take it seriously and I continued to eat what I wanted, did not do any kind of exercising, but as time went on I could see the excess weight gain. I could see that I was out of breath. I knew I had to do something about it.

NUTRITION (:36)

I’ve lost 50 plus pounds and I’ve made a lot of changes. I used to eat a lot of fatty foods; the wrong foods – candy, a lot of pies, sugary things. I always liked vegetables but it was how I was preparing them; instead of the fried okra, fried zucchini, I grill them, I boil them, I even bake certain vegetables.

EXERCISE (1:03)

I’ve changed my exercising habits dramatically. In the past, I‘d never had an exercise routine. The most exercise I probably would get would be to walk to the bus stop. Now I incorporate exercise three to four times a week, doing twenty minutes maybe on a treadmill, thirty minutes on a stationary bike, I lift weights.

MONITORING DIABETES (1:28)

On a daily basis, I check my blood sugar levels twice a day. It’s usually in the morning when I wake up and at lunch or supper time. I also take insulin once a day. I used to take it twice a day. And the reason that it’s gone down is because my blood sugar levels are stabilizing. The exercise has helped me lose a lot of weight and changing my eating habits has helped me to try to remedy myself off medication.

PREVENTING COMPLICATIONS (2:01)

There are a number of complications that are associated with diabetes such as foot problems, blindness, heart disease, kidney failure. I’m really into preventative care and when I go to the doctor every three months I get checked for my A1Cs, my calcium, my blood pressure. He also checks my feet to make sure there’s no excess skin, raw skin, sores. I now routinely get flu shots and I have not gotten the flu. It’s another one of those preventative measures that I take.

OUTLOOK (2:41)

I vow to myself that I’m going to keep the weight loss off because I don’t have any grandkids and I want to be around when I do. So I just decided that healthy living is the best way to go. I’m in it to win it.