My father let diabetes ruin his health, but then he overcame it

My father is a middle-class man and runs a small clothes business to support his family. In his mid-40s, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

At first, he didn’t take his disease seriously. But then it caused a drastic change in his life.

My father’s diabetes diagnosis

My father is a self-made man. He worked hard all his life to support his wife and 4 children, doing all he could to manage our family’s expenses. But because he was working so hard, he was ignoring his own health.

His negative symptoms started with rapid weight loss. From there, he started to become easily fatigued and weak. He was also urinating more often than usual, felt dehydrated all the time, was dizzy and hungry, and had blurred vision.

It got so bad he couldn’t do any kind of strenuous work and had to leave his shop. It was at this point that our family insisted he see a doctor, who diagnosed him with type 2 diabetes.

The effect of ignoring his condition on my father’s health

Because my father didn’t take his disease seriously, he didn’t take many preventative measures against it. He avoided treatment, didn’t take any medications after his initial diagnosis and didn’t try to cure his disease.

Eventually, his health became so bad our family had to take care of him. He’d stopped eating properly and just lay on his bed all the time. He also felt miserable because he wasn’t able to take care of his family and had to depend on us for physical tasks.

But his health kept getting worse. He developed hypertension, urinary tract infections, and other related problems.

Even then, he didn’t make any changes to his diet or lifestyle. He kept eating normal food, which wasn’t suitable for type 2 diabetics.

The effect of diabetes on my father’s personal life

As the only breadwinner of our family, my father felt anxious and hopeless. And his illness made him irritable and angry all the time.

As he also considered himself the guardian of our family, he didn’t like to seek any kind of help when it came to physical tasks.

And viewing his illness as an extra expense, he chose to ignore it and not take care of his health.

But our family didn’t lose hope and took care of his health and diet as much as we could. We were constantly worried about both his physical and mental health, especially as it kept getting worse and worse.

It got so bad his doctors recommended he take insulin to control his blood sugar level because it was always high.

Finally, my father recognised the stress and worry he was placing on his family and decided to take care of himself.

Overcoming his diabetes through self-care

When my father decided to take care of his own health, he regained some of his independence. He made lifestyle adjustments and started to take regular walks and do light exercises. He also made his own diet chart and started to keep track of his blood sugar level, checking it 3 times a day to manage his insulin injections. And he studied his body and symptoms, maintaining a balanced diet with proper medication and exercise.

Finally, he started moving back towards a normal, healthy life.

Recovering from diabetes

After a few months, my father was able to take proper care of his health by himself.

He understood his body, how he reacted to medication, and how to maintain a balanced, healthy diet. He managed his disease by dividing his diet into smaller portions and tracking it closely to avoid high or low blood sugar levels.

Maintaining his healthy lifestyle and keeping an eye on his blood sugar level, he was able to progress from taking insulin to taking medication twice a day before meals.

Final thoughts

Diabetes may sometimes last a lifetime, but it doesn’t have to define your life.

My father realised that he was the only person who could take care of his health and overcome this disease. And when he did, he chose not to give up and to take care of his health by following a healthy lifestyle and taking proper medication.

This change in mindset not only helped him recover his health but also had a financial benefit – He no longer needed to take insulin and carry that expense.

Being able to keep his blood sugar level in the normal range without insulin was a big step towards achieving self-health. It allowed my father to go back to work and start living a normal, healthy life again. However, he remained self-aware of his health condition and regularly observed his blood sugar level, diet and lifestyle – He knew that by maintaining this balance, he could avoid the chronic effects of diabetes.

My father proved that everyone can overcome this disease. You just need to take preventative action early and recognise that the only one who has the power to beat this diabetes is you, the patient.