Name: Ashok ChandavarkarOccupation: Director of a large IT companyMy wife Devna was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2019.DiagnosisBoth my wife and I were workaholics and did not devote time for our health. In spite of knowing that high blood sugar could lead to a diagnosis of Diabetes, we put off undergoing an annual health check. Finally, in 2019, we wanted to check our health parameters and ensure our well-being. So we underwent a health check-up. It was during these tests that Devna was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She was prescribed medication to manage her blood sugar levels..Impact of the diagnosisSince her diagnosis till 2020, the fact that my wife had Diabetes did not significantly alter our lifestyle. In fact, if I were to be frank, we viewed her diagnosis as a stigma and hid it from family and friends.Our lives changed when we got a wake-up call in January of 2020. Devna had to be rushed to the E.R. with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA - a serious complication of Diabetes that occurs when body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones) and an HbAlc of 11.5. This life critical event resulted in us drastically changing many things in our daily life - our dietary habits, increasing focus on our individual health and monitoring health parameters continuously. We have since then consulted a battery of doctors, in a speciality tertiary care facility, every three months. We have also changed our family roles so that we can support each other and our daughter.Managing DiabetesPrior to 2020, we checked health parameters once a year. Since 2020, after Devna's life critical event, we started monitoring blood sugar levels six times a day. We have maintained an excel sheet since then. Devna also undergoes the HbA 1c test every three months to look at the longer-term changes. Since January of 2022, we monitor Devna's sugar levels twice a day but will continue getting the HbA 1c done every three months.When Devna has low blood sugar levels she experiences symptoms like shivering and dizziness. When her blood sugar levels are very high, she experiences symptoms like reflux, vomiting, breathlessness and an inability to walk (experiences in January 2020 when she had diabetic ketoacidosis)MedicationDevna does not require insulin currently. There was a period immediately after the DKA incident where there was a need to use insulin for around three months. I used to support her by monitoring and managing her insulin. However, over time she started to do this on her own. We had made a travel kit that had all the necessary shots.We realised that it is very difficult for women to take an injection in a sterile environment when going to a restaurant or anyplace outside of home across India. Devna used insulin pens that had fixed amounts injected and the needles had to be replaced. The insulin dosage, we used, was as per the prescription given by the endocrinologist.She uses an app to monitor her food intake and to measure carbohydrates in her food. One of the most drastic change in her dietary habits was her completely stopping intake of carbohydrates and sugar/sugar substitutes. For the past two years, Devna has not eaten rice or rice products, wheat,cereals of any form. Her diet has largely been proteins, soups, salads, nuts, a few pulses and legumes and she is very happy with this change..Fitness routineDevna manages her own diet and exercise regime and has a self-control that is unbeatable. She has been using the Apple watch to monitor the number of steps and kilometres she walks in a day. Most of the days, she goes for a 45-minutes' walk after every meal, irrespective of the weather conditions (Extremely hot, rain, cold). With this routine she manages to clock around 25K steps and around 15 to 18 kilometres a day.She has completely changed her sleep schedule. Earlier, she slept for only4-5 hours in the night but now it is at least nine hours of good sleep. She has consciously worked on her stress levels through meditation sessions and essential spiritual reading of texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.DietDevna has been cooking food with low to no oil. For this, we invested in her favourite cooking apparatus called the "Instant pot We now have three of these. In addition, we invested in an air fryer. and salad bowls.We buy farm-fresh, organic vegetables. The upside is that all of us eat healthy, unprocessed, whole foods.However, Devna looks out for us and ensures that we get our fair share of home-made goodies (cakes, cookies,pizzas, dim sums, steamed fish, homemade tandoori chicken etc.). Even if we go out to eat at a restaurant, Devna's diet does not change even though we may order things that she loves to eat. Her self-control is immense. Devna's daily meal plan is as follows:Breakfast at 11 a.m. which includes tea, Nuts (5 pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashew each), 1 biscuit (Marie).At 11:30 a.m. she has green tea with cinnamon. At 2:30 p.m., Devna has lunch which includes a salad, 100 g. apple, one bowl of cooked vegetables with lentils/sprouts with zero oil, green tea with cinnamon or two boiled eggs. At 5:30 p.m.,Devna has sugar-free tea or coffee, two low-carb almond biscuits and a few nuts. At 7:00 p.m., she has dinner which includes a salad, two pieces of protein (fish or chicken}/ low fat paneer/ tofu/ lentils with vegetables and green tea with cinnamon with a few nuts.Change is goodThere is no holds barred when it comes to supporting my wife on managing her diet or medications. I have a weekly pill dispenser where her medication is loaded by me every three days for her morning and night requirements. She decides what she wants to eat and since she has immense self control there is no requirement to monitor her diet. However, we have reduced the amount of processed food that is stored in the house significantly. I make sure that she does not miss out on her visits to the hospital to meet an eye surgeon, a gynaecologist and an internal medicine specialist as it is important to understand the inter-disciplinary impact of this condition. Devna is my Wikipedia' on Diabetes. I don't need to read or learn anything and depend on her advice. I think she has read every possible book available on diet,co-morbidity risks and dependent exercise routines. In addition, she has been interacting with multiple experts in those domains through various forums.However, she does not ape them but tries out what is best suited for her which can be done as she was monitoring her sugar levels six times a day for nearly two years.To concludeEach person is different so it is very difficult to give advice on this matter. If your partner has significant self-control and discipline, then you should just adjust your lifestyle a bit to ensure that their new routines and dietary habits are accommodated. If, however, the person does not have self control, then it is for you to make sure that visits to the specialists are on a three monthly basis.• It is important to monitor HbA1c every three months.• Daily blood sugar monitoring (fasting, post-food and post-dinner) should be done and recorded in a spreadsheet.• Identify and eliminate processed food from your pantry.• Make sure that you motivate your lovedone to exercise (go for family walks after every meal).• Given the stigma associated with diabetes, it is important to shield your partner from any insensitive comments that are made by family and friends.• Make sure your kids understand the situation so that they learn early enough to know what is good for their health and get nourishing meals with tonnes of affection.
Name: Ashok ChandavarkarOccupation: Director of a large IT companyMy wife Devna was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2019.DiagnosisBoth my wife and I were workaholics and did not devote time for our health. In spite of knowing that high blood sugar could lead to a diagnosis of Diabetes, we put off undergoing an annual health check. Finally, in 2019, we wanted to check our health parameters and ensure our well-being. So we underwent a health check-up. It was during these tests that Devna was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She was prescribed medication to manage her blood sugar levels..Impact of the diagnosisSince her diagnosis till 2020, the fact that my wife had Diabetes did not significantly alter our lifestyle. In fact, if I were to be frank, we viewed her diagnosis as a stigma and hid it from family and friends.Our lives changed when we got a wake-up call in January of 2020. Devna had to be rushed to the E.R. with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA - a serious complication of Diabetes that occurs when body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones) and an HbAlc of 11.5. This life critical event resulted in us drastically changing many things in our daily life - our dietary habits, increasing focus on our individual health and monitoring health parameters continuously. We have since then consulted a battery of doctors, in a speciality tertiary care facility, every three months. We have also changed our family roles so that we can support each other and our daughter.Managing DiabetesPrior to 2020, we checked health parameters once a year. Since 2020, after Devna's life critical event, we started monitoring blood sugar levels six times a day. We have maintained an excel sheet since then. Devna also undergoes the HbA 1c test every three months to look at the longer-term changes. Since January of 2022, we monitor Devna's sugar levels twice a day but will continue getting the HbA 1c done every three months.When Devna has low blood sugar levels she experiences symptoms like shivering and dizziness. When her blood sugar levels are very high, she experiences symptoms like reflux, vomiting, breathlessness and an inability to walk (experiences in January 2020 when she had diabetic ketoacidosis)MedicationDevna does not require insulin currently. There was a period immediately after the DKA incident where there was a need to use insulin for around three months. I used to support her by monitoring and managing her insulin. However, over time she started to do this on her own. We had made a travel kit that had all the necessary shots.We realised that it is very difficult for women to take an injection in a sterile environment when going to a restaurant or anyplace outside of home across India. Devna used insulin pens that had fixed amounts injected and the needles had to be replaced. The insulin dosage, we used, was as per the prescription given by the endocrinologist.She uses an app to monitor her food intake and to measure carbohydrates in her food. One of the most drastic change in her dietary habits was her completely stopping intake of carbohydrates and sugar/sugar substitutes. For the past two years, Devna has not eaten rice or rice products, wheat,cereals of any form. Her diet has largely been proteins, soups, salads, nuts, a few pulses and legumes and she is very happy with this change..Fitness routineDevna manages her own diet and exercise regime and has a self-control that is unbeatable. She has been using the Apple watch to monitor the number of steps and kilometres she walks in a day. Most of the days, she goes for a 45-minutes' walk after every meal, irrespective of the weather conditions (Extremely hot, rain, cold). With this routine she manages to clock around 25K steps and around 15 to 18 kilometres a day.She has completely changed her sleep schedule. Earlier, she slept for only4-5 hours in the night but now it is at least nine hours of good sleep. She has consciously worked on her stress levels through meditation sessions and essential spiritual reading of texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.DietDevna has been cooking food with low to no oil. For this, we invested in her favourite cooking apparatus called the "Instant pot We now have three of these. In addition, we invested in an air fryer. and salad bowls.We buy farm-fresh, organic vegetables. The upside is that all of us eat healthy, unprocessed, whole foods.However, Devna looks out for us and ensures that we get our fair share of home-made goodies (cakes, cookies,pizzas, dim sums, steamed fish, homemade tandoori chicken etc.). Even if we go out to eat at a restaurant, Devna's diet does not change even though we may order things that she loves to eat. Her self-control is immense. Devna's daily meal plan is as follows:Breakfast at 11 a.m. which includes tea, Nuts (5 pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashew each), 1 biscuit (Marie).At 11:30 a.m. she has green tea with cinnamon. At 2:30 p.m., Devna has lunch which includes a salad, 100 g. apple, one bowl of cooked vegetables with lentils/sprouts with zero oil, green tea with cinnamon or two boiled eggs. At 5:30 p.m.,Devna has sugar-free tea or coffee, two low-carb almond biscuits and a few nuts. At 7:00 p.m., she has dinner which includes a salad, two pieces of protein (fish or chicken}/ low fat paneer/ tofu/ lentils with vegetables and green tea with cinnamon with a few nuts.Change is goodThere is no holds barred when it comes to supporting my wife on managing her diet or medications. I have a weekly pill dispenser where her medication is loaded by me every three days for her morning and night requirements. She decides what she wants to eat and since she has immense self control there is no requirement to monitor her diet. However, we have reduced the amount of processed food that is stored in the house significantly. I make sure that she does not miss out on her visits to the hospital to meet an eye surgeon, a gynaecologist and an internal medicine specialist as it is important to understand the inter-disciplinary impact of this condition. Devna is my Wikipedia' on Diabetes. I don't need to read or learn anything and depend on her advice. I think she has read every possible book available on diet,co-morbidity risks and dependent exercise routines. In addition, she has been interacting with multiple experts in those domains through various forums.However, she does not ape them but tries out what is best suited for her which can be done as she was monitoring her sugar levels six times a day for nearly two years.To concludeEach person is different so it is very difficult to give advice on this matter. If your partner has significant self-control and discipline, then you should just adjust your lifestyle a bit to ensure that their new routines and dietary habits are accommodated. If, however, the person does not have self control, then it is for you to make sure that visits to the specialists are on a three monthly basis.• It is important to monitor HbA1c every three months.• Daily blood sugar monitoring (fasting, post-food and post-dinner) should be done and recorded in a spreadsheet.• Identify and eliminate processed food from your pantry.• Make sure that you motivate your lovedone to exercise (go for family walks after every meal).• Given the stigma associated with diabetes, it is important to shield your partner from any insensitive comments that are made by family and friends.• Make sure your kids understand the situation so that they learn early enough to know what is good for their health and get nourishing meals with tonnes of affection.
