Could you be one of the 18,000 people in Lambeth and Southwark who have Type 2 diabetes without knowing it? The condition already affects 22,000 local people and that number is set to rise to 35,000 by 2015, so it's worth being aware of the symptoms.
The three most common symptoms of diabetes are:
- The need to wee frequently
- Feeling thirsty all the time
- An unexplained increase in appetite
If you are experiencing these symptoms then visit your GP to get yourself tested. But even if you are diagnosed with diabetes there is plenty you can do to manage your condition and continue to live life to the full.
Here we talk to two local women who have Type 2 diabetes about how they manage their condition and how attending a local Expert Patient Programme (EPP) course helped them to come to terms with living with diabetes.
Ann's story
Ann Munro (pictured right) from Southwark is 57 and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes around 10 years ago.
“I found out I had diabetes after going to the doctor for a routine check up. I mentioned that I had been feeling very tired and kept needing to go for a wee. It turns out these are symptoms of diabetes and my doctor sent me for a blood test which showed that I had Type 2 diabetes.
“I saw a dietician and nurse who gave me advice on diet and exercise, but that approach didn’t work for me. So I was put on Metformin tablets, which do control my diabetes. To be honest I don’t find having diabetes affects my life that much, though it is hard to watch what I eat all the time as I do love my food.
“A while after I was diagnosed I hit a bit of a rough patch. I was feeling very low so my dietician recommended the Lambeth Expert Patient Programme. This is a free six-week course for anyone in Lambeth who has a long-term health condition. It teaches you the skills you need to manage your condition better as well as introducing you to other people who are going through the same thing as you.
“Before I went I thought it would just be a load of health professionals who didn’t have a clue what I was going through telling me what to do. I went along anyway and found myself bawling my eyes out because I was so overwhelmed to finally meet other people who had all been in the same situation as me and knew how I was feeling.
“I did that course six years ago now and the people I met there are still friends now. It’s the best thing I have ever done. It has changed my life. Talking to people who knew how much the illness can bring you down helped so much. I found the depression I felt after my diagnosis was the hardest part of diabetes. The course took that away and now I can cope so much better.
“Three years ago I was approached to become a volunteer tutor on the EPP course myself. When I run courses I love seeing the change in people over the six weeks. On week one they come in looking miserable with their heads bent low, but the sixth week they are smiling and walking tall. Short of winning the lottery seeing that is the best feeling in the world.”
Melanie's story
Melanie Francis (pictured right), 45 is from Herne Hill. She found out she had Type 2 diabetes in 2003.
“I found out I had diabetes by accident. I had been feeling so tired that I had even been passing out in the street. I went to my GP to try to find out what was wrong, but the tests came back negative for diabetes. Then I went to a specialist for another condition and a nurse took a urine test that came back with high levels of protein, which is a sign of diabetes.
“I then went for more blood tests and was finally diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. But finding out what was wrong made me feel worse. I just thought I was going to die. I went into denial and spiraled into a deep depression.
“I was put on Metformin tablets, but in a way that was the worst thing for me. As soon as I started taking them I just assumed I was cured and didn’t have diabetes anymore. I didn’t understand anything about diabetes and how to manage it back then.
“When I went to my hospital appointments I was so confused I didn’t take anything in. I felt as if I had no voice and didn’t want to ask questions as I thought it would make me look stupid.
“It was about this time that I heard about the EPP course from a friend of mine who had ME and had done it herself. She told me I should go along, but I wasn’t interested, as I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me.
“For 18 months she kept on at me to go on the course. In the end it was the change in her that persuaded me to give it a try. She had been so quiet and lacking in energy, but she really changed for the better, becoming much more confident and outgoing.
“When I went along to the first session I finally felt as if I wasn’t alone. There were people going through the same things as me and I could learn from them. I picked up ideas about how to manage my diabetes that I would never have thought of myself.
“After I finished the course I was approached to become a tutor myself. At first I just thought ‘No way. I can’t do that’. But just by being offered that chance I started to feel like I had something to give. After feeling as if I was dead when I first found out I had diabetes, I began to feel alive again.
“Now I am not only a tutor, I also assess other tutors and I am planning to become a trainer so I can train up new tutors. If you had told me where I would be now when I was first diagnosed, I would never have believed you, but the course really did change my life.”
