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A doctor speaks – an introduction to diabetes type 2

Controlling diabetes :
Food, eating and diets
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Controlling diabetes with oral medications
Coping with insulin
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Managing hypos
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The long view :
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Misunderstandings about diabetes

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Diabetes Type 2

People's stories

Aged 46 - 55

Paul - Interview 20

Paul - Interview 20

Age at Interview: 52
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 38
Background: Paul is an aircraft engineer and is married with 4 grown-up children aged 34, 32, 27 and 25 years. Ethnic background/Nationality: British.

Brief outline:Paul was diagnosed 14 years ago when he was in hospital for a minor op. He takes metformin and uses other medication to control blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

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He feels resigned to having diabetes and prefers to focus on controlling it as much as possible.
Print Have you ever wondered why you have got diabetes? Oh yeah. I wonder all the time, you think 'why me?' Probably it's like, it's probably like any other disease. If somebody goes to the hospital and they say you have got cancer, they say why me? But you can't answer it. There is no answer to it, it's you. It could have been your lifestyle. It could be inherited from your family. It could be through stress. It could be through anything. But you can't say how did I get it? Because you don't know. So you've just got to live with it. And that's it. You are diabetic. End of story. And there's nothing you do about it. You can worry about it as much as you like, you've got it and that is it. So you've just got to live with it, get on with it. Yes, you do. I mean when he said to me, you know, “You have got sugar.” You think, “Oh why me? What have I done, to deserve this?” You probably haven't done anything. It's probably like they say they jump a generation. Probably your grandparents had it. Perhaps you grandparents didn't have it. You might be the first of the family ever to have it. It could be from anything.

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