I never thought I’d be free of diabetes
SHIVALI MODHA, 38, is an accountant. She lives in Barnet, North London, with her in-laws, her husband and their two daughters aged ten and eight. She says: MY DAD had type 2 diabetes, so I knew what was in store for me. I was diagnosed aged just 26 and it was a huge shock. In my culture, there is this idea that if you are sick, disabled or impaired in some way, then it is your fault. You are under pressure to deal with it yourself, quietly, behind closed doors. Diabetes impacted my marriage, too. I completely lost my self-esteem and any feelings of attractiveness. Everything became so medicinal — the injecting, the hypos.
My husband became my carer and it did not feel like a sexual or romantic relationship.
It was almost as if diabetes became the third person in our relationship.
When I heard that it might be possible to put your diabetes into remission through diet I could not believe I would ever be able to get rid of it after 11 years of tablets and injections.
But I threw myself into a strict diet and took up running. My weight went down to 9 st and my blood sugar control started to improve and I was able to reduce my diabetes medication.
With a few ups and downs along the way, by 2018 I was told my diabetes was in remission.
Now, I know that you can be proactive about it and can do something to reverse the impact of type 2 diabetes.
I continue to watch what I eat and stay active to maintain both my weight loss and keep my diabetes in control.
I think it is important to understand that I will always be diabetic.
But by sustaining my lifestyle, I will be able to have control over it and improve the long-term prognosis.