My name is Tony Kreit and this is my Writing-box. This is not a commercial site. It is a place where I intend to Exhibit as much of my own work as possible as well as entertain myself, and hopefully other people. I make no apologies for this because I enjoy writing but I also feel that there should be havens in the internet where one can simply stop and think awhile and not be pestered commercially by random adverts. This is my place and yours! Don’t get me wrong! I love the internet it’s wonderfully informative but you cannot go anywhere without the commercial experience following you around. updated 15/December/2019 .TK.
Scroll Down past this introduction for My Diabetes Journey.
Introduction
My Name is Tony Kreit and I would like to welcome you to my website. I am using the site firstly as a space to display some of my own work. I do not sell anything but you are very welcome to browse. I do not permit any advertising so you can treat it as a space away from commercial pressures.
You can contact me on – [email protected]
Or you can use [email protected]
The above is the cover page of my first book, A ROAD RAN THROUGH IT published on Amazon last year and available on Amazon under my name or the book title. T. K. 08-05-18
I began my education seriously in 1985 at the age of 46. I began what became a five-year part-time Honours Degree with the Open University in Psychology and Child development. During those five years I also undertook a Social Work qualification full-time at Bromley College. These were both completed in 1991. After a year or so I began a two-year taught MSc. course on Psychology in Organisations at Goldsmiths College, London University. During the following years and up to my retirement from full-time work in 2004 I studied contact style Karate under my Sensei Phil Hayman. Under his instruction I achieved a 1st Dan grading in 2003. My final university degree was an Honours Degree in the Study of Foreign Languages. This was completed in 2014 and ended with a degree ceremony in the beautiful french city of Versailles.
I also have experience in teaching for seven years prior to my final retirement from work at the age of 70 in 2009. I worked for those 7 years as an associate lecturer with the Open University. I also have experience of teaching English as a foreign language as well as in teaching adults to read.
Tony Kreit [MSc. Ba Hons x2. CSS.]
A Journey through my Type 2 Diabetes
My first message is to anyone who smokes is….STOP SMOKING! That’s the message. I smoked a pipe for 40 years. I now regret deeply having done so. I write more of this later, not though as a lecture.
[Part 1] I HAVE DIABETES
Having Diabetes is like being assaulted, scourged and molested by your own body on a regular, even daily, basis. You should not, however, ever allow yourself ever to take on the mantle of ‘victim’. You can, moreover, fight back! Remember – The less you do the less you will be able to do! Life is about what you can do; not about what you can’t.
I am now eighty years old and, as I say, I was fifty at the time of my diagnosis. I work steadfastly on the above mentioned principle. People seem to think that we naturally stop doing things because we grow older. I tend to see it the other way round. People become old because they stop doing things. Don’t argue! I know you don’t!
I first learned that I had diabetes in 1989 at the age of fifty. It is type 2 diabetes and it has been both a different and a difficult road to travel. I have had a series of side effects but have learned to deal with them. The NHS [National Health Service] has been a real boon and Joyce, my wife, has always been a huge support as well as advisor to me.
I had been working for KCC [Kent County Council]since 1985 in children’s adolescent residential services. By 1989 I was coming to the end of a second job as a residential social worker. This was for no other reason than that I had just secured a two year secondment to study full-time for a social work qualification at Bromley College. This was paid for by the KCC in that era and I count myself as being very lucky in having it made available to me. The added and very real bonus was that Joyce, who worked in the same general field as me but in a different region of Kent, was seconded at the same time as me. Thus, having met at school in the first place we went ‘back to school’ together at the same time and at the same college very much later in life.
I have to admit that I had suspected for several years that certain symptoms that I was experiencing indicated the possibility that I was diabetic. I had tried desperately though to push that notion to the back of my mind. On the evening that I first succumbed to the necessity of discovering the truth I was on duty at the Lees Cliff Hall in Folkestone. I was helping to staff a Social Services Fostering Exhibit as a part of a general exhibition of all social and emergency services in East Kent. I had for many years been interested in Fostering. Joyce and I had been KCC foster parents for some years in the early part of our marriage.
The lady who I partnered on that occasion on the stall was a current foster carer and we got to discussing our respective experiences. After a while she began to talk to me about some of the issues she was encountering with a boy who was staying with her at that time. He suffered from type 1 diabetes. She began to mention some of the effects of the disease and they began to ring a bell for me. I remember mentioning that I too often suffered from unexplained tiredness and that I drank much more than other people; not alcohol you understand but water. I would regularly take a large bottle of water up to bed with me. I felt thirsty much of the time. This concerned the kind lady I was with and she urged me to go then and there to have my blood tested at an NHS exhibition in that very hall. Reluctantly, because I was still trying to be in denial, I went to the NHS stall and asked the question. They tested my blood for diabetes. I went away from that stall with my fingers well and truly crossed…
I had re-joined my partner for the day on the exhibit and was quietly chatting about the exhibition when out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of the colours of an NHS uniform. One of the technicians on the NHS exhibit ran up to me, totally breathless. “The nurse who did your blood test wants to see you – now!” She added as I turned away momentarily to speak to the lady to whom I had been talking just a moment before.
I returned to the NHS stand together with my breathless messenger. The nurse gave me the bad news in sombre tone. “It’s not good news I’m afraid. It does look very much as if you have type 2 diabetes. You need to get to see your doctor as a matter of urgency. Like tomorrow morning.” She paused for a moment to catch her breath as if giving the bad news had been a real effort. “We will contact your GP to let him know of these results.” It appeared that my blood glucose reading had been in the high twenties whereas it should have been in the mid noughties at that time.
I did manage to get an appointment with my GP for the next morning. When I informed him that it appeared that I had diabetes he was very sceptical. “What makes you think that?” He asked gruffly. Doctors in those days were not so keen on patients who forwarded opinions. I explained about the NHS exhibit adding that they had assured me that they were going to contact him. “They haven’t.” He added, still gruffly, eyeing me as if it were my fault.
The GP took some details about my family medical history my knowledge of which was pretty sketchy other than that of my parents and my sister. My dad I knew had had diabetes and had sadly passed away at the early age of 57. I now know much more about my wider paternal family than I did then but once we got past my mum and dad he seemed satisfied.
The doctor took some blood samples for further tests as well as giving me information about an eating regime that he wanted me to follow. Added to this he gave me a prescription for some urine testing sticks and instructions as to how to use them. Top of the dietary instructions were the obvious ones such as no sweets, no sugar, cut down on bread, salt and foods high in carbohydrates. These instructions and more came on a pre-prepared foolscap sheet of paper. Before I left, he gave me an appointment for one week’s time. I followed the instructions religiously for five days using the dipsticks as and when appropriate. I did not seem ever to get the hang of those damned sticks nonetheless my new eating regime must have made some improvement in my condition.
Five days into the beginning of my diabetes journey I had been doing a night shift at the children’s home in Cheriton. I woke up early, as is usual for me, and I felt absolutely wonderful! I actually felt the changes in my body, and it was truly a terrific thing to feel so damned good! I also realised that I did not have a raging thirst! My diabetes had not gone away of course but I had taken my first step along the road of learning to control it.
[Part 2] The Journey Begins
When I returned to see my GP he confirmed the result from the NHS nurse of the week before. He gave me some further sheets of pre-prepared notes on the management of my diabetes. It was all about management in those days. No-one ever discussed the possibility of immediate remission through a total life change, involving dietary changes, stopping smoking and, above all a good exercise/activity programme. In fact, my weight was not that much too high at that point in time because I had lost a lot of weight through the period of undiagnosed diabetes. That had been one of the symptoms that my exhibit ‘partner’ had picked up on. In the later words of one streetwise diabetes nurse “you’ve been pissing your calories away!”
That rather base explanation has some element of truth. It does not fully cut the mustard, however. In people with diabetes, the pancreas’s ability to produce insulin is either impaired or destroyed. This insufficiency of insulin prevents the body from getting glucose from the blood into the body’s cells to use as energy. When this occurs, the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy, causing a reduction in overall body weight. Excess weight can also impair the body’s ability to use insulin.
An unexpected weight loss is often noticed in people prior to a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes but it may also affect people with type 2 diabetes as it did somewhat markedly with me. My personal (medically unqualified) advice would be that if a person has unintentionally lost an unusual amount of his/her normal body weight, or more than say 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in 6 – 12 months or less, then he/she should consult their doctor. The doctor will be able to determine what’s causing the weight loss (e.g. undiagnosed diabetes) and the best way to treat the problem.
I have to admit that I had mistakenly seen my unexplained weight loss as a success even though I had done nothing myself to achieve it. That was all a part of my then attitude of denial. One very important further piece of personal advice is simple. DO NOT DENY THE EVIDENCE! The sooner you get down to the business of tackling the problem the quicker you get on the road to solving it. If it’s Type 2 diabetes you may be able to work towards a remission from the disease. Consult your doctor!
[Part 3] This Doctor may not ALWAYS know best.
It was around 1990. I had begun a regular routine of visits to my GP for check-ups every 6 months and regular blood tests for my HbA1c levels. The HbA1c test is a test that indicates the level of glucose in your blood over the past period of up to three months. How does it work?
You can only control the level of blood sugar if you know what it is at regular daily and periodic intervals. You should possess your own personal blood glucose monitor for your day-to-day testing. I test my blood glucose level at least four times a day. The HbA1c measures glucose levels over a period.
Before I had been finally diagnosed in the summer of 1989, I had suspected my own diabetes for several years. Initially my HbA1C test results were far too high; around 10- 11% and yet my family doctor seemed quite satisfied with them. Luckily my sister was a nurse and was working in a specialist diabetes centre in Essex. She told me very firmly that I needed to ask my doctor for a referral to a specialist diabetes centre. She was very clear to me that those levels were still causing me considerable harm no matter how satisfied my GP was with them. I did as she said; I asked my doctor for a referral to a specialist. Thus with very little fuss and delay and with the full support of my GP my diabetes care was transferred to Medway Hospital’s Peter Simons Diabetes Centre where I began to receive much better advice. With the help and advice of the consultant and staff there my HbA1C test results fell rapidly to below 7%. What you may ask is this test?
The HBA1c test returns an accurate measurement of average blood glucose because when the body processes sugar, glucose in the blood stream naturally attaches to haemoglobin. The sugar in your blood is called glucose. When glucose builds up in your blood, it binds to the haemoglobin in your red blood cells. The amount of glucose that combines with the haemoglobin is directly proportional to the total amount of sugar that is in your system at that time. Added to this the red blood cells in the human body survive for 8-12 weeks before renewal. Using this, the measurement of glycated haemoglobin (or HbA1c) can be used to reflect average blood glucose levels over that duration, providing a useful longer-term gauge of blood glucose control. If your blood sugar levels have been high in recent weeks, your HbA1c will also be higher and vice-versa.
[Part 4] Complications begin.
STOP SMOKING! CHOOSE YOUR DIET CAREFULLY! TAKE MORE EXERCISE!
I begin this part of my discussion with the three injunctions above regarding smoking, eating and exercise. I do so in the firm conviction that my own failure to avoid this dreadful illness had been due to my life-long failure to adhere to those injunctions myself;the first two in particular.
Very shortly following my official diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes I was hit by the all too early realisation that I had to accept that I was permanently impotent. Thus I had been hit by the hardest blow of all and right at the beginning of my journey with diabetes. I had of course been warned that there might be side effects from the diabetes but I was not at all prepared mentally for this one at this very early stage of the illness. It was a devastating blow and one which I have not been able to bring myself to discuss publically until this time. I now feel that I do have a responsibility in this document to engage with the full potential effects of Type 2 diabetes as I perceive it from my own full experiences.
I decided to discuss my impotence with my doctor in the hope that he would be able to offer me a cure. I very quickly became disabused of this possibility. The effects could be alleviated but certainly not cured. I have tried penile injections, oral medications such as Viagra and a vacuum pump. There are other aids such as penile implants which I never did fancy. Needless to say none of these aids was a convincing replacement for Mother Nature’s spontaneous arrangement. Therein lies the truth of the old saying that “Prevention is Better than Cure”.
The connection between diabetes and impotence or erectile dysfunction is related to your circulation and nervous system. Poorly controlled blood sugar levels will damage small blood vessels and nerves. Damage to the nerves that control sexual stimulation and response can impede a man’s ability to achieve an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse. Reduced blood flow from damaged blood vessels can also contribute to ED. Both smoking and being overweight together with lack of fitness will exacerbate all of these elements. The subject of ED is a complicated one and like all of the side effects of diabetes or any other illness for that matter will vary with the individual.
There it was though. I seemed to have hit the buffers at the very beginning of my life as an officially diagnosed diabetic. There have been many hurdles since that time but that was the hardest blow of all for me. It was the immediate ending of all spontaneity in that aspect of one’s life and one that had a profound psychological impact on me for a long while. It has taken me thirty years to be able to discuss it publically in this way. Still, looking on the bright side, none of the other side effects that I have experienced have had anything like that impact on me. I have also learned to deal with it. I have a good life, a wonderful wife and family and I certainly do not feel sorry for myself.
I realise that I this aspect of diabetes is one that affects men and women differently. I have not written about the possible effects of diabetes on the sexual lives of women. This is primarily because I am writing about my own experiences in the hope of helping others. I do know some women sufferers of the disease but this is not a subject that can readily arise in normal conversation. I have though done some reading on the subject which is what I would recommend for all diabetics. I do not dismiss the effects on women. I simply know nothing about them. Whoever you are your experiences are unique to you. You have responsibility for yourself. Seek advice whenever you feel the need. Finally, do some research.
Do your research on-line. When you do so make sure that you are choosing appropriate sources. Do Not click on any old site for your search. Check the domain name CAREFULLY for it is that that connects you to the correct IP address which is where the information resides that you are searching for. Your computer security system should guide you away from sites that are downright dangerous but there are, nonetheless, still sites out there that contain misleading information. DIABETES UK is often the best way to go as a very first line of enquiry! One final tip regarding on line searches; Make Your Research Question Direct and Simple such as “What are the effects of Diabetes on the Sexual Lives of Women?” Research engines are complicated structurally but are simple beings intellectually. They prefer simple questions.
[Part 5] How to earn remission or, at least, ameliorate the effects of your diabetes.
I have named previously just what my experience tells me are the three most damaging factors that if overlooked will bring you to an early death. These are Smoking, Being Overweight, and Lack of Exercise.
Smoking is a killer! I smoked a pipe from the age of 17 and almost continuously for just about the next 45 years. I had dabbled with short breaks from it over the years; sometimes for several months at a time. In the end though there had always been the temptation to fall back into the habit. It was never, I told myself, an addiction. I quite simply enjoyed it. It was only when my grandchildren began to arrive that I began to come to the firm conclusion that I did not want them to grow up being with and seeing a granddad who smoked. It was when the first two were still very young that I finally stopped. I am now very happy that I did so but I would be the very last person to try to lecture anyone into doing so. You have to have your own good reasons for giving up but you have my very best wishes for your attempt to do so.
It is really well understood, even by most smokers, that smoking is a real health hazard for anyone, but for people with diabetes or a high risk of developing the disease, lighting up can contribute to serious health complications.
Society, through continued health advice from a multitude of sources has long been advised that diabetes patients who smoke have higher blood sugar levels, this makes their disease more difficult to control and puts them at greater danger of developing complications such as blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure and heart problems. That list, according to my own experience, should have impotence at the very head of it.
Being overweight is an overwhelming issue for many diabetes sufferers.
There are distinct links between obesity and type 2 diabetes.While the exact causes of diabetes are still not fully understood, it is known that certain factors raise the risk of developing different types of diabetes mellitus. For type 2 diabetes, this includes being overweight or obese (having a body mass index – BMI – of 30 or greater).
In fact, obesity is believed to account for 80-85% of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while recent research suggests that obese people are up to 80 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with a BMI of less than 22.
How does obesity cause type 2 diabetes?
It is a well-known fact that if you are overweight or obese, you are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, particularly if you have excess weight around your tummy (abdomen).
There is apparently a direct inflammatory response. Some authentic studies indicate that abdominal fat causes fat cells to release ‘pro-inflammatory’ chemicals. These can make the body less sensitive to the insulin it produces by disrupting the function of insulin responsive cells and their ability to respond to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance and is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes.
Having excess abdominal fat (i.e. a large waistline) is known as central or abdominal obesity, a particularly high-risk form of obesity.
The message here is clear. Lose weight, particularly around your tummy and you will either reduce the chances of succumbing to the disease or you will lessen its effects on you if you already have it.
As I say I have been a diabetes sufferer for many years now. My blood glucose levels have been well controlled for almost all of that time. I have though, made an effort over the past year to lose weight and have reduced my weight by 9 kilos. The effects of this effort have been clear and advantageous. My levels are still well controlled but, now, with reduced amounts of insulin.
It is my strong opinion that the diabetes sufferer has the responsibility to take control of his/her illness. You have your medical advisors, use them well and ALWAYS ask questions if you do not understand. The medical profession has its own jargon. If you do not understand something then ASK! You may not get another chance for weeks, or even months. ‘Mr. Google’ can also be very helpful as previously stated.
Training and exercise will help you to manage your illness.
I had been weight training at home since 1945 when I discovered some weights that my eldest son had left behind when he went to college. A few years after my diagnosis I decided that I needed to train in a more thorough fashion; I began health training more seriously with a work colleague who was a Karate instructor.
In the beginning I had no interest in the Karate but Phil had a lot of knowledge of many types of training methods. After a while I also began training in Karate with Phil and some of his other students. This was both at his home in Dover and at a small hall in Deal. Both of these are in East Kent.
The training was going so well that I decided to build my own gym as an extension on the side of our house. This was initially planned as a single storey extension but, at about that time, our daughter wanted to come back from college to stay with us. For that reason we quickly decided that one extra storey on the extension would be very useful. Thus we now have a two storey extension.
I trained hard with Phil and at home during the whole of the 90s and into 2004 when I achieved my 1st Dan Black Belt. I was then and still am very proud of that moment. I was never a great fighter but I did possess what Phil called stick-ability. I was also very fit. The training regime when training for the Black Belt was hard. Phil had some tasty expressions that I am certain can be heard in many gyms in the world. “No pain no gain” is one of the more well known. “Give me ten more!” “You can always do another ten seconds!” Believe me these come hard to the ears when you’ve already been training for two to three hours.
I am now eighty and although I am losing weight and I still exercise regularly I am almost certainly beyond the point where I can put my illness into remission. I am, nonetheless, at the point where I am using less insulin. I have already mentioned Diabetes UK. They will offer you very sound advice on diet exercise and most importantly on remission strategies. Use them, do research consult friends who are diabetic sufferers themselves. Do everything you can to get into remission or at the very least to reduce its impact on your body, in your lifestyle and indeed your life, and that of your friends and family.
[Part 6] Other Side Effects that have been inflicted on my body by my Diabetes.
{a} Retinopathy.
During the early years of my diabetes I hardly felt any further adverse effects. With my wife’s guidance my eating habits did improve. There was though no real incentive to do more than this because there was then no talk of remission, just of management.. That is not the case these days. Remission is a possibility nowadays and is definitely on the cards, so go for it! It will definitely improve your life! Prevention is far better than cure for both you and for NHS finances so go for it and be LUCKY!
After a few years my regular check-ups at my G.P. surgery began to detect increases in my blood pressure. This is a bad sign as high blood pressure is an additional factor that can cause damage to small blood vessels and nerve endings as well as increasing the probability of cardiac problems.[more of this later] I was exercising well but still kidding myself that because of this my smoking was doing me no harm. IT WAS! Do not lie to yourself as I did. SMOKING HARMS, SMOKING KILLS!
I also had a period of high blood sugar readings during one year in the late 1990s. I was not taking insulin at that time but I had a consultation with my diabetes nurse and she recommended that the time had come for me to begin using insulin. The consultant at the diabetes centre explained that my diabetes had changed and was no longer responding well to tablets alone. This was even at a time when I was doing a lot of exercise as I was well into my training for Karate. As far as control was concerned my introduction to insulin was a great success. It has given me a much more direct control of my glucose levels. The problem was however that shortly following that period of poor glucose control my retinal scan at the centre showed that I was beginning to suffer from retinopathy; small lesions of capillaries in the retina of my right eye in particular. I was referred by the diabetes consultant at Medway to an ophthalmic clinic at Maidstone Hospital. My right eye has undergone a range of treatments there over the years since that moment and in different clinics there. These include some half dozen sessions of retinal laser and a range of injections and implants. None of these have been pleasant but I am very grateful for them nonetheless as well as to the staff there.
As sufferers of diabetes we must always remember that our level of control is only ever an average. It can never be as good as that finely balanced system which nature bestows upon a non-diabetic person. The more that you manage your own behaviour however the closer you can get. The narrower the gap between you highs and your lows the better when at the same time you are achieving the target HbA1C set for you by your medical advisors. I am not medically trained! I am simply an experienced sufferer of this insidious disease who is passing on some of his experiences.
{b} Peripheral Neuropathy
In the UK diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) is the most common cause of peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy develops when nerves in the body’s extremities, such as the hands, feet and arms, are damaged. The symptoms depend on which nerves are affected. It is estimated that in the UK almost 1 in 10 people aged 55 or over are affected by peripheral neuropathy.
The peripheral nervous system is is not as difficult concept to understand. It refers to the network of nerves that lie outside the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
The main symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can include: a definite numbness and tingling in the feet or hands which can develop into a burning, stabbing or shooting pain in affected areas. This can lead to a loss of balance/co-ordination as well as muscle weakness, especially in the feet. These symptoms can be constant, but may come and go.
Please remember that any set of possible symptoms will be generalised. YOU are an individual. You may experience all, some or even none of these symptoms. If you are diabetic you should receive regular diabetes orientated examinations that will investigate these issues.
Other types of nerve sets can be affected. Such as nerves with their own specific functions, including sensory nerves (as in E.D) – or responsible for transmitting sensations, such as pain and touch- also motor nerves – they might be responsible for controlling muscles as well, autonomic nerves – as well as being responsible for regulating automatic functions of the body, such as blood pressure and bladder function.
It’s important to see your GP if you experience the early symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.
These include: unexplained pain, tingling or loss of sensation in the feet, unexplained loss of balance or muscle weakness and particularly a cut or ulcer on your foot that’s not getting better.
It’s also highly recommended that people at highest risk of peripheral neuropathy, such as people with diabetes, have regular check-ups. Please do not resist these by way of denial.
Needless to say I have experience a gradual increase over the years of the effects of peripheral neuropathy in my feet in particular. This has even led to what is at this time a relatively minor deformity of my right foot. It is called diabetic Charcot Foot. This is a progressive and degenerative condition that affects the joints in the feet and is most commonly associated with vascular complications and nerve damage (neuropathy). Neuropathy is very common among diabetics, making Charcot foot a potential problem for those battling diabetes. I now wear boots provided by the NHS orthotics service. They both support and protect my feet and ankles. They are also by the way, very comfortable.
My Heart Pacemaker.
I mentioned earlier that one possible negative affect on your body of the diabetes can be the onset of heart related problems. In my case these have manifested themselves as a pacemaker.
It was just over 10 years ago when my pacemaker was fitted. I passed out whilst on holiday with Joyce on the Spanish island of La Palma. We had had a wonderful holiday on that beautiful island. We were waiting by the swimming pool for the bus to take us to the airport for our return flight home when I simply Passed out. Apparently one of the pool attendants rushed over and put me in the recovery position and made certain that I was not swallowing my tongue. It was also he who called an ambulance immediately. I woke up in the ambulance and my first thought was that “if they didn’t sort this out quickly we would miss our flight.”
They took me to a triage clinic in the local village where, in my then embryo Spanish I asked the nurses if I had had a heart attack. They assured me several times that this was not the case. I had apparently experienced a ‘Heart Block’. I have had several explanations over the years as to how to define this condition. They have varied somewhat depending on the source of the information. The outline that I provide below is one that I have researched from an NHS website.
Below is a brief outline of the symptoms of heart block as well as an indication of the different types. It is a complicated subject and well beyond the remit of this essay.
First-degree heart block
First-degree heart block doesn’t usually cause any noticeable symptoms. Most people only find out they have it when they’re tested for an unrelated medical condition.
Second-degree heart block
Most people with the less serious type of second-degree heart block, known as Mobitz type 1, won’t experience any symptoms.
But some people may experience: mild light-headedness or dizziness or fainting.
People with the more serious type of second-degree heart block, known as Mobitz type 2 heart block, are more likely to experience the above symptoms.
They may also experience: chest pain, shortness of breath feeling very dizzy suddenly when standing up from a lying or sitting position – this is caused by having low blood pressure (hypotension)
Third-degree heart block [this, of course is me!]
Symptoms of third-degree or complete heart block include: fainting – this can cause someone to collapse breathlessness extreme tiredness (fatigue), sometimes with confusion, chest pain having a slow heart beat (bradycardia), or feeling a skipping, fluttering or pounding in your chest (palpitations)
If you experience severe symptoms or ones that come on very quickly, dial 999 to request an ambulance. These symptoms can be life threatening.
All types of heart block can increase your risk of developing other types of heart rhythm problems, such as atrial fibrillation (an irregular and abnormally fast heart rate).
As I say we are all different and so YOU must be the initial first judge on all symptoms that you might feel. Do not take chances. Get a medical opinion if you are unsure.
All of this can give a confusing picture. For me this comes down to my continued assertion that we are all different. I felt no unexplained symptoms before the initial passing out episode by the swimming pool. I had experienced some exhaustion and general tiredness the day before but I had, logically I thought, put that down to a very stiff walk that we undertook in the steep hills behind the hotel. We were quite used to walking Joy and I but that had definitely been one of the most wearing.
The heart block itself caused me no pain – not ever. I had begun to study the Spanish language not long before that holiday and I was clear headed enough to continue trying out my early efforts on all of the emergency and hospital staff that I met during my five night stay in that place. I have to say that many of them spoke excellent English.
[Part 7] Diabetes Affects Your Partner!
STOP SMOKING! EAT LESS BREAD! TAKE MORE EXERCISE! BE KIND! BE Understanding!
Remember that it is possible for a person who is dependent on insulin to experience low blood glucose levels [hypoglycaemia] When this begins to happen to me I often become irritable [perhaps I should say more irritable than usual?] I need to remember that this impacts on my wife. She often realises before I do that I am beginning to develop a problem. She detects the onset of the irritability. This is all because I am becoming irritable with myself, largely because I can become confused as the brain is experiencing a lack of energy in the form of adequate glucose. I must remember however that it is not fair that she should bear the brunt of my irrational bad temper. I also sometimes experience blurred vision for the same reason as above. I do not ever drive for at least an hour after I have experienced a ‘hypo’, which does not, in fact, happen often. I carry a blood test monitor in my car when I am driving. [Required by the DVLA] I also have with me a packet of glucose tablets at all times. At home I find that pure fruit juice acts more quickly.
It needs to be said that no one other than you is more touched by your diabetes than the person who lives with you. Your condition can take an emotional or physical toll on your partner or create conflicts. You must help that person to manage their concerns. That is another one of your responsibilities. It’s common for your partner to worry about you. Will you have serious health complications? How can she/he help you control your diabetes day to day and how to deal with any blood sugar emergencies? These are all factors that your life partner may worry about during those cold moments of concern for YOU. Remember and be KIND be THOUGHTFUL for that person. REMEMBER, you’re not the only one going through this!
Managing your type 2 diabetes rapidly becomes a big part of your life and it is your responsibility. Your medical advisors can only offer advice and guidance. The REST IS UP TO YOU! Remember also that if you have a partner or a spouse, diabetes becomes a part of their life, too. In my experience a supportive wife, husband or partner can help you better manage your disease. And additionally, teamwork can bring you closer as a couple.
I would finally like to return just once more .to repeated themes. Firstly the one that YOU are responsible for your own health. You should seek medical advice because diabetes is a complicated subject. Secondly you must use the advice well. You may even have the need to assess just how the generally accepted medical opinion applies to you. Now this is a delicate subject because the vast majority of that opinion will be absolutely sound. There are generalisations however like “the lack of pain in your foot is because of your neuropathy.” If however, as has happened to me on several occasions, you know that you do feel pain in the foot it may be that you are not actually feeling pain at that moment. Another recent one for me has been related to my right foot.
In October 2018 I developed a blood blister on the Charcot joint of my right foot. That rapidly became an ulcer which is still with me and is proving very difficult to deal with. In February 2019 Joy and I were in Buenos Aires where on about the second day there I managed to acquire a similar ulcer on the ball of the second toe of the same foot. That ulcer cleared up in about four weeks.
Now, I am an experienced diabetes patient and I know very well that wounds take longer to heal because of the illness. Here though there is the comparison between the two injuries that must also come into the mix. The wound on the Charcot joint is just at the point of greatest pressure when I walk or drive. The toe has been very much easier to protect from that pressure. When I tried to point this out to a very senior doctor who was making the all too obvious point that the Charcot joint ulcer was taking a long time to heal because of the diabetes I was totally ignored when I made the other point and compared the healing rates of the two wounds which were, after all, on the same foot. In my view the defining of my foot ulcer as a “Diabetic Foot Ulcer” is lazy and incomplete. My foot does not have diabetes! I have diabetes! My foot has an ulcer the healing of which can be strongly affected by my diabetes; it is also, however, affected by other factors such as its position. I leave you with that one for your consideration.
Over the years I have suffered some five wounds on my feet the healing of which has, in each case, been delayed by concentration on the word ‘Diabetes’. If anyone wishes to challenge the point I can readily supply “Chapter and Verse”. Very best wishes to you all. Tony Kreit [15-12-2019]
Charcot Foot and Amputation
02-04-2021 The story continues.
On the 17th November 2020 I had my right foot and leg below the knee amputated. For well over a year I had suffered severe pain through inflammation and infection. I had also lost a lot of weight due to a strong disinclination to eat. I lost in all some 25-26 kilos. I had also been provided with a Continuous Blood Monitoring device. These last two events had combined to vastly reduce my intake of insulin.
The amputation proved to be a huge boon and benefit. I had taken a personal vow that I would use this winter of Lock-down as my route to learn to walk again; that has been achieved. I can now walk better than I could prior to the operation. I also suffer much less pain than before. My general health also seems to have improved a great deal as reflected in my latest blood test results on 29-03-2021.
I have to discuss my current use of insulin with my Doctor. …