In earlier posts, we saw how young people and pregnant women can live healthily even with diabetes. In this post, we will be looking at how to live with diabetes as a middle-aged adult. Later on, in the last installment of this series, we will then focus on the elderly.
Who are the Middle-Aged?
Young adults range from 18–44 years, while the middle-aged range from 45–60 years.
It is not easy to get a single figure that shows how many people in these groups have diabetes. Still, you should know that 46% of diabetes deaths occur in adults younger than 70 years.
So, while diabetes is mainly a problem for the elderly (those above 60 years old), young and middle-aged adults are at significant risk, especially in African countries.
Impact of Diabetes in the Middle-Aged
Cardiovascular risk and stroke
Diabetes slowly damages blood vessels throughout the body. In the brain, this can lead to stroke and vascular dementia. In the heart, angina, heart failure, and heart attacks occur at a much higher frequency in people who have diabetes.
Amputation and permanent disability
Besides accidents, the “diabetic foot” is the leading cause of leg amputations — 1 million amputees yearly worldwide. The middle-aged and elderly are most at risk of this.
Kidney damage
Diabetes is the chief cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide. Kidney complications in type 2 diabetes often first appear between ages 40–60.
Blindness
Diabetes damages the eyes in many ways. It can cloud the lens, leading to cataracts. It can crowd the retina with too many blood vessels, rendering it ineffective. It can cause bleeds within the eye. Blindness from all these processes takes time but will usually have been established by middle age.
Premature death
Diabetes is among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. In 2021, 1.6 million people died from diabetes, almost half of whom died prematurely — that is, before 70 years of age.
How then should you live?
Exercise
When you are first diagnosed with diabetes, unless you meet certain criteria, your doctor will first attempt to manage your diabetes using exercise and diet. You should have at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days, along with 2 days of muscle-strengthening exercises. Brisk walking is a very simple but effective exercise. You can start from there.
Nutrition
You shouldn’t starve yourself, but you should mind your portion sizes. Eat more vegetables, fruits, and protein. Let carbohydrates form only a quarter of your plate. Snack healthily with fruits, nuts, or eggs rather than pastries, cookies, or soda.
Medications
If you are placed on medications, try to read as much as you can about the drugs you are using.
Some medications, like sulfonylureas and insulin, can sometimes drop your blood sugar too low. So, you should be ready with knowledge of symptoms of low blood sugar, such as feeling hungry, sweaty, shaky, unfocused, or having a headache. You should also have rescue carbs close by, like a pack of sugar or a bottle of soda, in case your blood sugar drops too low.
Reading about your medications can help you learn interesting things. For example: insulin can cause weight gain, SGLT-2 inhibitors can cause weight loss, and so on. This can guide you in discussing with your doctor a medication regimen most suitable for you.
Blood Sugar Monitoring
It may not be necessary or economical to check your blood sugar with a glucometer every day, unless you are being treated with insulin.
But if you are using insulin or if your doctor requests, you should measure your blood sugar this often: in the morning before breakfast, then before and after each meal. If you are prone to having low blood sugar, you may also have to measure just before bedtime. Record all the values with the date and time, and always show the records to your doctor during clinic visits.
Regular Clinic Attendance
Going regularly to the clinic will help your doctor monitor your progress. This ensures helpful decisions are made early enough and helps anticipate and detect complications on time. Many diabetes patients who rush urgently to the emergency room have not been faithful with clinic attendance.
They say life begins at 40. Yes, particularly with diabetes. Because many complications begin to appear in middle age, this is the best time to adjust your lifestyle and flourish, diabetes notwithstanding.
Read our post about how pregnant women can live with diabetes here.
