Aubrey Millet, 75, achieved remission from type 2 diabetes over two years ago. Here we catch up with him again to find out how he continues to maintain a strict control on his diet and abstains from all forms of sweets.
You have been able to successfully maintain normal blood sugar levels without medication for over two years now. You must be feeling gratified and thankful?
It has been two-and-a-half years since I have successfully reversed my diabetes. I am extremely grateful that with discipline, determination and unyielding willpower, I have been able to control my blood sugar levels. I know of people - someone close within my family – who did not manage their diabetes well, lived with high sugar and eventually had to have their foot amputated. This led me to be even more particular and vigilant about my sugar.
I was detected with diabetes in 2000 at age 52. My fasting blood sugar level was 175 mg/dL.
What is your present blood sugar reading and what would it be earlier? How often do you get your sugar level tested now?
Even though I have reversed my diabetes over two years now, I still check my sugar level everyday. I have a glucometer at home and I check my fasting blood sugar and post prandial (PP) sugar. My fasting sugar comes in the range of 85-100 and my PP comes within 120. Earlier, after I started taking medicines, my fasting sugar would be 110-130.
Are you as conscious about your diet and exercise as you were in the pre-remission days?
Yes, I am extremely particular about my diet. I still don’t take sugar in my tea and coffee. I am also off alcohol, no fizzy drinks. In my younger days and even in my middle ages, I had a notorious sweet tooth. I could eat a large number of sweets at one sitting. I was particularly fond of Bengali sweets and my favourite was Mishti Doi. But now I am off all sweets. Occasionally I take a single square of sugar free dark chocolate after meals.
As far as exercises are concerned, since I am dependant on a wheelchair after my spinal surgery in 2012, I walk around and do my exercises whatever I can manage with the help of a walker.
What benefits do you see in yourself being ‘diabetes free’? In what way has the quality of your life improved?
I feel there has been an overall improvement in my health with regulated blood sugar. I feel I have more energy now. My limbs feel stronger. I feel less sleepy. My blood pressure which used to be slightly high is now within the normal range.
What is the best habit you had adopted for your turnaround experience?
I think the best and the most effective habit I embraced to become free of diabetes was to abstain from sugar completely. Like I mentioned earlier, I was very fond of sweets. When I was studying in XLRI in Jamshedpur, I would make frequent trips to Kolkata. There I would gorge on Bengali sweets mindlessly and without any concern. Sometimes the sweets would be my full meal.
In 2000, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, I had to not only control but totally eliminate this overpowering urge for sweets and chocolates. I think that was a turnaround point in my life.
You are one of those few instances who have put your diabetes in complete remission. So what do you think of prevailing sayings like ‘once a diabetic always a diabetic’?
Actually you will be surprised that I am not an isolated or rare case who has successfully reversed diabetes. On my Facebook page several people have posted that they too are in remission and have managed to regulate their sugar levels without any medication.
So as far as sayings like ‘once a diabetic always a diabetic’, it does not always hold true. I am a living example to prove that diabetes can be reversed or put into remission.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus of your health goals, especially sugar levels?
You see, over the years, that uncontrollable urge for sweets and sweet food has been entirely killed. Now even if a plate of Indian mithai is brought before me, I do not have any desire to reach out and savour them. There is no temptation. On the contrary, I have developed a dislike for them. There is a sweet shop just next to my house, but there is no craving to go there. It is as if the taste buds for sugar have been removed. Even the fruits that I have are low in glycemic index like apples, papaya, and citrus fruits. Hence, I stay within my health goals boundaries.
What kind of family support do you get to stay in remission?
My wife is extremely supportive and cooperative. She keeps a strict watch on my diet. There was a time during the mango season, we would both binge on mangoes because we are both crazy about the fruit. But now because of me, she too ensures that she brings just a few mangoes at home and gives me a piece or two. Even when relatives bring sweets, she makes it a point to whisk them away.
Are you able to motivate people to control their diabetes?
When I come across other people with diabetes, I do try and tell them the possibilities to control sugar, but I don’t advocate.
What would be your crucial tips of going into remission from diabetes.
- Diet, particularly, sugar control.
- Dedicated exercise. I would say walking is the most gentle and effective way to reduce sugar. During the rainy season if you are unable to go out for a walk, just go up and down the steps in your building.
PatientsEngage Note: Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?
Only Type 2 diabetes can be reversed or put into remission.
Although there's no cure for type 2 diabetes, studies now show it's possible for some people to put diabetes into remission. Through diet changes, exercise and weight loss, you may be able to reach and hold normal blood sugar levels without medication.
This doesn't mean you're completely cured. Type 2 diabetes is an ongoing disease. Even if you're in remission, which means you aren't taking medication and your blood sugar levels stay in a healthy range, there's always a chance that the disease will return. So it is important to keep monitoring regularly and be in touch with your physician.
Please note reversal or complete remission is not always possible for all persons with diabetes but reduction of medications may be possible. Please work with your physician and understand how your metabolism is affected by diet, exercise and mental wellbeing.
Reference: Diabetes UK and WebMD.com
