A BEDFORD resident, who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, has urged people to adopt a healthier lifestyle and catch symptoms early to prevent developing the condition.
Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition where the body still produces some insulin, but that insulin is either ineffective or there is not enough of it.
According to Diabetes WA, type 2 accounted for 87 per cent of all people with diabetes and those diagnosed with pre-diabetes were 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
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READ NOWAndrew Walker (42), who works at The Atrium in Perth, was diagnosed with pre-diabetes 12 months ago before being diagnosed with type 2 in March.
Mr Walker said his long-range vision dropped out at work in March, where his colleagues told him to see his GP.
“I went to my general practitioner and explained my symptoms,” he said.
“When they tested my blood sugar it was at 21mmol/L, and it turned out I had developed type 2 diabetes.”
Mr Walker said being diagnosed with type 2 was a “kick in the bum”.
“I quit drinking alcohol a couple of years ago, I quit smoking in January so I figured next would be losing weight,” he said.
“I was 128kg to start with, I have dropped down to 118kg…I’d like to get to about 90kg.”
Mr Walker said his loss of long-range vision was temporary as it was a “by-product” of high blood sugar levels.
He said people who were diagnosed with pre-diabetes should get regular check-ups and education to prevent full diagnosis.
“Last year I had torn a muscle in my groin and I went to Fiona Stanley Hospital,” he said.
“They took urine and found there was protein in it, and they said that I was pre-diabetic, which didn’t really mean anything to me at the time.
“The term ‘pre-diabetic’ didn’t have the impact it should have.”
National Diabetes Week is from July 9 to 15.
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