Free Custom «The Five Year Gap between Diagnosis of Diabetes and Complications» Essay Paper

The news of being pre-diabetic was certainly not the best of news I received. I knew that being overweight and having a family history of heart disease was not going to help either. Ever since I have known of being pre-diabetic I have maintained a strict diet and am trying to achieve a 45lbs weight loss goal to bring my weight and chances of becoming a diabetic, under control. I have always been aware that diabetes can give rise to a gamut of other problems, especially heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, but what I was not aware of was the fact that people can be victim to a stroke even within five years of being diagnosed with diabetes. I assumed that strokes and heart disease affected those in the later (according to me, after several years of having been diagnosed with the condition) stages of diabetes. The article “Risk of stroke doubles if diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes” on biologynews.net was an eye-opener. According to the article and results of researches conducted in the University at Alberta, the risk of a stroke is high within five years of diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. The study was performed on a cohort of diabetics and a group of non-diabetic people. It was found that 9.1% of diabetics were affected by a stroke within the first five years. Also, young aged diabetics are at a higher risk of a stroke than older non-diabetics. This information played the role of a red alert for me, and I am determined to not step into the diabetes region. I have my diet plan charted out and will start on an exercise schedule soon. I understand that controlling my weight and watching my diet will go a long way in keeping me on the ‘other side’ of diabetes. I am also certain that my parents and family will start taking the condition more seriously and take active measures to become and remain healthy. After all, when health is gone, everything is gone.