Befriending Diabetes

Mrs Sarla Aggarwal shares her story of diagnosis of her Diabetes to reshaping her life with the chronic condition.

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Name: Mrs Sarla Aggarwal

Age: 54 years

Profession: Homemaker

The journey so far

I have been living with Diabetes for 13 years now. I underwent a hysterectomy in 2004 and after one year, I was diagnosed with Diabetes. My diagnosis had made me sad and dejected. It came as a shock to my family. We were utterly clueless with regards to this new onset and didn't know how to tackle this condition. I have two children - a daughter and a son and both of them were out of home for studies at that time. It was only me and my husband when I was told I'm a diabetic.

My diagnosis of Diabetes had a deep impact on me. We started consulting a doctor and he immediately started my medication, diet and exercise routine. For the next few years I was on a stable dose of ant-diabetic drugs but then my health started deteriorating. We consulted several doctors then. Despite regular walking for 40-50 mins, on-time medications and normal home-cooked food, my blood sugar levels were consistently high. My HbA1c level was 9 per cent. I had also developed hypothyroidism at this time.

Impact on lifestyle