By: Malcolm Bigg

Malcolm Bigg, 69, was diagnosed in 2001 with Type 2 diabetes. Ahead of World Diabetes Day on Saturday, Malcolm explains how he turned his life around with the help of an education course.

“I was watching a play on television about someone who had diabetes. All the symptoms he was talking about applied to me. A quick visit to the doctors confirmed the diagnosis and panic set in.

You have to appreciate that my wife worked in a day centre for old people. She used to come home telling me about diabetes patients with complications including amputations, blindness and ultimately early death. Now I was one of them, but only 55-years-old with little grandchildren and a business to run.

At the time, the internet, as far as I was concerned, was in its infancy and no-one told me about Diabetes UK, so I was in the dark. Taking the pills and waiting for problems. They came, especially the tummy upsets and, as I had a blood testing kit in those days, readings that were going all over the place.

Time had suddenly become a very valuable commodity, and I decided to sell my business to give me more time with the family and to ensure continuity in the business. Over the next few years the takeover started and my work life became easier, and by the age of 60 I retired. Later that year, I discovered Diabetes UK and joined. Their Balance magazine was helpful in one sense but depressing in the other, warning me of the dangers of amputation, blindness etc.

Then, one day, I got an invitation to attend a Diabetes UK one day seminar for people with Type 2 diabetes. I went and my eyes were opened. I began to understand my illness and that I could take control. I signed up for DESMOND (Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed). This is a UK NHS training course for people with Type 2 diabetes. I also attended two other half day courses.

Then I really began to understand. I began to use my blood testing kit to monitor the effects of various foods and quantities of food and realised that exercise was quite important in many ways.

Looking back at my DESMOND record book, I lost three stone, brought my blood glucose level (HbA1c) down to 6.2 with little variation on a day-to-day basis. My cholesterol came down from 4.5 to 3.3 and my blood pressure has come down to 130/70. I spend 5-7 hours a week in the gym and can still scuba dive at nearly 70 years old!

Oh how I wish I had known much more at the beginning. Less anxiety, more control, and probably less damage to my system before I got it under control. I now manage my diabetes, I know where I am. I have taken control.

Patients need to be reached and to understand their illness. This is not an easy process but time invested immediately after diagnosis will save time, money and lives in the years to come.

Yes I want to ensure that education is an essential start point for those with diabetes. But patients forget. They should also be encouraged to join diabetes support groups to continue the learning process. They also need better ongoing information throughout their lives. The Diabetes UK website is full of information but this is not an excuse for the NHS not to tackle the problem. Dialogue, timely information and encouragement are an essential part of continued management.

I might have retired from my business at the age of 60 but I now work just as hard on a local, regional and national basis helping Diabetes UK to reach out to those with diabetes and just as importantly to work with those who provide the clinical assistance to allow us to live a full and productive life. I just don’t get paid anymore!”

Malcolm Bigg is Chair of the Brentwood Diabetes UK Support Group. He is also a service champion for Diabetes UK.

Diabetes UK has launched their ‘Taking Control’ campaign to ensure everyone with diabetes has access to diabetes education. Take action and go to www.diabetes.org.uk/taking-control

Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #TakingControl.

There are 3.3 million people in the UK living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. A further 590,000 people have Type 2 but do not know it as they have not yet been diagnosed. Numbers are rising, and it is estimated that by 2025 there will be five million people living with diabetes in the UK.

Data from the National Diabetes Audit since 2010 suggests that more than 20,000 people with diabetes die before their time each year in England and Wales.

The risk factors are different for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas have been destroyed; it is not linked to lifestyle and cannot be prevented.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is not making enough insulin, or the insulin it is making is not being used properly. Unlike Type 1 diabetes, it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of cases of Type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed through living a healthy lifestyle and taking steps to reduce the risk of developing the condition.

While some risk factors – age, family history and ethnicity – cannot be changed, many people can do something about the most important risk factor for Type 2 diabetes which is being overweight or obese. Maintaining a healthy weight by doing regular physical activity and eating a healthy balanced diet is extremely important to reducing risk of Type 2 diabetes.