Diabetes, caregivers and being mindful of food struggles

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For many of us, a delayed meal is just a minor inconvenience. At most it makes us irritable, but generally, like nature’s call, hunger can be kept at bay for an hour or two: we can starve through unending meetings without harm to ourselves, and can even extend joyful moments well past mealtime. But did you know that being able to dodge food—for just half an hour more without an ounce of anxiety—could be a real superpower?Over 100 million Indians live with diabetes, and many use medication, including insulin shots.

One common side-effect of diabetes treatment is that it can reduce your sugar more than you want. The solution is simple in theory: eat enough so that the insulin dose has enough carbs to keep working with. If you don’t eat on time, sugar levels can crash.It isn’t as simple in practice.

For anyone routinely stepping out of home, the day can throw unexpected twists. Traffic that Google Maps didn’t preempt, a flat tyre 20km from home, a wedding dinner delayed so the groom’s best friend could finish a hilarious speech: we cannot always foresee how the minutiae of the day will turn out.The result is a little understood fact: A delayed meal is the worst nightmare for a diabetic and for their close network of caregivers. It comes with extreme anxiety and mortal risk.

I happen to be one such caregiver. One fine evening in 2022, our doctor told us that my wife, then 31, had diabetes, and needed emergency insulin to bring sugar levels into the safe range. She remains on a daily insulin shot ever since.