7. Learning about Diabetes.....

Continued from my 6. Books on Diabetes post .......

When I was first diagnosed with my condition, I had the 'normal' views about diabetes. I knew the difference between the two types - type 1 had to be controlled by insulin injections while type 2 could be managed by diet.

I soon realized I was entering into a world of which I had little or no knowledge or understanding. In fact, I was amazed at my ignorance - I also realised how little others really understood about diabetes. They 'knew' a lot of facts - their interpretation of those facts, however, were in some cases quite unhealthy. This was rather dangerous if they happened to be advising diabetics!

As I started to read Dr. Bernstein's book, I soon became aware that my understanding of what I was learning could well mean my life could depend on it.

Gradually, I began to build an image in my mind. As I progressed further and further into the subject, the image became sharper and more accurate. I had to go over some terms - especially those I'd never come across before - several times. Sometimes I had to resort to other sources of information - usually the Internet - to get a complete understanding of the terms/words/ideas/etc used and to confirm what Dr. Bernstein had written.

The main things I'd had to learn and fully understand were the relationships between protein, carbohydrates, 'good' and 'bad' fats, waistline dimensions, weight, exercise and, most important of them all, diet.

At the end of this learning period, I had an image in my mind that was factually accurate - and would, hopefully, also be very robust for the changes I was about to go through. It was, if you like, a mental model of my diabetes that I would be able to rely on as a base for my new life.

It's certainly had to prove itself in the months since January 2005 - so far, it seems to be doing rather well.

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