“Wake up and start looking
after yourself,” is what I’d
tell the 30-something-year-old
me if I could travel back in time
to the beginning of my journey
with type 2 diabetes. That, and
“stop thinking the complications
won’t happen to you”, because
they can – and they have.
From poster child
to poor excuses
Thanks to not taking care
of my diabetes, I’ve got liver
cirrhosis, a heart arrhythmia
that needs constant monitoring
with a LOOP device that I’ve had
inserted just above my heart, and
I can no longer work. In 2017,
a specialist told me that if I didn’t
start taking better care of myself,
I had just two years to live. I’ve
also got a rare skin disorder that
affects my face and chest, called
reactive perforating collagenosis,
as a result of my diabetes.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not
looking for sympathy. Far from
it. In the past, I made excuses
and blamed all kinds of external
things and circumstances for why
my health is like it is. But now
I know that if you don’t care for
yourself, how can you expect
anyone else to? I’m responsible,
no-one else.
What’s interesting is that
when I was first diagnosed with
diabetes, I did everything right.
In fact, for the first five years
I was the poster child of good
diabetes management. I
overhauled my diet, took the
medication I was prescribed,
conscientiously monitored my
blood glucose levels and lost 26kg.
So, when my doctor praised
me and said my diabetes was so
well managed I could treat myself
occasionally, it was like being
given a free pass! It also
coincided with a particularly
stressful period of my life,
including a messy divorce,
working four jobs, night shifts,
an interstate move – a whole lot
of stuff. Combined, it meant
I took my eye off the ball and
almost felt like, ‘Great, that’s my
diabetes dealt with, what’s next?’The real fight
Then I met my new partner,
felt comfortable and happy,
and old eating habits and the
weight crept back in. Several
rounds of IVF trying to conceive
my now 14-year-old son made
me lose sight of my health
and wellbeing even further.
I stopped monitoring my
bloods regularly and it cost me.
The crazy thing is, I’m a nurse,
so I should have known better.
I’ve always understood that
diabetes isn’t just about
controlling one thing, and
I knew what kind of impact
and damage it caused the rest of
your body. I’d seen it firsthand.After being
diagnosed with
type 2 diabetes
20 years
ago, Jodie
Holmes has
experienced one
complication
after another.
She’s finally
starting to take
control back,
but says if she
could turn back
time she’d do
a lot of things
differently
TYPE 2
I’m in a fight
for my life