Life is a gift. This ephemeral process of being, which we very often take for granted, is not short of a miracle. 

Our everyday choices determine how well we preserve it. It’s especially true when a disease like Diabetes presents a threat. We are required to choose what we are going to eat, are we going to walk or run, are we going to take medicines, which medicines are we going to take. For this we need to know where these choices will lead us?

Science is another miracle of modern era which has made predictions more and more accurate about life events, and the impact of our choices. 

We know that the blood glucose value and glycosylated hemoglobin values tell us much about the future we might land up in. We also know that we can possibly modify this future by lowering these values through lifestyle and medicines if needed. 

So we are in an era where we have to rely on these mathematical predictions to understand the benefits of treatment even if we cannot perceive any benefit. Medicines may also have side effects and here comes the need to exercise your wisdom. To choose wisely means to know how much is the risk and what are the benefits and weigh them out. 

Choices are not mostly easy. A woman working in an office has samosa or kachori at 11am daily, because that’s their office routine. Eating outs is necessary to socialise mostly. 

Some choices are tricky. Someone’s HbA1c is 7.5%, a little high. Adding more medicine will add side effects of the medicine. What should be the choice-letting HbA1c a little high or taking more medicines with reduced quality of life. 

The choices are very difficult sometimes, like what is the right dose of insulin before breakfast, if you are prone to low blood glucose. 

Sometimes choices are not well informed. Many, almost all people who are newly diagnosed with diabetes are recipients of lots of unsolicited advice. People would tell them about side effects of allopathic medicines they read on ‘watsapp’. And more often than not, people choose to listen to the advices from friends and family over that from an expert. While choosing to avoid a medicine, one may be putting yourself at risk of complications of high glucose. In todays era of information overload, knowing which information to trust can be life saving in case of medical information. Be very careful, check only authentic sites…these are choices which can affect your one and only life.

Are you choosing wisely? 

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
‘I don’t much care where -‘ said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
‘- so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation.
‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland