Ladoos for Diwali, but on World Diabetes Day!

ahmedabad: with diwali falling on world diabetes day this year, it is an irony of sorts for diabetic patients. imagine the dilemma of being offered 'kaju-katri', 'gulab jamuns', the sinful 'ladoos' and the overriding guilt of knowing that sinking teeth into each of these delicacies will undo months of labour to tame the glucose levels notorious for its upward flight! especially so in gujarat that has the distinction of having one of the highest number of diabetic patients in the country, thanks to the incurable penchant for anything sweet.conservative estimates indicate not less than 5.5 per cent of the adult population of the total five crore people in the state are diabetic and the number is likely to increase three-fold by the year 2025! so what do the diabetics do? do they succumb to the festive spirit or manage to hold on to diets despite the testing times? ask experts and they will tell you how the most committed of patients will throw caution to the wind during the festive season and indulge in anything sweet. what's more, many would not even fight shy of self-prescribing a higher dose of insulin or medicine as penance for having sinned! "a number of my patients confess to moderately alter the medication to make up for indulging in sweets during the festive season," said senior diabetologist o p gupta. take his patient rajkumar agarwal, a severe diabetic required to take two shots of insulin everyday, who declared that it was just not possible for him to decline sweets when offered on social visits. "i will have to oblige ... but what the hell, i will take 15 units of insulin instead of the prescribed 12 units," conceded jha. experts warn that while indulging in sweets is harmful, playing around with the dosage of drugs could be suicidal. "a number of patients have this tendency to increase the dosage of drugs to make up for not adhering to the prescribed diabetic diet. but we warn that such a thing should not be done as it could lead to dangerously lowering the levels of glucose, that can even prove fatal," said diabetologist r m shah. it is advised that barring an occasional sweet, diabetics should largely follow their diet and exercise regularly even during the festive season. but even the doctors know better to expect compliance from their patients. "whatever advice we give lasts only till the patients are in the clinic. once at home where festivities and sweets are in abundance, majority of patients come back unsettled with increased glucose levels," concedes gupta. here too, some are clever enough to dodge the doctors. "many are smart ... they will not come immediately after diwali. they will diet for three weeks, control diabetes and then come with the reports," quips shah. hope the world diabetes day will make a difference this diwali!