Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Eat before drinking

2001; Elsevier BV; Volume: 358; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(01)07035-0

1474-547X

Jim Brock,

Diet, Metabolism, and Disease

Jim Brock is 27 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes in September, 1986. He has a BEng in civil engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK. He is currently travelling around the world with his girlfriend Louise. I was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes a few weeks before I was due to go on scout camp in Luxembourg for 2 weeks. My parents had noticed that I had lost a lot of weight and that I was drinking large quantities of water or orange squash on the beach. They took me to the surgery and within 10 minutes the doctor was pretty certain that I had diabetes. These events all took place in August 1986 when I was 12 years old. The only real thing that I remember about those few weeks was the disappointment of not attending that scout camp, and having to spend 10 days in hospital instead. In September, I returned to school and life was fairly different after that. I was unusual in that I had to eat snacks in the classroom at 11 in the morning and during the afternoon. I didn't enjoy having to eat in class or giving the games teacher my Mars bars in case I went hypoglycaemic during sport; doing so meant that I wasn't quite the same as the other kids—although I don't think many of them really thought about that too much. I very rarely went hypo at school and generally kept my insulin concentrations under control over the next 4 years. I managed to go on a cricket tour abroad and continued doing the sports that I enjoyed. In the last few years of school I did my A-levels and attended a number of fencing competitions in England. At this stage alcohol was introduced and things started to get a little trickier. I'd go out with friends to the pub and clubs and drink similar amounts to them. Nothing bad ever happened, except for the usual hangovers. Eventually, though, I got caught out. The morning after the end-of-year cricket dinner I woke up in hospital, having been arrested the night before for being drunk. Fortunately, the police found my card in my wallet and had the sense to send me to hospital, where the staff soon realised that I had been drinking a lot on an empty stomach. Since then I have tried to ensure that I eat something before I go out drinking. I remember my diabetes getting me down around this time, mostly because I had to hold back while my mates drank themselves under the table. The usual feelings emerged—it wasn't fair, why couldn't it have been someone else? When coming to terms with my diabetes, this time was the hardest. My parents had to put up with an awful lot. I went to university for 3 years in Nottingham, UK, and had the time of my life. I became more positive towards my diabetes, and really came to terms with the disease. At university I never felt any different from those around me, and I don't think they ever thought any different of me. Almost dangerously so, since I think they and myself would often forget that I had diabetes at all. That's not to say my control went out the window. I always seemed to keep my insulin concentrations in check and never had any difficulties. Whenever I returned to see my doctor at home he always informed me that things were "going well" and that my 6-week average was very good. After university I returned home to Guernsey and worked for 18 months to save money to travel. I was living with my girlfriend and we had been planning the trip for some time. We spent the next 19 months away and I achieved some things that I never thought I would. We travelled to countries such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador, USA, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Nepal. The longest we ever spent anywhere was 4 months. We saw and experienced many sights and feelings. The highlight of my trip, personally and from a diabetes point of view, was a 3·5 week trek in the Annapurna region of Nepal, where I climbed to 5400 m (figure). The experience of completing the high pass was very emotional for me, and my biggest achievement to date. The trip proved that my diabetes didn't stop me from doing what I wanted to do. When I was about 13, I attended a lecture by a visiting specialist, who said that "you should never let your diabetes rule you, always rule your diabetes." I have always tried to live this way and, although there are a few things that the disease has stopped me from doing, such as scuba diving, I have always done what I want. I have had lots of support from my girlfriend and family, and I think that having someone you know well to do things with is vitally important. Although I could have done most things on my own, life is much easier when you have someone, be they family or friend, who can tell when you are hypo or when you're just grumpy. I don't think there'll ever be a cure for diabetes, a prevention maybe, but not a cure. Over the past 10 years there has been a lot of scientific progress, but things haven't advanced that much from the point of view of the patient. I still do four injections a day to keep myself well, though blood testing has become a little quicker and easier than it used to be. I often read about wonder cures in the press, but they never seem to come to anything. Having said that, my doctor recently told me that I was an ideal candidate for an insulin pump. So, maybe there is progress after all.