Type 2 Diabetes hasn’t stopped Surjeet Soin reaching Everest Base Camp, chairing a volunteer group or facing new challenges. In fact, it may be the reason he’s leading such a healthy life, Maire Bonheim writes.

Surjeet Soin realised he had diabetes 12 years ago. He was always thirsty, drinking lots of water, loosing weight, feeling constantly lethargic and noticing that his eyesight was blurred.

His doctor was no help at all. “Quite frankly, he just told me I had Type 2 diabetes, gave me the tablets and left me to get on with it,” says Soin. “I coped with it pretty well actually. I won’t say it was a shock to be diagnosed because I’d more or less realised it was diabetes and started being a little bit more careful, but it wasn’t easy.”

Type 2 Diabetes, by far the most common type, develops gradually as the body becomes slowly less able to handle its blood glucose levels – either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to cope with the amount of sugar in the body, or because the insulin does not metabolise glucose effectively (called insulin resistance).

Some of its risk factors include being overweight, not exercising enough and consuming large amounts of starches and sugar, and while it usually arises around middle age, Asian and African people often develop it much earlier.

People with Type 2 diabetes can control their condition by sticking to a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and exercise regime, and many also require insulin injections or tablets. Diabetes is a progressive disease, meaning that it can get worse over time, and can lead to complications such as blindness, arm and leg amputations, heart disease and kidney failure if not controlled carefully.

After being diagnosed, Soin immediately began changing his lifestyle and being more careful with his diet. He gave up alcohol and made sure he never missed his medication.

“I take 2 tablets every day at the moment, I don’t overindulge and I get a lot of exercise,” he says. “I don’t going to the gym or anything, but I am active with things like gardening and I walk a lot.”

To Everest base camp, for example. “I was pretty determined to show that diabetes is not a hindrance and that I can do anything that people who don’t have diabetes can,” he says of the strenuous climb to the camp at an altitude of 19 000 feet. “It was a challenge. There was a doctor with us and he helped look after us and gave us some tablets to relieve mountain sickness. Altogether, the journey took us 12 days.”

Before Everest, he’d hiked around Britain extensively, and in September this year, he’s heading to the volcanic mountains in Ecuador for a new challenge.

“There is always the thought at the back of my mind that diabetes can have complications,” he explains. “I’m trying to reduce my chances by being active and careful with my diet. I know I can’t cure my condition, but I can lead a healthy life. I’m a fairly active person and that has helped me to maintain my diabetes, but at the same time it is a progressive condition and there is no actual cure for it at this stage.”

When he was first diagnosed, Soin told a friend about his condition and was met with a surprising response. “He said that it was very good news!” says Soin. “And it was, because from then on I started changing my life and taking care of myself. I have diabetes, and sometimes I feel fitter and healthier than a person without it.”

As the chairman of the Diabetes UK Luton Voluntary Group, Soin tries to spread awareness about diabetes and dispel misconceptions.

“There is a lot of ignorance about diabetes even today, 12 years after I was first diagnosed, and that’s not only among the patients; the doctors are not doing enough,” he says. “I think the biggest misconception is that people think that if you’re obese or you eat a lot of sugar, you’re definitely going to get diabetes.”

People also believe that if someone in a family has diabetes, the others will inevitably get it too. But while diabetes can be hereditary, that’s not necessarily true.

There are currently over 2 million diabetic people in the UK, and up to another 750,000 who have the condition and don’t know it yet. About 1 in 7 of all deaths in the country are caused by diabetes – that’s about 33,000 deaths every year.

And, despite easily available treatments, most people with diabetes fail to manage their condition properly and develop serious long-term health problems. Surjeet Soin is making sure he will never be a statistic.

For more on preventing Type 2 diabetes, Click Here.