Sweet Beginning That Ends in Suffering

Regret is usually felt at the end. An unhealthy lifestyle at a young age produces diseases in old age that will be carried for a lifetime.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS KRISNA

Parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus Moh Arif Novianto showed a set of blood sugar test kits and insulin injections belonging to his son Moh Faizcenna Dyota Danurdadra Arif to Kompas on Thursday (30/03/2023).

When she was working, Ria, 57, was fond of eating Padang food, noodles, fried snacks, salty chips and carbonated drinks. “I felt happy with food,” was Ria’s motto for over 20 years.

“When I bought a Padang meal, I used to have 1.5 portions. Noodles had to be two portions. I frequently gulped down sodas. Even while typing, I was nibbling salty chips,” Ria said, recalling the time she worked as a librarian when she was younger.

Furthermore, during her early career around the 1990s, she stayed up late almost every day with friends in the Puncak area, West Java.

Those days indeed were happy. She consumed a lot of tasty food all the time. Everything was carefree, with nobody prohibiting her or telling her of the negative impacts.

Diabetes diagnosis

However, these two decades of happiness led to a rueful aftermath as she entered middle age. In 2006, Ria was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.

She had felt constantly drowsy, her feet were itchy, and she urinated frequently at night. These symptoms prompted her to be examined at the clinic at her workplace. Her blood sugar test returned results of around 150, and she was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Her treatment was limited to oral drugs.

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At the time, Ria was not worried. “I wasn’t afraid yet. I was just indifferent. I didn’t feel it was terrible and continued to eat a lot,” she recalled. She also decided not to tell her family about her condition.

The experience was the same for Wawan, 47, an architect who lives in Semarang. As a young adult, he had random eating and sleeping patterns. “I didn’t eat regular meals, my mealtimes were messed up. Every night I worked overtime, sleeping during the day. I also consumed a lot of supplements,” said Wawan.

In 2014, when he was 38, he was diagnosed with diabetes, his blood sugar level reaching 400. Moreover, his triglyceride and cholesterol were also high. Wawan was hospitalized for treatment.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS KRISNA

People with Type 2 Diabetes Ria (57) when interviewed by Kompas Daily via online on Tuesday (04/04/2023).

Ria and Wawan’s experiences began with the lifestyles they followed while young, which had a negative impact on their lives later. Their condition took a long time to develop, instead of emerging as a sudden illness.

According to a nutritionist at the University of Indonesia, Erfi Prafiantini, diabetes mellitus has a long pathogenesis.

“High consumption of sugar, salt, fat will effect a change in caloric intake and body weight. Excessive body weight will eventually lead to obesity. It’s obesity that opens the window or opportunity or risk to the emergence of noninfectious diseases. The most common is diabetes,” Erfi explained on Saturday (24/3/2023).

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Apart from an unbalanced diet, excessive consumption of sugar, salt and fat, as well as high stress and lack of exercise are all causes of diabetes. According to the Health Ministry’s website, when the body experiences stress, the production of serotonin will be disrupted, which reduces the body’s ability to create insulin.

Stress triggered the onset of diabetes in Bram, 57, a pensioner who worked at a private company. Bram was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the age of 41.

I might suffer from stress.

He says he does not like sweetened drinks and has always maintained good eating habits. He is not overweight, either.

“I might suffer from stress. I remember I found out I was a diabetic in May. In March, I had a biyearly general check-up. I was completely normal. The result could not be different in two months,” said Bram.

According to Bram, the stress he experience came from work. At that time, he had been transferred to a new job. Although the position matched Bram’s expertise, he didn’t much like the atmosphere and pace of his new position.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS KRISNA

Wawan (47) with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus when interviewed by Kompas Daily via online Sunday (09/04/2023).

Adaptation

For Ria, Wawan and Bram, living with diabetes mellitus has been far from easy.

Ria has found it difficult to find a diabetes specialist who suits her. After changing doctors repeatedly, she finally met one she felt was compatible with her at a private hospital in Sentul, Bogor.

Both Ria and Wawan say it is still hard for them to find a suitable eating pattern and they are often tempted by their favorite foods. They don’t exercise regularly, either.

Bram’s condition was not stable when he was diagnosed early for diabetes. He had to be hospitalized several times, and the proper drugs for him had not been determined.

He is also trying to find an eating pattern that is appropriate for him.

Family support

Bagus, 50, has enjoyed support from his family. The architect who lives in Semarang was diagnosed as a diabetic only early last year.

Bagus’ wife Astrid, 44, tries to gather various information about diabetes on the internet almost every day. The information she finds gives her some knowledge when she accompanies her husband for his regular treatment.

“I’m learning seriously and browsing a lot so that I will have the ’ammunition’ to take care of my husband. I’m not the type who leaves everything to the doctor,” Astrid said in early April.

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Astrid also spends more time caring for her ailing spouse. She manages his eating pattern and keeps a record of all his self-checks, like his blood pressure and blood sugar level, as well as the drugs, foods and drinks he consumes. She also shops online for drugs that are excluded from the social security and healthcare insurance (BPJS).

Now in the second year of her husband’s diabetes treatment, Astrid feels she is better at managing her life. She says she can carry on with her work, looking after the couple’s two children and managing the family’s finances.

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.