Guest column: Abu Dhabi-based health coach Milly Larmer on living with type 1 diabetes

Milly Larmer, 45, from the UK, is a health coach who lives on Saadiyat Island with her husband, daughter, 14, and son, 10. . Ravindranath K / The National

I diagnosed myself with type 1 diabetes in September 2009. My vision was starting to blur and I had an incredible thirst the whole time – I was literally downing two-litre bottles of water at a time and still feeling incredibly thirsty. I knew something was wrong, so I looked up my symptoms on the NHS website and to my horror, was able to put a tick against nearly all of the diabetes symptoms.

I took myself to the doctor’s surgery for an emergency appointment. They took my bloods immediately and rushed me straight into hospital. My blood sugar levels were so high, they said I was lucky not to have slipped into a coma. I’d been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune disease) back in 2000 and was told by the doctors that my type 1 diabetes was most likely a spin-off from that.

Life now is all about keeping my blood sugars at a constant level so that I don’t suffer with hypos (low blood sugar) or hypers (high blood sugars). It’s more of a juggling act than anything else, working out how much insulin to give myself. Not enough insulin causes my blood sugar levels to increase, and too much can send them too low. So it’s about leading a balanced life to incorporate a healthy lifestyle and exercise, so that I can keep my diabetes under control.

My family cope really well with my diabetes and are incredible at looking after me, especially when I become unwell as a consequence of the disease. They’re all good at spotting signs that I’m not quite myself and maybe having a hypo or hyper.

They’re also very tolerant of me. It’s not easy living with someone who has type 1 – it’s a constant worry for them. I never leave the house without my insulin – I couldn’t bear the consequences, so I carry it around with me everywhere I go.

I’ve never tried a particular diet to control the symptoms, as I eat healthily, not only to keep my diabetes under control but also for my overall health. I do allow myself a little treat every now and then though.

I am in the process of starting to write a food blog – www.nourishedbymilly.com – focusing on healthy living and recipes that are free from gluten, diary and refined sugar.

Diabetes is a big part of my life and I decided when first diagnosed that since it would be with me for the rest of my life, I would accept it so that I could control the disease, rather than letting it control me. I changed my diet, started exercising more and went on a journey to find out the best ways of living with diabetes, both mentally and physically. I think I’ve achieved that.

I advise anyone with diabetes to listen to your body and take control of the diabetes – if it is not well controlled, the consequences can be even worse than the disease itself and potentially life threatening. Seek help and advice if everything seems overwhelming.

As told to Jessica Hill