December 8 2021

Living with diabetes: Conversation with Khaled.

UAE telecom engineer and father of five Khaled Albolushi shares his experience of living with diabetes since the mid 90s.

Thank you Khaled for talking with us. Please could you say something about how and when you were diagnosed with diabetes.

It was in 1995 when I was 18 years old. I had wanted to become a police officer and needed to go for a medical check-up prior to starting the training. That was when my blood glucose was discovered to be elevated. I was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but then later the diagnosis was changed to type 1 and I started injecting insulin.

How disciplined are you about checking your blood glucose?

I still prick my finger around three times per day to draw some blood and check my glucose. I always do it first thing when I wake up, and then after that I usually check it when I feel like I’ve made a mistake in calculating the carbs and my glucose has gone too high. This can happen easily at barbecues and parties!

Do you follow any special diet?

I believe that people with diabetes can and should continue to eat everything. Sometimes when I start to get a bit out of shape I will stop eating bread and rice for a while, and instead eat more red meat and chicken. I use a fitness application and I’m constantly Googling different foods to find out the carb counts. The dietician at the hospital also advises me on how to eat right, and I visit a health center every three months for overall check ups.

You’ve had diabetes for more than 25 years – have you seen knowledge and attitudes about the condition change during that time?

Yes, for sure. Back in 1995 people did not know much about diabetes and we did not have the technology we do today for sharing information. Now we have WhatsApp and Telegram for sharing articles and videos about diabetes.

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