It is good that you have this approach. My brother can be quite patronising. He talks as if he has a unique form of diabetes, type him. He is in the shade on this warm day today as it is important to stay cool, what with him being a diabetic then it is you know! his words.
I wonder though, these people that are diabetic in warmer countries like Asia, then many are Muslims. My wife says many people with type 2 diabetes (as per my brother) fast during Ramadam. How do they do it??
Hi
@educateme
Firstly, your brother does have a unique form of (Type 2) diabetes: each and every one of us with the condition are affected by it in ways that are unique to our bodies.
That's not to say that there aren't averages and similarities between us all, but that how temperature, stress, wholegrain foods, wheat, milk, fruit, etc., etc., affect each of our bodies is unique to us in composite. For example, stress raises my body's resistance to insulin by a hugely significant factor, whereas another T1 I know barely notices a flicker on their blood glucose when similarly stressed. Some find hot temperatures reduce their need for insulin, whilst others need more. And so it goes on.
How each of us deal with those factors is - again - unique to us; I can empathise with your brother but I will not know how he is feeling or how his mind works out coping mechanisms for various circumstances.
Secondly, as for people with diabetes in warmer climes, the likelihood is that they are already aclimatised to their local weather patterns, just as your brother is to his. Therefore, if the temperature rises suddenly (as it has in SE England today), then perhaps your brother finds it hard to deal with the stresses this sudden change places upon his body.
Finally, fasting during Ramadam: not all muslims with diabetes fast; indeed it is a caveat of the Qu r'an that people with ill heath should be excused the process. That said, those that do fast need to take precautions - especially those on insulin or sulphonyleureas (I think I've spelt that correctly from memory!).
I hope that 'educates' you.
Best wishes.