Malcolm Folley interviews Sir Steve Redgrave

[seabill]

Hi All

The Mail on Sunday (MOS) ran with the above interview, on pages 90 and 91.

It states that Sir Steve was driving in Southern France when 'his behaviour became
frighteningly irrational'. So his wife (a Doctor) took over the driving and headed for the
nearest service station - where Sir Steve started eating Mars bars before they even got to the checkout.

Otherwise Mr Folley claims 'Redgrave had been perilously close to slipping into a diabetic coma'.

This man was my shining light I was diagnosed so I was quite disturbed that they didn't
have biscuits or whatever, if he felt a hypo coming on. It is a basic must-do for all of us whilst
traveling long-distances in a car.

Malcolm Folley also stated Sir Steve is a type 2.

I thought he was type 1.

Therefore, I emailed the MOS about this (no reply) and Diabetes.org.uk. Their press office
emailed me confirming he is type 2.

Diabetes.co.uk states he is type 1 - who is correct?

Regards

Seabill

 

[sugarless sue]

Where does it say this on the site ? My search only brings up the fact that he is type 2.

Confusing!! Advanced search on the board quotes both type 1 and 2 but I'm sure he is type 2.


Edited
Now been told he is definitely type 1 so will stick with that !

 

[seabill]

Hi Sue

Thanks for your reply.

On the Diabetes.co.uk page that introduces him:

Name: Steven Geoffrey Redgrave
DOB: 23-3-62
Hometown: Marlow
Diabetes Type: Type 1

Regards

Seabill

 

[phoenix]

Last time I tried to find out I also found confusion, some saying type 1 and others type 2!
My theory is that he has LADA.(latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults) At the time he was diagnosed there was far less know about it than today so he would have been diagnosed type 2 because of his age. I maybe biased because that's what I have.
There is a short article about him on the Swansea university LADA research website, though it doesn't explicitly say he has LADA.
In his biography at the University of Aberdeen, where he got an honourary degree they swrite;
'Sir Steve was diagnosed in 1997, at the peak of his rowing career, with a late onset form of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.' which sounds like LADA.

I wouldn't rely on the Mail article for accuracy, one paragraph is saying that he was nearly in a coma because his blood glucose level wastoo low, and the next ' he knows he could fall into a coma if his insulin level is ever allowed to drop too low ' The writer seems to have comas on the brain.
(I don't think he understands about pumps and cgms either)
I do agree he should have had some type of hypo treatment in the car.

 

[hanadr]

I was under the impression that "coma" as a term is used only for a high sugar condition, probably DKA, where a coma is apossibility.surely what you are describing is a hypo. Most hypos just won't progress to a coma
with a wife who is a doctor, Steve Redgrave should be better able to take care of himself.
Mars bars are far from the best thing to use to correct a hypo.
Still the word "coma" looks more dramatic on a page.
they say
"Don't believe everything you read in the papers" this kind of thing doesn't give much confidence to other people.
I feel another letter coming on. Whether to the MAs or Sir Steve himself, I've not decided. Probably Sir Steve. I have a brother who was an international rower of some repute, a generation before Redgrave et al. so he might have heard of him.

 

[LittleSue]

First off I wouldn't rely on anything medical from a Daily Mail article!

To the media "coma" is a concise, dramatic word and I doubt they worry about the technical definition, judging by the way they use terms like "cardiac arrest" and "heart failure" as though they're interchangeable, when they mean totally different things. We often colloquially use coma to imply hyper but the definition in my nursing dictionary is "a state of unconsciousness from which the patient cannot be roused. Characterised by an absence of both spontaneous eye movements and response to painful stimuli."

I get more worked up when they give the impression that someone's bs has gone dangerously low because they didn't take their insulin.

My understanding is that Steve Redgrave is T2 but went onto insulin immediately due to his extreme diet during training. Maybe he was initially misdiagnosed and later tests clarified things. Either way he should be better prepared for hypos.

 

[cugila]

So that's settled then. He is either a Type 1. Type 1.5 or possibly a Type 2........?
Anybody know if he's pregnant ? :lol:

 

[hanadr]

Without demeaning this great athlete, he does seem to have got very rotund :lol:
Hana

 

[catherinecherub]

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Redgrave

I don't think with these achievements anyone can demean him. A great athlete, a great man.

He looks after his diabetes in the way that he sees fit. I am sure if the weight becomes a problem for him he will deal with it.

 

[kegstore]

He also has an insulin pump I read somewhere, and was diagnosed while in preparation for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney (still going on to win his 5th gold medal). But what on earth is he doing eating Mars Bars to raise blood sugar quickly? There are far better things to consume to do this.

Regarding his weight, I think ex-rowers often develop a slight paunch, maybe something to do with the vast quantities of food they got used to eating, or possibly the muscles that are (no longer) worked during the activity?

 

[seabill]

Hi All

Thank you for your feedback, on the article in MOS on Sir Steve Redgrave.
My concern is a paper that carries a weekly supplement on health issues obviously
doesn't have an editor of health-related issues. Mr Folley has used the old: 'Why spoil a good story with the facts'.

Otherwise the over dramatic heading: 'Five Olympic gold medals counted for nothing
when I nearly died on a French motorway' - would not have been used for Sir Steve in relation to his
diabetic control (or lack there off).

As for whether we are type 1 or type 2, I thought once one became insulin-dependent
then the classification was type 1.

Regards

Seabill

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi seabill,
There are plenty of Type 2's who are insulin dependant but that does not reclassify them to Type 1.
Totally different categories of diabetes.

Many health stories in newspapers are devoid of the real facts as this has highlighted.

As for his wife's involvement in his healthcare. She specialises in orthopaedics and really his diabetes practises must be something his endo and his good self try to manage.

Nothing that has been or will be written about him can detract from this great man.

 

[seabill]

Hi Catherinecherub

Thanks for explanation on Type 1/Type 2 that I didn't realise.

As for Sir Steve, the reason for my annoyance is the article (in my opinion) has belittled him.
He was my shining light when I was diagnosed, if he can achieve a 5th Gold medal with diabetes, then
I can go about my daily routine. As my job requires a lot of driving. I check my bloods a couple of times a day and adjust insulin/food intake. The amazing diabetes team at Lagan Valley Hospital, have helped me all the way in preparing this. The other person I aspired to was Fergus from this forum.

My gripe is with Malcolm Folley and the MOS and their exclusive interview with Sir Steve.

May I also make it clear I purchase the MOS for their fantastic football reportage.

Regards

Seabill