A typhoon called Diabetes

By David Khorram, MD

Our islands sit in the middle of Typhoon Alley. Each year, we watch as one or two or more typhoons approach us and build strength. We know the typhoons can be devastating. They can take lives and destroy the things that we value. So, we prepare for them.

We are alert to signs that they are forming, many thousands of miles away. Through the use of satellite images and science, we watch for them. Turn on the TV any day of the week, and you can find the channel with the satellite picture of the region. As the typhoon begins to form and gain strength, we plot its course, trying to anticipate how close it will come and how strong it will be. Why? So that we can protect ourselves. We may not understand how or why typhoons form. We may not know how their paths are predicted. But we do know that they can cause lots of damage. And we do know that knowledge and science can help us protect ourselves from disaster.

As the typhoon gets close, the skies outside may still be blue and the waters calm, but you will find us boarding up windows, securing things that could blow away, buying bottled water and canned foods, and filling our cars with gas. We are getting ready, even though the sun may still be shining. We don’t wait until the disaster strikes, because then it’s too late to prepare. The damage will be harder to control. We rely on the satellite pictures, and the path mapped out by the scientists, to help us prepare so that we can best protect our lives and the things we value.

We are used to these typhoons. They come into our lives year after year, and we can mark time by their names: Omar, Keith, Paka, Ponsonga, Ting Ting, Chaba.

Yet, there is another typhoon that has hit our lives. One that kills many more people and causes much more damage to the lives of our peoples. It is a typhoon that comes into thousands of families, often quietly, without satellite pictures or islandwide excitement. It is a typhoon called diabetes. Each year, its devastating forces blind, maim, cripple and kill thousands.

So much of the damage that is caused by diabetes can be prevented. But we need to begin to think about diabetes the same way we think about an approaching typhoon. We don’t turn off our TV and say, “If I don’t look at the pictures, then the typhoon won’t come.” Yet hundreds of people stop monitoring their diabetes, believing that if they don’t think about it, the typhoon called diabetes will not do any damage. Other people know about the complications of diabetes, but don’t take the steps needed to protect themselves. They often wait until the typhoon is blowing full force, and then try to board up the windows.

Our peoples are understanding more about this typhoon called diabetes. We know the devastation it brings—amputations, kidney failure, dialysis, heart attacks, strokes, blindness. Now we are beginning to learn to protect ourselves and our families. Just as in a typhoon, diabetes and each of its complications has its own warning signs—its own kinds of satellite pictures and weather reports. It is up to us to use the information provided by our doctors to protect ourselves, the same way we use the information from the weather reports to protect ourselves from typhoons.

Just like a typhoon, diabetes can be devastating. And just like a typhoon, not all of the damage can be prevented. Every year I see many patients who go blind, or lose a foot, or go on dialysis—people who work hard in controlling this disease. Yet I see many more who needlessly suffer because of lack of knowledge and lack of preparation. In the next few weeks, I hope to answer many the most common questions I hear about diabetes and the complications caused by this difficult disease. Next week, we will look at what is diabetes and what is going on inside the body.

(David Khorram, MD is a board certified physician, public speaker, and a Life and Style columnist for the Saipan Tribune. Questions and comments are welcome. Email davidkhorram@hotmail.com. Copyright © 2004 David Khorram.)