Mother's syndrome' diagnosed as diabetes

When Dianne Littleton started feeling extremely tired, she put it down to what she calls "mother's syndrome".
"I was working full-time and raising two children - I just thought every mother is tired and it was nothing to overly worry about."
But when her fatigue combined with excessive thirst and a constant need to go to the toilet, she realised something else was wrong. Fortunately, she had the support of a good friend and colleague who was familiar with the symptoms of diabetes. Her friend's son had Type 1 diabetes and she brought in his blood testing kit and together they discovered Dianne's blood-glucose levels had skyrocketed.
Her friend took her straight to Tauranga Hospital where further tests confirmed that night she had developed Type 2 diabetes - a form of diabetes shared by about 270,000 New Zealanders.
It can occur at any age but most commonly in adulthood as a result of weight gain and inactivity.
Dianne had just turned 48 and the diagnosis came somewhat as a shock.
"My job was in an office so it was sedentary work but our family were heart-tick eaters," she says.
"Both my grandfather and father developed diabetes in their 60s but for me, to get it at 48, it made me really worry about how bad my health could get later on if I didn't do something about it."
Dianne is 50 now and is managing her diabetes well. She credits the change with the support she has received from Diabetes Tauranga and her GP.
"Education is so important. You can't expect people to run around after you and it's your life - you need to take ownership of it and learn what you can."
Every three months she has her blood-glucose levels checked by her GP who has prescribed oral medication to help keep her diabetes under control.
"Fortunately for me, my GP has diabetes himself so he has been so supportive about what to watch and what not to stress about."
She attends regular information workshops organised by Diabetes Tauranga and has even joined the committee. She attended a supermarket tour with a dietitian to learn how to read food labels, ensuring she bought the right types of low-fat and low-sugar products, and enjoys the group meetings where she has gained a lot from other people.
"When we were learning about how important it is to look after your feet with diabetes, the ladies there all whipped off their shoes and we were all chatting away about types of footwear and what brands to buy. Everyone's so lovely."
She has also taken up ballroom dancing and aqua jogging to increase her physical activity.
"And I make a real point of taking the stairs instead of a lift or escalator and instead of driving to Fraser Cove, parking outside one store then moving my car to another store, I'll just walk between them - it's that simple."