‘No holiday in diabetes treatment’, says Dr Angela

Being diagnosed with diabetes can be life altering says Sunward Medical Park’s Dr Angela Murphy. Whether it is type 1 diabetes where the body does not make any insulin at all, or type 2 when the pancreas makes some insulin but not enough, diagnosis means making changes to your lifestyle that you may not be ready to commit to.

Murphy joins this week’s episode of Sisters Without Shame to help us navigate the complicated condition that impacts a person’s quality of life. If blood glucose levels remain high, it can also be life-threatening. Managing blood sugar levels however can reduce the risk of complications.

“Diagnosis will need some medication,” says Murphy.

On this episode of Sisters Without Shame Dr Angela Murphy chats about the mental burden of dealing with diabetes. Photo: Health For Mzansi

A specialist physician, Murphy practices exclusively in the field of endocrinology, with the Diabetes Clinic and Obesity Clinic being her two main areas of focus. She is also considered a key opinion leader in diabetes and obesity and is extensively involved in education and training in these fields.

“With type 1, patients will have to go onto insulin, but a person presenting with type 2 diabetes… If you present with a sugar of 7.5 or 8 we are going to make that diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, but at that point we will put you onto a tablet called metformin,” she adds.

“That is standard. We do not have a non-drug period if the diagnosis is already made. In the pre-diabetes phase you can have periods of non-drug treatment but once diabetes is diagnosed you will be put onto metformin.”

‘No rest in treatment’

Murphy is committed to treatments aimed at not only reducing risk of complications but also improving quality of life. In 2005 managing diabetes became more personal when Murphy’s daughter (then two years old) was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

“There are very few people who will be untouched by diagnosis,” she says.

People with diabetes experience disproportionately high rates of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

“Some people have been suspecting it and are less shocked, and therefore more likely to absorb the information. It becomes quite catastrophic in type 1 diabetes – where you go from not having anything wrong with you to injecting yourself with four times a day, it does take a toll.

The psychological aspect can be divided into the burden of managing diabetes constantly and it just never goes away. It is my job to encourage a person to get back into the good habits again.”

On this episode Murphy also explains: