Four years ago, endocrinologist Dr. Ivan Piñón learned he had something in common with many of his patients — he, too, had diabetes.
Piñón, who works with Presbyterian Medical Group, jumped into action.
Although he had always been fit, he was less active during the busy years of residency and raising three children.
“I’ve been active all my life,” he says. “Sometimes it just creeps up on you.”
After his diagnosis, he stepped up his walking and cycling regimen and tries to get some form of exercise in every day, even if he can’t start walking until 9 p.m.
He lost 20 pounds and moved from borderline overweight to normal Body Mass Index. (A BMI of 25-29 is considered overweight; over 30 is obese.)
Piñón also reduces portions and watches his carbohydrates, restricting meals to about 45 grams.
He also treats his condition with the drugs Metformin and Januvia.
Given his family history of diabetes, Piñón says he should have paid more attention to the possibility that he would get it, too. Instead, he admits he was lax about seeing his doctor.
With diabetes, prevention is key, he says. If people are diagnosed early or with prediabetes, they can make lifestyle changes and begin medications that prevent damage to the pancreas. If diabetes is left untreated, medications are less effective and people may need insulin therapy earlier.
Piñón tells patients how he manages his diabetes — it helps them understand the disease, comply with advice and they can commiserate. He also encourages them to work with a dietitian and a diabetes educator.
“I won’t deny it’s a challenge,” he says. “You like to be like everybody else. It is a lifestyle change.”
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