If Mario Miceli could go back 13 years to the time his doctor told him he was prediabetic, he would raise his voice and talk some sense into his younger self to take it seriously.
That’s because his younger self heard everything his doctor was saying and then promptly ignored it. Four years later, the Burnaby resident was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
The reasons for being in denial were many. He was 43 at the time and a busy father of two. He was also a man and, like many dudes, unwilling to admit he had a problem. He also worked in the corporate world and was afraid of being judged by his co-workers and his bosses.
“People see Type 2 diabetes as a weakness,” says Miceli, now 56. “There’s a real stigma and so I just ignored it.”
Then, one day, his doctor said that he was concerned about what diabetes was doing to his kidney function.
“That’s what my diabetes decided to attack,” Miceli said. “That was a wake-up call.”
Miceli also had a terrifying hypoglycemic episode, which means that his blood sugars were dangerously low.
“I woke up drenched in sweat and my head foggy,” Miceli said. “I thought I was having a heart attack.”
Stumbling around his home in the dark, Miceli decided to test his blood sugars and it confirmed hypoglycemia.
Speaking with Miceli today, it’s hard to imagine him being so clueless about his health. The “wake-up call” set him on a path in which he volunteers as an advocacy chair for Diabetes Canada BC/Yukon. Now semi-retired, Miceli speaks regularly to people about Type 2 diabetes. Just in the past week, he was in Europe speaking at an international diabetes conference and, right after he landed, spoke to a group that supports people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Miceli also shared his story in a new book. Novo Nordisk Canada Inc., in partnership with New York Times bestselling author Ellyn Spragins, has published In Your Own Words: Reflections on living with diabetes,a collection of letters from Canadians living with Type 2 that highlights insights and experiences of people living with the disease.
Miceli wrote a letter to his younger self.
There are an estimated 3.1 million Canadians who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, in which your pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or your body does not properly use the insulin it makes. As a result, glucose (sugar) builds up in your blood instead of being used for energy.
Miceli has two main messages for people.
One is that people warned they are prediabetic or diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes must take it seriously because it’s a constant struggled to maintain a healthy weight and balance your blood sugars.
“It shouldn’t envelop your life, but you do need to be aware of it all day, every day,” he said.
The second message is for people who haven’t been diagnosed with the disease.
“Get tested,” Miceli said. “Get screened. The symptoms aren’t always obvious, so get tested to make sure.”
