Diabetics told adjust lifestyle, control weight

Persons who have had Type II diabetes, who believe their disease is cured, are warned they are at risk of getting it again.

This frank warning comes from medical expert Dr. Anita Ramsetty, a Vincentian-born Endocrinologist practising in South Carolina.{{more}}

“Once you had diabetes, once, no matter what caused it, you are at risk for having it again,” said Ramsetty to SEARCHLIGHT, in an interview on Wednesday, at the Levi Latham Health Centre, where she spent the day advising diabetic patients on adjustments they can make to their lifestyles to lead healthier lives.

SEARCHLIGHT posed the question to Ramsetty: “Can diabetes be cured?”

“Yes, it can, in some circumstances. Type I diabetes is not curable. We are looking for a cure, but we don’t have a cure. Type II diabetes often is so-called curable by weight loss,” Ramsetty responded.

“In some instances, someone tipped over into having diabetes based on some medications they were on,

and if you stop the medications the diabetes goes away. So in those instances, yes, it is actually curable,” said Ramsetty, adding people who lose 20-40 pounds can also be instantly cured.

She said diabetes is based on a number, so if one doesn’t meet the criteria for the number technically they don’t have the disease.

“But that being said, once you had diabetes, once, no matter what caused it, you are at risk of having it again,” Ramsetty stated.

She pointed out that women who developed diabetes during their

pregancy are still at risk of developing the disease later, even though they lost the weight brought on by their pregnancy. So too are persons who might have developed diabetes because of a medication they were taking.

“If you once weighed 300 pounds and now you weigh 150, you’re still at risk for having it again, if you regain the weight,” Ramsetty warned.

Ramsetty left St.Vincent and the Grenadines as a sixth form student to attend college in Orlando, Florida. Her medical studies were done at the University of Florida, while she did her fellowship at Stanford University.