For both doctors and their patients, the past few months have been challenging, and stressful. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we asked patients to stay home and visit the hospital in case of an emergency only. We also instructed them to monitor their sugar levels, keep up their exercise regimens, maintain their diets, and be regular with their medication,” says Dr Ambrish Mithal, chairman and head of endocrinology, Max Healthcare. Some struggled to cope, while others managed better, as they found more time for themselves amid the lockdown.
Time to go to OPD
In the past four weeks or so, though, things have begun to improve further, says Mithal, as he doffs his PPE gear at the end of a four-hour OPD. “More people are now comfortable with video-consults, and if, need be, they do come and see me. Especially if they are first-time patients, those with Type 1 diabetes and pregnant women.”
Maintaining the routine
Despite the challenge of maintaining a diet-exercise-medication routine during a crisis, diabetics need to be extra cautious because in Covid-19, poorer outcomes have been reported for diabetics infected with Covid-19, says Mithal. People ought to keep testing their sugar levels at home. “Keeping your original schedule [pre-lockdown] is very important. Waking up at the same time, getting ready for work as you used to, and keeping to meal timings help,” he says.
Mithal advises moderation and careful planning, especially in dietary indulgences. Mangoes are not banned, and one medium-size mango a day is fine. However, the fruit should be split into a couple of servings, and total carbohydrates from fruit intake in a day should not exceed 30gm. “If you have the entire fruit [mango] at one go, the carbohydrate load is too high. Have a slice at one time, and don’t have it after meals as one has already had carbohydrates in the meal. Instead, have it as a snack, and have it with nuts or something with protein,” he advises.
The “fear” of Covid-19 might have kept patients from seeking health care, but it has been an unlikely ally in helping motivate diabetics to take care of themselves, and stick to their schedules. “The threat of Covid-19 is more immediate for people, rather than, say, a heart attack a few years down the line,” he says.
Coping with the testing times
For a doctor, too, life can be challenging—staying glued to a computer screen for hours during video consultations, squeezing time for meals in between, and finding time for exercise. “I spend my evenings on my terrace, taking pictures of the sunset every evening,” says Mithal. “I also visit a biodiversity park and spend time with nature to beat the stress.”
—As told to Namita Kohli