A 55 year old diabetic for the past ten years has
only just recently started visiting the Peringit health clinic for his
condition. He was previously in Alor Gajah and used to visit the local
health clinic there, however not consistently. He has been on oral
hypoglycemics since his diagnosis, but has not improved his eating habits
satisfactorily.
Although he appears normal to me, he complained that he has been
feeling exhausted and drained out, more during the past 3-4 months. He
visited a local GP clinic and was told by the doctor his blood sugar level
was high (patient doesn't remember value) and was also told that he risks
developing complications from the disease if he did not chage his eating
habits.
When asked whether family members at home advise him, he claims
they're not well informed about the disease and thus presumes he's fine as
long as he is on his regular medication.
He has not attended work regularly, and finds it hard to
concentrate while working due to his exhaustion.
He has just recently restricted himself from sweet food and drinks, and has
started taking walks (brisk) around the neighborhood. He finds that he has
improved and he feels a lot better despite a little tiredness occasionally.
His father was a diabetic and succumbed to the disease following a myocardial
infarction in 1994.
He is the oldest of his three siblings, all of who have no history of the
disease.
He has been a smoker for the past 30 years, where he initially
started off smoking one pack a day but has now reduced a lot, where one pack
can last him 3-4 days.
He has no history of alcohol consumption or drug addiction/abuse.
On general examination, patient appeared fine with no significant findings.
His pulse was 80/min(which in my opinion is a little higher than normal) and
with an irregularly irregular rhythm.
No further examination was done on this patient.