Two years ago, Jacques Morin was working a demanding job as an MC driver, travelling up to a thousand kilometres a day – when he started to notice some strange symptoms.
“I wasn’t feeling great and I found I was having to go to the bathroom quite a lot, so I went to the doctor to get it checked out,” he told Big Rigs.
“He sent me straight to the emergency room, where they did a finger prick blood test.
“They said a good reading for glucose levels is maybe four to six – mine was 57.”
Morin was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and kept in hospital for a week while doctors brought his glucose levels down and monitored him.
Since then, the 59-year-old has faced a daily battle to manage his condition while driving full-time.
As well as having a medical every year in order to keep his licence, he has to take insulin every day.
“I inject insulin into my stomach, and I take various other medications in the morning and at night,” he added.
Morin continuously monitors his blood sugar using a special sensor.He also has to wear a sensor that continuously tracks his blood sugar and sends readings to his smart phone.
“The alternative is pulling the truck over all the time to do a finger prick test, which isn’t really practical,” he said.
“The sensor has an alarm that goes off if my blood sugar is too high or low, so it’s a game-changer for my health, my safety and the safety of others on the road.”
The main disadvantage of the sensor is the price, with the Sydney truckie shelling out $104 every two weeks.
He said this fee really adds up over the course of a year, especially given the rising cost of living.
“It’s frustrating because sensors for Type 1 diabetes are subsidised by the government, whereas Type 2 diabetes is considered to be ‘self-inflicted’, so we don’t get the subsidy.
“There has been some talk about extending it to those with Type 2 diabetes, and I’m trying to push that along as best as I can.”
Morin wants to send the message that truckies who have developed diabetes are not just a “bunch of fatties”.
He continued: “Diabetes is something that I have developed because of the lifestyle that comes with driving a truck, and truck driving is an important job.
“Australia runs on the back of a truck.”
He pointed out the various factors that make it difficult to live healthily while driving long distances in a truck every day.
“It’s obviously a sedentary lifestyle so you’re not getting much exercise, and it’s very difficult to find healthy food options on the road,” he said.
“In the job I’m doing now, I only get a half hour break, which isn’t much time if you want to have a decent, healthy meal.
“Not to mention the fact that if I’m doing a country run, I’m driving a B-double, so it’s hard to find somewhere safe to park.”
Since being diagnosed with diabetes, he’s had to step up his organisation, planning his journeys well in advance.
“If I’m on a day run, I’m travelling through two meal times,” he said.
“I need to know where I can stop for a healthy meal that will have plenty of protein and not too much carbohydrate, because that will spike my blood sugar.
“I also have food with me in the truck, some sweets for emergencies, and a three-litre bottle of water that I drink instead of the processed drinks I used to have.”
Morin said he’s learned a lot about nutrition since his diagnosis, and his ambition is to reverse his diabetes completely.
“I was reasonably thin most of my life, and then I gave up smoking,” he said.
“I started to replace cigarettes with food and I just ballooned.
“I was well over 100kg but I have lost a lot of weight now, and I’m hopeful that one day I won’t have diabetes anymore.”
Driving with diabetes
According to Austroads, a person with diabetes treated by diet and exercise alone may drive a heavy vehicle without licence restriction. They should be reviewed by their doctor periodically regarding the progression of their diabetes.
If a driver has diabetes treated with insulin or other glucose-lowering agents, a conditional licence may be considered by the driver licencing authority, subject to at least annual review. This will take into consideration “the nature of the driving task” and information provided by an endocrinologist or consultant physician specialising in diabetes on whether the following criteria are met:
• There is no recent history (generally at least 6 weeks) of a “severe hypoglycaemic event” as assessed by the specialist.
• The person is following a treatment regimen that minimises the risk of hypoglycaemia.
• The person experiences early warning symptoms (awareness) of hypoglycaemia.
• There are no end-organ effects that may affect driving.
National Diabetes Week runs from July 14-21, 2024. For more information about diabetes, visit diabetesaustralia.com.au.
[signup]
The post Truckie opens up about daily struggle to manage diabetes appeared first on Big Rigs.