Living with
Diabetes
How well do Malaysians
know diabetes?
We organised a social experiment with Malaysians from all walks of life to find out what comes to mind when they ‘Think Diabetes’.
Patient Stories
Learning that you have diabetes might come as a shock at first, but what matters is how you move forward and manage the condition. Here are two people with very different experiences with diabetes. Watch the videos to learn about their stories and find out what they have to say.
Mustapha bin Marikon, 53
“I didn’t know that diabetes could cause heart disease. I thought I had food poisoning but the doctor told me I had a heart attack and I had major blockage in my arteries. Very few diabetes patients know that diabetes and heart disease are related to each other.”
Mustapha was first diagnosed with diabetes 13 years ago. His doctor advised that he had higher risk of developing heart diseases, such as heart attack or heart failure. He didn’t take it seriously because he thought diabetes and heart disease could not be related, until 8 years ago, after he had a heart attack and almost needed a heart bypass surgery. Having survived that heart attack was a second chance for Mustapha. Since then, he spent a lot of time understanding his condition and started making lifestyle changes to be healthy and active.
Mohd Azfar bin Yaacob, 31
“I was only 26 years old when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I didn’t care about diabetes, until it hit me. My son is my biggest motivation to stay healthy and strong. I want to watch him grow up.”
Mohd Azfar has been living with diabetes for about 5 years now. He thought diabetes was a disease for older people, after having to watch his mother and elder brother living with diabetes for years. Things changed when he was diagnosed with diabetes himself at the age of 26. Just before the diagnosis, he didn’t notice any symptoms until his friend pointed out one drastic change in his appearance.