How I’m Thriving with Diabetes

Abe Ngoma, a middle school math teacher in Houston, TX, is a marathoner and long-distance bike rider who got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 20 years ago. A confirmed “candyholic,” he laid off the sweets quickly after diagnosis, especially seeing how diabetes had ravaged so many members of his family. Traditional management strategies worked for a while. But it wasn’t until he saw a commercial for a continuous glucose monitor in 2020 that everything changed for the better. Here, in his own words, is what happened:

I WAS SHOCKED when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was always a lean, active guy, but the disease ran in my family. To control it, my doctor prescribed me metformin. All was well until, right around 2011, I started losing weight. I felt dizzy when I ran marathons or rode long distances. I knew my diabetes was winning.

The Fix

MY DOCTOR WANTED me to get an insulin pump, but I couldn’t see that working with my active lifestyle. So we settled on my taking three types of insulin, which I did for quite a few years.

During the pandemic, I kept seeing ads for Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 continuous glucose monitor (CGM) on TV. I thought, why didn’t anybody ever introduce me to this? I brought it up to my doctor and I got one. It was a game changer.

It helped me figure out when I needed to eat and what I needed to eat. Things I thought were helping me control my diabetes weren’t actually helping me. For instance, the high-fiber cereal I was eating let my glucose stay high for too long, so I switched to something else that didn’t have the same effect. My nutritionist had told me to keep away from bread, but with the CGM, I learned it wasn’t every type of bread.

I felt with the CGM that I was getting a diagnosis from myself based on how my body was reacting, and it helped me manage my glucose.

It also helped me eat differently to fuel long bike rides. Before the CGM, I thought I had to carb-load the day before an event. I’ve learned I don’t need to do that. I’ve also learned what I need to take in at fueling/aid stations on big rides. Sometimes I don’t need to take in anything but Gatorade and water. My glucose levels usually stay pretty stable for the first 50 miles of a ride and then I need to take in a little more. Most weekends, I ride about 40 to 50 miles. But if I’m doing 150 miles or so, I might take in some bananas or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich around mile 80.

When I got the FreeStyle Libre, I even started riding more, because the app would beep if my glucose level was getting low. The friends I ride with all know the sound, too, and they help make sure I have what I need. Now, there’s no guesswork and I don’t have to stop and prick my finger to see what is going on or worse, get dizzy on the bike and have my body tell me my glucose is low.

The Reward

NOW THAT I know how my glucose is doing, sometimes I only need to take insulin for one meal instead of all three. I can even go two or three days without taking it. I wish someone had introduced me to the CGM earlier. But I look back at it and say that I’m glad I’m using it. My life has changed. Being able to do what I want to do—I feel like I have my life back. Now, I feel like I’ve got power.