Growing up, Janet Puryear watched her mother, father, six aunts, and two uncles handle the day-to-day challenges of diabetes. She recalls how much of a struggle the disease was for them. In fact, she sadly recalls going with her father to have the same leg amputated twice.
Although she knew she was at risk for diabetes, she was still shocked and scared when she received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2004. The first few years after her diagnosis, she remained committed to keeping her blood sugars in the target range. She changed her lifestyle a bit- exercising more often, eating healthier, and doing all the right things as recommended by her doctors. That is, she "thought" she was doing all the right things....until she started having stomach issues in February of 2011. The doctors mistakenly thought her stomach issues were due to the flu and treated her with influenza medication. A few days later, during a physical exam required by her insurance company, the doctor informed her that she had experienced a heart attack. He found it on the EKG he performed. Interestingly, Janet did not have the common symptoms of chest or arm pain and no one, including her doctors, had ever talked with her about the connection between diabetes and heart disease in women.
After her diagnosis of heart disease, Janet felt alone and defeated, as if she had been given a death sentence. She decided to learn as much as she could about both heart disease and diabetes. That's when she discovered that there were many women living WELL with diabetes and heart disease. She realized there were some important messages that women with diabetes needed to hear that they were not hearing from their physicians... or anyone else.
Since then, Janet has become a fierce advocate for women with diabetes and heart disease. "Women with diabetes need to know that diabetes is a leading risk factor for heart disease and that the symptoms of heart disease are different in women than in men. I want to see physicians sharing this information on a regular basis and very openly with their patients," she said.
As a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, Janet travels the country sharing her important messages. Since her heart attack, she has also made some important lifestyle changes. Now, she is fully committed to eating healthy- monitoring carbohydrate intake and creating balanced meals, exercising regularly, and she has added a new aspect to her healthy living agenda. Now, she also devotes time to relieving stress and making her own mental and spiritual health a priority. She found that DiabetesSisters' PODS Meetup Program helps her address all aspects of her physical and mental health. She attended her first PODS Meetup in 2011 and was immediately drawn in by the welcoming atmosphere of "sisterhood." She enjoyed all of the sharing, learning, and support she experienced because it was very different from any program she had ever attended before. "I have learned so much from hearing other stories at PODS Meetups and reading DiabetesSisters' monthly e-newsletters," she said.
Janet's message to all women with diabetes:
"The most important key to living a healthy life is to advocate for yourself. You know your body better than anyone. If you are not satisfied with the answers you get from healthcare professionals, be persistent. Ask for additional testing. Don't fall victim to an unhealthy lifestyle. Do your own research, spend time with other ladies who have diabetes, and see how they are managing their disease. Please take care of you. We, as women, put everyone else ahead of ourselves and we are last on the list. Change that. Put yourself and your health first."