Surviving Covid and losing 53kg, motivated Nicky Gebka to beat type 2 diabetes

Discovery Health Medical Scheme member Nicky Gebka was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 18 years ago, at the age of 40.

After a near-death experience after contracting Covid-19, she decided to take her health more seriously.

Today, she is healthy, strong and 53kg lighter — and her diabetes is in remission.

A study published in The Lancet predicts that 1.3-billion people will have diabetes by 2050.

Also, one in two adults who live with diabetes don’t know they have the condition.

There are several types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. It happens when the body’s own immune system damages the pancreas — the organ that produces the hormone insulin (which is important in getting the glucose from the food we eat into the cells in our body that use it). It’s often not clear why this happens, or what triggers the damage. Type 1 diabetes is more commonly diagnosed in children than in adults.
• Adults diagnosed with diabetes moslty have type 2 diabetes, where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body’s cells don’t respond properly to it. This results in too much sugar (glucose) in the blood, which can cause damage throughout the body. Type 2 diabetes is caused by unhealthy living, weight gain, a life without much physical activity. These elements also feed any genetic risk a person has for developing the condition.
• Other forms of diabetes also exist, including gestational diabetes — which occurs during pregnancy and is usually temporary, and prediabetes — a potentially reversible condition that occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes. Prediabetes can lead to diabetes unless steps are taken to prevent it.

Type 2 diabetes can be put into remission. Just ask Gebka.

Gebka, 57, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2005 after a Discovery Health Check showed severely elevated glucose levels in her blood.

For the next 16 years, she followed a carefully prescribed regimen of medicines.

“I had to take a lot of medicine and doing so kept my diabetes stable,” she said.

“I was a midwife running my own well-baby clinic and I lived a sedentary lifestyle.

“I didn’t make time for exercise and I was lazy about changing my lifestyle to better manage my diabetes.”

Contracting Covid-19

In 2021, Gebka got Covid-19, and with diabetes a risk factor for developing serious Covid complications, she fell dangerously ill.

She spent eight weeks in hospital, six of which were in ICU on a ventilator and dialysis machine (dialysis replaces the function of the kidneys, filtering the blood).

At the height of her illness, Gebka received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (Ecmo) treatment, which supplies the blood with oxygen from outside the body so that the heart and lungs can rest and heal.

“The Ecmo machine is a last intervention and there are very strict criteria to be put onto Ecmo,” she said.

“My family was called on three separate occasions to say goodbye to me. Doctors didn’t think I’d make it.”

And on top of fighting Covid, she still had type 2 diabetes to contend with.

“My glucose levels were uncontrolled at the time, and the hospital was giving me injections to stabilise my blood sugar levels.”

After being fed through a drip for several weeks, she lost 20kg.

“I then decided to do something about my weight”

After her extended hospital stay, she was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in her right ankle.

“When I was at my podiatrist, I saw how I looked and realised I had to take my health more seriously.”

Once well enough, she started following a healthy eating plan and walking slowly, and soon saw results.

“With every 5kg that my weight went down by, I would check in with my metabolic specialist doctor and we would slowly reduce my diabetes medicine.

“I walk up to 10km every day with my dog, and I see a biokineticist three times a week,” she said.

By August 2023, she was in remission and stopped taking her diabetes medication.

• Diabetes remission is when type 2 patients’ blood sugar levels return to normal levels for at least three months without taking medication.

In January 2024, Gebka had reconstruction surgery on her right foot.

She wasn’t allowed to put any weight on her feet for several months.

“During this time, I continued to see my biokineticist to make sure I didn’t lose any muscle mass.”

Today, her blood glucose levels are stable and she remains in remission.

“I don’t need — or want — to go back on medicine for diabetes,” she said.

Her advice for people living with diabetes?

“I now prioritise looking after myself and listening to my body,” she said.

She encourages people with type 2 diabetes to:

• Eat healthily: “Find an eating plan that you enjoy and stick to it.”
• Move your body: “Every small step counts towards your health.”
• Educate yourself: “Start seeing a Discovery Diabetes Care Network GP as they are really skilled at managing diabetes and will partner with you in ongoing care.”
• Listen to your body: “Listen when your body tells you that it’s full when you are eating.”
• Be kind to yourself: “Take time for yourself and look after yourself — you only get one life.”
• Ask for mental health support if you are struggling.

This article was paid for by Discovery Health