MGA News September 1998

I thought at one time that I might be writing this from one of Her Majesty's Homes for Wayward Gentlefolk, having caught the attention of the store detective in our local supermarket. The charge might have been suspected shop lifting, or tampering with foodstuffs. Even worse, that I was that Supermarket's worst nightmare, a customer resisting impulse purchases and putting stuff back on the shelf. It would all have been the dietician's fault.

Since a myasthenic crisis four years ago, I have been on the steroid prednisolone. This has worked wonders in holding the myasthenia at bay, but, as many of you who also use this drug will know, it does have other interesting effects. For one thing it can sharpen your appetite wonderfully. Mrs Gravis was horrified at the amount I was putting away. I was getting to look like all three Tenors rolled into one. The crunch came when routine tests indicated that I was becoming mildly diabetic. So off we trooped to the hospital's' diabetic clinic where I was given the good news that I had to lose weight and adopt a suitable diet.

My knowledge of diets was based on that followed by Great Aunt Gravis, who in the early fifties had become a sugar diabetic. No sugar, no potatoes, no pasta, no bread, only those weightless, cotton wool diabetic rolls. Things looked bad. The only good thing about her diet was that she was told that a tot of spirits, whisky in her case, would help burn up the sugar. A procedure she used every Christmas in order to have a slice of my mother’s rich fruit cake with its royal icing and marzipan. My heart sinking, Mrs Gravis and I went to see the clinic dietician. As with all dieticians I have met, she was depressingly slim. She fixed me with a searching eye and asked me what I ate. I told the terrible truth. After all Mrs Gravis was sitting there ready to make good any omissions I might see fit to make. To my surprise the dietician was not as disapproving as I had expected. "Apart from between meal snacking, your diet is not far out. What you must do is make sure that you eat the low sugar, low fat, high fibre forms of everything". I could eat bread but make it wholemeal or whole grain. Eat cereals for breakfast, but look for products without added sugar. "Don't waste money on special weight watchers or slimmer's products there is no need. Remember that 'low fat' on a product doesn't also mean low sugar and vice versa", she said, and then proceeded to lay the foundation for my supermarket adventure. She taught us how to read the nutritional information on the food packs.

On our next visit to the supermarket we loaded up with all sorts of fruit. I can, in moderation, safely snack between meals on them. We then set about exploring the tins and packets, carefully reading each packet, muttering "this one's OK", or "that's no good". It was only after I had accidentally reversed my wheelchair into a man who had crept up and was lurking behind me, that I realised something was up. He apologised for being in the way and withdrew to a safe distance. For some reason after this I felt that I was being watched. Then I realised that the CCTV cameras were no longer doing random sweeps, but following me. I said nothing to Mrs Gravis; she is of a nervous disposition.

After we had been through the checkout and paid for everything, a supervisor asked us if we would mind talking to the manager. "Perhaps we were the one millionth customer and about to get a bottle of bubbly". I told Mrs Gravis. No such luck, they wanted to know what was wrong with the goods we had replaced on the shelves. When we explained there were smiles all round and a helpful lad was detailed to help Mrs Gravis load the groceries and my chair into the car. These days when we go shopping they don't give us a second look. The diet has worked, my blood sugar is back to normal and I am two stone lighter. I have also become an expert in bread making, which would have pleased Great Aunt Gravis who was a Baker. Mind you we do use a machine, I measure the ingredients in and Mrs Gravis takes out the hot finished product.

MGA NEWS September 1998

	Notices	Search	Publications	What's New?	Myasthenia Gravis	Research	Top
	Organisation	Fundraising	Branches	Regions	Contacts	Newsletter	Home Page
		MGA Forum	Press & Publicity