THERESA May last night revealed her shock at being told she is suffering from
diabetes and will have to inject herself every day for the rest of her life.
The Home Secretary has the rarer Type 1 illness which means her body does not
produce any insulin — sending blood sugar levels too high.
It means the 56-year-old has to take insulin injections in her thigh or
stomach at least twice a day, follow a healthy diet and do regular exercise.
Docs initially thought Mrs May had Type 2 diabetes — which affects 90 per cent
of adult diabetics in the UK.
But in May, they said it was Type 1 — a less common condition usually found in
teenagers.
She admitted: “It was a real shock and, yes, it took me a while to come to
terms with it.”
Mrs May revealed that it started last November when she suffered a cold and
cough for quite a few weeks.
She said: “I went to my GP and she did a blood test, which showed I’d got very
high sugar level — that’s what revealed the diabetes.
“The symptoms are tiredness, drinking a lot of water, losing weight, but it’s
difficult to isolate things.
“I was drinking a lot of water. But I do anyway. There was weight loss, but
then I was already making an effort to be careful about diet and to get my
gym sessions in.
“Tiredness — speak to any politician and they will tell you the hours they
work. Tiredness can be part of the job. It is full on.”
Mrs May has lost just under two stone in the last 18 months.
Many in Westminster speculated that she was slimming down for a possible
leadership bid, but she denied wanting to become party chief.
Labour MP Keith Vaz was accused of sexism by female MPs in February after
tweeting about Mrs May’s “thin” appearance.
He wrote: “A bit worried about Home Secretary, she is looking a bit thin these
days. A new diet or pressure of work?”