Shayne's story

Shane at Fieldays 2026, meeting with the Diabetes New Zealand team.

Shayne was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2017 at 52 years of age.  With his blood glucose level at 67, his doctor told him he had three options: “One: Die young. Two: Have a liver transplant. Three: Receive a referral to manage his diabetes and look into bariatric surgery”.   Shayne took option three. 

With a history of diabetes in his family (Shayne’s father had type 1 and his grandfather type 2), Shayne had already been told he was in the prediabetes range.  So, the diagnosis did not come as a surprise.

Shayne began taking diabetes medication and signed up to a Diabetes Your Life Your Journey self-management education course, facilitated by one of our Diabetes Community Coordinators | Kaiāwhina Mate Huka.  He found the course very helpful and learnt a lot of information about managing diabetes and eating well.  He immediately put this into action and started seeing his weight drop from an initial 125kg – to 118kg.  Then Covid lockdown happened and Shayne added long walks into his new routine.

In 2023, as recommended by his doctor, Shayne underwent gastric bypass surgery, which resulted in further weight loss.  Shayne has since implemented a very strict diet – no sugar, no carbs and kept the weight off.  His blood glucose has returned to a normal range which he has managed to maintain without the need for medication. 

Shayne’s story reminds us that with determination, will power and a willingness to implement changes, diabetes can be managed and, in his case, even return his blood glucose levels to a normal range.

Shayne hopes that by sharing his story, “If even one person changed their eating habits, then that would be worth it.”