Taking Back Her Life: Jackie Comrie-Charlton Defies Family History to Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Jackie Comrie-Charlton describes her journey with type 2 diabetes as “up and down.” When she was first diagnosed 20 years ago, she wasn’t entirely surprised, considering her family history on both sides with the disease and given her lifestyle at the time.

“I think I just accepted it because it runs in the family, so I wasn’t too alarmed in the beginning,” explains Jackie. “I started feeling sorry for myself—I had a high stress job, and I did not change my diet, so it just went out of control. I did not know how to help myself and I felt very frustrated.”

Making a Change

Jackie’s breaking point came when she stepped on the scale one day and weighed over 300 pounds. “I yelled ‘oh no!’” she says. “I have witnessed the impact of type 2 diabetes on various family members, including three of my siblings, with one losing their leg and another losing their vision, and I didn’t want a similar outcome for myself.”

She knew something had to change and began taking small steps to alter her eating habits. However, her big breakthrough came when she decided to undergo weight loss surgery to help both her weight and A1C, or her average blood sugar level over the past three months. While the process was slow, the numbers began to go down, and Jackie’s mindset shifted because she couldn’t eat the same way she had before.

Diabetes Care Team

Jackie’s team at Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center, including nurse practitioner Patricia Zubini-Weiss and clinical pharmacist Andrea Winston, was also integral in helping her make progress. Not only did they encourage her consistently, but they took the time to listen to what she wanted and tried different approaches to get her where she needed to be. For example, Jackie tried both fast and slow acting insulin, which wasn’t moving the needle for her, so her team suggested Trulicity, a once-weekly injection for blood sugar control, which gave her positive results.

Jackie says that the effort from her care team made a big impact on achieving success. She emphasizes that they listened and paid attention to what she wanted and her desired goal, which she says was ‘amazing.’ Jackie proudly notes that she has been a member of Mason Square for thirty-seven years and is appreciative of the care team that worked with her.

With support from her medical team, Jackie is continuing to make progress and be proactive in her health. A game changer for her has been prepping meals ahead of time, which gives her healthy options to choose from before she gets too hungry and using the science of food substitution—choosing foods that satisfy her, but don’t elevate her blood sugar. One of her favorites is using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice, which is a favorite staple in the Caribbean diet.

“You can achieve a low A1C level.”

If this experience has taught Jackie anything, it is that she is in control of her health, and it isn’t something she simply has to live with. Now that she is on top of her type 2 diabetes, she is committed to encouraging others to do the same.

“I always tell others that there is hope,” she says. “You can achieve a low A1C level, but you have to do the work. You can turn it around. I took back my life and I am happy, because my entire body and my mind feels better.”