Paper short abstract

Indians and Pakistanis decrease medication dosage and turn to non-allopathic remedies so to avoid medications side effects. Remedies are combined with allopathic ones and at times also replaced. Indians and Pakistanis desire having a grater role over main decisions about their diabetes self care.

Paper long abstract

Drawing on data collected during a sixteen-month ethnographic investigation, this article explore practices around Indians' and Pakistanis' use of herbal medications for diabetes control. The research revealed that respondents showed great resistance in adhering to medication prescriptions for diabetes control due to their various side effects, especially within the stomach. In order to avoid such side effects, respondents decreased medication dosage and turned to non-allopathic remedies that usually consisted of herbal medications, which according to Indians and Pakistanis, not only did not cause side effects, but also tackled the cause of the disease rather than its symptoms. Such remedies however, were not only combined with allopathic ones but also eventually replaced without the doctor's consultation. The research showed Indians' and Pakistanis' desire to have a grater role over main decisions about their diabetes self care health regime.