WATCH | Holly Rey gets candid about the ‘real and sometimes ugly’ side of living with diabetes

Holly Rey got real with her fans about the struggles of living with diabetes. 

The singer, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 11, took to her timeline on Sunday to reveal she had been feeling sick and lost hearing in one ear due to an infection.

Holly said she was experiencing "diabetic fatigue" as she was tired of feeling sick.

"The real and sometimes ugly side of being diabetic. It isn’t always easy. I always try to showcase a positive attitude towards diabetes but sometimes it can be really hard and I think all type 1 diabetics can relate to that. Wherever you are I hope you know it’s OK to not be OK. Having a bad day with your diabetes does not make you a bad diabetic. Happy Diabetes Month," she captioned the post. 

Watch the video below:

She told TshisaLIVE though she became intentional about her health after a scare, her doctor also played a role.

"The thing is it is not like you take a pill and then you are good. Everything you eat and do is affected. I am on an amazing programme. I have a doctor on call for when I'm not feeling well. He does travel with me. A big change in my schedule and my team is having a doctor be a part of my team. He's not with me all the time but whenever I'm feeling under the weather he does travel with me to make sure I can be the best version of myself, not just for me but for all my fans and everyone I'm interacting with," she said

Holly said her doctor told her professional athletes take care of their health but musicians don't take it seriously. She said even without diabetes,  the busy schedules and  what musicians go through, with all the constant travel and physically demanding tasks on stage and the move to the next gig, is physically draining. 

"Our heart rate is up and down all the time. It is like being a professional athlete. He told me if I don't take my illness and my lifestyle seriously I'm going to get sick quickly. For me that was a shock. He said I needed to make some sort of a lifestyle change otherwise I'm either giving up music and going to a more wholesome regulated lifestyle or its changing the way I approach music and the way I visualise doing music. I obviously couldn't give up music so the compromise was having a doctor on call and taking my life seriously. It is something  I think more musicians need to do," she said