Diabetic Shares His Story And Advises: Don't Ignore The Warnings

(CBS) -- A Chicago man is telling an amazing story that involves massive weight loss, healthy living and warning signs he missed that might help save your life.

Anthony Graham has lost 63 pounds in the last year, something he hadn't planned. Then the headaches began.

The frequent urination was constant.

"I was getting up out of bed two or three times a night," he says.

His wife, Lesa, noticed the thirst.

"He was guzzling water, just cup after cup after cup," she says.

It was the blurred vision that finally forced Graham to the hospital.

Type II diabetes was the diagnosis. Losing weight, exercising has helped Graham significantly reduce his medication. He's now among the 26 million people who live with the illness. Another 79 million are at risk and may not even know it.

The early warning signs, according to doctors, include what Graham ignored: frequent urination and unexplained thirst. Doctors also say look for unusual tiredness and for some unexplained weight loss.

What made Graham want to change? He knows people who ignored warning signs.

"They lost toes, their foot," he says. "I wanted to live."

This Saturday Graham will share his story at the American Diabetes Association Expo.