November 2009 Archives

School Blue-nity

By David Edelman on November 16, 2009 3:19 PM | 4 Comments
This is a guest post by Lorraine Sisto, author of the blog This is Caleb.

When my son's principal and I discussed holding a school spirit day to recognize World Diabetes Day, I imagined it coming and going like other ones – rather uneventfully.  I am happy to say that was not the case. 
 
Our plan was to ask students and staff to wear blue and donate a dollar to support a cure for type 1 diabetes.  My son, Caleb, is living with diabetes, and the hope was to increase awareness.  Simple enough.   
 
caleb.jpgIt turned into so much more than that.  I was able to personally draft a message to explain what World Diabetes Day is and a little about what living with diabetes is like.  Caleb was invited to announce the event over the loudspeaker in the principal’s office.  He was asked to count the dollars that were collected.  He was given the privilege of announcing the fundraising results and his thanks.
 
The impact was palpable.  Every staff member was donned in blue, several from head to toe.  Most students were dressed in blue.  I saw several that know and are friends with Caleb and I smiled knowing they did this for him, because they care for him.  I saw children who Caleb does not know and I thought they did this simply because they were asked to, and maybe they now know a little bit more about diabetes.  Or maybe they have a loved one living with diabetes and they did it in honor of them.  In any case, there was a sea of blue swarming through Caleb’s school and it made us feel good.  It was unifying.
 
During the day, Caleb followed his normal routine and he had blood sugars that were less than cooperative.  The school nurse commented how he couldn’t even catch a break on his special day.  She too, however, has come to realize that diabetes does not give any breaks.  She followed her empathetic statement with, “well that’s just diabetes, isn’t it?”  Yes it is.
 
What Caleb will remember though, is not the less than perfect blood sugar readings.  He will remember being special for a day.  He told me his favorite part was making the announcements to everyone at school.  He proudly listed all the teachers who now know him and call him by name.  He will remember his friends who wore blue and gave dollars to show their respect for him and all people living with diabetes. 
 
The day was a great success.  I am grateful to all those who took part in it and who support Caleb at school every day in such a caring way.
 
We are already planning how to build upon this event for next year. 

Lorraine Sisto is mother of three children including Caleb who was diagnosed with type one diabetes in January 2007.  She blogs at "This is Caleb...".  You can follow Lorraine on Twitter @Colcalli

7 Things You Should Know About Diabetes

By Kelly Kunik on November 14, 2009 6:00 AM | 0 Comments
1. It’s not the person with Diabetes fault that they are a PWD - a.k.a, Person with Diabetes.  They did nothing wrong and should not be treated as such.

2. You can’t “catch” Diabetes from a PWD. Unlike stupidity- Diabetes is NOT a communicable disease.

3. Diabetes is NOT A CHARACTER FLAW, though many “Characters” have been diagnosed with Diabetes- myself included.

4. Know that there are many different types of Diabetes including:
  • Type 1: An Autoimmune disease where the body's own cells actually attack the area of the Pancreas (The Island of Langerhans) where insulin is produced. TYPE 1's no longer make insulin and must inject the hormone in order to live.
  • Type 1.5: "LADA" or "Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults." 1.5’s are usually diagnosed over the age of 30,  T 1.5’s still produce insulin at the time of diagnoses and are not insulin resistant, but their pancreas is starting to fail in insulin production.
  • Type 2: A Metabolic disease where the body is actually insulin resistant. The body produces insulin, but does not produce enough. Type 2's take either oral medication or injections of insulin.
  • Gestational Diabetes: Diabetes that develops in women during pregnancy.
5. Know that people with Diabetes are not limited by Diabetes. However, PWD’s are held back by other people’s misconceptions that our Diabetes limits us.

6. NEVER, EVER say to a person with diabetes:  “If you eliminated all carbs and everything white from your diet, you’d be cured of Diabetes in 30 days.” Seriously, be prepared for the consequences- you’ve been warned!

7.  PLEASE be aware that there is NO CURE FOR DIABETES.  WE need you to be realize that – so you can help us find a cure.

Kelly Kunik has had type 1 diabetes since age 8. She blogs at Diabetesaliciousness. She is a Diabetes Advocate, Consultant, Motivational Speaker, and self-professed cupcake lover. In her immediate family of 8, 4 were diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Her sister Debbie died from diabetic complications in 1991 at the age of 33. Kelly believes laughter is key, she doesn't take this life for granted and does the work required to live her best life.

Got Diabetes? I'm Talking to You!

By Kelly Rawlings on November 13, 2009 1:38 PM | 1 Comment
A diagnosis of diabetes requires new vocabulary words—and some choice expletives. Many words in diabetes lingo have four letters, but only a few—diet, carb, shot, ouch, test, high, meds, cash—can be shared in polite company.

Whether you’re on an exam table wearing nothing but a flimsy gown, receiving results by telephone, or staring at a meter that says 126 mg/dl or above, a diagnosis of diabetes rocks your world.

I’ve inhabited this world for more than 36 years (diagnosed age 4 with type 1). My sincere hope is that we’ll find cures in my lifetime—or yours. But until that day, let’s take good care of each other. Here’s a list of the lab tests you should get (pdf) to monitor diabetes and prevent complications.

Kelly Rawlings is the Editor of Diabetic Living magazine. She has had type 1 diabetes since 1973. Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KellyRawlings.

When you hear “You have diabetes,” you’re not alone. There are many people with diabetes (PWDs) who are happy to help translate. In fact, PWDs are the most caring group I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Millions of PWDs talk the talk and walk the walk (and poke the fingers and count the carbs) every day. They provide a wealth of information, approaches, and—most important—support and encouragement.

Here’s one bit of encouragement: Concentrate on the ABCs of diabetes. Diabetes management involves three key goals: managing blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids (cholesterol) to prevent or minimize damage to your heart and blood vessels, eyes, nerves, and kidneys. You likely will require medicine, and often more than one type, to achieve the targets. The targets, below, are general guidelines; you and your provider may decide tighter goals are best for you:

A is for … A1C (blood glucose)
Less than 7 percent
Blood glucose after fasting and before meals: 70–130 mg/dl
Blood glucose 1–2 hours after starting a meal: <180 mg/dl

B is for … Blood pressure
Less than 130/80 mmHg
Controlling blood pressure can provide great value in reducing blood vessel complications.

C is for … Cholesterol (blood lipids)
Total cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dl
LDL (bad) cholesterol: Less than 100 mg/dl
(with heart disease: Less than 70 mg/dl)
HDL (good) cholesterol: Men: Greater than 40 mg/dl; Women: Greater than 50 mg/dl
Triglycerides: Less than 150 mg/dl

My numbers have much improved since I have discovered the diabetes online community (it’s all about diabetes, 24 hours a day). The bonds I have with PWDs on social networks such as www.tudiabetes.com, www.diabetesdaily.com, and www.twitter.com (search for the hashtag #bgnow to see blood glucose results) have encouraged me to check my blood sugars and do the dozens of things I do each day to ensure I enjoy many more years to come.

July 14, 2009, was the world’s first diabetes test-in, when hundreds of people checked their blood glucose levels and posted the results online. I look forward to another blood sugar check fest, www.bigbluetest.org, on November 14, 2009, World Diabetes Day. Checking blood sugars no longer needs to be a lonely endeavor or a hidden burden.

Please poke with me, for all of us. 

Diagnosed Diabetes: the Day My Life Changed Forever

By Gina Capone on November 12, 2009 1:33 PM | 3 Comments
“We have to take a finger stick.”  Those chilling words I heard on November 25th, 2000 would change my life forever.

My sister and I both went to the doctor that day.  I remember that it was a gloomy day, kind of rainy. My appointment was at 11am for a sinus problem that would not go away, and my sister was also going because she had a sore throat. The waiting area was jam packed, and I was getting very impatient since I hated going to doctors in the first place. My sister looked half dead next to me and she was getting impatient also. We both were huffing and puffing the whole time.

They finally called me in! The nurse came in, weighed me, took my blood pressure a sample of blood and made me go to the bathroom to give a urine sample. Finally I was done! I come out, my sister is next, and she was in and out. I remember saying that was fast. All of a sudden, the nurse comes back out and calls my name “Gina, the doctor would like to see you, again.”  My heart dropped a bit, because I am thinking that something is wrong with my sister.

They put me back into a room, and right away my doctor came in and says, “We have to take a finger stick.” I say to him right away “Isn’t that for DIABETES!” I knew because my aunt was a type 1 diabetic so I was familiar with the term. He tested my finger and it felt like an eternity for the result.

“360”

“Gina you have type 1 diabetes.”  “Are you sure?” was my response. My doctor said, “yes Gina, I am positive,” He also, told me that I had ketoacidosis. Which was the reason he called me back in. I had ketones in my urine and needed to be hospitalized right away. He told me that I needed insulin to get my blood sugar down and wrote me a prescription for Humbling R, and syringes. He said, “Go to Genovese right now get your prescription filled and come back with an orange.” 

My sister had already walked home because I took too long. So I was all by myself, and drove straight to Genovese without going home. My dad was home and my mom was working, I don’t know what made me go to the drug store first.  On the way there I was numb and had tears rolling down my face, I called my aunt on my cell phone before I got to the drug store and was crying. I said Aunt MaryAnn I just got out of the doctors office, her next sentence was “ he told you, you have diabetes” she knew all along, she noticed my symptoms, but thought that I was anorexic from all the weight loss I had for the past year. I told my aunt where I was going and said, “I’ll call you later.”

I got the prescription filled. Went home, ran downstairs where my dad was, I was hysterically crying and trying to tell him what was going on. He had no idea at first what I was trying to tell him, so he said “calm down, calm down.”  “DAD, I HAVE DIABETES” I will never forget his face, he turned white and said “WHAT?” I repeated it to him, as the phone rang; it was the doctor’s office. I told them I got the stuff, and would be there soon.

 I told my dad that I was leaving that they were waiting for me; he was going to pick up my mother from her job and would meet me there. He thought I was going straight to the doctor’s office.  I didn’t go straight there. I picked my aunt up, and made her come with me.

I got back to the doctors office with my aunt, the medicine, syringes and the orange. The nurse saw me and said, “Your parents are waiting inside.”  I walked into the room where the doctor and my parents were waiting for me. He said that he made a mistake by making me go to get the medicine and syringes, and that I needed to get to the hospital right away. My mother started shaking uncontrollably. The doctor told me that I needed an insulin drip and that I was very lucky to have come to him today, because, another couple of days and I would have been in a diabetic coma.

The Hospital Trip

On the way to the hospital I didn’t say much, it was me, my parents, and my aunt in the car. Shock was not the word at the point.  I didn’t really know what to say to anyone so just kept quiet. My mother and father just kept smoking cigarettes and my Aunt was holding me. We finally got to South Nassau Medical Center.

My doctor told us that we had an endocrinologist waiting for us at the hospital, but I had to sign all sorts of paperwork before being admitted. I saw the emergency room nurse and she did another finger test, checked my blood pressure and my temperature. She told me that my blood sugar level was 560 at this point. It was rising since the last test at my primary care physician. I started to feel like my world was turning upside down. What the hell is happening to me? I thought to myself. The nurse told me to have a seat and they would call me when a bed in the ER was open.

I didn’t wait long; she called me in about five minutes. They took me into the far right corner of the emergency room, with only one person on the left of me. I was kind of relieved that I wasn’t in the middle of the entire room. Another nurse came over with a gown, and told me to change into it so they could take blood, and would be putting in an IV drip with saline and an insulin drip. They kicked my parents out of the small section I was in, I remember telling the nurse that I didn’t want my mom to leave. I was so scared and was trying to keep as strong possible and could see that my mother didn’t want to stay in while I was getting the needles. So I told her to leave and that I would be ok.

Before they started taking my blood and putting in any IV drips, the endocrinologist we were waiting for came. He checked my heart and lungs, breasts and stomach asked me tons of personal questions and said that they would be putting the drips in. He was in and out. My mom and dad were outside of the curtain, as he started walking away I heard my mom ask him if they were sure I was diabetic and if I could take pills or a diet and he said No. I couldn’t hear much after that because the nurse came with all the IV equipment.

She told me that she was told by the doctor that I needed a special test to see if I had some sort of acid in my blood and would have to take it from the wrist and that it would hurt a lot. At that point any needle was going to hurt me so I swallowed hard, as she did it and tried to be as calm as possible. I felt like screaming, it hurt so bad. Keeping my cool I was holding the edge of the hospital bed so hard and just couldn’t wait for her to pull the needle out of my wrist. The nurse pulled the needle out and finally I was relieved of the excruciating pain. After that, next was the IV, at this point my aunt came in, since she was a pro at being in a hospital and nothing phased her she stayed with me. My mom and dad went to smoke another cigarette.

The nurse was going to put the IV into the crease in my right arm, but my aunt told them to put it into the top of my hand, that I would not be able to bend my arm and it would hurt more. Since she was hospitalized so many times I trusted my aunt more then the nurse.  It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it was going to.

All I had to do now was wait for a room upstairs. My mom and dad were done talking with the doctor and at this point the IV was in. They opened the curtain and both of them looked at me, and all of a sudden I felt like a little kid.

My mom sat on the bed with me and looked so helpless staring at me. I could tell she wanted to trade spots. She had tears in her eyes the whole time, trying to hold back from crying, and my father just kept pacing back and forth saying this sucks. I was 25, but to them at that point I was their little baby all over again. I kept telling them not to worry, that I was going to be ok. I figured if I reassured them that I was dealing, it would be a little easier for them to deal with.

At about 10pm a transporter came to move me to a room. My parents and aunt came up with me till I got situated and then were going to leave. They brought me up and I was in the pediatric ward. My parents didn’t want me to be with all the old cranky people yelling all night, so they put me with the kids. I thought it was quite comical actually.

After I was all settled in the room, my parents kissed me goodbye and told me they would be in early the next day. They left and I was alone, scared and dead tired from the whole day. I was trying to sleep and couldn’t all these wires hanging from my arm, and on top of it my new doctor ordered my blood be drawn from my finger every hour and my arm every six hours. Torture.

The 6th hour after my parents left which was about 3am, I became very sweaty and started to feel as though my heart was pumping out of my chest. The nurses station was right across from my room so I called out to her and said “ I think I’m having a heart attack!” she asked me what my symptoms were and I told her. “ She said, sweetie you’re not having a heart attack you’re having a low blood sugar.” “A WHAT?” She had to explain to me exactly what a low blood sugar was and why I was getting it. Since I did not eat anything from 8 o’clock the night before and now it was 3am the next day, and I was on an insulin drip that I needed to have some sugar to raise my blood sugar level. She lowered the drip and checked my blood sugar (which was 60) and got me some juice. After about 10 or 15 minutes I was feeling better. The nurse then explained that sometimes that would happen to me at home and I would have to be prepared at all times for something like that happening again. It is called hypoglycemia, she said. After the commotion she told me to try and get some sleep that she wouldn’t bother me for a while. Thank god! I was thinking to myself.

7am on the dot, my doctor woke me up. He asked a bunch of annoying questions again, and told me that I would have to give myself a shot 10 pm tonight or would not be allowed to go home until I did.  Well I wanted out of there really bad. I would do anything at that point.

The nurses were changing shifts and I wouldn’t see my night nurse till 7pm. I was feeling very comfortable with her.

My day nurse came in introduced herself and left, I didn’t her like as soon as I saw her. She had a cold look to her face, as though everything would get on her nerves.

I got out of bed to go wash my face and brush my teeth, took one look in the mirror and called the nurse, “Why is my face swollen?” I thought I was allergic to the insulin or something. I had no idea that the reason I was swollen was because, I had a saline drip that was helping to replenish my body of all the fluids lost from ketoacidosis.

People came to visit on and off all day. My mom stayed the whole day, and my father came that night.

I was stressing about giving myself the shot from that morning. My mom was going home with someone and my dad and boyfriend at the time stayed with me until I had to give myself the shot. You could see in my dads face that he didn’t want to stay to watch me shoot myself with a needle, but did anyway. I learned to draw the needle with insulin and then gave an orange a shot. I really didn’t think it was the same as giving it to my own flesh but kept practicing. At this point I was hysterical crying as I was doing it because I knew that soon I would be doing it to my own body.

Well, I finally got enough nerve, and the nurse said “READY” and I said “NO”  but, knew I had to do it…So, I drew up the syringe without any problems. Pinched my stomach as hard as I could, went to do it and then pulled away the needle. I lost my nerve looked at my Dad with tears and he said “YOU CAN DO IT!”  I pinched my skin again harder than before and gave myself a shot for the first time. It honestly was not as bad as I thought.  From that day forward, I have been living my life as a young adult with diabetes. Which has not been that bad, seriously there could be worse things to deal with in life. I hope this story helps others to know that just like my dad said to me" YOU CAN DO IT!" 

--
Gina Capone is a patient blogger, diabetes advocate and graphic designer, living with type 1 diabetes since November 2000. She co-founded Diabetes Talkfest twitter: @DTF (www.diabetestalkfest.com) and The Diabetes Resource (thediabetesresource.com) twitter: @TDResource, and is the community manager for JDRF's type 1 social network Juvenation.org. She also started The CGM Anti-denial  online campaign to help people with diabetes get covered for continuous glucose monitors http://cgm-antidenial.ning.com. Follow Gina on twitter @ginacaps

1 in 2 Hispanic Children May Develop Diabetes

By Lahle A. Wolfe on November 12, 2009 8:00 AM | 0 Comments

I recently read a sobering article on Poder360.com about how our Hispanic community is alarmingly underrepresented by our government’s decision makers.  At a time when health care is up for debate, those who need it most need the strongest voice and many of those suffering from a lack of health care are people with diabetes. World Diabetes Day is great day to shine a spotlight on populations whose needs have been ignored.

According to the United States Health & Human Services Department:

“Mexican Americans are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.  They have higher rates of end-stage renal disease, caused by diabetes, and they are 50% more likely to die from diabetes as non-Hispanic whites.

  • Mexican American adults were 2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
  • In 2002, Hispanics were 1.5 times as likely to start treatment for end-stage renal disease related to diabetes, compared to non-Hispanic white men.
  • In 2005, Hispanics were 1.6 times as likely as non-Hispanic Whites to die from diabetes.”

I found those statistics staggering and so began looking for some answers.  People who are ignorant of how diabetes happens may blame genes or lifestyle for the high rate of type 2 diabetes among Hispanics.  I have too often heard patients being blamed for their type 2 diabetes even when they had no doctor to educate, screen, or treat them for diabetes. So I will place blame in a different place:  the lack of diabetes information, medical and nutritional  services, and health insurance for Hispanic and Latino people in the United States. Statistics show that people with better access to information, support, and health care have lower rates of diabetes regardless of their race or ethnicity.  It is a lack of information and intervention that is fueling the rate at which diabetes is spreading.

Hispanics make up 15 percent of the United States population and are the least likely any ethnic or racial group to have health insurance despite showing a higher than average presence in the workforce.  In fact, 34 percent of all Hispanics do not have any health insurance.

In 2006, Hispanic news reported that, “One in three children born in the United States five years ago are expected to become diabetic in their lifetimes, according to a projection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The forecast is even bleaker for Latinos: one in every two.”

Please, mothers, fathers, read this again because it is your children, our children that are so at risk:  One in every two Hispanic children born is expected to develop diabetes.

I urge every blog visitor to stand up for those children now.  It is not too late to change their future. And the key to change is through better awareness and diabetes initiatives using our collective voices to make sure the non-diabetic world is listening to us.  If we don’t make a loud noise now, someday the world will have to listen because at the current epidemic rate diabetes is threatening our children, someday, people with diabetes will become the majority population.

Sources: 

Lalhe A Wolfe is Founder of iPump.org, a 501(c)3 non-profit that distributes pump supplies to those in need.

Why is World Diabetes Day Important to Me?

By Scott K. Johnson on November 11, 2009 3:30 PM | 0 Comments
Because so much has not changed in the past 88 years very little has changed in how diabetes is treated, and that frustrates the heck out of me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very thankful for all that has changed and improved over those years, but it has not come far enough or fast enough.

How do we treat diabetes?  We take some magical liquid (insulin) and use a needle to squirt it under our skin.  We used to check our urine to see if we guessed right.  Now we poke our finger and bleed on something.  Doesn’t it all sound very primitive?  It IS very primitive!  While the methods and tools we use to do these primitive things have changed a lot, not much else has happened.


Diabetes used to be a death sentence.  You either starved yourself to death, or you nourished yourself and died from miserable complications.  So again, I am thankful for all of the treatments we have.  It allows me to live what appears to be a normal life.

But on the inside, my life is everything but normal.  I am in a never-ending cage match with myself.  No matter who wins the fight, I come out the loser, and am always exhausted.  No matter what stresses I’m dealing with in life, I always have to balance my diabetes management.

The number of decisions I have to make on a daily basis would paralyze the average person.  Heck, it paralyzes ME sometimes!  Within all of those decisions are all sorts of calculations, and much of the time I don’t have all of the information needed to work it all out.  I have to guess.  The penalty for getting it wrong is either a minor or major interruption in my day, and the threat of major drama later in life.

Diabetes is an invisible disease.  Is that why there isn’t a cure yet?  Is the research funding limited because you can’t see just how hard it is trying to live with this condition?  Maybe.

We are all so strong, and stubborn.  We need to be strong and stubborn to survive.  But in doing so we create the illusion that living with diabetes is no big deal.  This is exactly why we need to speak up and raise awareness.  We need to live descriptively about the challenges and struggles we deal with!

World Diabetes Day is our day.  It is our chance to take our daily thoughts and emotions and share them with a huge audience.  That is why World Diabetes Day is important to me.

Scott K. Johnson writes about both his failures and successes with type 1 diabetes at Diabetes Daily and dLife. 

What's Up with World Diabetes Day?

By Ann Bartlett on November 10, 2009 1:20 PM | 0 Comments
Why is this so important?  How about these reasons:  
  • Here in the United States 23.6 million people live with diabetes.  Another 5.7 million are undiagnosed.
  • Current trends say that 1 in 3 Americans will develop diabetes in their lifetime, and those with diabetes will lose on average 10-15 years of life. 
  • Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults, as is kidney failure and non traumatic amputations.
  • Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death on death certificates in 2006.
  • In 1999-2000, 7% of US adolescents aged 12-19 had impaired fasting glucose.
Of the 23.6 million people with diabetes, 3 million have type 1 diabetes.  With early detection and prevention, people living type 2 diabetes, and pre-diabetes, could reduce these statistics by 58%!    

No one wants live not feeling well, or worse with the devastating complications, and often people who do have complications will admit, “If only I had known!”  So here are some statistics to validate a World Diabetes Day: 
  • Blood glucose control reduces risk for eye, kidney and nerve damage by 40%.
  • Blood glucose control reduces risk for heart disease and stroke among people with diabetes by 33%-50%
  • Comprehensive foot care reduces amputation rates by 45-85%!
Statistically, people with undiagnosed diabetes arrive at the hospital seriously ill and run a healthcare bill of $18 Billion dollars a year, just for initial diagnosis. While most people think this is type 2 diabetes, many are undiagnosed type1 and there is additional trouble if they arrive in diabetes ketoacidosis, also known as DKA.  Averages of 25-40 percent of cases are in DKA.  By allowing the body to go untreated to the point of DKA means a greater change for diabetes complications.  Studies show that with early detection, DKA can be dropped to as little as 12%.  A good reason for knowing the signs!    

The signs for diabetes need to be quick to everyone’s mind and we have not gotten there yet!  For people who do not have diabetes it is fear of change, for people who live with diabetes it is fear of being labeled.  As patients, doctors and family, we are all guilty of not spreading awareness out of fear!  But the truth is, with all the tools we have it is very manageable and with a little more effort, we could be a healthier nation as a result!  Education is the strongest assault on fear!  

Here’s a little trivia, November 14th is Frederick Banting’s birthday.  Who is Frederick Banting?  A Nobel Prize winner for a little something called insulin! In 2006, UN passed a resolution to recognize Banting’s birthday as World Diabetes Day and gave us the color blue to represent diabetes awareness.  The signs of diabetes need to be as obvious as the color pink is to cancer! Share your experience and knowledge, and color it blue!

Ann Bartlett has type 1 diabetes and writes for MyDiabetesCentral.com. She is a Wellness Center Owner.

Top 7 Things Everyone Should Know About Diabetes

By Crystal Lane on November 9, 2009 2:17 PM | 1 Comment
  1. Your diabetes may vary. Each body is different. We react to and deal with every aspect of life differently. No one way is right or wrong. This disease is about trial and error. Some foods are absorbed, digested differently in each person. This is a huge consideration when it comes to managing Diabetes. I recently told my Endocrinologist that if it weren’t for carbs I would be in great health but I do need to eat as we all do.
  2. What you read, see and/or hear is not how it “really or usually” is. The norm in the media has it quite wrong most of the time. There is more to Diabetes than just…..Diabetes. There are different Types: I, II, LADA, Gestational. There are a number of reasons why someone may or may not get this disease and a plethora of unknowns. This disease is very individual. It has a mind of it’s own and it is far from prejudice. There is no simple regiment that fits all. If you have questions, there are plenty of accurate resources out there to guide you. TuDiabetes, DiabetesMine, DiabetesDaily and The Diabetes Resource are great places to start.
  3. No set formula of any treatment will work for all. For Type 1 Diabetes, insulin is a treatment, not a cure. Just because someone needs insulin, this does not make him or her bad or worse off. It means just that; they need insulin. Here’s the thing many don’t seem to know: Every body needs insulin. Insulin is a necessary hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of the sugar glucose in the blood. Insulin permits cells to use glucose for energy. Cells cannot utilize glucose without insulin. As to why some produce it fine their whole lives and others don’t – if researchers really knew, maybe a cure would be closer than I believe it ever will be.
  4. We all react and deal with Diabetes differently. Diabetes is not just about a meal plan, watching/counting carbs, doing a blood test, taking insulin…it is so much more. There is a physical and mental toll that needs to be taken into consideration. See 1.
  5. Diabetes is progressive. It changes with you as you get older – symptoms change, sensitivity changes, need for insulin amount changes, medication needs etc change. The constant in Diabetes is change. Those who live with the disease do their best each and every moment of every day. Going with the flow, taking one blood sugar level at a time is key to balancing your management.
  6. Management of Diabetes is every minute of every day. You can’t just stop doing blood tests, taking medication or taking into account practically every move you make. There is no vacation from Diabetes. No break. It is everyday, all day. There are so many variables and factors that contribute to the management of this disease. First is your blood sugar level, what are you doing, what do you think you will be doing, what are thinking about eating, don’t forget to count carbs, factor in the grams of fat too, exercise in the near future maybe, are you tired or energetic today, are you coming down with an infection or cold. It is never ending, every day.
  7. Yes. Yes I can eat that. Each person is entitled to eat whatever, whenever they want. How is someone with Diabetes different? They aren’t. They just have to pay a bit more attention. We can eat the same things as the next person. Even candy, sweets or sugary stuff. Type 1’s count carbs in order to administer the correct amount of insulin. Most all food has a carb count. We factor it in, do the amount of insulin that works for us and get on with our day.
All in all, the constant in Diabetes is change. There is no cure. In the meantime, bringing awareness to such a misunderstood and individual disease is so very important. World Diabetes Day is November 14th, every year. This is an international effort to bring awareness and to educate. Do your part by learning what you can and telling others.

Crystal was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on 05/15/85, age 6. Multiple Daily Injections for 20 years. Pumping for over 4 years. Started blogging and advocating at Randomly capitalizeD through humor (probably some sarcasm but definitely honesty) about her life at age 29. Been living without health insurance for over 2 years. "The constant in Diabetes is change."

Take The Big Blue Test

By Manny Hernandez on November 9, 2009 11:00 AM | 1 Comment
Saturday Nov. 14 at 14:00 hours (2 pm, local time -no matter where you live), thousands of people with diabetes will test their blood sugar, do 14 minutes of exercise, test again and share their results online.

The event is called The Big Blue Test because the blue circle is the international symbol for diabetes. The idea of a shared "blood sugar test-in" started with an activity organized in July 2009 by TuDiabetes.org, a community for people touched by diabetes. More than a thousand people participated then. Now, we seek to reach thousands of people with diabetes through eight diabetes social networks* and Twitter. The activity incorporates 14 minutes of physical activity to reinforce the importance of exercise.

Participating in this event to raise diabetes awareness on November 14 is easy:
1.    Test your blood sugar.
2.    Run, jog, walk the dog or do anything you’d normally do as part of your exercise routine for 14 minutes.
3.    Test your blood sugar again.
4.    Go to http://bigbluetest.org (or your preferred diabetes social network*) and post your readings and what physical activity you did. If you have a camera, you can also add a photo of your reading(s) or you exercising.
5.    If you have a Twitter account, you can also post your readings on Twitter (use the #bigbluetest hashtag) and link back to http://bigbluetest.org.

We hope to see most readings posted at 14 hours (2 pm) YOUR local time, on November 14. If you are early or late, it’s OK. What matters most is that you test your blood sugar often and that you exercise regularly. If you don’t have diabetes, you can take The Big Blue Test. Either way, tell others to test, exercise and share on Nov. 14.


(*) Participating diabetes social networks:
  • TuDiabetes (campaign organizer)
  • Children With Diabetes
  • Diabetes Daily
  • Diabetic Connect
  • Diabetic Rockstar
  • dLife
  • Juvenation
  • My Diabetes Central

Let's Get Organized For World Diabetes Day!

By George Simmons on November 8, 2009 1:14 PM | 1 Comment
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 17 years old.

Before that my only exposure to diabetes was three of my grandparents who all had type 2. I was scared, confused, and felt completely alone.

Being a senior in high school and involved in activities I was the kid who grabbed a can sodapop for breakfast, skipped lunch, and grabbed anything I could get at the local fast food joint for dinner. My eating habits were poor, sporadic, and the thought of having 3 meals a day, everyday, seemed overwhelming. And we are not even talking about taking insulin or checking my blood sugar.

Too many things to think about and too many possibilities for complications made me push diabetes aside for a long time. I just did not want to think about it. I decided to take that dose of insulin and keep on going like nothing had changed.

One day it did.

After years and years of checking my blood sugar monthly, at best, I got sick. Really sick. It was the stomach flu and I could not keep any food in me. Since I could not eat, I assumed that if I took my insulin I would drop down and experience a major hypoglycemic episode so I stopped taking my shot for a day and a half. At the time this made sense to me.

I remember my wife checking my blood and saying the meter just read “HIGH.” I remember trying to walk to the family room but could not walk past the living room. I remember being lifted into an ambulance and the ceiling of the emergency room. I remember IV’s, blood draws, ice chips, and bright lights. I remember hearing my wife cry next to my bed.

At the time I did not understand how insulin worked in my body or that I needed it all the time. Ignorance is not always bliss.

Soon after this episode I got in to see an endocrinologist who confirmed my a1c was 12.5%. I have learned just what the number meant before I saw him because I had been online looking for information. Searching for a much needed education.

I am happy to say that through websites and blogs I have read, I have learned so much and do not feel in the dark about my diabetes. Sure it is not predictable but I know what it is, how to treat it, and how to handle bad situations. Education is powerful and World Diabetes Day is great reason to get yourself educated and educate others!

The more we know, the better we can take care of ourselves. And the more we educate, the more we can help stop this epidemic.

George Simmons is a husband, father, writer, musician, type 1 and Ninjabetic. He blogs at The B.A.D. Blog (The Born Again Diabetic Blog). Follow George on Twitter: @ninjabetic.

Latinos: You Need to Take on Diabetes Now!

By Sheri Colberg on November 6, 2009 12:00 PM | 0 Comments
As the next World Diabetes Day on November 14, 2009 approaches, we need to turn our focus to the specific ethnic groups most affected by diabetes and its complications.  In the USA, one group of particular concern is Latinos, which now comprise America’s largest minority group (slightly edging out African Americans) and remain the fastest-growing segment of the population.  As of 2000, more than 44 million Latinos were living in the United States, accounting for almost 15 percent of the total population, and they are expected to comprise 30 percent of Americans by the middle of this century.  A diverse and heterogeneous group, Latinos share a common ancestry, language, and culture, even with a mix of European, African, Asian, and Native American blood.  For them, diabetes is a huge and rapidly expanding problem: currently over two and a half million Latinos (about 10 percent of Americans afflicted with diabetes) have it, and their lifetime risk of developing it is around one in two.

Unfortunately, as a Latino, you share an increased incidence of diabetes regardless of your precise ethnic mix. Latinos are second only to Native Americans in having the highest incidence of diabetes in the United States, and they get it at earlier ages than other populations. Among Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans, the age of onset is thirty to fifty years. More than 10 percent of all Mexican Americans twenty or older have diabetes, which is almost twice the rate of non-Hispanic whites of a similar age.  Cuban Americans have a slightly lower rate of diabetes than Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, but still higher than non-Hispanic whites.  Thus health concerns like diabetes in Latino communities can have serious and wide-reaching implications for the national health care system and America’s collective health, not to mention the health of any of your relatives living south of the United States in your family’s native country.

Why is your diabetes risk higher if you’re Latino?  It may have to do with the genes you inherited, but obviously there are other factors (e.g., lifestyle choices) that may be equally, if not more, important in the disease’s development. Fortunately, we now know that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable even if you have a higher risk due to your ethnicity, as demonstrated by a study of over 3,200 people concluded in 2003.  All of the individuals participating in the Diabetes Prevention Program had prediabetes and were at high risk of developing the disease.  At least 15 percent were Latinos, and the results showed that lifestyle choices—diet, exercise, and body weight—can make it possible to delay or prevent diabetes onset in two out of every three Hispanic individuals, more than when all ethnic groups were included.  From this study alone you can conclude that while being Latino may increase your risk of getting diabetes, the lifestyle choices that you make likely will have a greater effect.

What can happen if you don’t control your diabetes?  Although it’s not fun to think about, you need to be aware of the harm that diabetes can do.  Ignoring your diabetes care and claiming ignorance about its possible consequences is not the way to go with this disease.  Why?  Because diabetes worldwide causes more than 3.2 million deaths per year, or six deaths every minute, and probably more.  The leading cause of death in all Americans is heart disease, whether or not you have diabetes. Latinos, however, have a higher risk of developing and dying from diabetes, and they’re also twice as likely as other populations to experience complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, amputations, and nerve damage.  This insidious disease is the sixth leading cause of death in Latino communities and the fourth leading cause of death among Latino women and seniors.

Having an elevated blood glucose or blood sugar level can have a tremendously negative impact on your long-term health and enjoyment of life.  Diabetes has the potential to rob you, on average, of more than twelve years of your life while reducing the quality of life for twenty or more years.  Diabetes causes other health problems that can severely limit your quality of life. For instance, elevated blood sugar levels over time can damage your eyes, kidneys, and nerves.  Poorly controlled diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults, with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (a severe form of diabetic eye disease) alone causing tens of thousands of these new cases in addition to those caused by glaucoma, cataracts, and neuropathy of the optic or eye muscle nerves.  Poorly managed diabetes is also the leading cause of kidney disease treated by dialysis and ultimately kidney transplants.  Nerve damage can cause numbness in feet or hands, gastroparesis (slowing of the digestion of food), carpal tunnel syndrome, and severe dizziness when standing up, and can lead to toe, foot, and leg amputations.  If you’re pregnant and have diabetes, your baby can get too big and have a higher risk of birth defects unless you effectively control your blood sugar.

Scared?  Good, you should be!  So, get up off the couch and do something about it while you still can, and take your Latinos amigos with you!  Get out and spread the word on World Diabetes Day, and get your exercise at the same time.  You can live a long and healthy life with diabetes or prediabetes by means within your control, like your diet, physical activity, and stress management. The good news is that it’s possible for you to start gaining health benefits today—and you need to realize this yourself and let everyone else know.  Diabetes is a killer and a debilitator, but it doesn’t have to affect you, your friends, your family, or even the world.  Taking control of your diabetes is important for you and your whole family and what better time to start spreading the word than on the upcoming World Diabetes Day!


Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, is an exercise physiologist and professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University and adjunct professor of internal medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. A respected researcher and lecturer, she has authored more than 150 research and educational articles on exercise, diabetes and health, as well as numerous diabetes books, including Diabetes? No Problema!: A Latino’s Guide to Living Well with Diabetes.  More information can be accessed at www.shericolberg.com.

Musings from a Type 1 Athlete

By Ginger Viera on November 5, 2009 1:26 PM | 1 Comment
If you told me three years ago that I would become a legitimate athlete who sets federation records in a real-life sport, I would’ve chuckled and thanked you for providing a funny little story I could retell at lunch that day. I have Type 1 diabetes. As of August 2009, I’ve set seven records in the World Powerlift Association, won the Vermont Bench Press competition and plan to work my way up to the “elite” level of powerlifting over the next couple years.  

You might think that means I can tell you I’ve discovered the perfect solution for suceeding easily as a diabetic athlete, but the truth is: it’s hard work. Every single day. Some days, I don’t do it so well, high, low, high, low. Some days, I’m right on the ball. Every single day, however, I’m willing to do the best I can.  

“The best I can” is such a vague phrase, I know, but my best on Tuesday may not be equal to my best on Thursday. That’s okay. That’s what I do know for sure: it’s not about perfection, it’s about persistence.

Living with diabetes and striving to be an athlete wasn’t an option I thought I had when I was diagnosed ten years ago, at the age of 13. No one ever said it aloud, but it felt like an unspoken assumption that people with diabetes don’t really become competitive athletes. Instead, they became diabetics. People with a disease who try not to get too sick. And that’s it.

I ignored the doctor’s raised eyebrows when I told him I’d begun training seriously with weights and a personal trainer. To him, I was just a diabetic. A diseased person.

To me it was simple, if I managed my diabetes well—not perfectly—but well, I would get stronger and stronger, and maybe I could compete someday, and maybe then, I could become more than just a person with a disease. Both the disease and the sport required the same daily commitment with a long-term outlook and long-term goals.  

After two years of training diligently four to five days a week, I have watched my insulin needs cut in half—from 36 units of Lantus insulin per day to 18 units per day. I have gained about 15 pounds of muscle. I truly appreciate the difference between training on a day full of out-of-range blood sugars compared to a day of well-controlled blood sugars. I’ve studied my own body day in and day out to see what happens when I eat x-amount of carbs before training with weights and x-amount of carbs before going for a walk. I’ve played with low-carb and high-protein, high-carb and high-protein. I understand my body. I understand the disease.

There are still mysteries, yes. But this disease doesn’t scare me. I know what I have to do if I want to see “perfect” blood sugars all day, and I know what will happen when I ease up on managing it closely all day. It’s in my control. No doctor can define what I am or am not capable of accomplishing just because I have diabetes. 

Ginger Vieira has had Type 1 diabetes for 10 years and writes for MyDiabetesCentral.com. She is a personal trainer, yoga instructor and powerlifter.

The Promise of World Diabetes Day

By Travis Grubbs on November 4, 2009 2:18 PM | 0 Comments
I love sunrises and sunsets. I marvel at their spectacular array of colors, brilliance, and beauty. They add joy to my morning and evening commutes to and from work; as well as to my time sitting in a deer stand during hunting season. I also find promise and reassurance in their presence. Each sunrise and sunset occurs despite my problems, your problems, our problems, and the world’s problems. Call it spiritual, a random act; or just a thing of beauty, but they occur and there is nothing we can do to prevent them.

I see World Diabetes Day (WDD) as an event that annually brings promise and reassurance to the ever increasing population of our “Diabetes Nation” (a/k/a the global diabetes community). Established in 1991, World Diabetes Day is designed to keep diabetes in the international spotlight by increasing diabetes awareness, education, prevention, etc. While this mission is employed through out the year, WDD is celebrated on November 14th, which is the day where these efforts are magnified.    

The WDD theme for 2009 – 2013 is Diabetes Education and Prevention. As a type 2 diabetic, with the knowledge of the hardships and challenges we face, I believe it is imperative that we educate and prevent others from joining our numbers, as well as helping others reduce their risks for future complications.

Raising awareness should not be that hard. News reports continue to supply us with countless stories of the type 2 population increasing in various age groups. More and more people are aware of what is bad for them, and raises their risk for type 2 diabetes. The real challenge is getting them to reduce their risk and prevent the onset of diabetes.  

The battle will not be easy, and it will be controversial. Not only will we be seeking to change the public’s opinion regarding un-healthy eating habits, lack of exercise, and wellness care, we will also battling corporate giants (and their diabetes supporters) that sell their un-healthy fare under the guise of raising funds for “Diabetes.” The most recent example is Wendy’s Frosty Fundraiser for Junior Diabetes Research Foundation.

Do you have what it takes to meet this challenge? Are you willing to talk to others about their bulging waist lines, pudgy faces, and / or swollen hips? November 14, as well as the next five years, is our time to “shine”. It is our time to confront this threat head-on. Let’s not be timid in discussing matters of health and wellness. Let’s not be timid in confronting the commercial hypocrisy where merchants that peddle un-healthy products base their charitable contributions on the sales of those products. Step forward and “shine” for WDD.

Travis Grubbs, a professional home inspector and a city Building and Zoning Inspector, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in May of 2006. Travis shares his thoughts and experiences in dLife his column, Turn the Page, as a middle-aged male that had to change his life in order to address his diabetes.

World Diabetes Day: Shedding Light on the Crisis Here at Home

By Amy Tenderich on November 1, 2009 1:51 PM | 1 Comment
When I first heard about World Diabetes Day a few years ago, I thought, “Wow, finally a really high-profile event that will focus national attention on the ravages of diabetes!”  But soon I realized that the WDD campaign is actually stronger and more vocal abroad than it is here at home in the US.  I hope we can change that, because despite being one of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nations, America truly is facing a crisis with this disease, which the New York Times calls “underrated, insidious and deadly.” 

That article, written by Tara Parker-Pope in June of 2008, talks about how the American public generally “disrespects” diabetes as a serious health threat: “The general consensus seems to be, ‘There’s medication,’ ‘Look how good people look with diabetes’ or ‘I’ve never heard of anybody dying of diabetes.’ ”

In fact, over 200,000 people die of diabetes in the US alone every year. Those involved know full well that diabetes “wreaks havoc on the entire body,” affecting everything from hearing and vision to sexual function, mental health and sleep – not to mention causing blindness, amputations and kidney failure, and tripling the risk for heart attack and stroke.

“The disconnect between perception and reality is particularly worrisome at a time when national diabetes rates are surging,” Parker-Pope writes. Amen!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now report that the number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million, or 8 percent of the population. Almost 25 percent of those aged 60 and older had diabetes in 2007. And the CDC estimates that another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes. Wow!

So what exactly are we doing about it? Nothing... which scares the heck out of me. Amidst the current rancorous national debate about reforming our healthcare system, diabetes care remains pathetically sub-par.

Consider:

  • There are only about 15,000 Certified Diabetes Educators in the whole country, yet nearly 24 million Americans are already affected by diabetes, and the number is growing every day. Who will help all these patients manage their disease?
  • While diabetes education is required by law in at least 45 states, some plans cover as little as two hours of counseling for the lifetime of the patient. This lack of coverage, which makes it nearly impossible for diabetes centers to operate at a profit, has forced a number of otherwise-successful programs to shut down all over the country.
  • In the book "Cheating Destiny," author James Hirsch interviews Florene Linnen, an activist from the rural community of Georgetown County, South Carolina, where about half of the black community is believed to have diabetes. In some families three generations at once are undergoing laser treatments, dialysis, organ transplants, and amputation. There is no formal diabetes education program.
  • When I interviewed Florene myself, she told me that people in her community literally "have to choose between filling expensive prescriptions or buying groceries or shoes for their kids." When they don't take their meds, doctors label them "noncompliant" and essentially give up on them. Clearly these people need not only diabetes education, but care that suits their economic situation.
  • In his new book, "Diabetes Rising," author Dan Hurley likewise profiles Logan County, West Virginia ― the county with the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the country. Almost 15% of all adults over 20 have diabetes, yet there is NOT ONE endocrinologist in the entire county, let alone a single diabetes educator.

When we think of spreading awareness on World Diabetes Day, I suggest we think beyond just raising money for cure research – important, of course, but ironically not nearly as neglected as lobbying for better prevention, education and care for existing patients. In this entire national dialogue about healthcare reform, there’s simply not enough patient representation! Patients’ real lives and struggles with their illness is such an important place to shed some light.

Amy Tenderich is host of the popular web log www.diabetesmine.com.

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