| TIPS ON LIVING WELL WITH DIABETES |
| To reiterate a statement made at the beginning of this section, I am NOT a medical person and anything you read here should not be substituted for care and management from a doctor and other medical professionals. This section is intended to be an aid to other diabetics from a person who has lived with type one (juvenile) diabetes for 50 years, and what works for me may or may not work for you. Some of these concepts have been used on other pages but it is by repetition that we learn best. |
| Education As soon as you discover that you are a diabetic, the first step is: educate, educate, educate! Successful diabetes management is always, always about obtaining all the information you can. The proper care is up to you; you have to live with this disease for the rest of your life and you need the appropriate tools. First and foremost is education! I can't say it enough. Today we are so fortunate to have diabetes educators and dietitians to arm us with the body of knowledge we need so that our response to anything that happens will be so familiar it will almost be mechanical. Read all the books and other material you can get your hands on; join the American Diabetes Association so you will receive their monthly publication which contains a wealth of material; buy Better Homes and Gardens new quarterly magazine "Diabetic Living" available at the supermarket, browse the internet to see what is "out there." Fortify yourself with a good library of books, recipes, and lists of carb, calorie, and fat content of common foods. |
| Medical Professionals If you don't already have an excellent doctor well versed in diabetes care, then seek one. Contact referral services that may be associated with hospitals and medical centers in your area. Ask other people that you know and trust. If you are not comfortable with your doctor, go somewhere else. It's your life; you need the best; it might even be worth considering a move if you live in an area where there are few choices for good doctors. In today's environment where so many doctors specialize, many diabetics see an endocrinologist, a doctor specializing in diseases of the endocrine system. Diabetes is one of them. It is also a tremendous help if you can see a certified diabetes educator (CDE) and a dietitian; many times these professionals are associated with an endocrinologist's office. After you have been educated, these people will give you guidance and keep you informed of the latest in technology. They will continually reinforce your education. You might think of them as supervisors who are charged with your well being and making sure you have the continuing educational credits you need to stay alive and to stay well. As you have diabetes longer and longer, you may experience complications which will require other specialists. Keep going after the best; if you don't like one, you have the right to see someone else. Be sure you are comfortable enough in your knowledge to know if a doctor or nurse is doing the wrong thing. Unfortunately many medical people who may provide care for something other than diabetes are not very knowledgeable about the disease. Don't hesitate to stop them if they try to do something you know is wrong; if it becomes a problem, insist that your diabetes professional be called or paged. It's a good idea to let your diabetes doctor and/or/CDE know whenever you have surgery or some other procedure or if you have an illness which may affect your diabetes management and care. |
General Care Apply the knowledge you've gained to your care. Don't kid yourself into believing that you don't have to test your blood or watch what you eat. With your medical providers' help, set your goals for tight control. Know your own body and learn what does or does not work for you. Stay in touch with your doctor/CDE/dietician and follow their advice and supervision. Test your blood frequently. Suggested times are on arising, before meals, two hours after meals, at bedtime, and any other time you just don't feel right. If you think you have a low or a high, test before taking corrective measures because feelings can be deceptive. Another especially important time to test is just before driving; always get into this habit so you don't have a serious low while you are out on the road. When your reading is higher than 240 mg/dl (or other value determined by your doctor), also check for acetone. If you fall off the wagon (and you will), get up and get back on; you can't afford to stay off. You will pay now or you will pay later with complications. Pay attention to pain or other alerts from your body signalling a problem; don't ignore them! This disease has the potential to cause massive amounts of damage to any and all parts of your body; it is to your advantage to catch a problem early. Stay up on the latest technology and take advantage of it. If a better way comes along, talk to your doctor to see if it is right for you. Don't be stuck in a rut with old fashioned ideas and old fashioned methods of care. Don't listen to well-meaning friends and family members who may not know as much as you do about how to treat your disease. Be realistic; don't let this disease control your life. Don't be overly concerned about being diabetic or about rules to follow; you are not a fragile flower that has to sit on a shelf. Live each day to the fullest doing whatever you like to do. That being said, do be very conscious of living a healthy active lifestyle. Exercise works wonders; don't be a couch potato. Be careful about your reaction to stress; a positive attitude does wonders for your health. Recreation, hobbies, and other activities help divert your attention away from constantly thinking about diabetes. Surround yourself with friends, the kind who would not lead you into destructive behaviour. There are no forbidden foods, but do eat healthy foods prepared in a healthy way; don't eliminate any type of food from your diet. Be aware of portions; don't eat from containers, put the food into a plate. Don't graze from a buffet. Partake of the richer, less healthy foods in moderation. Take the appropriate amount of insulin to cover. Be aware of the effect certain foods have on your blood glucose; discuss what is right for you with a dietitian. Keep in touch with that person and ask frequent questions. Keep a diary that includes 1) time for each entry 2) glucose reading 3) units of insulin taken (bolus/basal for pumps and long-term/quick-acting for injections) 4) amount of carbs eaten (also calories and fat grams if trying to lose weight) 5) activity (exercise, steps, physical work etc.) 6) any illness, stress level, or anything else that could affect your blood glucose. The diary can be manual or you can use many of the modern glucose meters and pumps to input extra information that can be uploaded to your computer. Some people also use PDA's and obtain a diabetes software program to record all their data. This information will help you and your medical professionals to see trends and understand where you might have problems. |
Helping Your Diabetic Child An extreme word of caution to over-protective parents, particularly parents of teenagers. Don't be overly critical of your diabetic child. Also don't take them to medical people who are critical of what the diabetic child does! If this is what your doctor is like, then take them to someone else. I've been there so I know what it's like from the child's point of view! Your son or daughter wants to be just like all the other people the same age; they don't want to be different! They need supportive, understanding, and gentle yet firm guidance. Encourage them to talk to you; if they don't, maybe they would talk to the doctor or CDE. |
| Support - Individual and Groups Get Support! You will need it! Seek help from you family, minister, social worker, physical support groups, and online support groups! Your endocrinologist/CDE/pump manufacturer and others may have groups and meetings which you would find beneficial. There are many online support groups as well. When you join a group of other diabetics, you find that you are not alone. Many other people have run into the same kinds of problems and feelings that you experience; you will benefit from hearing how they resolved these situations. I have gained more information about different insulin pumps and about diabetes complications from online support groups than I have anyplace else. Another benefit is that these people can empathize with what you are going through; they know what it's like and they offer encouragement. It helps to talk through certain situations. |
Problems And Discouragement Sometimes diabetes care can seem overwhelming. Any time you run into problems or have questions, don't hesitate to contact your diabetes doctor or CDE. Don't be embarrassed and don't think you can handle everything yourself. You can't. They are there to help you. As suggested in the support section, talk to other diabetics because you can be sure that many of them have been exactly where you are. Of course as with anything, prayer and spiritual guidance provide help for our whole being and our lives. If your blood glucose is higher than 240 mg/dl (or other value determined by your doctor) and your acetone reading is moderate or higher, test again to be sure, then call your doctor or go to the hospital emergency room immediately. This is a dangerous condition! |
Advocacy Be an advocate if you can. The American Diabetes Association relies on its advocates to fight for: Increased federal funding for diabetes research and prevention Improved health care and insurance coverage, and An end to discrimination based on a person's diabetes. Stay informed. The ADA publishes a newsletter that advises its recipients about issues that pertain to diabetes. Know who your state and national representatives are and communicate with them about laws that affect us. Contact the ADA if you have workplace discrimination issues because of diabetes. |
| Thank you for being my guest. I hope you enjoyed your visit and maybe learned something while you were here. Do come back often since I periodically add more pages and change the existing ones. |
| If you have comments or questions about anything you read in these pages, email me at sybil@sbvdrsilkycrsilky.com |
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