Hidden Fears
By Scott Coulter
I hate going to the doctor's office. As someone living with diabetes, this makes no sense. Doctors and the efforts of medical researchers have made my life viable. My entire existence from the age of 15 to the present is ONLY possible thanks to the miracles of modern medicine. And here's another thing: There's nothing particularly unpleasant about my doctor's visits, OR my doctor. He's a perfectly nice guy who treats me with respect. And the worst experience to be had is a simple blood draw; not FUN exactly, but I've given myself over 20,000 injections in my lifetime — so I'm pretty much OK with need...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Scott Coulter Source Type: blogs
Bodies Like Being Fat
By David Spero
Some people say they can't lose weight, but almost anyone can lose. The problem is keeping the weight off. Very few people (5% in studies) maintain weight loss over the long term. Why do our bodies regain weight, and what can we learn from that?
Understanding weight loss is important for people with Type 2, because they are frequently told, "Lose weight." Often they do, but it's frustrating to watch the weight come back up over time, especially if blood glucose levels go up with it. You can feel like a failure. Other people, including your doctor, may blame you and accuse you of not trying hard enough.
But ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 9, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Long-term Anxiety
By Quinn Phillips
Senior citizens in the United States, unlike most younger Americans, have many of their basic needs paid for by the federal government. Social Security provides a meager but steady source of income, while Medicare covers most necessary health care at minimal out-of-pocket expense (especially if combined with private "Medigap" supplementary insurance). It may be tempting to think that once you've reached the age of 65, your health-related financial worries are over. But this is far from true for many Americans, in large part because of one major expense for which most people are unprepared: the cost of lon...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 9, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
My Drinking Problem
By Jan Chait
I don't wanna play diabetes any more. Sometimes it just gets to be too much trouble.
OK, what is it now?
In a word, drink choices. (Two words, then.) Once in a while, when traveling, I like to skip the water and get a soda or an iced tea. In the soda realm, there is generally one choice of sugar-free beverage: cola. I don't like cola-flavored drinks. Actually, I pretty much don't care for soda. Sugar-free iced tea? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Now, this is when we're traveling on the interstate and hitting the vending machines at rest stops. On the road, when we stop at convenience stores, is another matter. And, on long...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 8, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Jan Chait Source Type: blogs
When Food Becomes Weird: More Fascinating Facts
By Amy Campbell
Last week, we examined some unusual facts about food. Because food is so fascinating, there's never a shortage of things to say about it. And while some foods may seem downright "weird," other foods may be a little deceptive — for example, a healthy food that actually isn't so healthy. As I can attest, that's the beauty and the frustration of being a dietitian! Let's look at some more food "weirdness" this week.
Durian — the world's smelliest fruit
"Hell on the outside and heaven on the inside" is the saying in Southeast Asia that aptly describes this fruit. Durian is a spiny, football-sized fru...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 7, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Seven Continents, Seven Adventures
By Web Team
In need of a little diabetes inspiration? Look no further than Chris Southwell, a 31-year-old professional athlete with Type 1 diabetes.
Two years into his career as an extreme snowboarder, Chris discovered he had Type 1. Instead of letting the diagnosis stop him, he continued snowboarding and began giving lectures all over the world about living as a professional extreme athlete with diabetes.
Now he's taking the excitement to the next level with the Seven Continents, Seven Adventures (7C7A) Challenge. To raise money for diabetes charity JDRF, Chris will be undertaking a demanding endurance event on each ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 5, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Web Team Source Type: blogs
FDA Approves First-Generation Artificial Pancreas System
By Diane Fennell
On September 27, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of the MiniMed 530G with Enlite, a first-generation artificial pancreas system that automatically shuts off insulin delivery when blood glucose levels drop too low.
The approval represents the first step toward a fully automated, closed-loop artificial pancreas that would control blood glucose levels without requiring user intervention.
The MiniMed 530G with Enlite, an integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system, is the first device approved in the United States with "threshold suspend" — the a...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Money, Medicine, and the Cosmos (An Essay Tangentially Related to Diabetes)
By Scott Coulter
Our government is officially closed for business, at least for now. Hopefully, it's a relatively short closure and not the beginning of a long road toward complete atrophy in Washington. The cause of this closure is, theoretically, health-care reform. In truth, that's actually stating things too literally — the real issue here is a battle of ideologies that's been decades in the making and has found its focal point in the health-care debate. But let's take it on its face value for a moment.
The health-care debate comes down to money. The conservative viewpoint has always been that a free-market syste...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 3, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Scott Coulter Source Type: blogs
Unwanted Advice
By David Spero
What do you do with advice from ignorant people who think they know more about diabetes than you do? When people tell you could be cured if you tried out some idea they read on a Web site, how do you respond?
A blogger named Dave Davis on the social networking site TuDiabetes wrote,
More and more friends and family e-mail me, text me, call me, or even post directly to my Facebook wall telling me that I can cure my Type 2 diabetes if I go vegan, or start ingesting "living essential oils," or take this vitamin or that herb. Do you ever get sick of this? How do you deal with these people nicely?
He got hundre...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 2, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Obamacare: Day 1
By Quinn Phillips
Yesterday, after Congress failed to pass a budget to fund the federal government, large portions of the government shut down. National parks and monuments were closed, 800,000 federal employees were sent home, and numerous government Web sites stopped working — even the National Zoo's "PandaCam," showing a live feed of a mother panda and her baby online, went dark. But one government service was available yesterday that wasn't the day before: the new online health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare"), the controversial 2010 law.
Ironically, an attempt by the Rep...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 2, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
Friends Can Help You Get Your Move On
By Jan Chait
Now that the kids are gone and my nest is empty, I've been reduced to arranging play dates for cats.
No, I'm not joking. My grandson, Ollie, took his cat (who I call Mooch) with him when he moved to an apartment. Since Mooch and my G. Gordon Kitty were good friends, it was necessary to have play dates. Poor G. was just galumphing around. But when Mooch got here — man! — they bumped heads, then immediately began grooming each other. That was followed by a wide-ranging game of chase.
Now that Mooch has returned to Ollie's apartment, G. Gordon Kitty has morphed into G. Gordon Slug — lounging ar...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 1, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Jan Chait Source Type: blogs
When Food Becomes Weird: From Arsenic to Insects
This study was done by looking at data of 187,000 people. Almost 13,000 of them developed Type 2 diabetes. Of course, this study was conducted by looking at questionnaires that the participants completed. Still, it's interesting. Also, the researchers found that people who drank fruit juice were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes (we already knew this). Were there flaws in this study? Probably. But the take-home point is that eating whole fruit (not juice) is good for us and, as we've learned, may help protect against one of the most significant health issues we face today.
More next week!
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Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 30, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Missouri-Based Foot Pain Study
By Web Team
If you are in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, and dealing with foot pain from diabetes, then you may be interested in a currently enrolling study from the Healthcare Research Network.
The 13-week study will be evaluating the safety and efficacy of Qutenza — a patch made with capsaicin, the substance that gives hot peppers their kick — in people who have diabetic foot pain.
Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, must have been diagnosed with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in both feet, and must have access to a phone. Women who are pregnant are nursing are not eligible to participate.
All pa...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 28, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Web Team Source Type: blogs
Big Breakfast Best for Diabetes Control, Study Shows
In this study the Type 2 diabetics on the big breakfast had low carbohydrates and high fat and high protein, and they appeared to have better glycemic control," noted presentation moderator Andreas Pfeiffer, MD. "There are a number of studies which are going in the same direction and which appear to reinforce and support that view, so having a good breakfast in the morning and then a second meal in the afternoon and a little [meal] in the evening appears to be a good scheme."
He added, however, that for people with diabetes and kidney problems, the diet may not be ideal due to its high protein content.
Because the stud...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 27, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Preexisting Condition…
By Scott Coulter
I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 15. Before that, I was just another healthy adolescent kid. After that, I was a 15-year-old kid with a "preexisting condition." At the time, that phrase didn't mean a whole lot to me. I wasn't in charge of my own finances yet. And of course, I was still covered under my parents' health plan. I hadn't yet had to outsmart an insurance system designed to keep me (and my condition) OUT of the system. That didn't start until graduation from college, around the age of 22.
When I graduated, I was still living in Boston. My insurance switched over to COBRA, and as always ha...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 26, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Scott Coulter Source Type: blogs
