Disease Basics
Who Is a Diabetes Educator?
12/10/07
Disease Basics
It is not reasonable to expect your doctor to do it all with a disease like diabetes. It is also not reasonable to expect you, the patient, to shoulder the rest of the burden.
Diabetes is a complicated illness that requires a lot from patients. Much of the burden can be shared with a diabetes educator.
Understanding Cholesterol
11/08/07
Disease Basics
Cholesterol is a naturally-occurring substance in the body, but the very mention of it can strike fear in the hearts of diabetics. A little knowledge can go a long way toward dispelling fears associated with cholesterol.
What is Cholesterol?
According to the American Heart Association Web site, cholesterol is “a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all your body's cells.” It is a member of a group of chemical compounds known as lipids, or fats—although cholesterol is not synonymous with fat. The two are different in that cholesterol cannot be used by the body as a source of energy, like fat is burned for energy. Cholesterol is used in other body processes like the production of cell membranes, some hormones, vitamin D, and bile. The latter is the largest use of cholesterol.
Apple-Shaped Body and Visceral Fat Predict Future Health
11/07/07
Disease Basics
Body Mass Index (BMI) is not a good measure of a person's health, according to David Flum, M.D.
He suggests that evaluating whether a person's body is apple-shaped or pear-shaped is a better measure of future health or illness. Body shape as a measure of health has gained more acceptance in the medical community.
Lowering Hemoglobin A1C
10/23/07
Disease Basics
People who do not have diabetes register a hemoglobin A1C score of 5 percent or less. Your goal as a person living with diabetes is to get as close to that level as you can. The goal of 6.5 percent is the espoused by the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Healthy Adult Was Independent Diabetic Child
10/22/07
Disease Basics
Forty years ago, Ann Curley's doctor told her parents that diabetes would shorten her life dramatically. However, Curley points out that advances in science and technology, her doctor's excellent mentoring, and her discipline about the disease helped her outlive that prognosis.
Paying When Insurance Won't
10/02/07
Disease Basics
By Matt Nilsen
Recently an Arizona newspaper reported on a man who could not get a sufficient number of blood glucose tests strips from a government entity he counted on for health services. It served as a good reminder that we do not have to be bound by the policies of pensions, health insurers, or government benefit providers. Even if appeals to a government program or insurer fail, a person can choose to purchase more test strips.
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Releases Revised Guidelines
09/06/07
Diabetes Medications, Prediabetes and Impaired Glucose Tolerance, Type II Diabetes, Type I Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes, Living Well, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
After scouring the 66 pages of the newly revised Medical Guidelines for Clinical Practice for the Management of Diabetes Mellitus, just released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), we want to introduce some of the content. In contrast to other medical guidelines, this set of diabetes guidelines is refreshingly specific and direct. It has exact recommendations for patients living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. We want to share some wisdom from this document and recommend some places to start researching.
Making Sense of Blood Sugar Readings
09/06/07
Type II Diabetes, Type I Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes, Treatment Options, Disease Basics, General
Diabetes introduces people to a whole new life complete with different rituals, a new language, and metrics that can be confusing. According to a recent story from a Las Vegas television station, many people do not know how to interpret their blood sugar measures.
Mendosa's Diabetes Got Him Scaling Mountains
08/28/07
Type II Diabetes, Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Disease Basics, General
David Mendosa often tackles the science of diabetes treatments in his writing, but he is at his strongest when he addresses life. That is what he did in his post today, Diabetes is my Lemonade. Before being diagnosed with diabetes, he was not living a lifestyle that was healthy. Now, diabetes compels him to eat right and be active. You will enjoy the picture that he took after summiting an 11,900 foot peak. Pretty good for a 72-year-old.
Exercise with Diabetes is Great if You Prepare for It
05/29/07
Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Disease Basics, General
- by Matt Nilsen
Exercise is so important to people living with diabetes. However, it is not a good idea to run out and start exercising without some coaching from your physician or diabetes educator. People with diabetes could use all their insulin processing the glucose that muscles need to sustain the pace of exercise. If that happens, they may find themselves on the uncomfortable or dangerous side of hypoglycemia.