Applying for Benefits: Challenges for People with Diabetes

According to data collected in 2008, Diabetes currently affects 25.8 million people in the United States, or 8.3% of the entire population. Diabetes is unique in that it is a disease that can?(but not always) lead to complications throughout the entire body, causing a flurry of medical conditions including turbulent changes in blood pressure, vision impairment, ulcers or numbness in the extremities.

But did you know that your diabetes can qualify you for long-term disability? Social security and private insurers offer long-term disability payments to those afflicted by diabetes mellitus (type 1) and other endocrine disorders who meet certain requirements. However, insurance companies are quick to deny claims and those suffering from a debilitative case of diabetes may face many unique difficulties in obtaining long-term disability benefits.

Under normal conditions, diabetes is a disease that can be well controlled, but for some people the complications of the disease can leave you unable to work or normally function. Arguably more frustrating than the disease itself is the ever-present necessity to continue to provide for your family and loved ones. If your initial request for long term disability benefits are denied, Social Security or your private insurer will require you to jump through many legal hoops and barrels to prove the validity of your case. About 2 out of every 3 people are denied, and many will apply multiple times. Insurance companies are notorious for denying valid claims, despite a life of hard, honest work.

In order to qualify for long-term disability for diabetes, you must demonstrate one of these symptoms:

Vision impairmentFrequent acidoses- the buildup of acids in the bloodstreamNeuropathy to two extremities- affecting movement, gait or station

If your claim does not clearly meet the Social Security listing of impairments requirements outlined in Section 9- Endocrine Disorders, you must prove that your disease causes significant functional limitations preventing you from work. This can require extensive paperwork, doctor testimony and a thorough evaluation of your educational level, residual functional ability and any past work experience.

Although many become discouraged, there is hope if your claim has been denied. A long-term disability advocate skilled in insurance litigation can help.? Hearings for disability insurance are unique in that there is no testimony- the only evidence a judge will consider is what is presented in your file. This will be the only basis of their decision making it imperative that all deadlines are met, all required testimony is fulfilled and that your disability is clearly outlined and substantiated. An advocate can also help you hold your insurance company accountable if they unreasonably delay or partially deny payments for valid claims.

More than 25 million people in the United States live lives limited by their disabilities, and over 30 million are disabled. If you or a loved one are no longer able to fulfill the duties of your job due to Diabetes and were denied long term disability benefits, consult with a long-term disability advocate to learn how they can help. If you have not yet applied and wish to make your first request for long term disability benefits, they will help expedite the legal process and ensure that all required documentation and evidence is provided to win your case and secure your financial future.

View the original article here

Letters from Santa Claus for Children with Diabetes

This past November, one of the cutest and most kid-friendly diabetes fundraisers kicked-off it’s second annual event: Santa Claus will write letter to your children for Christmas for a minimum donation of $15 to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.

With the final touches of a “North Pole stamp,” the DRI’s volunteer “elves” are located across the country, ready to create your child’s letter from Santa Claus.

“The personalized letters, which can be sent by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or any other family member or friend, can include all kinds of information, like a reference to any toy, game, iPad or techno-gadget on the child’s wish list or whether he/she has been naughty or nice this year. Santa can even tell them that he knows how well they have been managing their diabetes. The fundraising campaign is open to all families everywhere, not just those affected by diabetes. However, with almost 26 million Americans affected by the devastating disease, it is likely that almost everyone knows someone with diabetes.”

After last year’s event, one mother wrote to the DRI saying the letter meant so much to the child that she slept with it every night until Christmas.

To send a child a letter from Santa Claus, visit www.SantaClausDRI2012.org. The deadline for participation is midnight of December 18th.

About the DRI

The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation (DRIF) is the organization of choice for those who are serious, passionate and committed to curing diabetes. Its mission is to provide the Diabetes Research Institute with the funding necessary to cure diabetes now.

The Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine leads the world in cure-focused research. As the largest and most comprehensive research center dedicated to curing diabetes, the DRI is aggressively working to shrink the timeline toward the discovery of a biological cure for this disease.? Having already shown that diabetes can be reversed through islet transplantation, the DRI is building upon these promising outcomes by bridging cell-based therapies with emerging technologies. The Diabetes Research Institute was created for one reason – to cure diabetes – which is and will continue to be its singular focus until that goal is reached. For the millions of people affected by diabetes, the DRI is the best hope for a cure. For more information, visit DiabetesResearch.org.

View the original article here

Riding Alone…with Type 1 Diabetes

I love to ride my bicycle and do so whenever I can. More often than not this means riding alone. Being a type 1 diabetic, riding alone presents several challenges.

A little background on me: I’m 54 years young. I’m 6’1, 200 lbs, and I’ve lived with type 1 for over 25 years. I use a Medtronic pump and wear a CGM. My last HbA1c was 6.6 percent.

Here are a few tips, from one lone-rider to another, on diabetes management when you’re out on the road:

There are several great tools at your disposal to assist in mapping out a route. I like MapMyRide.com because I can upload data from my bike computer, it’s free and you can share your rides on social media. Give a friend or loved one a briefing on your route and the expected timetable.

I drink at least one 20oz bottle for every hour that I ride. I carry two, one with H2O, one with electrolytes. Rides of more than two hours require waterholes on the route. Don’t get left high and dry!? For electrolytes I like Nuun tablets. As the package states they are “electrolyte enhanced drink tabs” and come in a variety of flavors. ?Two tabs have about 180mg of sodium and other good stuff. REI and Sprouts have a good selection.

For rides of one hour or less concentrate on hydration, but also carry 25 to 30 grams of carbs and 200mg of sodium in case you need it. I prefer Clif Bars, gels and Shot Bloks. One Clif Bar has about 40g, a pack of 6 Clif Shot Bloks has 48g, and one pack of gel has about 25g. I usually stock up on Clif Bar products when I visit REI. They give you a discount when you by 12 or more. Most bike shops have a good selection as well.

For rides over 1 hour, carry 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of sports drink or electrolytes. Drink 20 to 30 oz per hour. You will need to consume 30 to 60 grams or more of carbs per hour. These can come from bars, gels, sport drinks, etc. I prefer Clif Bars, gels and Shot Bloks for carbs and Nuun tablets for electrolytes.

To determine how many carbs per hour you need use this formula I learned from the diabetes educators at TeamWILD:

Pounds/2.2 = kg, kg * .7 = carbs per hour needed to fuel your ride
For me… 200 lbs/2.2 = 91 kg, 91 * .7 = 63 carbs per hour

Carry a glucose test kit with extra test strips. Always carry enough fast acting carbs to recover from low blood sugars. I prefer glucose tablets, raspberry is my favorite, and always carry 1 or two tubes depending on the length of the ride. I never ride without them.

At least have your ID and something to let whoever responds knows you are diabetic. I have a RoadID bracelet so I don’t bother carrying my wallet and I always wear one of my Red Rider jerseys. A few dollars in case you need to buy more food or water. A cell phone if you have one.?A flat repair kit with enough supplies for two tires. A multi-tool in case minor repairs or adjustments are needed

This may seem like a lot of work just to go for a bike ride but you will find that it becomes routine if you ride frequently. Stay safe. Stay hydrated. Stay fueled. Have fun!

View the original article here

“Coming out of the closet” with Your Diabetes

In this article from Diabetes Mine’s writer and video-blogger, Mike Lawson, a young woman shares her story about finally telling the people in her life that she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Having worked very hard to keep her diagnosis a secret out of fear of being judged and the overall shame that comes along with type 2 diabetes in today’s society, Kellie was surprised to find compassion and support from her peers. She compares her experience within diabetes to a different time in her life when she told people she was a lesbian.

In your own life, is diabetes a secret?

For me, sharing my life with type 1 diabetes has been empowering. Yes, I’ve had strangers say rather lame things that are purely the result of ignorance and lack of education, but for the most part, I present my diabetes as something I proud of myself for managing every day. And the people around me see it not as a reason to pity me, but to say, “Hey, that’s pretty cool you do that every day. It clearly hasn’t stopped you from anything in your life.”

Of course, there are certain times or places when I try to be very discreet about my diabetes, largely because I know I might be surrounded by people who don’t know me well, who may try to micromanage or tell me what to do and how to eat.?(I have, indeed, had complete strangers catch me giving myself an injection or checking my blood sugar, and they began to tell me how I ought to be living my life…but this is rare.)

But for the most part, my diabetes is a very public thing that I do very little to ever hide.

If you are hiding your diabetes from the people in your life, consider these questions:

Is there at least one person you might feel comfortable sharing your diagnosis with?What are you most afraid will happen if you reveal you have diabetes?What are the positives to sharing your diabetes diagnosis with the people around you?

Living with diabetes, type 1 or type 2, can feel like a very large burden for some people. Being able to talk about that burden, and most importantly, being able to ask for help in an emergency (like a low blood sugar), is important. You are not alone in your life with diabetes.

View the original article here

Joys & Perils of Traveling with Diabetes

I hate to complain but it’s 3 a.m. and your alarm just went off. Time to get up and get ready to travel. Really? You shower, go into your kitchen and make your usual and perhaps last decent (read: healthful) breakfast at this most unusual hour. But it is also time to plan ahead. Because the airlines no longer feed you on the plane you make yourself a cheese sandwich on a whole wheat Arnold Sandwich Thins. The airlines have all but eliminated peanuts from their flights and offer you cookies or pretzels with your sugar free soda. Oops!

You arrive at the airport an hour and a half before your flight. Besides showing the airport security (TSA) your liquids and gels, you show them your lunch. They look at you as if they think your original plan was to bring a live chicken with you.

In the terminal, at last you find the Starbucks is charging an additional 50% over the already high price for a cup of coffee. The only other alternative is the Burger King and it looks like the coffee there has aged since it was made. Oh well.

At 3 p.m., we arrive at our hotel. Call our family and let them know we have arrived safely and make plans for dinner. For the most part, if you have all intentions of keeping to your dietary needs, your choices become protein and salad. The vegetable medley that the restaurants offer has long since lost its tune. The fries are seldom a good choice, nor are the mounds of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese or the coleslaw laced with sugar. Two whole cuisines are eliminated from your planning. Italian, with all the pasta and Asian with all the rice and corn starch. At home you can easily substitute wilted spinach or spaghetti squash for the pasta and rice, but most Italian and Asian restaurants do not offer those alternatives.?

This year I found a very pleasant surprise at a chain called Ruby Tuesday. We chose it because it was quieter than the other places and my aunt (95 years old) could hear us over the table. Along with your protein and a fairly decent salad bar, the chain offers us some interesting vegetable choices. Snap peas, roasted spaghetti squash, and mashed cauliflower, and the ordinary green bean. Other than in a vegetarian place, I have never seen such an extensive selection.

Kudos to them.

The offerings are just there. There is no suggestion that they are for diabetics, they are just the chain’s usual offerings. They saved me from asking for double veg instead of rice or potato. I am not hesitant to make the request, nor have I ever run into a restaurant that was annoyed to do that substitution for me. But it was just plain nice not to have to ask. We went back there a few times, in part because of the sound and lighting levels, but also for joy of having choices. Before I go any further, the mashed cauliflower was really tasty as were the snap peas. Although the roasted spaghetti squash sounded good it need some help. In this case, again, I really hate to complain.

Breakfast is always the hardest for me. The hotels have these spreads of fake eggs and fatty meats combined with white bread disguised as bagels and high carbohydrate cereals. I found that if I hit the local “stupidmarkets” when I land and pick up some Trop 50, Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt, Thomas’?Light?English muffins and some Arnold Sandwich Things, I can do pretty well using the cream cheese and butter supplied by the hotels and still have a dessert of yogurt in the evening..

My trip took us to Florida. In southern Florida there is a pretty heavy New York Jewish population. I almost started to salivate upon landing at the thought of real corned beef and New York pickles. While corned beef on rye may be the ideal, I brought my bread to the deli and had my sandwich on a Joseph’s Oat, flax Whole wheat pita. It took the mounds of meat very well for only 4 grams of net carbohydrates. And oh that brown deli mustard and the pickles, heaven!

My pet peeve about restaurants is that there is seldom a fresh fruit choice for dessert. Others at the table often feel uncomfortable having a dessert if I have to just sit there and spoon my coffee. They have berries and pineapple as a garnish for beverages and cheese cake. How difficult is it to take a few fresh strawberries and put them on a plate with a sprig of mint and some fresh cream? Or even some melon slices?

After a week of travel, and always having to turn away offerings, I really missed being in my own kitchen.

At the Atlanta airport, the food choices were maddening. If I did not want (and believe me, I did) fried chicken or even a fried chicken salad or a burger, or a prepackaged salad, I was left with the choice of coffee.

Home at last. Strawberries and sweetened sour cream with almonds abound! JOY!

Read Elizabeth’s tips for traveling with diabetes!

View the original article here

A Long-Acting Form of Byetta for Treating Diabetes

The latest medication for people with type 2 diabetes is Bydureon, revealed early this year 2012. For more information on Bydureon, I highly recommend reading?Diabetes Mine?and?David Mendosas take on the new drug.

Let me start by telling you the basics:

It is made from the same medication as Byetta, but in long-acting form.It is taken once per week in the form of an injection (Byetta is an injection, taken daily before meals.)Like Byetta, it has shown to decrease your appetite which leads to weight loss as well.

How does it work?

Bydureon basically improves your blood sugar levels by sensing when your blood sugar level is rising, and telling your body to produce more insulin at that time.Slows down how quickly food is digested to prevent large spikes in your blood sugar after eating.Works hand-in-hand with your own efforts to exercise more, eat well, and lose weight for better blood sugars.

Now, let me tell you what Bydureon is?not:?

It does not replace insulin.It should not be taken with Byetta, because it is a different form of the exact same medication.It is not for people with type 1 diabetes or children.It is not ideal for people pancreatitis or severe kidney problems.

In the safety information, it does state that during clinical trials in rats, some of the rats developed cancerous tumors in their thyroid. It is not known?if it causes this type of cancer in humans, and the same can be said about Byetta. In humans, this form of cancer is referred to as Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC). If you have a history of MTC, you should definitely not take Bydureon.

If you’d like to know if this drug is a good fit for you and your goals in diabetes, talk to your health care team. Depending on your medical history, it may or may not be a great fit for you.

View the original article here

Raw Food Does NOT Cure Diabetes

The month of November, Diabetes Awareness Month, brings out tons of information on diabetes management. Pharmacies open their doors to testing people for diabetes and communities around the world show solidarity for the cause. This is all for the good, right?

As with any good and worthy cause, there are a few individuals who also take advantage and promote inaccurate information about diabetes. What wrinkles my nose is the concept that nature has a cure for diabetes. Why is this a myth? Let me explain.

First, which diabetes are they talking about that has a natural cure? Type 1 diabetes does not have a cure, nor a natural cure!?Type 1?is an autoimmune disease, which attacks the insulin forming cells, called beta cells, leaving as little as 10% of the total amount needed to keep the body alive. The only way to treat type 1 is injected insulin; you can’t eat better, take supplements, or drink medicinal teas to “reverse” it. The digestive system of someone with type 1 can take a pounding from the nature of the disease, so eating well, taking antioxidants and adding acupuncture can help tremendously, in beefing up the weakened immune system and aid in better digestion. Additionally, cutting down carbohydrates helps to manage blood sugar levels and because of the way type 1 diabetes affects the metabolism, lower carb intake also helps the stomach and small intestine digest food and absorb nutrients better.

For type 2 diabetes natural is better, because learning to eat well and living a healthier life will decrease the risk for complications. But type 2 diabetes has a definition problem. For years, type 2 was categorized as a form of?metabolic syndrome, primarily insulin resistance. But in recent years,?type 2 is being studied to determine if it really belongs in the autoimmune category, right along side type 1 diabetes. The reason is that when people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they also show a decreased number of beta cells (the insulin producing cells) approximately 50% less then normal. For many, the beta cells replenish to about 80% of their total mass after a few changes are made to eating and health habits. (To me this is similar to the?honeymoon period that happens with type 1) What is not expressed well, even by the medical community is that for many with type 2, their beta cells may eventually die off again, reducing the overall number of beta cells back to 50% or less permanently; and therein lies the problem with telling patients they can reverse their type 2 diabetes.

A well educated diabetes doctor (called an endocrinologist) should then say to his patients, “This is managing diabetes, not reversing it and it’s the most proven method to avoiding the need for pharmaceutical medication.”

For the alternative medicine groups, when trying to sell a product to help type 2 patients, they should never stake the claim that they can reverse, or cure diabetes, no supplement will ever cure diabetes.

Let me give you an example of the kind of advertising that hurts people. I got an email from Kris Carr of Crazy Sexy Kitchen, who sent out?this ad?for buying a “captivating documentary film, Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 days…” Carr goes on to say, “The ?lm follows the healing journeys of six beautiful souls who reverse their diabetes naturally by eating only organic, vegan, uncooked, raw foods. Brava! If you’ve been embracing the Crazy Sexy lifestyle for any time now, you can imagine the incredible transformations these courageous life changers go through.”

I’m so annoyed on so many levels. Raw foods is not reversing diabetes, it is simply a way to manage type 2. Raw is also very extreme and not everyone is at their optimal health by living on a raw diet. The real truth is, for people with weight and health issues, a healthier diet with lots of veggies and balanced amounts of protein will help manage diabetes by decreasing blood sugar and weight. If you choose to eat raw, do it because it feels good to your body and gives you energy, then it’s the right fit for you. If you have never done raw, don’t start there. A diet low in processed foods and high in natural sources of fiber will be a great start to managing diabetes and helping your body help itself!

The second rub is Dr. Gabriel Cousens, who is used as the expert doctor in the video.?Dr. Cousens is an MD who had his license to practice medicine revoked in AZ and censured in NY. And to think, you can buy this video at 50% off, because Kris Carr knows how tight budgets are. Really? You give viewers an expert doctor with a revoked medical license, and you want them to pay $161.20!?

I have loved using integrated medicine for a very long time, but there are alternative practitioners, who are not familiar with chronic illness, who profess to understand a health condition and advocate that they have the universal path to success. Know this: each body is individual and it’s cellular make up is also unique. Integrated approaches to a health problem can be unbelievable helpful and I am a testament to that, but it will not be successful if you listen to alternative vs. conventional. In most cases, it takes both. So experiment with integrated medicine, study it and keep working at it, until you feel amazing and health glows in your skin, your eyes and your smile!

In the meantime, if you see ads for reversing diabetes, do your homework and research the sources making the recommendations. Talk with your doctor, CDE (certified diabetes educator) or nutritionist, because that is healthy and safe for you!

View the original article here

Holiday Foods and Diabetes

For a person with diabetes, October 31st all the way thru January 1st can be a tad challenging. Several holidays that revolve largely around food are all packed into just a span of about 63 days! Halloween. Hanukkah. Kwanzaa. Christmas. New Year’s day.

Whether you’re young or old, your friends, family, and coworkers are throwing parties and events for several of these holidays. Candy. Cakes. Sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts).?Cookies. Alcohol. Eggnog. Chocolates. Mashed potatoes. Latkes. Pies. Muffins. Breads. Challah bread. Challah bread pudding. Challah bread french toast! The list goes on and on!

In an ideal world, when we’re diagnosed with any type of diabetes our sweet-tooth and desire for anything remotely carbohydrate would disappear…but in reality, you can make a bit of room in your life to enjoy the holidays. Be sure to talk to your doctor about adjusting your medications as necessary if you plan to consume more carbohydrates during the holidays.

How do you balance your blood sugars when you’re surrounded by carbohydrates?

Sacrifice your carbohydrates earlier in the day! If you know you’re going to a holiday party in the evening, try to choose very low-carbohydrate options earlier in the day. If you’d rather save your carbohydrates for chocolate cake, then skip the bread, pasta or rice you might usually eat at dinner or lunch.Increase your exercise! Just because we’re eating?more doesn’t mean we have to exercise less!?Can you add 20 minutes to your current exercise routine? Or an extra day to however many days you currently exercise? It all adds up and can help balance out the extra calories. On that note, going for a walk after a big Thanksgiving meal can make a big difference on your post-Thanksgiving blood sugar! Get the whole family up and moving!Check your blood sugar more often!?Who said you could only check your blood sugars before a meal? When you’re with your family on Thanksgiving day, eating more carbohydrates than usual, check your blood sugar 1 hour after your meal to see if your blood sugar is on its way up. If you use insulin, you’ll know that you may need a bit more insulin to help prevent it from continuing to rise. If you don’t use insulin, then you might consider going for a walk and to help bring your number back down.?Small portions and little bites! If you’d really like to try several different types of desserts or carbohydrate options at a dinner event, try smaller servings. Cut the cake into a much smaller slice so you can also try half a piece of fudge. Just because they’re being served in giant sizes doesn’t mean we have to eat the whole darn thing.Just say, “No, thanks!”?Just because it’s being served to everyone else does?not?mean you have to eat it, too. Don’t be afraid to say, “No, thanks,” and turn down the holiday cookies someone brought into work. Or your grandmother’s favorite pie. If you don’t want it, especially for the sake of your diabetes management, then don’t eat it. If you decide to eat one of those cookies at work, then you know you can cut down on the carbohydrates at dinner so your whole day is still balanced. Either way, it’s your choice!

In my own life with diabetes, I strive to keep balance in my day’s worth of nutrition by only eating the carbohydrates that mean the most to me. I could go the rest of my life without bread, pizza, or crackers. But a piece of fudge or ice cream, well, that’s more important to me. When choosing these options, in moderation, I take my insulin carefully, and check my blood sugar often to adjust as needed. And exercise. Exercise is key!

Enjoy the holidays without sacrificing the health of your diabetes!

View the original article here

10 Reasons I’m Thankful My Son Has Diabetes

The day my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Ok, truthfully, I would never be thankful that my child developed a chronic, complicated, scary disease that threatens his health and his future and has no cure. But I try to teach my children to look for something positive in every situation. There is always a bright side. If I’ve learned anything in my nearly 4 decades on this earth, it’s that life likes to throw lemons at you and see what you can do with them.

So, I am making lemonade, sugar-free, of course!

I have sharpened my mental math skills.I am painfully aware of the carbohydrate count in all foods now.I don’t really like to sleep anyway.I have learned so much about how the human body works.His diagnosis led me to seek a much needed outlet for dealing with my emotions and I now have a reason to write.I have met some amazing people whom I would not have otherwise ever met.My son and I talk more now than we did before.I like to myth-bust diabetes!I have more awareness and compassion for people dealing with all kinds of conditions.I have a new perspective on life and family and what it means to be there for each other through good times and bad. We have been dealt a crappy hand, yes. But there are much crappier (is that a word?) hands to have. And we are a strong family made up of strong individuals. Each member of my family has gotten to see first-hand what they are really made of. My kids, especially Medium, now know that they are so much stronger than they ever knew they could be. We have made a choice to be a beacon of hope for others facing similar challenges, instead victims in despair. Yes, we have something pretty scary to deal with every day. But we are doing it. And it hasn’t gotten us yet. In fact, as a family, we are thriving in spite of it. My husband and I have good jobs. We have 3 beautiful, smart, talented and otherwise healthy children. We are surrounded by supportive, loving family and friends. Despite his diabetes, Medium does well in school, has lots of friends and plays every sport there is! We have so much for which to be thankful. We are shining on and we won’t let diabetes dim our light!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family in your world with diabetes.

View the original article here

World Diabetes Day 2012 LIVE UPDATES

10:00 pm – Thank you to everyone who spread awareness about diabetes. Thank you to Cherise Shockley for organizing the 16 hour Twitter chat marathon, to the community of bloggers for bringing attention to critical issues, to the members of Diabetes Daily, Diabetes Hands Foundation, Diabetic Connect and the other diabetes communities for sharing so much support. Each year, this event grows and spawns awareness efforts. It may seem like things are moving forward slowly, but they’re not. We’ve come a long way in the last few years and the pace of improvement is only accelerating. The more people we can bring into the fold, the bigger we can provide support, awareness, and funding for research. But that’s for tomorrow… for now, goodnight!

8:30 pm – Mike Durbin posts his postcard from the World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange. This unique program connects people with diabetes around the world so that they can exchange post cards on World Diabetes Day. It’s a good way to help build the kind of connections offline that we’re seeing online.

5:28 pm – This World Diabetes day banner by our own Ginger Vieira?has been liked and shared over 2000 times in the last 2 hours!

5:23 pm – The World Diabetes Day photo collection is filling up with amazing shots!

4:23 pm ?- Thank you to everyone who joined our live Twitter chat!

For those who couldn’t make it, we talked about lessons from behavior change research. It shows us that it’s more effective to try and be better at something than it is to be perfect. Being a “perfect diabetic” is impossible and you’ll set yourself up for failure. Likewise, focus on improvement rather than reaching an absolute target. For example, if you want to change your weight and try to ?lose 10 pounds, there’s a good chance that you’ll miss the goal and get discouraged. Instead, it’s better to make your goals around process: schedule workout dates twice a week or eat a good 4pm snack so that you’re less hungry at dinner.

Once you decide on a desired behavior change, you can trigger it by increasing your motivation or decreasing the effort. The dirty secret: increasing motivation is hard and rarely works. Motivation is fixed. Instead, it’s better to focus on decreasing the effort required. The best way to do this is to change your environment. Have trouble running in the morning? Sleep in your running clothes. Don’t test your blood sugar at breakfast? Keep a meter on your kitchen table. Snacking late at night? Remove snacks from the house and replace them with foods that you like with fewer calories and more fiber.

Finally, we talked about how to hold yourself to your goals. Who is that loved one or peer that can hold you accountable? If you want to workout, set a date with a friend to go to the gym. You’re less likely to back out because you don’t want to disappoint. Trying to eat better? Publicly commit to a plan on Facebook and post a daily update (if your friends will tolerate that). Or find a friend whom you promise to report it to daily. Social pressure can be a wonderful tool for reaching goals. It may be one of the only easy ways to give motivation a little bump.

3:47 pm – I love this:

@davidtalk I’m a better person, father, man, husband, human being since D brought me it’s perspective. #grateful #wddchat12

— Scott / Diabetes (@ArdensDay) November 14, 2012

2:28 pm – We are getting ready to host our portion of the 16 hour live chat. The topic is?Research-Backed Strategies for Making Positive Change!??Participate here.

1:56 pm – The Diabetes Hands Foundation is leading a chat on the Big Blue Test in a few minutes!

12:50 pm – Our own Ginger Vieira is leading the live chat in 10 minutes on Emotional Eating with Diabetes.

@gingervieira I see a number before I see a meal #wddchat12

— Scott Strange (@Strangely_T1) November 14, 2012

11:58 am – George Simmons has released episode #1 of his brand new Ninjabetic TV series!

11:03 am – TweetChat is the easiest way to participate in the 16 hour live Twitter chat. Just visit this page and start typing!

11:00 am – check out this remarkable photo of the Northern Lights over the Blue Arctic Cathedral!

10:26 am – I have this strong feeling that simply encouraging openness about diabetes is the long-term secret to better health, kind of like removing the closet was the foundation of the gay rights movement.

@diabetesmine It is the reason I have started talking about & being open about my d. To raise awareness. #wddchat12

— glucosegirl91 (@glucosegirly) November 14, 2012

10:16 am – it’s remarkable to see just how global the online diabetes community is, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

Diabetes Nigeria, an advocate from Nigeria….ready to tag along #WDDchat12

— Diabetes Nigeria (@nigdiabetes) November 14, 2012

10:13 am – @sugarfreesweetie on Instagram celebrates the day:

9:52 am – Are you doing the Big Blue Test today? Participants see their blood sugars drop the blood sugar an average of 20% in just 14 minutes of movement. And each test triggers a $5 donation to people with diabetes in need. Help us blow past our goal of 20,o00 participants!

9:49 am – David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, celebrates Downing Street and a cat turning blue for World Diabetes Day. I’m glad to see big names getting behind the cause:

Downing Street (and Larry the cat) turned blue this morning for World Diabetes Day #WDD. Take a look: flickr.com/photos/number1… @diabetesuk

— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) November 14, 2012

9:45 am – Now until 10 pm ET, join a global live Twitter Chat. You can observe without logging in or participate by including #WDDChat12 in your tweets.

9:30 am – Welcome to World Diabetes Day! This is our Live Blog of happenings around the world. Stay tuned – and feel free to share your WDD reflections, links, and photos in the comments!

View the original article here

Thankful in Life with Diabetes

…that I was diagnosed with diabetes during a time when they know how to create insulin.
…that today’s test strips can tell me my blood sugar in less than 5 seconds, instead of several hours.
…the word “gluten-free” isn’t such a weird term anymore, like it was 15 years ago when I was diagnosed with celiac disease.
…there are choices I can make, actions I can take to enjoy thanksgiving with diabetes.
…there are thousands of people working towards a cure, every day, with their time, money, and intelligence.
…that the Diabetes Online Community is PACKED with people I can turn to for support any day of the week, any hour of the day. Share your story, get involved, make friends, find support.
…my friends and family are always learning about diabetes to become better and better supporters of my life with this disease.

Read why others in Diabetes Online Community?are thankful in life with diabetes.

View the original article here

A Day in the Life of My Diabetes

For most people who meet you, and learn that you live with diabetes, they may see you check your blood sugar before a meal, give yourself insulin, or treat a low blood sugar, and it appears to barely take a minute or two each time. In reality, the entire day’s worth of diabetes management doesn’t physically take an immense amount of actual time, but you may feel like it does require a great deal of your mental energy.

As a person with type 1 diabetes, here is an outline of my average day:

6 a.m. Wake up! Brush my teeth. Check my blood sugar, and head out the door with my two dogs, into the woods for a 15 minute romp!

7 a.m. Breakfast + insulin dose. I follow a fairly low-carb, almost Paleo-like nutrition lifestyle, so my breakfast is usually eggs with spinach OR a few slices of bacon OR all natural pork sausage. I know I really don’t feel good when I eat higher carbohydrate breakfasts like oatmeal, so I stick with protein and fat and some veggies. Because I eat the same low-carb (or zero carb) breakfast every day, I know exactly what amount of insulin to take (just a smudge because of those mornings hormones) and exactly what that meal will do to my blood sugar. On the weekend, sometimes I make gluten-free pancakes or gluten-free french toast. I’ve done a lot of experiments around those higher-carb treats, so I know how to take insulin for them and prevent a high blood sugar later.

8 a.m. To the gym! I tend to stick with anaerobic-like exercise, which uses more body fat for fuel instead of glucose, such as intervals on the spin bike, jump rope, or treadmill, and high-intensity circuit-training with kettlebells and dumbbells.

9:00 a.m. Check my blood sugar post-workout! Again, since my exercise choices and program don’t use glucose for fuel, my blood sugar can change by a mere 10 to 30 points during my workouts, but it rarely ever drops.

1:00 p.m. Check my blood sugar + insulin dose! I usually eat lunch around this time. My lunch consists of things like: apple, string cheese, carrots and hummus OR a bowl of ground turkey on top of spinach and mesclun greens, and a handful of mixed nuts OR sauteed chicken and veggies OR apple and peanut butter (when I really don’t have time to make anything else!). In a nutshell, it’s a very low-carb meal, with protein, and some fat. Oh…and time to walk those dogs again!

4:00 p.m.?Sometimes this one doesn’t happen at all, simply because I don’t feel the need to check, I’m glued to my computer working, or I’m simply not hungry. If it does happen, it looks like this: Check my blood sugar + insulin dose! I tend to check my blood sugar around this time of day, and possibly eat something like carrots, bell pepper, or a salad…sometimes with hummus, sometimes without. If I feel like I want some carbs, I might have a rice cake with peanut butter, or some fruit with cheese or peanut butter.

7:00 p.m. Check my blood sugar + insulin dose! I’m a big fan of low-carb dinners like steak and sauteed veggies, or a big salad with a salmon burgers (no bun), or grilled chicken and broccoli. I fill my belly with protein and veggies and some fat. Most everything I cook at dinner is usually prepared in a saute pan or grilled in the over in tin-foil in a pan. Usual veggies include bell peppers (green ones because they’re the cheapest), broccoli, sugar snap peas, asparagus, mushrooms, and green beans.

9:00 p.m. Check my blood sugar + insulin dose + long-acting insulin dose! Because I follow such a low-carbohydrate plan during the day, some nights I treat myself to ice cream. By choosing the low-carbohydrate options during the day, even with a bowl of great ice cream, I manage to keep my total carbohydrate count under about 70 grams for the day. This helps me maintain a healthy weight, maintain an A1C under 7%, and I never feel deprived! And of course, time for a quick outing with the dogs again.

Bedtime:?The time of day I most often go low is actually around 3 a.m., if I take too much insulin with dinner or dessert. I keep juice and dried mangoes next to my bed (mostly because I’m sick of glucose tabs, and the dried mangoes are cheap to buy in bulk at Costco). I also keep an extra blood glucose meter next to my bed that I never move from that place. If I do go low during the night I know my body will wake me up (it always has, in the past 15 years of diabetes), I can easily check my blood sugar and treat the low without even getting out of bed.

This day, and how I feed and exercise my body works well for me.
What does a day in the life of diabetes look like for you?

View the original article here

Transform Your Life with Diabetes

TeamWILD (We Inspire Life with Diabetes) has announced their 2013 camp for people living with all types of diabetes. (In fact, even non-diabetics are welcome to attend this camp! There were 3 non-diabetic campers last year.)?Founded by Mari Ruddy, TeamWILD teaches people of all fitness levels how to become an endurance athlete while living well with diabetes: How to train. How to fuel your body properly with carbohydrates, fat and protein. How to manage your blood sugars, medications and insulin doses around your training.

Ever wonder why your blood sugar plummets during parts of your training and spikes at other times? TeamWILD can teach you the physiology you need to know in order to reach your athletic goals. Whether it’s a 5K or a full Ironman.

If you love to bike, swim, or run (or all three), TeamWILD has a program for you. Beginners to seasoned triathletes are all invited to TeamWILD. TeamWILD’s group of coaches and educators is powerfully dedicated to helping you ensure that diabetes doesn’t get in the way of your athletic pursuits. Learn more at TeamWILDathletics.com.

View the original article here

Super-Human Strength in Diabetes

Ever since completing my first marathon last month I feel like I miraculously have super-human strength! Tasks that used to test me mentally or physically are no longer as challenging, and I truly believe that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to do.

Each morning I remind myself of the energy that was required to get to mile 26 of the marathon and all of a sudden my 8 to 5 day job seems to be a breeze, workouts are not nearly as challenging, and I look forward to waking up in the middle of the night to soothe our crying baby! Okay, that last one was a joke, but you get my point!

Just as I was beginning to envision myself as the newest character on the comic show X-Men with my super-human strength, I received a call from good friend and quickly realized that super-human strength is not something that is acquired by overcoming temporary feelings of pain such as felt in completing a marathon. Rather, super-human strength is acquired by continually overcoming pain while lifting everyone around you with your positive attitude.

I may not have super-human strength but I know someone who does:

Kayla Eriksen, 11 years old

Type 1 diabetes: Kayla was enrolled in the Trial Net Pathway to Prediction study, which is designed to screen for autoantibodies that are predictive of Type 1 diabetes. Two years after receiving her positive results she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.Celiac Disease (CD): Not long after getting diagnosed with diabetes, Kayla was diagnosed with CD which “is a lifelong inherited autoimmune condition affecting children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Even small amounts of gluten in foods can affect those with CD and cause health problems. Damage can occur to the small bowel even when there are no symptoms present.Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA): Kayla has also been diagnosed with JRA, which is the most common form of arthritis in children younger than the age of 16. As an autoimmune disease, your child’s body attacks its own joints, and this can result in very crippling symptoms.Gastrostomy tube ( G-tube): Due to the numerous challenges Kayla faces, doctors have decided to utilize a G-tube which is a tube inserted through the abdomen that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach. It’s one of the ways doctors can make sure kids with trouble eating get the fluid and calories they need to grow.

It is not simply the number of challenges that Kayla faces on a daily basis that is most impressive, but her positive attitude and absolute joy for life while working through her numerous challenges that makes me realize that she is the strongest person who I know. In fact, her mother informed me that not a day goes by where Kayla does not either feel pain from her JRA or sick from a high blood sugar. The truly amazing thing about Kayla is you would never expect that she is experiencing an ounce of pain in her body by the huge smile and contagious laugh that are always on display.

Kayla approaches each day with love, laughter, and happiness and she is not looking for sympathy from anyone. All Kayla is hoping that you do is smile as you finish reading her story and show it to as many people as you can! If my good friend Kayla can put a smile on her face every day, so can I, so can we!

I know someone who has super-human strength, do you?

View the original article here