Diabetes

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Living with diabetes

Diabetes is a complex disease that requires daily self-management - making healthy


food choices, staying physically active, monitoring your blood sugar and taking
medications as prescribed. It is also important to talk regularly with your diabetes care
team to problem solve, reduce risks for complications and cope with lifestyle changes.

Successful self-management will help you feel better and can reduce your chance of
developing complications including heart disease, dental disease, eye disorders, kidney
disease, nerve damage and lower leg amputation.

Diabetes is also a very personal disease. Upon being diagnosed, it's not uncommon to
feel a certain amount of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear about how your lifestyle may
change. Fear that you will experience life-threatening complications. 

A key member of the diabetes management team, a diabetes educator will help you
learn how to take care of yourself — guide you through your treatment and help you
with any fears, issues and problems you encounter along the way. 

 Learn More
What advice would you share with those living with T1D?

A. Your pharmacist is a fabulous resource, especially a pharmacist that is a


CDE. These pharmacists are focused on your well-being. I am a CDE and
when I am giving advice, I don’t look at the clock; I give people my focused
attention. I often give my home phone number out and will take calls
whenever people need me. I would tell those living with T1D to take
advantage of this valuable resource, especially at times when you can’t get in
to see your doctor.

Q. What tips or advice would you give to a parent of a child newly


diagnosed with T1D?

A. For a parent this is a very stressful and upsetting time. Your whole world is
different but it is manageable. I would tell parents they don’t have to start
completely cutting sugar from their child’s diet but they need to learn how to
count carbohydrates and should teach their child how to as well. Parents need
to learn the groundwork early on in order to help their child properly manage
their T1D.

Being active is vital to the health of someone living with T1D and parents need
to introduce exercise to their child early on so that it becomes a part of their
daily life, just like brushing your teeth.  If you make exercise a part of your
daily life you will be able to live a long life without complications. You need to
make sure you always have something on hand to treat a low while exercising
as it is always safer to be a little high than low.

Q. What are some common misconceptions about T1D?

A. A common misconception about T1D is that the person with the disease
can no longer consume sugar. Everybody always seems to think it’s about
sugar when really it’s about carbohydrates. Sugar is just one component of a
carbohydrate. If you learn how to count carbohydrates properly than you can
still have sugar.

Q. Is there any other information you can offer the JDRF community in
your capacity as a diabetes educator?

A. I’d like people to know that with diabetes, nothing is a stupid question!
Sometimes things just don’t make sense and that’s normal. Having diabetes
takes discipline but if you can manage it properly it is a very livable condition
and diabetes research has come a long way. When I was growing up with
T1D, I used to have to sterilize glass syringes to give myself multiple and
often painful injections. Now I have a pump!  With the help of JDRF I believe
we will have a cure in my lifetime. 

What's the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?


Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It's
most often diagnosed in patients under 18, but it can strike at any age. Type 1 diabetics need insulin
to manage the disease.
In type 2 diabetes, the body loses its sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that helps muscles absorb and
use blood sugar. Traditionally, type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in older people. But with the rise in
obesity, it's now being diagnosed at younger ages, sometimes even in children. Some traditionally
thin populations are also being diagnosed with the disease as well. Type 2 is generally treated with
changes to diet and exercise habits, as well as oral medication or insulin.
How will I know if I have diabetes?
Diabetes may cause no symptoms at all, but some signs include frequent thirst and hunger, having
to urinate more than usual, losing weight without trying to, fatigue, and crankiness. If you're
concerned, get your blood-glucose level checked, says Deborah Fillman, a registered dietitian and
the incoming president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. A fasting blood-sugar
test measures the amount of sugar in your blood after not eating for at least eight hours. Normal is
99 mg/dL or below. Prediabetes is 100 to 125, and diabetes is 126 and above.
My father has diabetes. Does that raise my risk?
Yes. Having a family member with diabetes raises your risk of developing type 1 by about 5 percent
and type 2 diabetes by more than 30 percent.
Health.com: How your family may sabotage your efforts to manage diabetes
I've read that belly fat is a diabetes risk factor. Should I worry about my muffin top?
Yes. Excess fat around your midsection is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. (Type 1
diabetes has nothing to do with obesity). In particular, the visceral fat wrapped around your internal
organs can pose a problem, and it increases insulin resistance (the problem in type 2 diabetes) more
so than fat in other parts of your body.
Health.com: Why it pays to lose weight if you have type 2 diabetes
Being obese or overweight in general can hike your risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 90 times.
Why? Overweight bodies may just be too big for their pancreases to keep up, says researcher Dr.
John Buse, director of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Diabetes Care Center.
Can diet or exercise really prevent diabetes?
Yes, exercising and eating a healthy diet helps you keep off excess weight, which can prevent or at
least delay diabetes. If you already have diabetes, doing aerobic exercise and resistance training
helps by encouraging the muscles to take up more blood sugar.
Health.com: Can I drink alcohol with diabetes?
Over the short term, it may even reduce the amount of blood-sugar-lowering medication you need to
take. Long term, exercise helps lower the risk of complications like blindness and nerve and kidney
damage by helping you better manage blood-sugar levels. On the diet front, a recent study found
that type 2 diabetics who ate a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fish, fruits, nuts, and olive oil, lost
more weight and went longer without blood-sugar-lowering medication than those on a low-fat diet.
Health.com: 5 healthy snacks for people With diabetes
Could my sweet tooth lead to diabetes?
One of the oldest myths about diabetes is that sugar -- or a sweet tooth -- causes the disease. Says
Riva Greenberg, a patient advocate and the author of 50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life,
"A lot of people still think you get diabetes from eating too much candy."
Not true. Nor is it necessary for diabetics to avoid all sugar. Eating a well-balanced diet rich in whole
grains, protein, veggies, and fruit -- and low in fat, cholesterol, and simple sugars (which cause blood
sugar to spike) -- is a healthy plan for everybody.
I'm skinny, so I can't get diabetes, right?
Being overweight is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, but 20 percent of people who get it are
slim. "The number of type 2 diabetics is growing, especially in thin Asian populations," Greenberg
says. Asian populations have higher concentrations of visceral fat, which may be a contributing
factor, Buse explains.
If I had gestational diabetes that went away, should I worry?
Unfortunately, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes increases
substantially -- between 20 percent and 50 percent. (Gestational diabetes occurs when hormones
that help a baby's placenta develop interfere with the mother's insulin, resulting in higher blood
sugars. It occurs in about 4 percent of U.S. pregnancies each year.) Your personal odds depend
upon other factors like ethnicity, genetics, and weight. Losing weight after you've had a baby can
help limit your risk.

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