Diabetic Friends Action Network (DFAN) Online Diabetes Newsletter - November 1995 (Delphi Custom Forum 255) This document (c) Copyright 1995, all rights reserved. Redistribution of this document is hereby freely granted so long as the document is redistributed in its entirety (here interpreted as all text which was not automatically generated by software as part of the distribution process); in particular, with attributions and this copyright notice. _________________________________ This issue of the DFAN Diabetes Online Newsletter is a bit shorter than the normal issues you've received over the past months. We only received one article from a reader but we wanted to get this issue out to you. This issue also contains an announcement about a special day we picked to honor the people in our lives who make diabetes easier to live with. There are many people with diabetes who must live and deal with this disease alone, but there are also others who have family and friends who support and help them. We have picked November 28th to be DFAN Friends N' Family Day, the day that we recognize all those loved ones and friends who make diabetes easier for diabetics to live with. It might be your wife who exercises with you to make sure you stay motivated. Maybe it's your child who greets you everyday when you get home with a smile and a hug. Or it might be a friend who helped you figure out how to use your glucose testing meter. It doesn't matter who the person is. November 28th is the official DFAN Diabetes Friends & Family Day! Take that family member(s) or friend(s) out to lunch, buy or make them a card or you can just give them a hug and let them know how much you appreciate them. We are still looking for articles for next month's newsletter and if you submit an article now you'll be entered in our writing contest. So please help make our December issue a good one by submitting your story to us today. Your story doesn't have to look "professional" and don't worry about spelling or grammar. We'll fix all that before we put your article in the newsletter. ________________ARTICLE_____________________ New Lifestyle By Fred My decision to lose weight was a long time in coming. I had looked at all the new and "fad" diets that spring up now and again and even tried some of them. It did not take me long to realize that they were not for me as I could not regulate my life to a piece of paper with food listed on it. This was bothering me for quite a while and I had been a/ctively trying to decide on what to do. Well for me, those momentous life changing decisions just do come when I try to push or force the answer. So I just quit trying to figure it out (at least consciously). As usual I had it working down inside and after some time it came to me that what I needed was not a new diet. What I needed was a new life-style. So I set about developing one. In fact it is still under development and probably will always be. One of the things that came to me along with the first was that I needed to be flexible. At 61, one tends to become "locked in" on a lot of things. I am presently causing great concern to my kids and grand-kids that now fear for my sanity. It is the old "Grampa ain't what he always was" syndrome, and some of them do not know how to handle the changes. I use a stopwatch to check my heart rate while I ma on the thing. For now it is about 3 times per session. I find the rate runs mostly around 126 to 130 or so after I have been riding for 5 minutes or so and holds fairly steady. Every once in a while I just go nuts and pedal like a fool and crank the speed up to 12 or so miles per hour, but I do not hold it there for long. It does not seem to adversely affect my heart rate though. I hope the above has been helpful to you. If you have any questions I have not addressed, let me know and I will try to answer them for you. I probably ought to tell you that the *real* incentive for me doing all this is because I am in love and want to be healthy and live a long time, and grow very old with the woman I hope to marry in the not too distant future. I met her online on Delphi Internet Services so she may come in here sometime and see this. In case she does I want her to know this: I love my darling! ___________ARTICLE_______________ WHAT WOULD YOU DO? "Laura always gets what she wants!", was the cry heard throughout the Jansen household. These were the words spoken at least ten times a day by Carin, Laura's older sister. Laura was seven years old and Carin was nine. They were only two years apart but they weren't too close. Laura had been diagnosed with diabetes six months ago and things had changed a lot. Laura had to have her blood glucose tested five times a day. She also had to eat a special diet so that had to be planned. There were a lot of supplies to buy and keep track of and sometimes there wasn't enough money left to buy Carin some of the toys she wanted. Carin was only nine years old so she really couldn't understand that diabetes is a 24-hour a day disease that her parents had to keep track of so she had a lot of hostility in her. *How would you try to deal with this situation? What would you say to Carin? What would you say to Laura? Would you even bring it up with either child or just ignore the situation? _____________ARTICLE_____________ EXERCISING WITH NEUROPATHY Neuropathy is a complication that affects many diabetics. But having neuropathy doesn't mean you have to stop exercising. If you have neuropathy you many notice certain symptoms.One symptom of neuropathy is if you have tingling or pain in your toes or fingers, which may feel like being accidentally shocked. If it progresses you might lose your sense of pain and touch. This sometimes goes away but it can lead to total numbness in the feet. You may also have sharp knife-like pains, or pain-like sensations. It's a natural reaction for people to stop exercising when they get neuropathy. When you hurt you stop exercising, but since it's not the exercising that's causing the pain stopping the activity won't help. Once you stop exercising you lose muscle strength and flexibility. Exercising won't reverse your neuropathy but it will keep your muscles in good working order, help improve your circulation, control your weight, and increase your body's sensitivity to insulin. The first thing you need to do is keep or get back your flexibility. If you never stretch your arm up to the ceiling the muscles and tendons in your arm will start to shorten. When you finally try to reach up to get something from a high shelf your arm will feel stiff. That's due to lack of exercise. To get your flexibility back you need to do range-of-motion exercises. You should do these exercises for 15 minutes a day to keep flexible and also do them as a warm-up before you do more strenuous exercise. When you do range-of-motion exercises you slowly and gently take your wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, knees, hips, and trunk through their paces. You move your body part forward, back, up, down, and around as far as it can go without causing you pain. You could do shrugging with your shoulders or do windmills with your arms. If you have a loss of sensation due to neuropathy you an overstretch and not know it so you have to learn how to do these flexibility exercises from your health-care team. You can also do range-of-motion exercises while you're sitting or holding on to a chair. You can do full range stretching movements while holding onto an outstretched towel or cane. Before you start any exercise program check with your doctor some blood pressure medications can impair your tolerance to exercise. You will have to learn how exercise will affect your blood sugars and how you will have to respond to the changes. The key to a successful exercise program is to choose an activity you enjoy so you will do it on a regular basis.=20 Also decide what your goal is: weight loss, more flexibility or conditioning. The best type of exercise for your heart is aerobic exercise that gets your legs and arms moving, your heart pumping and your lung working. If you've lost sensation in your feet your balance may be off and you may not notice an injury to your foot. This could lead to serious trouble. There are other exercises that are more suited to you. Swimming is an excellent all-over workout. Swimming uses all the major muscle groups. There is less chance of injury when you're swimming than if you were running. You're not putting much stress on your knees and legs as you do when you run. Hydro-aerobics (water-aerobics helps you build strength and improves your flexibility. You stretch and do exercises while you're in chest deep water. The water buoys you up and reduces pressure on your feet. The resistance of the water makes your muscles work more than doing them just in the air. Check local YMCA's, health clubs or senior centers to find an organized hydro-aerobics class. Whether you do swimming or aerobics you need to take special care of your feet. The bottom of pools are rough and your feet might get cuts that you won't feel or notice. You can wear socks that are specially made for water sports (check a sporting goods store). If you have a wound that's healing don't get into a pool because it can be a source of infection. You can try cycling which will give your legs a working without injuring your feet. Cycling also gives your heart a workout without injuring your legs. If you have a lack of sensation in your feet that won't affect your balance on a bike since you're balancing with your trunk rather than your feet. If you don't like bikes with skinny tires you may want to try mountain bikes which have wide tires. Rowing is an exercise that's easier on your feet that jogging and you don't have to worry about balance because you're sitting down. A good rowing machine costs several hundred dollars so you might want to try to buy a used one. If you have access to a kayak or canoe try the real thing. You can do stretching and muscle strengthening exercises from a sturdy chair. If you have problems with your feet you don't have to stay off and always inspect your feet after you exercise for blisters, cuts, or any irritations. If you want to get an aerobic benefit from the exercise you do you have to use major muscle groups such as your thighs, calves, arms, and abdomen continuously for 30 minutes, three to four times a week. Intensity is measured by your heart rate. A good workout-rate for your heart depends on your age, sex, general fitness level, and any other health conditions you may have. Your doctor can tell you what heart rate you should aim for. Start slowly and build up. If you're just starting an exercise program you might do ten minutes four times a week. The next week try 15 minutes and add five minutes a week until you reach your the total length of time you'd like to exercise. The important thing is to exercise consistently and don't give up. __________DFAN WRITING CONTEST__________ We are pleased to announce the First Annual DFAN Writing Contest! This is your chance to let us hear about your diabetes related story! It can be about anything that has happened in your life that is related to diabetes, whether you're the person with diabetes, you're related to a family member with diabetes, or you're the friend of someone with diabetes. The story can be about diabetes, including: diagnosis mealplanning coping stress-relief cooking meals how you relate to your doctor how you cope with a diabetes complication how you dealt with a unique problem related to your diabetes how you stay motivated how you deal with the diabetic in your life how you deal with your family members how you deal with diabetes at work how diabetes affects your relationships ANYTHING as long as diabetes is involved. We have two categories: children and adult. Children can submit stories of ANY length to this contest. If the child tells you two sentences it can be a submission if that's what they have to say. So send it in. There's no one "right way" to write these stories, so an extremely short story is just as good as a longer one. Send your stories in. You can enter more than one time. Don't underestimate yourself. Your story might be a winner! Entries will NOT be judged on grammar and spelling (so don't worry about that). First prize in the children's category will be: 1 Power Ranger Collection (figures and one other Power Ranger Toy) 1 Barbie Collection Set (dolls and one other Barbie Toy) There will be one boy winner and one girl winner First prize in the adult category will be: $25 donation made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation or the American Diabetes Foundation. $15 donation made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation or the American Diabetes Foundation $10 donation made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation or the American Diabetes Foundation You can submit entries to the contest from October 1, 1995 to December 1, 1995. Prizes will be awarded by January 5, 1995. Entrants will be notified by January 7, 1995. (All submissions become the property of DFAN. Please do not submit copyrighted work. All submissions may be used in future newsletters.) _________________BACK ISSUES_________________ There are seven other issues of the DFAN Online Newsletter available. If you'd like to receive any of them just send us an e-mail to: Internet: BELVE@AOL.COM Prodigy : XJMV62A AOL : BELVE Delphi : BELVE and we can send it to your e-mail box. Or stop by our forum on Delphi (Custom Forum 255). Here are the other issues that are now available for upload. Fall Edition: DFAN Online * Official Flower Seeds * Article - The First Day/Diagnosis * Article - A Mother's Dilemma * DFAN Hottub/Biographies February Edition: Article - Good Old Days/Part 2 * Article - Coping As An SO (Significant Other) * Article - The Joy Of A Transplant * Member To Member Advice * Article - Sorbitol/Is The Harm Worth The Benefit March Edition (Special Children's Edition): Interview With Ten Year Old Diabetic Child * Article - D* At School/Time Of Diagnosis * Article - Getting Ready For School Beyond Notebooks & Erasers * Wordsearch Puzzle May Edition: (Special Significant Other Edition): Looking At The Glass Half Empty Or Half Full * S.O.B's (Significant Other Brothers) * Poem - "The Lesson Needed To Be Learned" * SO Appreciation * Getting Involved * Meal Planning - The Key To Success * Diabetes Mystery Story June Edition: Article - Diabetes In Teens * Article - My Life After Diabetes * Article - Who I Am * Article - All It Takes Is A Little Time * Poll Results - Driver's License Suspension * Article - Traveling With Diabetes * Diabetic Study Announcement * Finish The Story - Tara's New Beginning July Edition: Article - Cerebral Palsy & Diabetes/The Nexus And The Nudge * Article - Life As An Ex-Diabetic (From a Triple Transplant Recipient) * Article - What Supplies Should You Buy * Article - Getting Involved September Edition: (Special Stress Issue): Article - Discipline * We Want Your Opinion * Article - Diabetic Without Health Insurance * Article - A Life With Stress * Article - Dealing With Stress October Edition: Article - Dealing With Reactions * Poll Results - Thicker Blood? * Article The 10th Anniversary of the Bustin' Diabetes Rodeo ( Case Scenario - Meal Planning Away From Home * Story - From Paycheck To Paycheck * Writing Contest Details (This newsletter is e-mailed to everyone who visits our online forum and to everyone who requests it. If you would like to be removed from this mailing list of if you'd like to receive any back issue please send an e-mail to BELVE@AOL.COM