Diabetic Friends Action Network (DFAN) Electronic Newsletter - September (Delphi Internet Services Custom Forum 255) Stress and diabetes go hand in hand at times. Some even say stress and trauma might be the reason diabetes comes into a person's life. Once a person is diagnosed with diabetes they must deal with a change in their total lifestyle as well as changes in the way they must take care of themselves. If a person is used to eating pizza and hamburgers every day going to foods that are low in fat and calories might make bring on tension and anxiety. Stress can also come from the family of a diabetic person. There might be clashes when it comes to the food the family eats. There might also be clashes concerning how much time and attention the diabetic family member is receiving. These are all things that shouldn't come between people but it sometimes does. All in all the life of a diabetic is full of stress. Waking up in the morning brings along blood glucose tests, insulin injections, pill doses, exercise, as well as many other things. Stress must be managed since it DOES have an affect on blood glucose level. Having a stressful day can have the same effect that two pieces of chocolate cake can have on blood glucose levels: they go UP. If you'd like to correspond with any of the authors of the articles in this newsletter who have furnished their e-mail addresses please do so. They'd love to hear from you. We're also in need of articles for the next (October issue) of the newsletter. As of this date we don't have any articles for it so if you'd like to tell us your story, even if it isn't full of success and control please jot it down and send it to us. Don't worry about grammar or style...we just want your true story. Send the stories to BELVE@DELPHI.COM If you are on America Online you can send your stories to BELVE, and on Prodigy send your stories to XJMV62A ***************************************** Discipline By Dave Parkinson Things have not been going all that well with my diabetes regimen, or perhaps I should say with my lack of a regimen. I've been a diabetic since 1989 when my family doctor put me on Micronase (tablet). Actually I have strong reason to believe I was a borderline diabetic for a time before that. Just never confirmed. I started taking insulin in June 1994. I checked my blood sugar levels as often as 4-5 times per day and kept the levels below 200 quite a bit, even managing to get down to 70-120 early in the morning a few times. At first I tried to follow my diet strictly. That lasted for 1-2 months. I started walking for exercise at lunch time which helped to lose some much needed weight. As time went on I started to slip from the discipline I was trying to maintain. Went back to some bad habits like eating poorly, not taking time to plan a menu, purchase groceries, prepare food, plan, plan, plan. Exercise became an occasional thing and most of my time was devoted to working (office type work much of the time). In the last few months the weight came back on, aches and pains came back too. For the past year my vision has become progressively more blurry and the sensation (feeling) in my feet has become less so than in the past. Realizing that it had been 2 years since I had gotten an eye examination I decided to make an appointment. Not something I enjoy doing at all. Nevertheless, I went and received some very good news. The Ophthalmologist said my retinas were still very good and that there did not appear to have been any damage yet. Also, he said the bluriness was caused by the elevated and fluctuating blood sugar levels. Well, I called that a good visit. It's not too late to do something about my problem. A friend has given me several issues of the magazine for diabetics called Forecast. In the magazine I've read numerous accounts about people who have made lifestyle changes and seem to live very normal lives. Regulated. Well disciplined. Healthy. All the things I have struggled with all my life. I am tired of struggling but I will not give up. With God's help (couldn't possibly do anything without His help) I will have victory. I want to encourage others who have continued to struggle and haven't had too many victories to raise their hopes. Just like in AA and OA I will take 1 day at a time. O God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Thank you for those of you that have published the newsletter and for those of you that have taken the time to share your own experiences and encouragement. I will continue to look forward to reading the DFAN Online Newsletter and responding to those that wish to correspond. If you'd like to correspond with Dave you can reach him at this e-mail address: MYPJ83A@prodigy.com *************************************** WE WANT YOUR OPINION Some people with diabetes have noticed that when they do blood glucose testing at home their blood seems to appear thicker when their blood sugar levels are high. They also notice that their blood appears to be thinner when their blood glucose levels are closer to "normal". We would appreciate some feedback on whether you (or your child, or family member, or friend) has noticed this or not. If you've experienced this please let us know and we'll publish the results in our next newsletter. *************************************** DIABETIC WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE (Including an "unexpected" pregnancy) By Barbara Chi Let me start out by saying that it has not been easy....and it is not recommended to be a diabetic without health insurance. I have been extremely lucky and blessed not to have suffered any "serious" complications as a result of my lack of medical care over the last five years. It all started when I lost my job back in 1990. Along with the loss of my job was the loss of my health insurance. I could not afford the COBRA payments....so I was on my own! SCARY!!!! I was also putting a husband through school so our options were very limited. When it gets down to the point where you are asking, "Do I buy groceries for my family or do I buy Insulin", then you know you are in trouble! Luckily, I had been a diabetic for almost twenty years when I lost my insurance so I was well educated and knew what needed to be done. I just didn't have the resources needed! I have learned every possible way to beg and plead for diabetic supplies and services. An option for others in my situation is to contact doctors in your area (look in the phone book under Internal Medicine or Endocrinologists). A lot of time these doctors have excess supplies of insulin, blood pressure medicine and thyroid medicine sitting around. I have doctors who have told me that they have had to throw away insulin because it sat around in their refrigerators for so long they expired! They are more than happy to give these "samples" away. One doctor told me, "If pharmaceutical companies are stupid enough to think I will prescribe their medicine to my patients just because they left me a sample they deserve to have their products grow old in my pharmaceutical closet!" Wow...what an eye opener! From then on, he was the first one I would call for supplies. I was also lucky that my husband worked in a hospital part time while going to school so he knew a lot of doctors. Some of them would write me prescriptions for medicine that I needed but couldn't get over the counter such as blood pressure medicine, and syringes. Getting pregnant was another obstacle. I contacted a local teaching hospital who put me into their high risk OB clinic and charged me weekly based on my income. When I went on disability at 6 months gestation, I FINALLY qualified for medicaid for the last three months of my pregnancy. The baby and I both made it.....thankfully. As far as eye exams, if you don't have insurance, try contacting your local lions club who have doctors that perform eye exams for free and also give glasses! You'd be amazed at the free care that's available out there! The biggest thing you can do to help yourself is read, read, read! Go to the library and see if they have any diabetic magazines.....or stop by doctor's offices and ask to read their copies. You have to stay educated to win this war! Now for the good news......I will have insurance soon because my husband finally graduated with his nursing degree and will work full time....hopefully soon! I consider myself lucky because I know there are a lot of other diabetics out there with no resources and nowhere to turn! We need to become vocal about passing legislation that will mandate diabetic care and supplies to all diabetics....not just those fortunate with great insurance! If we don't help ourselves....no one else will help us either! ******************************** A Life With Stress By Gary Matuck I was diagnosed with type II diabetes about three years ago. After dietician counseling and trying to change my diet and beginning a more or less regular exercise program I was able to control my blood glucose level to stay in the 120-145 rage from an initial diagnosis of 220. I was able to sustain this level until this past February. On February 5, 1995 my son-in-law was killed in a skiing accident. My daughter, who was pregnant with her second child lived about 3 hours distance from my wife and I and her first child is mentally retarded. My daughter could not live alone and we suggested and she readily agreed to move in with us. My wife's mother who had been living with us was in the hospital with a minor stroke and was going temporarily into a nursing home for recovery. Needless to say the stress on everyone during this ordeal was tremendous. In a couple of weeks I went back to my doctor for a blood test and my glucose level was at 330 (higher than it had ever been). I am sure that the stress of the recent events had a tremendous effect on my diabetes. My doctor suggested going on oral medication but I thought that I might be able to get my levels down by exercise and diet again so he waited for three months to see the results. My blood glucose is now running between 140-220. This is better but not good enough so I have just started taking Gluconage to reduce it to normal levels. I still hope that I will be able to resume diet and exercise control without medication, but that will probably take some time to get our lives back to normal. We are still adjusting to all of the recent changes in our lives and our new little grandson is expected to be born next week. This just shows how much effect stress can have on blood glucose levels. I hope that this can possibly help some of the diabetics to understand the effects of stress on blood glucose levels. This of course is only one of many things which effect blood glucose. ********************************* DEALING WITH STRESS Stress plays an important part in diabetes management. Since the presence of stress in a person's life can make blood glucose levels rise the reduction of stress in a person's life can have a positive effect on blood glucose levels. Use your common sense to figure out what are the sources of stress in your life and do whatever you can to reduce their impact on you. You can't eliminate stress altogether but you can get rid of as much of it as possible. The emotional weight of diabetes alone can bring stress into a person's life. Not knowing what to do for yourself to help control your diabetes might make you nervous and uneasy. To help with this type of stress you might try reading and learning about diabetes. Knowing the facts about diabetes can sometimes quash some of the fears you might have. If you don't know what to do if you have an insulin reaction that can bring stress, but if you know exactly what to do and are prepared for an insulin reaction that anxiety might go away. Thinking about the complications of diabetes can also be a source of stress. You can't predict whether or not you'll get a diabetes complication so try to keep this worry to a minimum. Try to do your best to help control your diabetes and complications might stay out of your life. There are no guarantees but you can do your best to keep them away from your life. Try not to turn to food or alcohol to cope with the stress. Both of these won't work. You'll just be modifying your metabolic balance and doing something detrimental to your diabetes management plan. It's hard to reach out for help when you're stressed out but if you can find someone to talk to take advantage of it. If you can't talk to your doctor or someone in your family you might be able to find a friend (with or without diabetes) that might empathize with you and hear your thoughts. *If you have any special tips for coping with stress and diabetes send them to us and we can include them in a future issue of this newsletter. ************************************* BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE There are six other issues of the DFAN Online Newsletter available. If you'd like to receive any of them just send us an e-mail (BELVE@DELPHI.COM) and we can send it to your e-mail box. Or stop by our forum on Delphi Internet Services (Custom Forum 255). Here are the other issues that are now available for upload to you. 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 (This newsletter is e-mailed to everyone who visits our online forum and to everyone who requests it. 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