Diabetic Friends Action Network Online Newsletter - June Edition 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. Please distribute this newsletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it. The summer is here and it's time to get outdoors! Bicycling, playing in the park with your children and going to the pool are just a few of the things you might do for exercise this summer. Part of managing diabetes includes regular exercise. Once a person becomes diabetic they not only have to watch their diet and take any medications (oral or insulin) needed to help control it. Exercise is one of the keys to good diabetes management. Without it taking medication and being careful about what a person eats just won't get optimum results. Exercise is important to Type I and Type II diabetics. Type I diabetics should exercise to keep their body in good condition. Type II diabetics may be able to stop taking their oral medications and/or insulin if they exercise regularly and can lose weight. So exercise is vital for ANY person with diabetes. If you find that you don't have the time or motivation needed to start an exercise program take a few minutes, sit down and try to find the time to exercise. When you're choosing an exercise to do you have to consider your age and your state of health. If you haven't exercised in a long time or if you're an older person you might want to try brisk walking as your form of exercise. Jogging is a good exercise for someone younger but it also brings along the risk of injury to the knees, ankles and joints. If you're a diabetic who takes medication it's important to remember a few things. Always wear some type of medical identification such as a Medic-Alert emblem which can let emergency personnel know you have diabetes in case of an emergency. Always carry some food with you (juice, crackers, cake icing) in case your blood sugar drops and you need to treat an insulin reaction (hypoglycemia). If you'd like more information on being athletic while you or someone you love has diabetes you can write to: International Diabetic Athletes Association (IDAA) 6829 N. 12th Street Suite 205 Phoenix, AZ 85014 (602) 230-8155 IDAA is a nonprofit, membership organization for persons with diabetes who participate in fitness activities at all levels. The IDAA also publishes a quarterly newsletter, which includes helpful articles about managing diabetes during athletic activities and stories about people with diabetes who participate in sports events. ****************************ARTICLE*************************** Diabetes in Teens By Wesley Yung This article is mostly dedicated to the teenagers out there with diabetes. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was eight years of age and I've had it for nine years. I am currently seventeen and as a teenager, I am struggling with the disease. When I was younger, I saw the disease as just a set of rules my parents put on me. I had to do injections and I had to test blood glucose levels. They never let me eat sugar so I got used to it. However, once the teens hit, I realized why I had to do things and what would happen if I didn't follow the guidelines set out by the hospital. I'm sure everyone who's a teenager now knows that between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, kids tend to experiment and test out things. It's just in our nature and it can be a potentially bad thing for diabetic kids unless they are educated properly. It is a common occurrence for a group of friends (one of them diabetic) to go out for a large dinner or a rich desert. This situation is really hard for the teen (at least it was for me) because the temptation to join one's friends is overwhelming. It's really distressing to think that diabetic teens can't enjoy life the same way. However, we need not think that way. The largest mistake we can make in that situation is to convince ourselves that it's ok to eat that banana split or drink that coke. I know that I found myself in that situation many times and I always had an underlying thought that I could "substitute" my fruit choices for cake or other sugary things. Although it is ok to substitute, I know that I tend to substitute too much and that can cause problems. I guess my advice in situations like these is to either resist the temptation or compensate with insulin. I haven't tried that latter choice because I rarely bring my insulin with me at all times. Another concern I have involves the roller coaster ride our blood glucose levels take during puberty. It's really frustrating to be suddenly subjected to completely irregular blood glucose levels during the teens when we've been under control all our lives. To compound this problem, how many of you actually test four times a day??? I thought so. Neither do I :) It's really hard to do that many tests when one is a teen and we all know that we're really busy people (so we say) and can't test all the time. School is also another problem; who wants to pick their finger in school? Although there are many testing units that are very portable, I still cringe at the uneasiness of testing at school. My only solution to this problem is to test twice (morning and lunch) on one day and then twice (dinner, bedtime) the next day. This way I can still see the trend my blood glucose levels are taking and not have to test 4 times a day. Well, my space is running short, so in the next issue of the newsletter I will cover Drinking, Relationships, and the perfect diabetes survival kit for your car or office (in case you get real low). I will also discuss the debate over who should know about your condition. One last thing. Although I have been discussing the negative things about diabetes, I know that there are some quirks about it. Our diets are the healthiest anyone can ask for. No sugar means no problems with your teeth. Your friends are always so curious about your injections and blood glucose testing. You can entertain forever. And don't forget that we all have more experience about this than any non-diabetic will ever have. You can reach Wesley at this e-mail address: wyung@cln.etc.bc.ca ******************************ARTICLE**************************** My Life After Diabetes By Charles W. Green Diabetes can be a good thing! For me it has caused some wonderful changes in my life. Granted, it is NOT the same for everyone, but for me, it has been an almost positive experience. November 1, 1994, the Doctor confirmed my suspicions. I had a blood sugar reading of 456! After a three day stay in the hospital to stabilize the blood sugar, rehydrate the system, and teach me how to care for the diabetes, I was sent home to a totally new way of life. Not only would I have to watch what I ate, but the Doctor informed me that unless I lost some weight (from 265 lbs) that I would have a very difficult time controlling the diabetes. The exchange system was explained, and I was put on an 1800 calorie diet. Having watched diabetes contribute to the early death of my father at age 58, I was determined to do all within my power to control the "beast" and not let it control me. I began to follow the diet "religiously" (not an easy task for a preacher!). I began to exercise daily (something I had been promising myself that I was going to do for years). I started reading labels on foods (an eye opening experience to say the least). Within a few months I had managed to lose about 25 pounds, and I noticed that I had more energy, stamina and drive. It became easier to follow the regimen as my new found habits became simply that--habits. My entire lifestyle changed. No longer did I come home in the afternoons and reach for the cookie jar. No longer did I consider exercise something that I ought to do someday. No longer did I "live to eat". Now, I merely "ate to live". As a result of this new lifestyle, I am down to 210 lbs. I have dropped four sizes in the waist. I am in the best shape I have been in since my high school football playing days (almost 30 years ago!). Diabetes, then, has been for me the catalyst to make necessary changes in my life. I ALMOST consider it a blessing! I understand that it will not always be such a "friendly beast." I understand that I am most likely still in the "honeymoon" phase of the disease. I know that for many people diabetes is a debilitating disaster that could never be considered a blessing. But, for me, at this stage of the process, I consider myself blessed! In the midst of so much sadness and trouble caused by diabetes, it is my hope that this story can be a ray of hope, a glimmer of possibility, a bit of good news. Thanks for listening, and allowing me this opportunity to tell my story. *************************ARTICLE***************************** Who I am By Richard Eshelman My name is Richard Eshelman. I am known to some of you as Yasuru. That is the name I go by on Delphi. I am not a diabetic, but I do know about living with them. I also know about being overweight. I am fat. I don't consider myself obese, horizontally enhanced, pleasingly plump, or any of the other euphemisms that are sometimes popular for fat people. I have been what the doctors describe as morbidly obese for most of my life. The highest weight that I attained was around 550 lbs. For most of my life, I have been on one diet or another, mostly I haven't stuck with them. They are ok for a while, but then I start missing eating the kind of food I am used to, and then any progress I have made is gone. I have tried the Rice diet, the Weight Watchers program, the grapefruit diet, the Slim fast diet, the alternate days diet, the no salt no fat diet, the doctor says you have to diet, you name it, and I have probably tried it. None of them worked for me. More appropriately, I didn't work for them. I used all the standard excuses, I am large boned, My family is all large, I don't care what I weigh. The excuses didn't help either. No amount of threatening by my doctors, no amount of encouragement from my family would make me lose the weight until I got the one thing that made a difference. The desire to lose the weight for myself. Around my 30th birthday, I took a long look at myself. I didn't like what I saw. I had been steadily gaining weight for years. None of my clothes fit anymore, and it was getting hard to find ones that did. I decided to make a change. I am a social creature, so I found a weight loss support group. I also found a diet that I could live with. It was designed for me by my sister. It uses the ADA food exchanges. This isn't the kind of diet where you give up all the foods you love. You can still eat pizza, Chinese food, whatever, you just have to stop and look at what is in it. You are allowed a set number of exchanges of the different types of food, you just have to keep track of which ones you have eaten. Another thing that sets this diet apart is that it doesn't expect me to go from eating about 7000 calories a day to eating 1500. Let's face it, that wasn't going to happen. I did cut back to 3500, but that is much more realistic than a 5500 calorie step. Like any weight loss program, it took a little getting used to. I had to start using a kitchen scale, but after a while, I got to where I knew how much food made up an exchange. In the last year, I have lost around 100 lbs. It hasn't made a major difference in how I look yet, but I can't begin to tell you how different I feel. I have energy that I haven't had in a long time. One of the high points of the last year was when I was told that I had won an award for losing the most weight of anyone in my weight class in the state of New York. I am not kidding myself, I still have a long way to go, and it won't always be easy. There have been hard times when the weight wouldn't come off, but with patience and determination, I got it going again. I know that I will make it. If you have looked at yourself, and decided that you want to change what you see, you have already taken the hardest step. I will be hanging around in the DFAN Conference for weight loss on Delphi, and if you are losing, or even just thinking about losing, I would love to hear from you. I have found that talking to others helps, and as my granny used to say, "A trouble shared is a trouble halved, and a joy shared is a joy doubled". I wish you good luck and good losing. ************************************* All It Takes Is A Little Time By Donald Roza Thought I would drop you a story--All my life I have heard people say "If you don't like it, write your congressman. I never have until last week. I go on medicare as of the first of the year and I have been checking into just what medicare covers for diabetics as I was just turned down for a insulin pump by my wife's insurance company for the pre-existing condition reason. I have called Medicare and got three different answers: (yes,no, and I think it does.) This prompted me to draft up a letter stating some of the the things that I feel should be included for diabetics. I sent the same letter to: Both Florida Senators The Medicare office for Durable Equipment Two Florida Representatives in the House of Representatives Florida State Senator,Chairman of the Health Committee Florida State Representative, Chairman of the Health Committee Most all of these names and addressed can usually be found in your local phone book or call your local Supervisor of Elections. All it cost me was a little time and about 3 or 4 dollars in postage. Will it do any good? who knows!! But I bet if EVERYBODY who reads this newsletter did it might have some impact in the future. I've heard it said that "the squeaking wheel gets the grease." I hope so. At least It will make you feel like you have contributed to the cause. We all benefit from online services and newsletters so why not take the time to help the future diabetics and maybe even ourselves? **************************POLL RESULTS********************** Every week or so the members in the DFAN Diabetes Online Forum get an opportunity to vote on a poll to voice their opinions and ideas. Last month this poll appeared in our online forum and here are the results. DRIVER LICENSE SUSPENSION? If a person with diabetes who is taking medication (insulin, orals) is involved in a car accident that is proven to be related to the person have an insulin reaction do you think that person should have his driver's license taken away? CHOICE PERCENT ------ ------- STRONGLY AGREE 0% AGREE 25% UNCERTAIN 75% DISAGREE 0% STRONGLY DISAGREE 0% Here are some of the comments our forum members contributed: In some states and California is one of them, if you use drugs that could hinder your driving then you lose your license. I always take my BS before I go driving. It works for me... I would have to know more about the situation. Maybe if the person will not control their diabetes and this is a frequent occurrence it really depends on the situation. if driver has frequent reactions, it's irresponsible to drive. If this is a first time thing, it should be a warning to be careful...unless the accident kills or badly injures someone. In that case, loss of license is appropriate. I think it has to be decided on a case by case basis. There are drunk drivers on the highway who have nothing done to them after many accidents. It's a tough call. **************************ARTICLE********************* TRAVELING WITH DIABETES Traveling with DIABETES isn't too hard to do if you do a lot of planning and make sure you're prepared. Below are some helpful tips you can use to make your vacation one you'll remember with a smile. Check with the airline (or other carrier) to see if they can serve you any special foods you need for your diet. You don't want to get on the airplane and have them bring you a chocolate sundae and fried chicken (if you're trying to stay away from fried foods) You should carry your diabetic supplies in a little pouch if you can get one and mark it "Diabetes". You many even want to call the airline and ask if they have any special requirement for carrying diabetic supplies. They may want you to carry it in a special case of. Don't put your diabetic supplies in your suitcase. Carry it with you at ALL times. If your bags get lost you might not be able to get your supplies easily. Some states (or countries) might require that you have a prescription to get insulin and/or syringes. If you're traveling with someone make sure you give them a crash course in diabetes. Make sure they know what to do in case you have an insulin reaction. Make sure the stewardesses know you're diabetic and that the symptoms of a low blood sugar reaction can mimic drunkenness. You don't want them to think you drunk too much alcohol when you're really having an insulin reaction (hypoglycemia). Also let them know what to do in case you experience a low blood sugar reaction. Make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes and socks. A lot of people buy new shoes and socks for a trip and don't put them on until they're on their way and then find out the shoes and/or socks are uncomfortable. If you are going to wear new shoes and/or new socks break them in before you go on your trip. Walk around in them for at least a week and make sure they're comfortable. If it's possible visit the airport you're leaving from. Does it have snack bars where you could get food quickly? Do you need to carry your own food? You should have at least three meals in your bag. You can carry foods that don't need to be refrigerated. You never know when your plane will have to land in an unplanned destination that doesn't have a restaurant or store. You HAVE to be prepared, especially if you're taking medication to help control your diabetes. Don't take a lot of luggage. Take enough that you can carry comfortably. Even if a friend travels with you, you may be in the situation where you'll have to carry it yourself. Assume that your plane will be late...and be prepared for it. And lastly don't be surprised if you meet a lot of people with diabetes on your trip! You may make some new friends you never knew would be there. (This is one of the many files in the DFAN Diabetes Online Forum Database on Delphi Internet Services. If you'd like to know how to visit our forum and get 10 FREE hours to try it out just send and e-mail to BELVE@DELPHI.COM or YASURU@DELPHI.COM and we'll send you all the sign-up details. *****************LAST MONTH'S MYSTERY SOLUTION**************** Were you able to solve last month's mystery? The culprit was Wanda! If you remember, Wanda said a man came into the jewelry store and was having an insulin reaction (hypoglycemia). Wanda said she gave the man some water and sat with him until he felt better. A person who is having an insulin reaction needs FOOD or DRINK...not water. Water will do nothing to help raise a person's blood sugar if it's too low. If a person is having an insulin reaction they need some type of fast acting carbohydrate or protein (juice, crackers, cake icing, etc...) The detective assigned to the case was diabetic and figured it out as soon as Wanda opened her mouth. It was Wanda not knowing how to treat a hypoglycemic reaction that tripped her up. ******************************* Do you have Adult Onset (Type II) Diabetes with High Blood Pressure? New England Medical Center's Division of Nephrology in Boston, MA is currently seeking Type II diabetics who have high blood pressure, for an investigational drug study comparing two blood pressure medications. The study will last fourteen weeks, with one overnight stay in the hospital for a kidney biopsy. Participants will receive a $1000 stipend. For information please contact Caroline at (617) 636-5866 or send an e-mail to caroline.mcfadden@es@nemc.org ************************************ DFAN NEEDS YOUR STORIES! Right now we only have two articles in our files to use for our July issue. If you have a story...ANY story that you'd like to write about please send it to us for publication in this newsletter. Your story can be about yourself or about a diabetic member of your family. It can be happy, sad, glad, angry, or even fantasy, as long as it's about some aspect of diabetes in your life. Remember, this newsletter is nothing without you. Real people telling their real stories. Thanks. ************************************** Tara's New Beginning (Finish The Story) The sheets of the hospital bed felt stiff. They didn't feel like the soft sheets Tara's Mom has always put on her bed. The room was a pale white. Tara missed her peach walls with the pictures of teddy bears on them. She missed everything in her room. Tara had been in the hospital for more than a week and she was beginning to thing she'd never go home. Sure, the nurses and doctors told her she'd be going home in a day or two but she didn't believe them. After all, they had been the people who told her she'd be "okay". She wasn't "okay". Tara had diabetes and all she could think about was that her life was different. She didn't like needles and sticking herself all the time with the lancets. But there was nothing she could do. Her parents and doctors said she had to do it. So she did it. "Tara," called the nurse from the hallway, "it's time for your test". "Oh no, not again," Tara said to herself. Tara assumed the position. One finger stuck out at attention while she grimaced when the lancet pricked her finger. "Ouch!" Tara always let the nurses know how much she disliked checking her blood glucose levels. "Tara, you're ten years old. You should be a big girl," said the nurse. "I am a big girl. I just don't like having my finger stuck like a pin cushion ten times a day!" The nurse left the room and Tara was left alone again. There was another patient in the room with her. The other girl was 15 and had diabetes for seven years. Her name was Jennifer. She was there because her diabetes was out of control and the doctors had to try to get her blood sugars back down. Tara hoped that she NEVER had to come back to the hospital again. She didn't want to see another doctor or nurse again. "Tara," a voiced called from the doorway, "one more day and you'll be home!" Tara looked up and saw her mother standing in the room. "You can go home tomorrow but there are still some things the nurse has to show us before we go." "Mom, do I still have to take the injections when I get home?" Tara knew the doctor told her she'd have to take the injections for the rest of her life but she would ask her Mom this question every day in the hope that her Mom would tell her she didn't have to take the injections. "Tara, you know what the doctors said. You have diabetes and that means your pancreas doesn't work anymore. You need the injections to make sure you don't get sick again". The frown came back to Tara's face, "But I don't like them! They hurt!" Tara's Mom didn't really know what to say. "I'm sorry they hurt but we'll just have to try to work it out", Tara's Mom blurted out. "Work it out?", Tara thought to herself. Tara was scared again. She had been scared since she was admitted to the hospital. No one would really give her any "real" answers to her questions. They just kept telling her "it's ok..you'll be fine", or "you have diabetes now and that means you have to take better care of your body and take your insulin injections.". Tara understood that but she didn't know why it happened to her. What did she do to make herself have diabetes? Was it the time she fell off the bike and hit her knee on the steps? Or was it the time she played in the snow and got sick? She did know that she was mad. She didn't know who she was mad at, just that she was angry all the time. "Tara, I have to go see the diabetes educator down the hall for a little while. I'll be back," said Tara's Mom as she left the room. Tara's Mom left the room and Tara went back to watching the small television attached to the wall. "I'll be so glad to get out of here.", Tara whispered to herself. Jennifer was walking into the room, "Did you say something Tara?". Tara didn't answer. "I hear you're going home tomorrow That's great." Tara waited awhile and then said, "Great?..that's not great. I'll just be going home to be a pincushion." "That's how I felt when I was first diagnosed," said Jennifer as she climbed back into her hospital bed. Finish The Story....Here's your chance to give your writing skills a try! What do you think Jennifer would say to Tara to help her accept her diabetes. Send us your ending to this story and we might put it in the July issue of this newsletter! You can even let your child write what he or she would say to Tara. Send your story ending to BELVE@DELPHI.COM or to YASURU@DELPHI.COM. ************************************* There are four 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 or YASURU@DELPHI.COM) 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 (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@DELPHI.COM or YASURU@DELPHI.COM