Posts in: Diabetes
Posted in: Diabetes // 1 Comment
Virginia J. Pillsbury
It’s time to celebrate those who live with diabetes. On April 14, the American Diabetes Association presents its annual Gala “La Dolce Vita,” at the Hyatt Riverfront.
Food, drinks, dancing and a silent auction round out this evening designed to recognize those who have diabetes as well as those who work to make the lives of diabetics better.
For my daughter Leslie, who has type 1 diabetes, and others with the disease the Gala provides the opportunity to raise awareness about the disease but also to help raise necessary funding for Camp JADA, a day camp her in North Florida for kids with diabetes.
While type 1 diabetes affects only about five percent of those who have diabetes, it is most often diagnosed in childhood. There is no cure, so for people like Leslie, who was diagnosed at age eight, that means daily blood sugar checks, insulin delivery, counting carbohydrates and managing her lifestyle for the rest of her life.
Evenings like the Gala provide nice moments of recognition and encouragement for a disease that has a lot of lonely moments.
Also coming up, is the Tour de Cure, bicycle ride is coming up on May 19. With route lengths to choose from, this is a family friendly fun activity.
Finally, Camp JADA is also registering campers for this year’s camp, June 18 to 21. If you know someone between the ages of six and 12 with diabetes, Camp JADA is a fun and safe place for them to spend a week of their summer.
For more info, visit www.diabetes.org/jacksonville.
Posted in: Diabetes // 2 Comments
If you have diabetes and are taking medication – either insulin or oral diabetes pills – then you run the risk of low blood sugar levels when you drink alcohol. That in turn can quickly become a dangerous, even life threatening situation.
“When the blood sugar levels drop, the liver usually begins to produce glucose from stored carbohydrates to compensate,” explains diabetes educator Evelyn Schumacher, MS, RD, LD/N, CDE, President, Joshua Cares Services, Inc., A Florida Not-for-Profit Corporation.
“Drinking alcohol blocks the liver’s ability to produce glucose. It treats alcohol as a toxin and works to rid the body of alcohol as quickly as possible; the liver won’t produce glucose again until the alcohol has been process and cleared from the body,” she explains.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that if you have diabetes and are going to have a drink, wait until you have had a meal or a snack to help protect yourself from a low blood sugar. If you have had a drink the ADA recommends that you check your blood sugar before going to sleep and have another snack to avoid a low blood sugar reaction while you sleep.
Posted in: Diabetes // 2 Comments
Check out our virtual edition for coverage on diabetes awareness. Read about Jacquie, who has type 1 diabetes, here and in print this month.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, Jacquie Wojcik says at first she didn’t really have an issue with the shots, the blood sugar testing and all that comes with managing diabetes. Her parents were always helpful and supportive and so were her teachers.
But she did go through a period of letting everything go. “I dealt with a lot of guilt that I will never be able to manage my diabetes as well as my doctor and other people expect me to, so why should I bother,” remembers Wojcik who is now age 33 and believes that coming to terms with the emotional part of having diabetes is a key to getting on board with strong management of it.
Wojcik remembers a session at the annual Children with Diabetes conference in Orlando when she and others chatted with a therapist and certified diabetes educator about life transitions and feeling guilty or bad about diabetes care. “You are told that if you just do everything that you are supposed to do that your diabetes will be a certain way and you will be fine,” says Wojcik. “The truth is that you can do everything perfectly with your care and you will still have random high blood sugars. You need to accept the responsibility for what you can and let go of the rest,” she advises.
She also is an advocate of diabetes blogs. “It is so refreshing to read and recognize what these people are talking about and going through,” she says. “I kept thinking of things that I wanted to say and tell and there was no one in real life that I could have those conversations with so I started writing my own blog.” http://badpancreas.wordpress.com
“The joke in the online diabetes community is that there is always someone who is awake, someone who knows what you are going through and someone who has a tip,” says Wojcik.
Married for five years to Bob, Wojcik says that he has learned a lot about diabetes over the years with her. “I had a low blood sugar when we were first dating and he handed me the car keys and told me to go and buy myself a coke,” she laughs. Now that he understands the risks of having a low blood sugar, he is supportive and knows how and when to help his wife.
“Diabetes is so much easier to manage when you can let go of the guilt,” she says. “Do give yourself credit for the things that you do take care of and let other people into your world a little bit.”
