Stories on Health

I have well-meaning friends and family. They love me and only want the best for my health and happiness. This well-intentioned group over the years has given me as gifts (and I’m not lying here) weight-loss recipe books, diabetes medical ID bracelets (yes, more than one), low-carb pasta, a pouch for wearing my insulin pump under my clothes, and the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Now I know I’m going to sound ungrateful, but c’mon! Seriously, these are “gifts”? Please, when you’re shopping for a diabetic, buy a gift that you’d want to receive. I live with diabetes every day. I don’t need my birthday or Christmas to be centered around my disease too!

It’s impossible to have diabetes and not be bombarded by well-meaning friends who share all kinds of “natural” treatments and cures. So how do you sort through the facts to find something that really might help control blood sugars? Well, here’s my tip sheet on the herbs and natural remedies that seem to show some promise.

Cinnamon has been shown in several studies to help lower BG levels and “normalize” lipids in Type 2 diabetics.

Bilberry (not blueberry) leaves have also been reported to help with BG control when consumed in an anti-diabetic tea. But please be careful and use in small quantities. Too much bilberry can be toxic.

Evening Primrose Oil has been shown in studies to contain GLA (gammalinolenic acid), which can help prevent—and potentially reverse—the nerve damage (neuropathy) commonly caused by diabetes.

I’ve had two contrasting experiences with diabetes companies recently. We buy my son’s insulin through a national mail order pharmacy. It’s the best deal we can get—and heaven knows diabetes is expensive enough already. But placing an order with this pharmacy is like trying to get through airport security when you’re in a hurry. Last time I placed the order, I gave them my debit card number when I ordered. However, the amount of the charge was over $150. So they had to re-contact me confirm that the charge was OK. Like I didn’t know how expensive insulin is! Anyway, I called them right back as soon as I got the message. I approved the charge. Imagine my surprise the next week when instead of receiving insulin, I received a letter telling me that they couldn’t process my order because they had not heard back from me regarding the approval of the charge! It took two more weeks before I had insulin in my hands.

Then, recently I had to reorder some supplies for my son’s insulin pump. I called our local diabetes supplier. The helpful woman on the other end knew what products I had ordered before, what was the best way to handle the billing with my insurance company, and gave me advice on how to save money on my order. Then the supplies arrived the next day. Take a wild guess where my customer loyalty lies!

OK, so mom always taught me to keep my fingernails and toenails clean and neatly trimmed. I always thought she was a little obsessive about it. But now that I’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, this toenail thing is serious business. The diabetes clinic where I go had a patient last year who did not properly care for his toenails. He stubbed his toe on a coffee table and pulled the toenail back. Next thing you know, the toe got infected. You see, diabetes makes healing more difficult—especially for your toes. The infection worsened and there was nothing they could do. Last week, the guy had his foot amputated. All because he didn’t trim his toenails. Thanks mom, seriously.

As a Certified Diabetes Educator, I am required to keep up on the latest research, best practices, and methodology. I reviewed a video series online the other day to earn some CE credits. This video features Daniel L. Lorber, who is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, in New York. The video was simply a presentation of how to properly engage a patient and make a difference in his or her diabetes management. In some ways, it’s a “no-brainer.” You know, we all want to be treated with respect and caring. But this doctor does an excellent job of showing the difference in the kind of information—and compliance—we get from a patient when we follow the best practices. I highly recommend it.

I love my insulin pump. It makes life with diabetes much more tolerable. I feel like I have freedom I never had before. So I thought I’d make a list of cool stuff I’ve done with my pump.
• Body surfing at La Jolla, CA
• Hiking in the Grand Canyon
• Water skiing at Lake Powell
• Snow shoeing near Brighton Ski Resort, Utah
• Hang gliding at Colorado National Monument
• Horseback riding in the Wasatch National Forrest
• Camping at Trial Lake in the Uintah Mountains

So do you let diabetes get in the way of your life? Or do you take diabetes along for the ride—so to speak? What’s the coolest place you’ve taken your pump?

I have to tell you right up front that I have good hypo awareness. So if you’re a diabetic with hypo unawareness, these tips might not work as well for you. You may need to be extra careful not to drop too low during exercise.

For me, I always make sure that I test my blood sugar before starting a cardio workout. If I’m below 90 then I’ll make sure I drink a little Gatorade before I get started. If I’m going out for a run, I know I don’t want to carry my tester with me for the whole workout. So I’ll must make sure I have some glucose gel or tablets in my pocket in case I drop low. I try to get my heart rate up to 80% of my max heart rate for at least 30 minutes. Then I follow that with a good cool down. I don’t stop moving until my heart rate is back to normal. Then I test my blood sugar and if I’m still in a normal range, I’ll have about 8 ounces of Gatorade and 8 ounces of water. Diabetes can be a pain, but it shouldn’t keep you from working out.

Two and a half months ago, I found out that I have diabetes. I have no family member with diabetes. I have no friends with diabetes. I felt very lost and very alone. One day I was online and I stumbled upon an online community built for diabetics. It was so unbelievable to me—right at my fingertips, I had a group of people who understood what I was going through. One of the first people who befriended me happened to be a woman named Belina. She was able to answer some of my “burning” questions about diabetes. But not long into our conversation, I discovered that English is not her native language. She was trying to translate all her information from French.

So today, I signed up for my first French class at our local community college. I’m so excited to learn at least the basics so that Belina and I can converse in either English or French.

So I’m desperate to get into a new job with insurance to help me deal with diabetes. I was so excited to get the call from Market Avalanche Associates on Thursday. I’ve heard very good things about the company and the people who work there. I am one of those diabetics who doesn’t wear my diabetes on my sleeve so to speak. Not that I care if people know that I have diabetes, but I don’t make it a point to bring it up.

But there in the middle of today’s interview. My insulin pump begins beeping and beeping. It was an alarm sound I had never heard before and I didn’t think I could just silence the alarm in my pocket and ignore it. So in the middle of the interview I had to pull out the pump to see the blocked tubing warning. I then knew I had no choice but to reach inside my shirt and disconnect my tubing and test it out right there in the interview. It was crazy. The HR guy was totally cool about it.

I’ve known my friend Mark for years now. He was always pretty private about his diabetes. I knew him for a long time before I knew that he even had diabetes. But Mark has not been taking care of himself and his disease. In fact, not only has he been ignoring the doctor’s orders for how to care for his blood sugars, he also has slipped into serious drug and alcohol addiction. It has been horrifying to watch. This last visit to the ER was the last straw for me. I told him I was done caring about him and his health—because obviously he didn’t care anymore about himself.

Well, for some reason, that was the kick in the pants he needed. He begged me to help him get help. He said he knew that if this happened again, he’d be dead. So this morning, I dropped him off at the rehab center. I hope for the best.