DFAN/ONESTEP DIABETES NEWSLETTER
January 2000 Edition


Hi all! It’s the new millennium and it’s time to get your
diabetes management plan in shape! Good shape for a
great new year! This new century may be ushering in
some great new ways to take care of the diabetes in our
lives, but it can also be the beginning of new motivation
and determination in your life where diabetes is concerned.

This month’s newsletters contains some great articles.
The first is "Discipline In The House". Learn how to
add discipline into your diabetes management plan in
a few simple steps. Next is a poem that talks about
new beginnings (we all get one each day). Next,
one woman shares her weight loss experiences and
gives some much needed tips and advice. Last,
we have a Blast From the Past. This is an article
that appeared through the years in an old issue of
our newsletter.

As always, we need your stories, poems, jokes,
columns and anything else you’d like to send us
that’s related to diabetes. You don’t have to be
a "professional" writer. We want your own words
about your own experience. If you have a story
you’d like to share or have questions and/or comments
about this newsletter send them to dmmteam@...


__________ARTICLE__________

DISCIPLINE IN THE HOUSE

Discipline is something a lot of us wish we had, but
don’t know how to get. It’s that invisible motivation
that makes us stick to our diabetes management plan
even when we feel like giving up because we don’t
want to be on a schedule any more. Discipline often
doesn’t come easy, but it is something we all can
have if we follow a few steps.

Step #1: BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

Honesty is one of the best things you can do to bring
more discipline into your diabetes management plan.
Being honest in your diabetes management plan bring
integrity into the steps you take each day to try to
bring your blood sugars into a good range. It means
that most of the excuses you have for not following
your diabetes management plan go out the window
and are replaced with better habits.

Step 2: GET A PLAN

How many of you think you have a diabetes management
plan, yet you have no set plan? This might sound unrealistic,
and in essence it is, but it is reality for many people with
diabetes. When speaking about a "diabetes management
plan" there has to be actual steps you set to go into action
when certain things happen. Do you have a plan for the
days you get sick? Have you worked out an exercise
schedule or do you just try to walk a few more steps
whenever it hits your mind?


Step 3: SET LIMITS FOR YOURSELF

It’s important to have limits you won’t cross. Leaving
your diabetes management plan to your whims or to how
you happen to feel from day-to-day often leads to bad
habits. If you know that you’re not supposed to have
more than three slices of bread each day, set that limit
for yourself and try your best to stick to it. Telling ourselves
"No" isn’t something we might like to do, but when it
comes to diabetes management it’s something we have
to do at times.


Step 4: KNOW YOUR STRENGTH & WEAKNESSES
AND USE THEM

You can really excel in this area, even where your weaknesses
come into play. Find a way to use your strengths to help
make your diabetes management plan more disciplined. If
you’re great at setting schedules, use that when you make
your meal plans or exercise schedules. If you’re good at
cooking, use that when you decide what to eat each day.

As far as weaknesses go, make a list of what is giving
you trouble with your diabetes management plan. Try to
think of ways to overcome these weaknesses. Sometimes,
just having more discipline will make a weakness a strength.

In the end, discipline is something you’ll need to work at
each day. Don’t give up if you make a mistake because
diabetes is gauged over the long term. A day, or even a week
of undisciplined diabetes management might not hurt you
much, but if it’s allowed to go on for months and years
you might end up with diabetes complications. So try
your best!


__________POEM__________

BEGIN TODAY

Begin today
what you thought you couldn’t
Begin today
what you thought you wouldn’t

Take aim today
at what you fear
Take aim today
at what’s so near

Success can come
to those who try
Don’t limit yourself
to "Why, why, why…."

Why doesn’t always matter
as much as we may think
It’s sometimes the cause
but often the link
to a new beginning without
the intrusion
a solution worth reaching,
a welcome conclusion


_____LAST MONTH’S POLL QUESTION__________

Here was last month’s poll question:

You’re leaving your friend’s home and you notice his
brother using a blood glucose monitor. You also
notice that he’s not using the meter in the correct
way (touching the strip, etc….). Would you go up to
him and let him know the correct way to do it, or just
leave?

Here are some of the response we received:

POLL RESPONSE #1:

"Of course I'd go help out! I test my friend's blood
sugar when they let me and they always miss the spot
where you're supposed to put the blood!"


POLL RESPONSE #2:

"I most definitely would tell them the proper use of
a meter."


POLL RESPONSE #3:

"I would make a note of taking my stuff there to use in
front of him, more or less, so he could know that I am
also a blood glucose taker. If he was doing it so that I
could see it in his home, I think, especially if I ask for
permission of him, I could do it there too. Asking him
permission, would draw attention directly. Finally,
showing how it could be done properly, is perhaps
better than directly pointing out a wrong procedure."


POLL RESPONSE #4:

"As a parent and a friend, I feel its necessary to help others
cope with their disease. If anyone is not using their glucose
testing meter correctly, I feel its important that they do
Mistakes do occur but walking away from that would be a
larger one. False readings can and do hurt, not only the
diabetic but also people around them."


_______POLL QUESTION OF THE MONTH__________

This month’s poll question is:

Having diabetes isn’t always something people want to
share with others, especially at the workplace. If you
heard some make these three comments:
__________________________
"All people with diabetes are just lazy. If they moved
around more they could get rid of that thing"

"I heard that diabetes can be controlled if they take a pill.
What’s the big deal?

"Who cares about diabetes. It’s just another excuse for people
to claim they’re disabled"
___________________________

If you heard these comments from a co-worker what would
you do? Would you calmly explain what diabetes is all
about? Or be quiet and not try to have any confrontations
on the job?


__________ARTICLE__________

Type 2 -- Managing Diabetes
by Ilsa Demby Barber

I had type 2 diabetes before I could admit it
and before my doctor could admit it. But I had it,
and I will always have it. Like my cross-addictions, I
can be in recovery -- but the disease never goes away.

I also have heart and lung disease and at my worst, my
weight was 255 pounds on my scale. Twenty-four pounds
of this was hanging around my ankles. I have lost about fifty
pounds and hope to lose another 90. My goal weight
is 115, the weight I once achieved by dieting in a healthy
way. I am 5'1" and my body was not designed to be a
sedan but as a finely tuned compact model.

Type 2 diabetes is defined by the fact that my pancreas
produces insulin but the fat in my body makes me insulin
resistant. As a result, my doctor will not let me off of
insulin until I have lost enough weight so that going off it
will not cause my pancreas to go into a kind of overload
that could cause it to stop producing insulin.

I used to be afraid to test my blood glucose level. Now,
it is easy for me and that information is feedback to guide
me on how much to eat and when. If my blood sugar is high,
I feel hungry because my cells aren't getting enough
nutrition, but eating at that time won't help because my body
will literally urinate it away. I have to wait until my body
is ready to absorb more food.

I try to walk as often as possible. Exercise not only burns
up calories but it stokes up the metabolic process, making
it more efficient. It also helps turn fat into muscle. I was
on prednisone for six months which caused those muscles
to be flabby.

The scale is also a feedback mechanism so long as I
remember that muscles weigh more than fat and plateaus
are a necessary part of keeping off weight.

A positive attitude helps, too, I feel that if I believe
I can reach my personal best, I am more likely to succeed
at it. I don't compare myself to anyone else. Like a long
distance runner, I try to beat my own records.

I don't consciously count what I eat anymore although
I did in the beginning. But I developed other techniques
to help reduce the amount of food I take in.

1. Think of your stomach as having been stapled.
You can only eat a little at a time. Also, think of it as a
funnel. If you put in too much at a time, it will spill over
with fats and sugar.

2. Even on Thanksgiving, I used a salad plate. It makes
it look like I’m eating more. In a restaurant, cut the
portion in half or thirds before eating. You can take home
the rest.

3. Learn to stop eating before you are full. Listen to
your body and stop eating when you are no longer hungry.

There is always the YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)
factor. I know people who are much stricter than I am
but who have complicating conditions which makes it
difficult for their blood glucose level to stay below 250.

All things being equal, I can usually stay within the
target range for my blood glucose level, selected by
my doctor and myself of 100-200 Why this range?
When I get to about 110 or below 100, it usually
means I am going to have a hypoglycemic episode.
This happens quickly with me. On the other hand, I
don't have a lot of swing to my blood glucose readings
and I average 140-160.

My doctor fully expects me to get off insulin and all
diabetes medicine in the future. He thinks this will also
help alleviate some of my heart and lung conditions and
that it is possible I will not need most of the medicines I
take in the future.

In the meantime, remember a diet is something temporary.
When you develop diabetes, you have to change your
lifestyle or the problems will return. Certain things will
always be true. You will always heal more slowly, you will
always tire more easily, and you will always have to wear
booties on the beach. Get over it. You have to take care of
yourself to increase the quality as well as the years of life you
have left.

I knew a man with diabetes who died because he would not
have a toe amputated. Having grown up with an uncle who lost
his right arm at the age of 19 in World War II, I could never
understand why this man chose death. Life is sometimes difficult
but we can only change what is within our power to change. The
rest is not in our hands.

Pancreas - an organ behind the lower part of the stomach, about
the size of a hand. It makes insulin

metabolic process (metabolism) - the term used to describe the way
cells chemically change food so it can be used


_______Blast From The Past__________

Diagnosis
By Peter Gracie
I was barely eight years old when my life took an
unexpected turn. It was a warm day in May when my mother
took me to the hospital where I was diagnosed with diabetes.
I remember it well because it was my father’s birthday and of
course I missed the party. The night before we had been shopping
and in 1976 diet pop was scarce. All I could find to quench my thirst
was sugar sweetened orange juice.

I was in ketoacidosis but luckily my mother had a friend with diabetes
who was forever with high blood sugar, so she knew the symptoms.
We trundled off to the hospital where in no time at all I was diagnosed
and would have to be hospitalized. I was feeling sick but that didn’t
stop
me from riding in the front seat of the ambulance for the ride to
Toronto’s
Sick Children’s Hospital much to the dismay of the ambulance attendants,
stretcher in tow, and my worried sick mother who rode in the back. I
arrived at the hospital awaited by an insulin shot and an Intravenous
solution to rehydrate my bone dry body. My eyes on the other hand
were pretty wet, especially when my mother went home. I sobbed
myself to sleep amidst cries of "Why Me?". I awoke the next morning
to the sounds of a bustling children’s ward. I also awoke to a really
neat urine test that seems so primitive compared to testing today, with
a cup, an eye dropper, a test tube, a Clinitest tablet and a clock. The
technique followed was this: first I emptied my bladder as usual, then
half an hour later I urinated again, this time into the cup, then
put two drops of urine into the test tube using the eye dropper.
This was followed by ten drops of water. Next, I took the
Clinitest tablet and dropped it in. I then stared at the clock
awaiting the proper time to pass and watched the flurry of color
and bubbles. It finally ended in either a really blue color for
negative sugar in the urine or a bright orange for 5% sugar in
the urine. I wouldn’t have ever imagined checking for sugar any
other way, but look at the choices today.
So with that almost fun exhibition of life as a diabetic out of the
way, the next two weeks were spent forming the foundation of
what was to be the roller coaster ride of diabetes and its trials and
tribulations.

DFAN WEBSITES

DFAN Diabetes Webpage
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite

Christian Diabetes Living
http://home.att.net/~belve/

DFAN Diabetes Weightloss Site
http://members.aol.com/belve/dfan

Christian Diabetes N' Weight Loss Site
http://members.aol.com/dfanonestep

Diabetes Angel Website
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/angel

Warm Fuzzies (Teddy Bears For Diabetic Kids)
http://members.aol.com/belve/fuzzy/

We have some DFAN e-mail discussion lists
you can join!

Christian Diabetes (dfan-Christian)
Diabetes & Weightloss (dfan-weightloss)

You can join these lists by sending a request
to dmmteam@...



Belver Ladson
dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish
DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite
Christian Diabetes Llving: http://home.att.net/~belve
Got extra strips you don't need? http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/angel

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