DFAN/OneStep Diabetes Newsletter
March 1999 Edition

Is the March wind blowing through your town yet?

This month’s issue has some very interesting
responses to last month’s poll question (what
would you do if you knew your doctor was wrong?).
We’re also reviewing a website that can give you
insulin related diabetes management experience
even if you’ve never injected a drop of insulin into
your body.

We also have a new DFAN Diabetes Website!
Our poetry site contains poems written by
diabetics, their families and friends. So stop by
and read a little! The URL for our new site
is:

http://members.aol.com/dfandm/poetry

Our main diabetes website now has diabetes
word games, along with a diabetes book of
the week!

Http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite

We are in desperate need of diabetes related
articles, poems, jokes and anything else you’d
like to submit.

Please send any questions, comments, or ideas
to:

belve@... -or- dmmteam@...


_____WEBSITES WORTH VISITING_____

Would you like to see how insulin affects blood glucose
without having to inject it? How about "seeing" glucose
lows on a screen instead of experiencing them yourself?
AIDA On-Line and it’s companion program AIDA v4.0
is exactly what’s needed to do both of these tasks.

AIDA-Online is a site every diabetic should visit at least
once, if not more. The AIDA information describes it as
a "simple model of glucose-insulin interaction" but the
understanding this program might bring to diabetics and
their families and friends is far more reaching.

"This program is a wonderful VISUAL component in
letting a newly diagnosed insulin user 'see' what is
happening and how it is happening, and how the insulin
HELPS their condition become treatable and livable," says
one AIDA user. "Diabetes doesn't have to be thought of
as a death sentence. With the right information, and the
correct way of presenting it, anyone can understand it."

When it comes to diabetes, visual models can explain
aspects of the disease that words might leave confusing.
The illustrations used are simple and very easy to understand.
Another user shares, "It does help a diabetic understand
more clearly the relationship between carbohydrate uptake
and insulin. It would be very useful in teaching new
diabetics how to control their blood glucose levels.

So take a few minutes, visit the AIDA On-Line site,
and download their program. It’s well worth the time,
and you may just understand diabetes a little better.

http://www.shodor.org/aida


_____POLL QUESTION_____

This month’s poll question is a bit scandalous, but
it can be part of many diabetes management plans.

QUESTION: Have you ever cheated/fudged/falsified
your blood glucose testing results? If so, why?



_____POEM_____

Diabetes Abbreviation Day
was a day when no one could play
for learning the letters
meant getting it better
and then there was what you could say

"My BG is doing so fine.
My A1c is coming in line!
A GP explains DKA...
and YMMV is ok!

So look over what you've just seen
and figure out what they all mean!



_____LAST MONTH’S POLL RESPONSES_____

Last month we asked if you would correct your doctor if
he/she gave you diabetes information that you knew was
wrong. We received some very interesting and diverse
responses.

Response #1:

When I visit my doctor and he tells me something that is
contradictory to what I have discovered during my reading
(Diabetes Forecast, web sites, etc)., I bring up this item for
discussion. There is so much new research going on (but
not enough!) and new information being produced that it is
almost impossible for anyone to be completely up to date. If
my information just happens to be fresher than my doctors,
then I have helped him, helped his other diabetic patients, and
helped myself.

No debate, no right or wrong, just teamwork.



Response #2:

"I would not bring it to their attention. "


Response #3:


"I would not correct the doctor, that is the worse thing
you could do. The better way would be to gather
information and then present it to the doctor with the
explanation that his/her statement was of interest to you
and you decided to find out more about it. Then tell
him/her the different opinions. I already have made my
MD unhappy by consulting an endocrinologist because
I wanted tests done that he did not think were necessary.
For my trouble, I was berated by the endo for changing
doctors without being referred to him, and the statement that
even though I was in good control, my medications would
have to be changed. So much for that endo. but at least
I did get my tests done.

Now, I am much more careful about how I state what I
think as I have no desire to change my medications as long as my
control remains in the normal range. I no longer argue, just do
what I know is right for me. I am a type 1 on insulin and
hypothyroid and have slight kidney dysfunction, as per the tests
done, and the medication he wished to change was my thyroid
med. I am only able to take a natural product, due to side effects
caused by synthroid, and it is very hard to find a doctor who
will prescribe what is best for the person, and not what the drug
firms push. Unhappily, the world has changed and meds are the
latest drug release pushed by most doctors today, I live in fear of
losing the one that is best suited to me, this has made me much
quieter and less argumentative with my MD."


Response #4:

"If a doctor told me something about my diabetes that
was wrong I would certainly correct the doctor. It is
impossible for a doctor to know everything and since it
is me that lives with this disease I am sure that I
know more than he does."



Response #5

I would probably not say anything to the doctor.
In my experiences they usually tell me how I'm feeling.
I'll tell them such and such hurts and they'll say no no it
doesn't.

So now I only view their recommendations as opinions and
usually decide for myself."



Response #6

"Yes!! I would quiz my doctor, and ask when did the
medical community make the change. And if I wasn't
satisfied with the reply, then I would check it out with
another doctor."



Response #7

"I have done this though I did not tell my doctor that he was
wrong. I told him I had read an opposite opinion and quoted my
source (important). Depending on the issue, I might copy my
source and mail it to him and he would call me with discussion or
I would take my source to the next meeting for discussion."



Response #8

"If my doctor was providing some misinformation I would
definitely tell him about it. I would use diplomacy. I
would say that from my own studies I got the impression that
it was this way......... Perhaps you could have a
discussion about the discrepancy and see how he/she
responds. If no consensus can be reached then I would ask
him/her for some literature or references which clearly
indicates his/her understanding. If the doctor does not
agree or puts me off, I would have to look for another
doctor. Doctors are not all knowing and the reasonable
ones know this. One who is not willing to learn from his
patients is not a good doctor. How else does medical
practice improve but through feedback from patients?

No one should hesitate to challenge the doctor (in a nice
way, of course). Sometimes the patient can be
misunderstanding the doctor and getting further explanation
would be helpful to resolve this. Assuming the doctor is
wrong and not addressing the issue is not in your best
interests. You owe it to your own treatment to discuss
anything that you believe is incorrect or not clear."



Response #9:

"What a question! Of course I would let them know.
This is my body and my health. If my doc tells me to
be sure and eat 3 candy bars a day (ok, so I am being a
little melodramatic there) I'm gonna say something. I
would try to be as diplomatic as possible, and try to
compare notes on what we both thought, but I would
not just say ok and blow it off. Doctors are people
too and they sometimes make mistakes. They need
people to help them learn too. My Dr is wonderful
because she allows us to learn from each other.
I would never go to a doctor that was not willing to do
that!"




_____DFAN COURSES, LISTS, & CLUBS_____

DFAN now offers diabetes discussion lists as well as
diabetes knowledge courses for you and your family
members. All are offered FREE of charge so if you’d
like to learn more about diabetes we might have just
what you need. If you’d like to subscribe to any of
these offers or get more information just send your
request or question to:

dmmteam@... -or- belve@...

You can also get more information at our website:

http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite

DIABETES KNOWLEDGE COURSES
Diabetes 101 Course - for diabetics
Family N" Friends - self explanatory..<g>
WOW! Weeks Of Weightloss - 21 Day Plan for
weightloss and diabetes management

DISCUSSION LISTS
Straight Diabetes
Type 1
Christian Diabetes
Weight loss & Diabetes

DAILY/WEEKLY
Daily Diabetes Motivation/Information E-mails
Weekly Diabetes File Club
Weekly Recipe Club


_____DFAN WEBSITES_____

Charcot Foot Support Page
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Resort/3146/charcot/

Diabetes Site
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite/

DFAN Diabetes Bookstore
http://members.aol.com/dmmteam

Diabetes Kids Website
http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/kiddm.htm

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


Copyright 1999



Belver Ladson
dfanish@...
DFAN Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite
DFAN Diabetes BookStore: http://members.aol.com/dmmteam
Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel

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