Ten Ways to Observe National Diabetes Month
November is National Diabetes Month, and it’s a good a time to take a look at your diabetes management and evaluate how things are going…
Ingrid Strauch
Amputation—Advice From a Physical Therapist
In view of blogger Jan Chait’s recent surgery — a below-the-knee-amputation of her left leg — I thought I’d talk to some experts on this topic to see if I could round up some information and advice for Jan to guide her in the days ahead. I first talked to Amber Fitzsimmons, a physical therapist and mobility adviser for BraunAbility, a company that remanufactures minivans to make them accessible to wheelchairs and scooters…
Diabetes History on Exhibit
One of the great things about living in New York is there’s never a shortage of museums — and new museum exhibits — to visit. Recently I had the pleasure of attending a press preview of a new show at the New-York Historical Society Museum, entitled “Breakthrough: The Dramatic Story of the Discovery of Insulin”…
Meter Accuracy
Two things landed on my desk recently. One was a newspaper article saying that the Food and Drug Administration has asked the international body that sets standards for home blood glucose meters to tighten its accuracy requirements. The other was a letter from a Diabetes Self-Management subscriber who described how she had attempted to compare two home meters with a plasma glucose measurement done in a laboratory — and how she was unnerved when she got three different readings…
Metformin and B12
Back in December 2006, Amy Campbell wrote in her blog about the possibility of the popular diabetes drug metformin causing vitamin B12 deficiency. In a follow-up comment, she mentioned that taking calcium supplements might help to remedy this deficiency. The information spurred an outpouring of comments and questions from concerned readers, so those of us on the magazine staff decided to investigate the matter further…
What I Did for World Diabetes Day
This past November 14, I had the pleasure of marking World Diabetes Day by attending the Divabetic Makeover Your Diabetes event held in New York City. And I do mean “pleasure”…
Life for a Child
We don’t often recommend watching TV here at Diabetes Self-Management, but at 8 PM on World Diabetes Day, which falls each year on November 14, there’s a documentary on the Sundance Channel that you might want to consider seeing…
Free Blood Testing
Now that National Diabetes Month is in full swing, a number of businesses and organizations are rolling out programs and events to raise awareness of diabetes and help those who have it manage the condition. While some of these may be thinly veiled marketing efforts, some appear to offer real help or services…
Diabetes Coaching
Athletes have them, many musicians and actors have them, and now people with diabetes can have them too: They’re coaches, and their role is to help you have the best diabetes control possible…
What Motivates People to Manage Their Diabetes
Last week some of the editorial staff at Diabetes Self-Management attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. This is something we do every year to learn about the latest ideas and advances in diabetes care and treatment…
Education: Another Money-Saver
Paying for diabetes care and supplies has always been tough for some people, and these days, reports abound of people going without doctor visits or needed medicines because they can’t afford them. In the May/June 2009 issue of Diabetes Self-Management magazine, we listed some organizations and programs that may be able to help defray those costs. But diabetes care is more than just drugs and supplies: Knowledge is important, too, and it turns out that learning how to manage diabetes can save you big bucks.
How Do You Do Fiber?
An article in the March/April 2009 issue of Diabetes Self-Management, entitled “Counting Carbohydrates Like a Pro” and written by Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE, has provoked a lot of comments and questions from readers. Many of the questions concern how to deal with fiber when counting the carbohydrate in a meal or snack.
New FDA Commissioner Nominated
On March 15, President Barack Obama named Margaret (“Peggy”) Hamburg, MD, as his pick for the top job at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The nomination requires Senate confirmation. Hamburg is a former New York City health commissioner and has also held posts in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. She is currently a senior scientist at the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, DC.
Conferences Closer to Home
After I blogged recently about the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in October, a number of DiabetesSelfManagement.com readers wrote in to say that they’d like to attend, but the cost was just too high or the meeting was too far away. But what if you could hear expert speakers or attend diabetes meetings or workshops for less money at locations closer to home? In many cases, you can.
You’re Invited
Have you ever wanted to attend a professional diabetes conference but didn’t think you’d fit in or be welcome? If so, now may be the chance you’ve been waiting for. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is holding its 20th World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, Canada, from October 18–22, and people with diabetes are invited.
Learning From Our Mistakes
There’s often no better way to learn something than to make a mistake. We did that in the most recent issue of Diabetes Self-Management magazine.
No Energy for Exercise?
Back in October 2008, Diabetes Self-Management E-News readers were surveyed on their biggest barriers to exercise. The choice getting the most votes was “Not having enough energy.” (Experiencing physical pain and not having enough time were also popular choices — see the poll results here.)
Send Us Your Recipes!
After 12 years of editing Diabetes Self-Management magazine, I am adding “blogger” to my resume and joining the DiabetesSelfManagement.com bloggers for occasional posts. My role will be to keep Web readers up to date on what’s happening in the magazine, and to share with magazine readers what’s being discussed on the Web.
