“Usually, my first thought in the morning is what’s my blood sugar?” says our friend Rachel Zinman, who has been living with type 1 diabetes for thirteen years. After that, the Yoga For Diabetes author tells herself, “I have to get up, get my meter and check my blood sugar levels.”
Before she adopted diabetes psychologist Mark HeymanCDCES’s “diabetes might be challenging, but I’ve got this” motto, Rachel viewed the numbers on her meter as judgments. Now, she sees her morning blood sugar levels more or less as just numbers. As a result, she doesn’t take them so personally.
“Working with my diabetes educator taught me to manage my diabetes in terms of a balance beam rather than a tightrope,” she admits.
Now, Rachel shifts her mindset when she experiences high or low blood sugars. “I don’t think I will fall off a tightrope. I’ve learned I’ve got room to change things and open up my range like I’m on a balance beam. That has really changed how I feel. I feel better. I feel like I have a lot more freedom with food and insulin.”
She confesses she’s blown away that she can enjoy her favorite breakfast food, avocado toast with normal blood sugars!
Rachel shares a guided meditation on January’s Divabetic podcast scheduled for Tuesday, January 11, 2022, with music by Teddy Pendergrass, as part of our New Year’s tradition to help center listeners’ minds, bodies, and souls.
Click HEREto read the three things that help Rachel Zinman start her day with a positive mind frame.
Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s DivabeticHoliday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.
Our friend, Rachel Zinmanis an internationally renowned yoga teacher and writer. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008. She started her Yoga For Diabetes blog to share with the diabetes online community how yoga has helped her manage diabetes.
“As far as Yoga Mats go you can’t go past a Manduka mat, Rachel says.
Durable, eco-friendly, and ultra-dense cushioning for superior stability and joint protection. Mandukahas a range of mats that are specific to a personal practice. If you need more grip, something eco-friendly, or a mat with a line down the center to guide you with alignment – they’ve got it!
New to yoga? Manduka offers two Foundation mats that provide an ideal combination of cushioning, durability, and performance at excellent value.
According to research, yoga therapy increases the number of insulin receptors and increases the proportion of receptor binding in patients with type 2 diabetes. It improves insulin kinetics by reducing fasting insulin levels, shifting the peak insulin level to the left, and by normalizing the insulin-to-glucose ratio. Read More
“I’ve been teaching and sharing on Manduka mats for years and it’s the preferred mat in many yoga studios so they have a proven track record too,” Rachel adds.
Rachel Zinman is absolutely passionate about Yoga, its true meaning, and its message. She first came across Yoga at the age of 17 and has never looked back! In her book, Yoga for Diabetes, Rachel shares her personal journey and her hard-won wisdom gained from her own experience of yoga and diabetes.
“If you are at all open or curious to learn about an ancient holistic way of healing and supporting the body, this book is for you. Zinman is clearly an expert and looks so glowingly healthy at 50 years old, one may wonder just how much benefit we too can get from incorporating some yoga into our lives.”—Diabetes Daily
For information on Rachel Zinman’s yoga classes, workshops, retreats, and training are designed to lead you step by step to the total understanding of Your Self visit: Rachel Zinman Yoga.
Our friend, Yoga For Diabetes Author Rachel Zinman shares a guided mediation on Divabetic’s popular podcast. Check out Diabetes Late Inspired by Aaliyah with Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Pendulum Therapeutics CEO, and Co-Founder Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph. D., (the maker of Pendulum Glucose Control), Virginia Valentine, APRN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, Dr. Darren Wayne from MealBetix and featuring music from Aaliyah’s Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number album courtesy of SONY Music.
The Queen of Hip Hop, Mary J. Blige sings these words in her new self-empowering song, “Good Morning Gorgeous”. Do you tell yourself that you are beautiful each day? I bet you don’t, but maybe you should. What would happen if you did? Take a moment to appreciate your curves, the way your body is solid and sure with strength in some places or sensuous with softness in others. End quiet moment you spend appreciating is a gift to you. Good thoughts become good feelings and feeling good on the inside is expressed on the outside, too.
Kind and gentle self-talk has helped Mary J. Blige overcome many obstacles in her life. She is not living with diabetes but she had a rough childhood. Her father, a war veteran who suffered from PTSD, left when she was just a young girl leaving the young Mary and her two siblings in the hands of an alcoholic mother. She was sexually abused by a family friend at the age of five. She turned to alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity to deal with the pain of her experiences.
“We numb ourselves with drugs and alcohol and people and shopping and shit, to cover up what’s really going on inside,” she said in an interview with Self.
Her resilience like her fame has grown over the years.
“People are watching,” she said to Self. “So much painful, embarrassing, public stuff has happened from the time I came out in this music industry. This stuff happens so that we can talk.”
Loving the body that you have and celebrating it makes you want to take care of it better inside and out, and all of that beauty just grows and grows. If you say it and hear it enough times I bet you’ll begin to believe it.
Enjoy Mary J. Blige’s song, “Good Morning, Gorgeous!” We believe in YOU!
Need a boost? Join us tomorrow night for Divabetic’s free Holiday-themed Baking Party with the Diabetic Pastry Chefon Thursday, December 9, 2021, at 7- 7:30 PM. EST.
We will be hosting two raffles during our virtual program. First, we will be giving away a beautiful Splenda Gift Basket filled with different Splenda products for you and your loved ones to enjoy. Then, Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller will raffle off a gift from Gem Desire. Catherine is the newest Brand Ambassador for Gem Desire, a curated jewelry brand at affordable prices. You must be present during our virtual program to qualify for the random drawings.
Adele’s weight loss journey is inspiring because her goal isn’t a number on the scale. Instead, it is embracing a healthier way of life.
“It was because of my anxiety,” she told British Vogue. “Working out, I would just feel better.” The singer also said that “it was never about losing weight. It was always about becoming strong and giving myself as much time every day without my phone. I got quite addicted to it.”
Adele started making headlines with her weight loss at the end of 2019.
Adele said that during quarantine, she worked out three times a day: “So I do my weights in the morning, then I normally hike, or I box in the afternoon, and then I go and do my cardio at night,” reports Vogue.
“I did it for myself and not anyone else. So why would I ever share it? I don’t find it fascinating. It’s my body.”
Adele told British Vogue when asked why she didn’t share her weight loss journey on social media.
Adele also confirmed that any rumors suggesting she lost weight by dieting are false. “No intermittent fasting. Nothing. If anything, I eat more than I used to because I work out so hard,” she told British Vogue.
She feels confident enough about herself and her new lifestyle to joke about it.
In 2020, she joked about her weight loss in her opening SNL monologue. “I know I look really, really different since you last saw me,” Adele said. “But actually, because of all the Covid restrictions…I had to travel light, and I could only bring half of me, and this is the half I chose.”
he 15-time Grammy winner released her first single off her fourth studio album, Easy On Me, this past week.
Adele’s album, “25” has sold six million copies in the US and become the 20th album to sell at least a million copies in a single week in the Nielsen era. It is the largest selling album of 2015 in total, surpassing the sales of Taylor Swift’s 1989.
Divabetic podcast guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach (Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES and MaryAnn Nicolay MEd, NDTR), Jennifer Jacobs, Dana Collins Carr and Cindy Lou, who is living with type 2 diabetes from Kentucky.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing selected cuts from “25” courtesy of SONY Music.
Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”
Plus-size Fashion and Travel Blogger, LGBTQ+ Influencer Alysse Dalessandro Santiago shares how seeking out a weight-neutral doctor’s approach helped her improve her diabetes self-care on October’s Divabetic Podcast with music fromCarly Simon.
Alysse says, “It’s taken me a long time to be my own healthcare advocate and challenge the pervasive narrative around plus-size or larger-bodied people living with type 2 diabetes.”
Alysse told her doctor, “I am here for diabetes management. I understand that you have been trained to look at my weight as an indicator of my health. But I look at my A1C as an indicator of my health, so can we focus on that?”
She encourages other plus-size and larger-bodied people to advocate for their diabetes health. “Doctors are there to help and care for you. Their job is to care for you as an individual. When a doctor looks at you as a number on a chart or on the scale, they’re not looking at you as an individual. So if you don’t feel like they are listening to you, then you need to leave and find someone else.”
Alysse’s proactive approach to finding a weight-neutral doctor paid off! Finally, she can focus on the tools she needs to have tighter blood sugar management than the scale numbers. One self-care tool that she loves is the FreeStyle Libre Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) System. Alysse says the FreeStyle Libre has helped her to lower her A1C from 11 to a 7. But that’s not all! An added bonus of using the FreeStyle Libre for Alysse has been avoiding triggers related to her binge eating disorder.
“The FreeStyle Libre holds me accountable and tunes me in.” She adds, “The FreeStyle Libre’s alarms make me say, Hey, I emotionally feel like I want to eat, but physically I’m not actually hungry. My blood glucose levels are high, and I should not be eating right now. I’m emotionally hungry. What else can I do to self-soothe?“
The “weight-neutral” movement: a therapeutic approach to improving the health of individuals by focusing less on BMI and more on lifestyle behaviors. Studies suggest weight cycling is more strongly linked with specific adverse health outcomes than having an obese BMI. If your doctor’s appointments start and end with a phrase like: “You need to lose weight,” maybe it’s time to find a new doctor.
*The A1C test—also known as the hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c test—is a simple blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months.
Plus-Size Fashion and Tavel Blogger, LGBTQ+ Influencer, Alysse Dalessandro Santiago guests on Divabetic’s October podcast with musical inspiration from Carly Simon. Hosted by Mr. Divabetic.
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic presents its Once In a Blue Moon program. This free, fun-filled, informative hour of diabetes outreach is intended to rejuvenate and reignite your attitude. The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic, Maryann Nicolay MEd, NDTR, Wendy Satin Rapaport LCSW, PsyD, and Divabetic Image & Style Advisor Catherine Schuller share expert ways to expand food choices, add sparkle, and boost spirits.
So have some fun spending time with us during our Once in A Blue Moon program on Thursday, November 11, 2021, 7 – 8 PM EST on Zoom.
We’re thrilled to announce that the reigning Ms. Texas Plus U.S United, Andrea Sledge, has chosen Divabetic as her platform for this year’s pageant.
Andrea told us, “I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2011. My diagnosis was a complete surprise. I had attended a health fair at work, and they took my blood sugar, and the nurse immediately asked me to sit, asked me if I felt ok and then told me my blood sugar was 325.” She continues, “I had been seeing a doctor for regular physicals, but he never said a word to me even though I have a family history of diabetes. My maternal grandmother and both of my paternal grandparents suffered from diabetes.”
“Once I heard the words ‘you are diabetic,’ I was in denial! I went into a deep depression., I immediately thought of myself as less than. So I searched for an outlet that would help me get back to ME. I started competing in pageants and using diabetes and diabetes awareness as my platform. It made me so much stronger because then I took control of how it made me feel and the stigma surrounding diabetes. I wanted people to understand that being diabetic does not look nor define you as a person. You just have to do some things differently, but you can still be social. I did pretty well for several years until 2019 when I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy.”
Diabetic retinopathyis when high blood sugar levels cause damage to blood vessels in the retina. These blood vessels can swell and leak. Or they can close, stopping blood from passing through. Sometimes abnormal new blood vessels grow on the retina. All of these changes can steal your vision.
Diabetic retinopathy is best diagnosed with a comprehensive dilated eye exam. For this exam, drops placed in your eyes widen (dilate) your pupils to allow your doctor a better view inside your eyes. The drops can cause your close vision to blur until they wear off, several hours later.
During the exam, your eye doctor will look for abnormalities in the inside and outside parts of your eyes.
There are two main stages of diabetic eye disease.
NPDR (non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy)
This is the early stage of diabetic eye disease. Many people with diabetes have it.
With NPDR, tiny blood vessels leak, making the retina swell. When the macula swells, it is called macular edema. This is the most common reason why people with diabetes lose their vision.
Also with NPDR, blood vessels in the retina can close off. This is called macular ischemia. When that happens, blood cannot reach the macula. In addition, sometimes tiny particles called exudates can form in the retina. These can affect your vision too.
If you have NPDR, your vision will be blurry.
PDR (proliferative diabetic retinopathy)
PDR is the more advanced stage of diabetic eye disease. It happens when the retina starts growing new blood vessels. This is called neovascularization. You might see a few dark floaters. If they bleed a lot, it might block all vision.
These new blood vessels can form scar tissue. Scar tissue can cause problems with the macula or lead to a detached retina.
PDR is very serious and can steal both your central and peripheral (side) vision.
If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy or macular edema, you’ll need prompt treatment. Depending on the specific problems with your retina, options might include: injecting medications into your eyes, photocoagulation, panretinal photocoagulation, and vitrectomy.
While treatment can slow or stop the progression of diabetic retinopathy, it’s not a cure. Future retinal damage and vision loss are still possible.
Even after treatment for diabetic retinopathy, you’ll need regular eye exams. At some point, you might need additional treatment.
“I was totally blind for about a year after my surgery. I have now lost my vision in my left eye, but I am still pressing on,” says Andrea. But, she adds, “I chose not to quit the pageant because I can inspire others to push past the curve balls life throws at us.”
The mission of the U.S. United Pageant is to promote health, fitness, and inner beauty among women and children of all ethnic groups while producing positive role models for the community; to develop women that will promote self-confidence, self-worth, moral, academic, and social support for our youth; and to publicly recognize women who have obtained personal, professional and community achievements.
“Following your organization, Divabetic, over the years has really helped me in so many ways,” says Andrea. “One thing I do that makes me feel better when I am feeling down is put on makeup!! I also practice meditation to keep myself centered. In addition, I believe mediation aids me in achieving better health. It helps me manage my blood pressure and stress which is no good for anyone, but surely not a diabetic.”
Regular eye care can have a life-changing impact on preserving your vision. Eye diseases are common and can go unnoticed for a long time and/or have no symptoms at first. A comprehensive dilated eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist is necessary to find eye diseases in the early stages when treatment to prevent vision loss is most effective.
This August, we’re focusing on eye health, and vision loss related to diabetes with two leading doctors(an Optometrist and a Retina Specialist, and Surgeon)and two diabetes advocates, and musical inspiration from TLC.
Did you know August is Vision & Learning Month?
The goal of this national observance is to help increase awareness among parents and educators on the prevalence of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed vision problems.
Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults. This is a growing problem as the number of people living with diabetes increases, so does the number of people with impaired vision. Diabetes can cause a disease of the eye called diabetic retinopathy (DR). In its early stages, you may not notice any symptoms or changes to your eyesight, and you cannot tell that this condition is damaging your eyes. If it is not detected and treated in a timely manner, your vision can be damaged permanently.
Among adults aged 45 and over with diagnosed diabetes, 9.2% had vision loss due to cataracts, 4.1% had vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy, 2.2% had vision loss due to macular degeneration, and 2.1% had vision loss due to glaucoma.
Guests include Sherrol Reynolds M.D. (Associate Professor and Chief of Advanced Ophthalmic Care at the Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry, President of the National Optometric Association (NOA)), Rishi Singh, M.D. (Retina Specialist and Staff Surgeon at the Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic), Andrea Sledge, Natalie Karabel,Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Hosted by Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.
Throughout our podcast, we are featuring music from TLC’s CrazySexyCool albumcourtesy of SONY Music.
On the heels of reading Viola Shipman’s The Summer Cottage and Nancy Thayer’s Family Reunion books back to back, I noticed two trends. First, readers are obsessed with stories about homes located in idyllic spots like Nantucket and Lake Michigan. Second, authors go to extreme lengths, not to mention the protagonist’s size.
Now, I like nothing more than watching a new homeowner knock down a retaining wall to open up space on HGTV but still, I get easily bored reading about an actual house like its the main character. I imagine that we all have a natural curiosity to know what type of people living in white elephants and cottages on the coastlines of oceans and lakes. Or even in the garden districts of cities like Savannah, Charleston, and New Orleans. In both novels, the protagonists’ family have owned their property for several decades. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind inheriting beachfront property either, regardless of the home’s condition. However, I would hope owning a home wouldn’t be my only claim to fame or strongest personality trait.
Regarding the second issue, the ambiguous shape and size of protagonists in fiction. Several authors have mentioned their publishers have pressured them about the size and shape of the protagonists on Divabetic’s monthly podcast. Publishers either want authors to describe the protagonists in general terms or make their protagonists smaller in shape and size. For example, one author interviewed told me that her publisher forced her to make her size 18 protagonist a size 12. She stated that her publisher didn’t think it was believable for a size 18 woman to have a romantic life.
I admit that I found Viola Shipman and Nancy Thayer’s ambiguous references to their protagonists’ size distracting. Descriptions of both main characters lead the reader to believe their beautiful. Both characters also express their own dissatisfaction with their bodies too. But that’s about the extent of it. Both authors’ avoidance seems downright obvious. So what is the big deal? There are plenty of women who looks like the cast of ‘Sex & The City’ but still manage to have active, fulfilling sex lives.
A widow over seventy starting to date again is an exciting story regardless of her size! However, if I had a clearer picture of what she looked like, I think I would have enjoyed reading more about Eleanor’s dating adventures.
Strangely, there are many mentions of her displeasure with the softness of her upper arms but nothing else.
Eleanor struggles with her energy level, and lack of focus, and coping with financial matters as she ages.
A lot of Family Reunion is about accepting the aging process. I found these passages to honest and heartfelt. Here’s a quick synopsis:
Eleanor Sunderland loves living on Nantucket, in a gorgeous cliffside home that has been in her family for decades. Yet this year she can’t help but feel a bit isolated, even as the island begins to come alive with summer tourists and travelers. Her best friend has skipped town on a last-minute cruise, leaving Eleanor feeling lonely and nostalgic about her family’s weekend trips to the island, made less frequently in the years since her husband’s passing. Now, her money-driven children contact her mostly to complain and to beg her to sell her beloved home for a steep payout. Hoping to kick the season off on a good note, Eleanor decides her seventieth birthday may be the perfect occasion for a much-needed reunion.
Fresh off the heels of her college graduation, Eleanor’s dear granddaughter, Ari, has just ended an engagement that felt less like true love and more like a chore. She longs for a change of scenery and to venture far from her parents’ snobbish expectations. Taking advantage of her newfound freedom, she heads to Nantucket to clear her head before graduate school, moving in with her grandmother and taking a job at the local beach camp. As she watches Eleanor begin to form a bond with an old acquaintance, Ari herself becomes completely smitten with a friend’s charming older brother. But just as grandmother and granddaughter fall into a carefree routine, a few shocking discoveries throw them off course, and their ideas of the future seem suddenly uncertain.
Eleanor and Ari make exciting connections, old and new, over the course of an unpredictable, life-changing few months, and learn to lean on each other through every new challenge they face in life and love, in this tale filled with Nancy Thayer’s signature Nantucket magic.
Here’s what we were snacking on while reading Family Reunion. Grilled romaine lettuce, with tomato and topped with Tabitha Brown‘s carrot bacon. Added a little olive oil to make a simple marinade for the dressing.
TabithaBrownis an American actress and social media personality. She creates online video content incorporating veganism, humor, and motivational speaking. Brown has over four million followers on TikTok and over three million followers on Instagram as of July 2021.
Check out Tabitha Brown’s favorite bacon substitute is Carrot Bacon!
As for her advice for others who are considering starting a vegan diet, Brown recently told our sister magazine Health that “food can be medicine, or it can be the thing that puts us in the ground…You have to start with your ‘why.’ My why was that I was sick. My why was life or death. I chose life,” Brown said. Sure, it will be challenging at first. “Do I still get cravings? Yeah, girl, right now I could see myself dipping a crab leg into some butter. But my why is strong enough. I say: ‘Be easy on yourself. Take your time. Don’t be hard on yourself. The world is hard enough already.'” Truer words have never been spoken, Tab.
Join us for Divabetic’s 11th Year Podcast Anniversary with musical inspiration from Toni Braxton on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, 6 – 7:30 PM, EST or listen on demand!
No one achieves a significant milestone, like our 11th straight year of monthly podcasting, without dedicating their time, energy, talent, and effort during a pandemic. We feel our listeners put forth the same amount of effort if not more to live well with diabetes. We want you to know we are with you every step of the way on your health journey, offering inspiration, information, encouragement, and a few great tunes! We gain so much encouragement from your ongoing commitment to your diabetes health. Your continued support renews, reenergizes, and revigorates our spirits, creative juices, and hopefulness.
We can’t wait for the day to be with you in person again at a live Divabetic outreach event. Until then, thank you to our listeners for tuning in and letting us be a part of your diabetes wellness. We’d like to thank all of our guests, the Diabetes Late Nite crew, the Diabetes Mystery cast, and SONY Music for helping us to continue to broadcast during these unprecedented times.
On July’s podcast, we also talking about what to do when your family sabotages your health goals, how glucagon works, DJ Frankie Knuckles‘s battle with diabetes, why African Americans are four times more likely to experience an amputation, and the new social media platform (The Diabetes App) aimed at educating and empowering people with diabetes.
Guests include Sara “Mandy’ Reece, PharmD – NGMC, GME, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CBDCE, Sonya Hogans, and The Diabetes App‘s Chief Operating Officer Taylor Companion. Hosted by Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.
Did you Toni Braxton‘s younger sister, Tamar Braxtonwants to normalize mental health? She admits she has a sober, sound mind and body. But, Tamar told ET’s Kevin Frazierthat she had to learn to check in with herself. She has to make sure she is not giving so much that she forgets about herself. So, she has a new podcast called Under Construction to help others not feel ashamed.
Throughout July’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast we will be spotlighting music from Toni Braxton’s album, Secrets. On June 18th, 1996, Toni released her second and most successful album, “Secrets.” Toni has said, “The motivation for this album was to include a little bit of everything. Our aim was to come up with material that would have a familiar ‘feel’ to the people who bought the first album without being musically redundant.”
Along with Babyface, Toni Braxton also worked with Tony Rich, and David Foster among others on the album. Toni Braxton was the co-executive producer of the album and co-wrote two of its songs, including the 1997 single “How Could an Angel Break My Heart“,
Enjoy a daily dose of Diva Inspiration: On living with lupus, July’s Diva Inspiration, Toni Braxton says, “I can live a totally normal life and do everything I want to do just as long as I take my medication. My body will give me signals if it gets weak or fatigued, so I know when I need to take a break.”
Our friend and colleague, Rachel Zinman, would probably agree that Toni Braxton’s song Breathe Again is a great message for anyone who feels stressed or overwhelmed. So sit back, close your eyes and take a deep breath. We can do this together!
Diabetes is one of the most widely misunderstood conditions around, which is surprising considering its widespread.
There are four main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes. But there are many types of diabetes, including Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY), Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). There’s even a proposed term for Alzheimer’s disease because of the strong link between Alzheimer’s and blood glucose levels in the brain. Some experts suggest that there should be a Type 4 diabetes to describe cases of type 2 diabetes caused by aging rather than diet or genetics.
Unfortunately, these new discoveries haven’t hit the streets yet. In fact, the general public seems to be completely unaware that there is more than one type of diabetes. Add to that, some leading public health organizations aren’t helping to clear up the matter.
NPR reports a 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) failed to ask respondents to clarify which type of diabetes they live with.
“Comingling of the data, particularly from the leading national public health institute of the United States, perpetuates the myth that diabetes is one disease sharing a name, while the reality is that Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are actually two different diseases in the diabetes family,” TD1 Exchange’s executive director Dana Ball and chief medical officer Dr. Henry Anhalt wrote in an open letter.
More than 34 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 don’t know they have it. More than 88 million US adults—over a third—have prediabetes, and more than 84% of them don’t realize they have it. “
Lack of awareness from both patients and healthcare providers can play havoc with someone’s health. Many people are misdiagnosed with the wrong type of diabetes and struggle to manage their health and related issues of fear, confusion, and shame.
Healthlinereports that research published in the journal Diabetologica in 2019 found evidence that more than one-third of adults over age 30 who receive an initial diagnosis of T2D may actually have T1D.
n a commentary about those research findings, Dr. Naveed Salehwrote that “misdiagnosis… may persist even years later and lead to adverse health outcomes without proper treatment.”
Alicia Keys’ hit song, You Don’t Know My Name inspired this blog post.
I feel strongly that you can’t really be treated appropriately for your diabetes health unless your doctor knows who you are, starting with your name!
To me, it takes two to tango. It’s up to you to share personal information about yourself at your doctor’s appointments. How you feel physically, emotionally, and mentally is the starting point. But opening up about your daily routines, habits, personal idenitity, feelings of loneliness, and social isolation can help your healthcare provider personalize your care.
It makes sense, right?
To provide the best care, your doctor must understand you and know what your life is like.
Sometimes this can feel uncomfortable.
Today, I know that sharing my sexual identity with my doctors is critical to my care. But that doesn’t negate that I struggled with coming out to my doctors back in the late ’80s. Hopefully, my journey and Alicia Keys can inspire you to be open and honest with your doctor. It will help them to understand your medical conditions fully and recommend the best treatment choices for you.
Let’s not forget that knowing how to describe your symptoms accurately is helpful too.
Some people hate to exercise, which is so sad because moving your body is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety and shake off a bad mood. You can also come up with a lot of creative ways to work through problems.
Exercise shouldn’t be drudgery or the way you compensate for overindulging.
It should be something you enjoy!
If you’re shaking your head in disbelief, why not figure out what setting appeals to you most? Ask yourself if you’d prefer to exercise outdoors or inside? Depending on where you live, you might be able to walk, run, bike, swim, or ski outdoors. Even gardening can count, as long as you’re working hard enough, so you sweat a little! Help yourself create healthy habits! If you join a gym, make sure it’s nearby, so you’ll be more likely to go there. Think about whether you’re more comfortable on your own or with a group. Most people agree that they do more sit-ups and push-ups in group exercise classes than they would on their own. Above all else, be kind to yourself. Find fun ways to reward yourself for working out and make a mental note of the days you work out instead of the days you don’t.
Tune in to the latest edition of Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast mixing music with diabetes information.
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, virtual diabetes support program with style. Divabetic’s dynamic diabetes program features ‘What To Wear When Nothing Fits for Summer’ presented by Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller and ‘How To Master The Menu at The Cookout’ presented by MaryAnn Nicolay MEd, NDTR on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, 7-8 PM, EST.
