Bittersweetness
I have diabetes, that’s generally known, And sometimes there’s cause for concern. When others assume, that what I have shown. Is reason for them to be stern.
Read Bittersweetness in its entirety here.
Bittersweetness
Bittersweetness by Poet Lorraine Brooks
On last night’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast I discussed the topic of ‘anger and diabetes’ with our panel of experts.
If you have or are feeling angry about your diabetes – you’re not alone. It’s more common than you think. Diabetes is the perfect breeding ground for anger. Anger can start at diagnosis with the question, “Why me?” You may dwell on how unfair diabetes is: “I’m so angry at this disease! I don’t want to treat it. I don’t want to control it. I hate it!”
Poet Lorraine Brooks shares her perspective on what makes people with diabetes feel angry in her new poem, ‘Bittersweetness’ written specifically for August’s Diabetes Late Nite.
‘Bittersweetness’ by Lorraine Brooks
I have diabetes, that’s generally known,
And sometimes there’s cause for concern.
When others assume, that what I have shown
Is reason for them to be stern.
So what makes me angry, occasionally,
Is questioning my food decisions.
It’s when people judge, even well-meaningly,
And then look at me with derision.
It’s when doctors give me a guilt-making talk,
As if I have failed in my dealing.
It’s when people think that they’re walking the walk,
But they don’t understand how I’m feeling.
I often get angry when numbers don’t jive
In spite of the effort I’m making.
When blood sugars rise to two,hundred and five,
And my carb-counting may be mistaken.
Or how about not being able to lose
Any weight, even though I am trying.
I try all the diets, end up confused,
And sometimes I just feel like crying.
I never would choose this, the way that I live,
Because of the changes required.
And I can get angry and cannot forgive,
And I can get real sick and tired.
Counting, and checking, and eating, or not,
Cooking and shopping, and staying aware…
Trying to balance the changes I’ve got,
And making the most of my need for healthcare.
I know that some people will not understand,
That sometimes I’m hurt and I’m scarred.
But all I can say is, respect who I am,
And know that some days, it’s just HARD.
So walk in your beauty, and walk in your pride,
And use all your anger as fuel.
It’s not always easy to be on this ride,
And people,can often be cruel.
But also don’t let people,stand in your way
And don’t let yourself get unwound.
Even if you’re not feeling completely OK,
Get off of the merry-go-round!
Focus, be thoughtful,,and give it your best,
Because that’s really all you can do.
Let go,of the anger and feeling depressed…
Stand up, and enjoy being YOU!
LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Late Nite ‘ The Angry Show’ podcast hosted by Mr. Divabetic. Podcast guests include Author of “Overcoming Destructive Anger” Dr. Bernard Golden PhD, Dr. Lori Shemek PhD, Susan Weiner MS, RD, CDE, CDN, Laura Laria MA, CASAC-T, Jill Knapp- Woolsey, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, and the Charlie’s Angels Outreach.
Suspect Boulevard Coming in September
We’re thrilled to announce that our third annual Diabetes Mystery Theater Podcast, ‘Suspect Boulevard’ (loosely based on Sunset Boulevard) will spotlight the wonderful music by the National Philaharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Charles Gerhardt courtesy of SONY MUSIC. This special Diabetes Mystery Theater podcast is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 6 -7 PM, EST.
The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic hopes to inspire you to become a Diabetes Detective will this third installment of Diabetes Mystery Theater podcast.
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.”
The podcast’s format is similar to popular late night talk shows and features topical monologues, celebrity interviews, games, prizes and music. Every month the show’s theme is inspired by a different celebrity to help listeners to stay happy and healthy. Show segments include Diabetes Hot Topics discussions, Diagnosis To Diva stories, Sweet Inspiration poems (by Lorraine Brooks), Diabetes Numerology Puzzles and Mother Your Diabetes commentaries.
The happy healthcare host, Max “Mr. Divabetic” Szadek hosts Diabetes Late Nite. Considered a popular ‘cult figure’ in the diabetes community, Mr. Divabetic became a diabetes advocate after working for music legend, Luther Vandross, who suffered a stroke related to type 2 diabetes. As the founder of the national nonprofit organization, www.divabetic.org, Mr. Divabetic has presented original diabetes educational outreach in over 20 major US cities as well as on social media. He has partnered with the American Diabetes Association, JDRF, dLife, Taking Control of Your Diabetes and many major healthcare centers including Mount Sinai Medical, New York, NY, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA and Memorial Regional Hospital in Miami, FL.
Are You Angry about Getting Pregnant with Diabetes?
The multiple challenges that a woman with type 1 diabetes faces when she becomes pregnant could cause feelings of angry, frustrated or stressed. How do you deal with these emotions?
Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN discusses this topic on August’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast aptly titled ‘The Angry Show’ on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, 6 -7:30 PM, EST.
Need some advice now?
Susan Weiner and Elizabeth ‘Libby ‘Downs MS, RD, CDE share some further insight on managing diabetes, hormones, anxiety and pregnancy in an article written for Diabetes Sisters:
“There are many unique complexities that come with managing pregnancy and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Therefore, it is important for a woman contemplating pregnancy to develop a close working relationship with a healthcare team before she attempts to become pregnant. Successful pregnancy outcomes are possible when proper counseling and management are provided by a healthcare team similar to the general population.75
Achieving consistent, in-range blood glucose control before becoming pregnant is a cornerstone for women who live with T1D. Efforts to regulate blood glucose before and during the early weeks of pregnancy significantly reduce the risk of negative outcomes for the baby, since the baby’s organs are already formed by the seventh week after conception.75 Before getting pregnant, the ADA recommends achieving an A1C level of less than 7% and some sources even recommend lowering the A1C to <6.5% .75-77
Aside from recognizing blood glucose patterns, knowing how to use insulin to carbohydrate ratios and correction factors allows a woman to adjust the pre-meal dose of insulin to match the grams of carbohydrates a woman plans to eat and can help her optimize glycemic control.76 Accuracy of carbohydrate counting and administering mealtime insulin (fast acting insulin) 5-15 minutes before eating can promote even tighter control. In addition, women should consider adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, healthy weight, prenatal vitamins, moderate to vigorous activity and emotional wellbeing.75
Remember, you are not alone if you’re experiencing anger and/or anxiety about living with diabetes.
“Anybody who is diagnosed with diabetes experiences a range of emotions, lots of them negative with their diagnosis and then with their lifestyle.There’s a lot of denial, anxiety, there is a lot of depression and there is a lot of ANGER.” Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDE
While it’s true that out-of-control anger can cause more harm than good, that’s only part of the story. Anger can also help you assert and protect yourself. You can learn to use your anger. You can even put it to work for better diabetes care.
Ready to get your anger under control?
August’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast guests include Author of “Overcoming Destructive Anger” Dr. Bernard Golden PhD, Dr. Lori Shemek PhD, Susan Weiner MS, RD, CDE, CDN, Laura Laria, Jill Knapp- Woolsey, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, and the Charlie’s Angels Outreach.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing selected songs from the Essential Evelyn “Champagne” King album 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.”
Diabetes Games: Heart Healthy!
Correctly answer our diabetes wellness question and you could be an INSTANT WINNER on August’s Diabetes Late Nite show on ‘ANGER & DIABETES’ on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, 6- 7:30 PM, EST.
Our INSTANT WINNER will receive a complimentary Divabetic prize giveaway including a Nu Naturals gift, Dr. Greenfield’s Diabetes Lotions and a Cabot Cheese prize package for helping us raise awareness for diabetes self-care management in a fun, new way! E-mail your answers to: mrdivabetic@gmail.com
Did you know that people with type 2 diabetes have a considerably higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease?
Most of this excess risk is associated with high prevalence of well-established risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia and obesity in these patients. Hypertension plays a major role in the development and progression of microvascular and macrovascular disease in people with diabetes.
Early intervention and targeting multiple risk factors with both lifestyle and pharmacological strategies give the best chance of reducing macrovascular complications in the long term
If your blood pressure is out of control, it can damage your eye blood vessels, which are already at risk for damage from too much glucose. So, it is to your advantage to work with your healthcare team to keep your blood pressure in check.
TUNE IN: August’s Diabetes Late Nite show on ‘ANGER & DIABETES’ on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, 6- 7:30 PM, EST. Hosted by Mr. Divabetic. His guests include Author of “Overcoming Destructive Anger” Dr. Bernard Golden PhD, Dr. Lori Shemek PhD, Susan Weiner MS, RD, CDE, CDN, Laura Laria, Jill Knapp- Woolsey, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, and the Charlie’s Angels Outreach.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing selected songs from Essential Evelyn “Champagne” King 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.”
Wise Women Of Diabetes Retreat
Our good friend, Judith Jones-Ambrosini would like to invite you the Wise Women of Diabetes Retreat on Friday, September 16, 2016 in Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center near Hudson NY.
This is a retreat experience for women with diabetes or pre-diabetes who are seeking something more fulfilling and satisfying in their search for diabetes self-care knowledge and personal empowerment.
The Women’s Weekend of Wisdom is designed for women who wish to embrace their connection with each other and learn ways to bring more joy and self-appreciation into their diabetes care.
This retreat was designed for women with diabetes by women with diabetes, to integrate extraordinary self-care techniques in their day to day lives.
We are mothers, sisters, daughters, and grandmothers who have honed the skill of caring for others. Be it in the workplace or at home, we cook nutritious meals, care physically, emotionally and financially for our loved ones and yet, often, find little time to care deeply for ourselves.
If you are a woman with diabetes who has struggled to remember to test/monitor your blood sugar, gain adequate rest or exercise, feel overwhelmed or misunderstood, this Self-Care Retreat was designed specifically for you.
Research shows that stress elevates blood sugar and makes it harder to manage. This retreat focuses on useful ways to manage stress and manage your blood sugar as well as the other myriad elements of the challenge of diabetes.
This retreat program was designed by two Registered Nurses (type 1), a chef/author (type 1) and a psychotherapist (type 2).
Lodging, food and programming is included in the Retreat cost. Cancellation Policy: Retreat ticket cost is refundable up to 2 weeks before the Retreat, less $25 administrative fee.
When you purchase a ticket, we will send you the Class Sign up by email.
REGISTER NOW: Wise Women Of Diabetes Retreat
Chef Robert’s Recipe: Caramelized Pacific Rim Pork Chops
On July’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast I interviewed Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ about grilling tips for the Summer. Our Divabetic Inspiration, P.M. Dawn’s frontman, Prince Be suffered multiple diabetes health-related complications including stroke, amputation and kidney disease before passing away at age 46 earlier this year.
People living with kidney disease are encouraged to follow specific dietary guidelines for optimum health including eating less protein. Since one of the biggest joys of Summer is using your backyard grill I asked Chef Robert to share some healthy summer grilling recipes that don’t include red meat.
After graduating from the Prestigios Culinary Institute of America in 1976. In 1998 Chef Robert was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Thus began his motivation to create great tasting dishes that are easy to prepare.
Chef Robert Lewis’s Caramelized Pacific Rim Pork Chops Recipe
What’s in it?
- 5 garlic cloves, halved
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 8 very thin pork rib chops (about 4 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Let’s put it together
- Put the garlic, soy sauce, sugar and oil in a mini food
- processor and process until the garlic is pureed.
- Put the pork chops on a rimmed pan and pour the
- marinade over them; turn to coat the chops. Let stand at room
- temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Light a grill. Season the chops with salt and pepper and grill
over high heat until charred and just cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘the Happy Diabetic’ has been selected buy Sanofi and Everyday Health to do consumer online cooking videos. He is a keynote speaker for Taking Control of Your Diabetes all across the USA. He has worked with Sanofi, Abbott, Accu-Check-Roche, American Diabetes Association, Lyons Club International, Rotary Clubs, University of Wisconsin, Genesis Hospitals, Hy-Vee Grocery Stores, Kroger stores, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hill and Valley sugar free bakeries to name just a few!
His recipes celebrate great-tasting food that both diabetics and non-diabetics can enjoy. Robert’s cookbooks are filled with tips, tidbits, and humorous anecdotes that I hope will make cooking fun! You are not what you eat, you are how much you eat!
Visit Chef Robert’s ‘The Happy Diabetic’ website for recipes, cooking tips and cookbooks
Beauty and The Beast
Beauty & The Beast
A beauty named Belle, says the story, Was a lovely and humble young lass, She was regal in all of her glory, But she had diabetes, alas.
Read Beauty & The Beast in its entirety here.
Beauty and the Beast by Poet Lorraine Brooks
Is your relationship with diabetes like ‘Beauty & The Beast’? Do you feel like a beauty who is dealing with beastly blood sugars?
In the popular Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast a young woman named Belle lives in the captivity of a hideous monster, the Beast. For many people living with diabetes, it’s not hard to re-imagine the story line with diabetes in the role of the ‘beast’.
I reached out to Poet Lorraine Brooks to get her take on this diabetes twist to the popular fairy tale. Enjoy!
‘Beauty & The Beast’ by Lorraine Brooks
A beauty named Belle, says the story,
Was a lovely and humble young lass,
She was regal in all of her glory,
But she had diabetes, alas.
She thought diabetes was just a big beast,
And that it was going to get her.
But with education her courage increased,
And she knew she was going to get better.
One day she was high, And the next day too low,
She tested and looked at her meter.
She took her supplies with her, where’er she’d go,
Diabetes wasn’t going to defeat her.
She looked at that beast right straight in the face
And said, “I am not scared of you!”
Diabetes was something she couldn’t erase,
So she had to do all she could do!
Take care of it, own it, and make it your friend,
And don’t be afraid to embrace it.
There is no beast on earth that you cannot defend
If you only have courage to face it!
For eight years I presented diabetes education and empowerment at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Expo in Pittsburgh, PA. Every year I would come up with a different theme to our outreach presentation to make learning about diabetes more fun and enjoyable. Our themes ranged from the ‘Golden Girls’ and ‘Gillian’s Island’ to Diabetes Time Machine.
One year I came up with the idea to present diabetes education using fairy tales. Its quite possible that I stumbled upon this idea after watching too many episodes of ABC’s ‘Once Upon A Time’ television series. I believe fairy tales can teach us about the higher qualities of ourselves and others and make us feel like we can conquer our fears about living with diabetes.
Thankfully Lorraine agreed to write nine wonderful Diabetes Fairy Tales featuring popular fairy tale characters and diabetes self-care advice for our Expo show. (Beauty & the Beast happens to be one mod my favorites.)
Before anyone accuses me of making ‘light’ of a diabetes diagnosis or diabetes self-management by using costumes, props and games in my ongoing diabetes outreach efforts, I’d like to add that every Divabetic program features qualified healthcare professionals. Although today it’s much more trendy to use ‘peers’ to educate about diabetes, I still prefer to working with healthcare professionals. Call me ‘crazy’ but I like the fact that certified diabetes educators spend over 3,000 hours learning about diabetes from a diverse patient base before they are certified. For our Diabetes Fairytales program, our Pittsburgh team featured an outstanding group of local educators, CDE’s, RN’s and MD’s who provided expert advice on different topics such as food, fitness and managing medications.
LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Fairytales podcast featuring Connie Frazier RD, CDE, Lori Bednarz RN, CDE, Makeup Artist and Esthetician Sue Perez, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Lorraine Starsky RN and Neva White CRNP, CD.
The Angry Show-Diabetes Late Nite
Mr. Divabetic takes on ‘ANGER & DIABETES’ on August’s Diabetes Late Nite show scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, 2016. 6-7 PM.
We all know what anger is, and we’ve all felt it: whether as a fleeting annoyance or as full-fledged rage.
Anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But keeping your temper in check can be challenging especially while managing your diabetes.
Diabetes is the perfect breeding ground for anger. Anger can start at diagnosis with the question, “Why me?” You may dwell on how unfair diabetes is: “I’m so angry at this disease! I don’t want to treat it. I don’t want to control it. I hate it!”
One reason diabetes and anger so often go hand in hand is that diabetes can make you feel threatened. Life with diabetes can seem full of dangers – insulin reactions or complications. When you fear these threats, anger often surges to your defense.
While it’s true that out-of-control anger can cause more harm than good, that’s only part of the story. Anger can also help you assert and protect yourself. You can learn to use your anger. You can even put it to work for better diabetes care.
Ready to get your anger under control?
Podcast guests include Author of “Overcoming Destructive Anger” Dr. Bernard Golden PhD, Susan Weiner MS, RD, CDE, CDN, Laura Laria, Jill Knapp- Woolsey, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, and the Charlie’s Angels Outreach.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing selected songs from Fifth Harmony 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.”
TUNE IN: August’s Diabetes Late Nite show on ‘ANGER & DIABETES’ on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, 6- 7:30 PM, EST. Hosted by Mr. Divabetic.