Living with diabetes can be a challenging experience, especially when it comes to your relationships. That’s why it’s important to talk to your loved ones about your diabetes diagnosis and how it affects your life. It can help you surround yourself with a more supportive and encouraging environment. Co-authors of Divabetic’s ebook, “Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide To Love & Intimacy With Diabetes,” Dr. Janis Roszler PhD, LMFT, CDCES, LD/N, FAND, and Donna Rice MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES offer advice on discussing your diabetes diagnosis as well as issues related to intimacy, fertility, and menopause with the people you care about the most.
Their podcast interview will air on Tuesday, February 13, 2204.
To help us better understand your unique experiences and struggles with diabetes, the national nonprofits Divabetic and Diabetes Sisters are partnering on the first-ever survey on love and relationships for women with diabetes on the same day. This survey, titled “Love Across All Life Stages of Diabetes,” allows you to share your thoughts and experiences with us so we can create more meaningful programming and resources to serve you.
Please take a few moments out of your day to participate in this survey. You can find the link on our websites, Divabetic.Org and DiabetesSisters.Org, and our social media platforms.
Your input can make a difference in the lives of other women living with diabetes.
Divabetic’s ebook, “Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide To Love & Intimacy With Diabetes,” is available at Amazon.
We’re taking you inside some of the most beautiful homes to raise awareness for diabetes in a new way with our new podcast series, Divabetic Home Tours.
From the kitchen and bathroom to the family room and bedroom, diabetes affects all aspects of your home life.
We’re sprinkling between pictures of rooms with diabetes advice and videos from Homeworthy’s most gorgeous homes to spark your interest in self-care.
Welcome to the Divabetic House Tours: the Kips Bay Show House New York edition.
Celebrated interior designers transform a luxury Manhattan home into an elegant exhibition of fine furnishings, art, and technology each year. This event began in 1973 when several dedicated Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club supporters launched the Decorator Show House to raise critical funds for after-school and enrichment programs for New York City children. Over the decades, the project has become a must-see event for thousands of design enthusiasts and is renowned for sparking worldwide interior design trends.
Throughout our tour, enjoy Divabetic’s exclusive audio of wall-to-wall diabetes advice and conversations room-by-room to help you keep your house a home.
Start in our state-of-the-art kitchen and meet Jill Weisenberger RD, CDCES, who chats about how to make your food environment less stressful.
Outside stress triggers our drive for comfort food, including excess sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets such as baked goods. At the same time, during stressful moments, we tend to lower our intake of whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. This, in turn, leads to a higher risk of insulin resistance, excess visceral fat, and type 2 diabetes.
MaryAnn Nicolay talks about reading nutrition labels. One tip for people with diabetes or prediabetes is to focus on the total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and calories to help reach your health goals.
Plus, before you, treat yourself to Paulette McWilliams’ soulful song, Mama’s Kitchen Table.
Gospel Singer Pat Lacy shares how she practices portion control. One option is to reduce your carbohydrate portion sizes and keep them to less than a quarter of your plate. Still hungry? Fill up on green vegetables and eat lean protein and healthy fats instead.
Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.
Stroll through the spacious family room where Lorraine Brooks and RachelZinman get comfy on the sofa and talk about the feelings related to managing diabetes in today’s world.
Clarence Waldron tells how acting F.A.S.T. after experiencing a stroke was the key to his recovery.
Don’t leave before clicking on the LINK to share a free pre-diabetes test with our loved ones.
The Center for Disease Control offers a National Diabetes Prevention Program to help people with prediabetes make lasting lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
Relax in the luxurious spa-inspired bathroom, where you can pick up tips from beauty and style tips experts and find out how diabetes can affect your skin, hair, and teeth.
For instance, hair loss can be a symptom of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Experts believe it is caused by hormonal imbalances, poor circulation due to hyperglycemia, or an autoimmune disorder. Hair loss can often be reversed with medications and by tighter blood sugar management.
Falling can be a concern if you live with diabetes and have peripheral neuropathy or nerve damage (loss of sensation in the feet, legs, and hands), retinopathy (damaged blood vessels in the eyes), and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Mama Rose Marie offers an easy tip for anyone afraid of falling in the shower.
Crawl into bed for some pillow talk on addressing and overcoming intimacy and sexual health concerns.
Even though people with diabetes are at a higher risk for sexual problems, a study in Diabetes Care found that only about half of all men with diabetes and 19 percent of women with diabetes have broached the topic with a doctor.
Dr. Janis Roszler PhD opens our eyes to what intimacy can mean for people affected by sexual health issues related to diabetes.
Many men with erectile dysfunction, for instance, later learn that they have diabetes. For people with diabetes, sexual problems can indicate nerve damage, blocked arteries, and even out-of-whack hormones.
Ambrice Miller founded Relic Interiors, a dealing company that curates incredible art, antiques, and beautifully handcrafted furniture. She gives a tour of her English countryside home.
Men and women experience low libido as a result of poorly managed diabetes. If your sex drive is stalled, look at your diabetes management and take steps to lower your blood glucose levels. Then, consider your medications. Certain drugs, such as antidepressants, can reduce sexual desire, so be sure to talk to your doctor.
Divabetic’s Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide To Love And Intimacy With Diabetes is available on Amazon
Finally, if you don’t stumble on any surprises, crawl into bed for guidance on overcoming sexual health and intimacy concerns.
Plus, at the end of the tour, you can get a copy of Divabetic’s Top Questions to discuss at your next Doctor’s visit.
Divabetic: It’s All About Attitude!
This Homeworthy episode features the beautiful Connecticut home of renowned interior designer Bunny Williams. Bunny graciously invites us to tour her 1860s Falls Village home and discover her converted barn that was originally a garage, but is now filled with many of her and her husband John Rosselli’s extraordinary antiques.
We’re talking about spouses living with diabetes with musical inspiration from Country Music superstars Tim McGraw & Faith Hill on the episode of Divabetic’s podcast.
Managing diabetes can be stressful and may place a strain on relationships. However, any chronic condition can increase the need for emotional support and the potential for frustration and tension, leading to conflict.
The key is to talk openly and clearly about working together so you’re as healthy as possible. Don’t assume your loved one will feel burdened by diabetes-related tasks or expect them to be ready to take on the caretaker role. Ask them how they’d like to help, and be open to their answer. Your healthcare collaborators may be able to connect people with programs that help cover the costs of diabetes care medications and supplies.
“We just made a commitment early on, when we first decided we were getting married and having kids, that we wouldn’t just walk out the door when problems arose,” said Tim McGraw. Tim and Faith Hill met for the first time in 1994 at a gig in Nashville. Two years later, they were married.
Podcast guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Jaye O’Grey, Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND, Diabetes Podcast Week founder Stacey Simms, and Mama Rose Marie.
The common physical and emotional sexual complications of diabetes and treatment options for men and women
An overview of diabetes nutrition, physical activity, weight loss, and diabetes medications
Information on how aging impacts diabetes management and intimacy
Guidance on how to talk to your health care provider about intimacy-related issues
Ideas and techniques for building sexual intimacy and communicating effectively with your partner
Tips to help you avoid dangerous or money-wasting fraudulent sexual treatments
Authors Janis Roszler and Donna Rice use humor, helpful examples, and insightful questions to present key topics about sexual health in an engaging, approachable way. This series is perfect for anyone (regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, or health status) looking to rekindle intimacy with their partner or be proactive about their sexual and emotional well-being.
Diabetes podcasts are fast-paced, full-filled hours of diabetes education, wellness advice, poetry, games, and music that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”
A recent trip to the Central Park Conservatory‘s Film Festival, presented by National Geographic, triggered our interest in how diabetes is portrayed on the big screen. From Steel Magnolias to Soul Food, how realistic are these depictions?
This year’s festival features an array of documentaries. I admit, many of which I probably would never see. But they were free, and the knoll where they’re showing the movies is located close to my office. I grabbed my blanket and decided to go. I’m glad I did. Not only were the topics fascinating, but also the different storytelling styles.
Although documentaries contain primary sources, I became aware that filmmakers select, frame, and interpret their subjects to suit their purposes. Regarding topics like climate change, viewers either buy into it as a whole or shake their heads in disgust at the fearful images and righteous pleas being shown.
Since it was announced that Jamie Fox and Colin Firth are producing the first-ever documentary on my boss, Luther Vandross, with The Ladybird Diaries director Dawn Porter,
I’ve become hyper-sensitive to the ethics of retelling life stories on the big screen. Do the directors stray from facts or choose to cherry-pick moments and memories to build suspense and create drama? And if they get the story wrong by omitting information, does anyone care besides those closest to their subjects? Basically, can you trust them?
One topic filmmakers tend to get wrong in their depictions on the big screen is diabetes. With all the emotional and physical complications related to the day-to-day up’s and down’s of self-care comes drama, making characters with the condition a good plot point on the silver screen. Popular films featuring diabetes include Steel Magnolias, Soul Food, Mad Money, The Baby-Sitter Club, and Nothing In Common. We explore how realistic these portrayals are and how accurate is information about diabetes and diabetes self-care on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast.
Podcast guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Glucose SOS founder Pamela Heyward, Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN, Kent Gash, Jessica Clark, and Muniq Gut Health Shakes Founder Marc Washington. This podcast features music from the album ‘Score’ by 2Celloscourtesy of SONY Music.
Tuesday night’s documentary, The Space Race, directed by Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, tells the story of Black Astronauts. The film follows pioneers who fought to overcome not just the obstacles of their NASA astronaut training but also the challenges that stemmed from the racial prejudice, injustices, and discrimination present at the time. Lisa’s amazing ability to infuse music into telling her stories was evident throughout the film. She has a unique knack for finding the right song and placing it at the right time to heighten interest and excitement in the subject matter.
Wednesday night’s film, Arctic Ascent, captures Alex Honnold and his two expert climber friends’ attempt to climb Greenland’s Ingmikortilaqf while scientists collect data on the melting glaciers and the impact of climate change.
Thursday night’s film, Wild Life, directed by the team behind the Oscar-winning Free Solo, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. This film follows billionaire conservationists Kris and Doug Tompkins’ obsession with creating National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina—the highs and lows of their journey to effect the largest private land donation in history.
The hype surrounding one of the biggest Summer Blockbusters of all time, Barbie, inspires us to examine the doll’s impact on our lives, including our sex lives. After all, if Barbie and Ken are confused about what to do at sleepovers, you might be too, especially if you’re dealing with sexual health issues related to diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in nearly all countries—people with diabetes experience sexual dysfunction more often than the general public.
Podcast guests: Dr. Janis Roszler PhD, LMFT, RDN, LD/N, CDCES, FAND, and Donna Rice, MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES, the co-authors of Divabetic’s new e-book, Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide to Love and Intimacy with Diabetes, soon-to-be available on Amazon. Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide to Love and Intimacy with Diabetes, book one in the series, is your key to a happy, healthy intimate life with diabetes.
We’re back! Our website, Divabetic.Org, crashed. It’s been headaches and heartbreaks for over two weeks trying to restore the sparkle to the internet. Navigating help chat rooms with our hosting agencies, listening to bad music, and decoding our dashboards was less fun than a day at the beach. Thankfully, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig provided wonderful distractions and podcast inspiration.
Please enjoy our latest podcast on Love, Sex, and Intimacy with Diabetes with inspiration from Barbie & Ken. Our guests: Dr. Janis Roszler PhD, LMFT, RDN, LD/N, CDCES, FAND, and Donna Rice, MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES, are the co-authors of Divabetic’s new e-book, Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide to Love and Intimacy with Diabetes, soon-to-be available on Amazon. Podcast music by Doug Clay.
For the past 64 years. Barbie has been a part of our lives, a cultural touchstone, or the quintessential image of what a woman should be but never will be – a sex or beauty object.
Greta Gerwig’s big screen makeover and the related marketing blitz are making us revisit and reevaluate Barbie’s impact on our lives, including our sex lives. After all, if Barbie and Ken are confused about what to do at sleepovers, you might be too, especially if you’re dealing with sexual health issues related to diabetes.
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in nearly all countries—people with diabetes experience sexual dysfunction more often than the general public.
Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide to Love and Intimacy with Diabetes, book one in the series, is your key to a happy, healthy intimate life with diabetes. Inside you’ll find:
The common physical and emotional sexual complications of diabetes and treatment options for men and women.
An overview of diabetes nutrition, physical activity, weight loss, and diabetes medications
Information on how aging impacts diabetes management and intimacy.
Guidance on how to talk to your healthcare provider about intimacy-related issues. Ideas and techniques for building sexual intimacy and communicating effectively with your partner.
Tips to help you avoid dangerous or money-wasting fraudulent sexual treatments.
Authors Dr. Janis Roszler and Donna Rice use humor, helpful examples, and insightful questions to present key topics about sexual health in an engaging, approachable way.
This series is perfect for anyone (regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, or health status) looking to rekindle intimacy with their partner or be proactive about their sexual and emotional well-being.
Enjoy A Daily Dose of Diva Inspiration
“My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. I don’t use special creams or treatments—I’ll use a little bit of everything. It’s a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I believe that a lot of how you look is to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret.” – Tina Turner
Sweet Romanceco-authors Janis Roszler & Donna Rice explore Barbie’s impact on Love, Sex, and Intimacy for People with Diabetes on Divabetic’s next podcast, In Bed With Barbie And Sometimes Ken, scheduled for Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 1 PM, EST.
For the past 64 years. Barbie has been a part of our lives, a cultural touchstone, or as Megyn Kelly referred to her on her podcast, the quintessential image of what a woman should be but never will be with her teenie tiny waist, enormous boobs, and forever legs – basically a sex or beauty object.
Greta Gerwig’s big screen makeover and the related marketing blitz are making us revisit and reevaluate Barbie in a whole new way, including our bedrooms. I say this because of Ken and Barbie’s exchange about having a sleepover in the movie trailer that’s constantly on TV.
If they’re confused about what to do in the bedroom, you might be too, especially if you’re dealing with sexual health issues related to diabetes. That’s why we’re taking a laser beam focus on the way Barbie and, sometimes, Ken have shaped and molded people’s thoughts, ideas, desires, and fantasies about sex, love, and intimacy who are living with diabetes.
Our podcast guests: Janis Roszler PhD, LMFT, RDN, LD/N, CDCES, FAND, and Donna Rice, MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES, the co-authors of Divabetic’s forthcoming e-book Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide to Love And Intimacy with Diabetes.
Tina Turner is ‘simply the best’ for raising awareness for the link between untreated high blood pressure and kidney failure during her lifetime.
“I can’t remember ever getting an explanation about what high blood pressure means or how it affects the body,” Tina Turner said in an article for Show Your Kidneys Love, an international campaign for kidney health.
“My kidneys are victims of my elevated blood pressure” -Tina Turner
She was on dialysis after having a kidney transplant years ago due to untreated hypertension. Untreated hypertension can cause blood vessels to narrow, decreasing blood flow to the kidneys. Without proper blood flow, the kidneys cannot remove excess fluid and waste from the body — and as that fluid builds up, blood pressure will only increase further. Chronic kidney disease may cause arms, legs, and face swelling. It’s a dangerous cycle that can lead to kidney failure, but intervening early is possible.
“I considered high blood pressure my normal,” Tina Turner is quoted on Show Your Kidneys Love’s website. “Hence, I didn’t really try to control it. In 1985 a doctor gave me a prescription for pills of which I was supposed to take one a day, and that was it. I didn’t give it any more thought. After suffering a stroke in 2009 because of my poorly controlled hypertension I struggled to get back up on my feet. This is when I first learned that my kidneys didn’t work that well anymore. They had already lost thirty-five percent of their function. I tried to learn more about these organs’ function and meaning. Most people probably don’t even know where their kidneys are located and what they are for until their health is at stake.”
Mismanaged high blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the US.
Memorial Day Weekend is an excellent time to inform people of the link between alcohol and high blood pressure. Drinks with friends can be the best part of a three-day weekend, but when, what, and how much you drink matters.
Research shows drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily raises blood pressure. Repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases in blood pressure.
What is Moderate Drinking?
Moderate drinking means having no more than one drink daily for women and no more than two drinks for men.
One can argue that Tina Turner frequently admitted she didn’t smoke or drink alcohol. But she admitted that after being diagnosed with high blood pressure in 1978, she thought of it as her “normal” and didn’t attempt to control it.
“I put myself at great danger by refusing to accept the reality that I required daily medication for the rest of my life,” she wrote on Instagram on March 9.
“Show your kidneys love. They deserve it.”
We’re discussing kidney disease and diabetes on this Divabetic podcast with musical inspiration from P.M. Dawn.
Prince Be, the psychedelic pop-rap group P.M. Dawn’s frontman, suffered various health problems from mismanaged type 2 diabetes. He had several strokes, including one in 2005 that left him partly paralyzed, and gangrene, which led to the partial amputation of one leg. He died of renal failure resulting from complications of diabetes at age 46.
Renal failure (often called kidney failure) is when the kidneys stop working and cannot remove waste and extra water from the blood or keep body chemicals in balance. Acute or severe renal failure happens suddenly (for example, after an injury) and may be treated and cured. Chronic renal failure develops over many years, may be caused by conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, and cannot be cured. Chronic renal failure may lead to dialysis (cleaning the blood by passing it through a membrane or filter) or a kidney transplant.
Tina Turner believed most people don’t know their kidneys are located; this video proves they don’t know where their pancreas is either! Your pancreas produces insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar levels in your body.
We’re talking about mindful eating and coping with diabetes during the holidays on December’s Divabetic podcast with musical inspiration from Leona Lewis.
‘Tis the season for family, festivity, and temptations that may disrupt daily diabetes health routines. That means it’s also the season when eating healthy, staying active, and taking medication on a schedule are harder. The added stress and anxiety of staying on track with your diabetes health may cause even those who are usually content to experience loneliness, anxiety, and a lack of fulfillment.
We also discuss using mindfulness to build a healthier relationship with food this season. It can be easy to get so caught up in celebrations that we lose track of regular, balanced meals that serve us so well the rest of the year.
Paying attention to what, when, and how you eat allows you to better tune in to your body’s true physiological hunger cues and make choices that keep feeling your best.
Studies show that people with diabetes have a greater risk of depression than people without diabetes.
Just like denial, depression can get you into a vicious cycle. It can block good diabetes self-care.
“I have a best friend who has severe depression, who takes medication and still struggles, so I know how bad it can be,” says Leona Lewis.
She describes herself as having “highs and lows” brought on by circumstance, not a clinical illness. In retrospect, frustrated and anxious might have been better termed to use, but she declines to dwell on it.
If you are feeling symptoms of depression, don’t keep them to yourself. First, talk them over with your doctor.
Guests include Diabetes Alert Dog expert Debby Kay CDT, CDTA, PDTI, Megrette Fletcher, MEd, RD, CDCES, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Janis Roszler RD, CDCES, LDN, Emmy-winning Producer Linda Bracero Morel, Poet Lorraine Brooks, and Mama Rose Marie.
Plus, we’re giving away six months of access to mySugr Pro app in our INSTANT WINNER challenge.
The mySugr app logs important therapy data such as blood sugar, meals, activity, insulin, and much more! Handy features like the Photo Function and entry customization mean you can embrace the wonderful world of data logging and kick old-school logbooks to the curb.
The podcast features music from Leona Lewis’ Christmas, with Lovealbum courtesy of SONY Music.
Mr. Divabetic explores issues of love, intimacy, and diabetes on this special one-hour podcast. Guests include Best-Selling Author Lisa Eugene, Jennifer Martsolf from Trigg Laboratories (the makers of Wet Lubricants), and board-certified sex therapist, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed dietitian/nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist Dr. Janis Roszler MS, RD, LD/N, CDCES, FAND (2008-2009 Diabetes Educator of the Year (AADE).
If you or your partner is experiencing sexual health issues or difficulties, you may find it helpful to meet with a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, marriage counselor, or sex therapist.
These professionals can help you learn how to reduce stress and change behaviors and attitudes, particularly when impotence is caused by stress or other mental health issues.
Quick Tip: With diabetes, it’s best to avoid lubes containing glycerine because they can promote yeast infections (vaginitis).
We prefer the word fortunate rather than lucky. Lucky sounds like you have no part in it. It’s the luck of the draw or the random stop of the wheel on a slot machine. Fortunate seems more appreciative as well as more participatory.
Think about it. If you blame yourself for all the negative things that happen in your diabetes life, then should you take responsibility for the good things that happen too?
Recently, I was speaking with one of my favorite diabetes educators, Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDCES, FAND PhD. She mentioned that humans are much more conditioned to recall negative experiences than positive ones in life. This has something to do with our body’s need to keep us safe from harm.
Janis told me that we have to practice emphasizing compliments, positive things, and the good moments that happen in our lives.
So if you’re beating yourself up about unexpected high and low blood sugars, weight gains, and/or experiencing a diabetes health-related complication – stop! Instead, take a minute a remind yourself about something positive that happened in your day. Take a deep breath, reset yourself, so you’re setting yourself up for a more nurturing outcome.
There’s a chance in everything we do—and don’t do. But we also believe that good fortune favors an open mind. At some level, we create our lives and what we bring into it—at least most of it. So we’d like to encourage you to practice gratefulness. And we wish you good fortune. Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re talking about diabetic macular edema with musical inspiration from Maxwell.
Along with fellow musicians D’Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell has been credited with helping to shape what has been termed the “neo-soul” movement that rose to prominence during the late 1990s
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) is an accumulation of fluid in the macula-part of the retina that controls our most detailed vision abilities due to leaking blood vessels. In order to develop DME, you must first have diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the tissue at the back of the eye (retina). Poorly controlled blood sugar is a risk factor. Early symptoms include floaters, blurriness, dark areas of vision, and difficulty perceiving colors. Blindness can occur.
Guests include singer Alfa Anderson, Diabetic Macular Edema patient Maryanne Kass, Artist Bryce Chisholm, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Poet Lorraine Brooks, and Mama Rose Marie. Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring selected songs from several of Maxwell’s albums courtesy of SONY Music.
