Diabetes – Diabetes treatment

Here’s a question for you: Is diabetes a disability? This question came up while I was reading an article in the October issue of Diabetes Forecast. There is an article titled, “Cracking the Case.” Long story short, Jeff Kapche was denied a position at the FBI because of his diabetes. He filed suit against them stating that they didn’t hire him because of his diabetes. The FBI said that his diabetes is not a disability because he manages his diabetes well. The court favored Kapche. The case is still heading back to the Federal Court of Appeals for another review. There is no easy answer to this question, it may seem like there is, but there isn’t. Let’s look at it from all sides.

Diabetes IS a disability

When you have diabetes (type 1) there are certain things that you must do in order to live a healthy life. You must check your blood sugar, take insulin whether it is from an insulin pump or syringe, be able to have access to glucose in case of an emergency and many more things that we don’t have to get into at this time. This can definitely hinder your processes of doing normal day to day or daily job tasks. If you are working an extremely physical job then your blood sugar is more likely to drop faster, so this is where diabetes can be considered a disability.

Diabetes IS NOT a Disability

Even with all of the things that you need to do in order to properly manage your diabetes, they do not have to hinder your daily life or your day to day tasks. If you are doing the things that you need to be doing, then you can control your diabetes which does not allow it to become a disability. Whether you are wearing an insulin pump or taking multiple day injections (MDI), you can control your levels.

My 2 Cents

Here’s my 2 cents. Diabetes is in no way a disability. I live a normal life, I just so happen to be diabetic. In the 6 years that I have had diabetes there has not been one single time that I have had to say, “no I can’t do that because I have diabetes.” I eat ice cream cake for birthdays, I ride roller coasters that go upside down while wearing a pump hooked to my hip, I test my blood sugar at the table, at the desk, in the bathroom, at work, at the dinner table, I do everything someone without diabetes does, but more! I don’t see diabetes in any way being a disability. With proper management, you can control it. A disability to me is something that you can’t control.

I think using diabetes as a disability is a scape goat for a lawsuit. Sure, there may be a reason that you don’t get a job because of diabetes, but that is a discrimination, primarily based upon ignorance and the cost of your health to the company hiring you. So, if you are going to file a suit against somebody for discriminating against your diabetes it should be because you are defending that it isn’t a disability and that you are able to do the job just the same as someone without diabetes. Instead, the guy in this article is fighting the FBI and saying that he was denied the job because he DOES have a disability and the FBI is claiming that his diabetes is not a disability.

This irritates me. To think that the ADA is doing a 2 1/2 page article in their magazine talking about how diabetes is a disability. What kind of negative thinking is that? Not the kind that I want to think about. How about they write articles about how it’s not a disability, but people’s pure ignorance to think that we can’t do something just because we have diabetes. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m not going to have an organization that is supposed to be furthering advocacy for the disease I live with, start to take steps backwards. If you want to accept diabetes as a disability, then be my guest. That’s your life decision. But I’m not going to let this damn thing hold me down!

Recently I started to think about some of the things related to diabetes that really make me mad. Diabetes in general doesn’t because I have learned to live with it, deal with it and manage it. It is usually other people that make me mad when it comes to diabetes. Let’s start with the top 3 things, in no particular order.

Diabetic vs Person with Diabetes

I personally don’t understand all of the hype around this. If you want to call me a person with diabetes, go ahead. You want to call me diabetic, which I prefer, then go ahead. I don’t really care what you call me. Diabetic is just the term that is used to call somebody who has diabetes. Why all of a sudden is it such a bad thing? I think it is a good thing when someone calls me a diabetic, because I have diabetes, so therefore I am diabetic. I guess if I hear one very good logical reasoning of the PWD thing then I will go with it. Like I said, I have no problem if that is what you want to be called, I will call you that. Quite honestly, I would rather call you by your first name and not diabetic or person with diabetes at all.

Supply Switching

Who the hell are you (fill in the blank with your supply company) to tell me what meter, strips, lancets or pen needles I want to use? Do you think that I care about your bottom line figures and that you make more money off of the generic lancets than the brand name. I don’t really care about the 200% profit you are making, I care that the lancets that I am using are not damaging and bruising my fingers constantly. I want a pen needle that is going to penetrate my skin and not hurt when it goes in because its not sharp enough. A few years ago when I was still using an old supplier, will not mention names, they continued to send me these cheap generic lancets when I wanted the One Touch ones. They kept sending them every 90 days and I would call and tell them to stop, but they wouldn’t let me return them, I still had to pay for them. They then went far enough to tell me that the One Touch ones are no longer made, they have been discontinued. So when I was walking through Wal-Mart one day I saw them there and then went off on the company. I called 4 times a day every day for like 2 straight weeks to make sure I got every customer service rep there.

Not the same goal in mind

There are a lot of non-profits, organizations, blogs, communities and they do not know how to work together. What do we all want? A cure, right? Of course there are some other things that would be great along the way, but ultimately it is about finding a cure, spreading awareness and giving people an arena to share and talk about, especially in the online world. Then why can’t we just all work together and not look at other people in the diabetes world as “competitors”. I’m not saying that everyone does that, I’m speaking of the minority on this one, but it just irritates the hell out of me. Those are the 3 main things that just make me mad. What are some others that tick you the wrong way?

What Is Diabetes? Why Do We Need To Slash Down Our Sugar Intake?

Of course nobody wants to suffer from the painful diabetes ending results. When glucose builds up in the bloodstream, the cells become starved for energy because they do not have access to the glucose and in short term and long term frequent glucose build-up increases the acidity of the blood, damaging many of the body’s organs, including the eyes, kidneys, nerves and/or heart. Insulin is a substance that is necessary to breakdown our sugar intake into small particle to be able to maximize by our body to produce fuel and energy for our day to day activities. As the diabetes begins to climb around the world,the government and other health care providers are initiating efforts to invest in health education, diagnosis and treatments for this chronic, unbearable – but controllable – disorder. As we all know, millions of people all over the world have tried to let go of their mouth-watering and tasty sugar products.

Types of Diabetes

The major treatment of type-1 diabetes, even in its earliest stages, is the delivery of artificial insulin by means of injection combined with careful monitoring of blood glucose levels using blood testing monitors. Eye problems can lead to trouble seeing or going blind. Type-1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes since its affect majority of the diabetic children. Insulin may be given by injections using a syringe, insulin pump, or insulin pen. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Gestational diabetes may occur in women who is age 25 years old or older, but some women have greater risks in developing gestational diabetes.

Diabetes Treatment

Ask for help from your friends and family if you are feeling which will help you to overcome the stress. A health care team may help you take care of your diabetes as well as you doctor, dentist, diabetes educator, dietitians, friends and family. In no time you will be able to continuously enjoy life without the worries of your diabetes. Quit your smoking and your excessive intake of alcohol.

Alternative Diabetes Cures Through The Herbal Way

Once we encounter difficulty in absorbing sugar, diseases like diabetes may be at hand. When our body malfunctions or suddenly experience any abnormality, it may only conclude that there is something wrong within. Diabetes consists of three types, one is the Type 1 diabetes, the second is the Type 2 diabetes and the third one is gestational diabetes. Since bitter melons are considered to have twice the potassium compared to bananas at the same time increase the amount of beta cells, these melons may help the pancreas to produce insulin. Diabetes hinders our body’s process of in-taking foods that we need to converted into energy. Once you feel the diabetes symptoms you should seek immediate medical help. When we digest food, pieces of the grounded foods are converted through a processes.

An effective management of diabetes requires a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, exercise and weight control. Diabetes is a condition of having a high level of sugar in the blood. However, having diabetes does not mean patients are completely restricted from eating sweet foods, it is still part of the overall diet plan.

Improved glycemic control benefits people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Every percent of a reduction will reduce the risk of microvascular diabetic complications such as eye blindness, kidney failure and nerve diseases.

Points to remember in maintaining a Diet For Diabetes:

* Eat the same amount of food everyday
* Eat about the same time each day
* Taking medication at same time each day
* Exercise at same time everyday
* Choose foods from food groups of: starches, vegetables, fruit, meat, milk and yogurt
* Limit the amount of fats you eat
* Maintain amount of water to drink.

Here is a sample daily calorie diet for diabetes if you have 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day. This diet is suitable for a medium woman/large man who does a lot of exercise or has a physically active job, a large man at a healthy weight and a large woman who exercises a lot or has a physically active job.

– 11 starches
– milk and yogurt
– 4 vegetables
– meat
– fruits
– Fats 5 max.

Talk to your dietitian to make a meal plan that fits the way you should eat, daily routine and your medications. Once you are use to what you can and can not eat, you then can decide to make your own plan, but make sure that you are aware of the calorie count of the foods you eat, especially fresh foods.

Pre-diabetes is described as a “gray area” onset of type 1 diabetes but before type 2 diabetes is fully developed. It is a crucial stage where the patient still has a chance to turnaround the situation because the level of glucose in the blood is in between normal and diabetic level. A must stop point of diabetes because when fully developed into type 2 diabetes, would be a life-long disease that you are going to suffer with forever.

Since pre-diabetes is generally a silent condition there is no evidence of physical symptoms. But, you are at high risk if you have a family history of diabetes and you are obese or overweight. Even though you cannot determine the symptoms of pre-diabetes, you can tell whether or not you have diabetes through testing. However, you can calculate your risk factors of developing pre-diabetes by:

– Taking into account your age
– Height
– Weight
– Family medical history
– The weight of your baby when you give birth
– Level of exercise
– Diet
– Water consumption
– Role inflammation (triggers a defense response to harmful stimuli or injury by sending antibodies to damage areas where they fight invading bacteria from going into the body)

Pre-diabetes can create an imbalance in glucose and insulin level in the blood, which can lead into weight gain and even obesity through wrong diet and sedentary lifestyle. Pre-diabetes symptoms can be prevented by weight loss with the combination of proper diet and exercise. If left unattended it will developed into fully blown type 2 diabetes.