Discussion of diabetes management in day to day life





diabetes FAQ: sources (part 4 of 5)

Archive-name: diabetes/faq/part4
Posting-Frequency: biweekly
Last-modified: 30 April 2003

Changes: see part 1 of the FAQ for a list of changes to all parts.

——————————

Subject: READ THIS FIRST

Copyright 1993-2005 by Edward Reid. Re-use beyond the fair use provisions
of copyright law and convention requires the author’s permission.

Advice given in m.h.d is *never* medical advice. That includes this FAQ.
Never substitute advice from the net for a physician’s care. Diabetes is a
critical health topic and you should always consult your physician or
personally understand the ramifications before taking any therapeutic action
based on advice found here or elsewhere on the net.

——————————

Subject: Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION (found in all parts)
   READ THIS FIRST
   Table of Contents
GENERAL (found in part 1)
   Where’s the FAQ?
   What’s this newsgroup like?
   Abuse of the newsgroup
   The newsgroup charter
   Newsgroup posting guidelines
   What is glucose? What does "bG" mean?
   What are mmol/L? How do I convert between mmol/L and mg/dl?
   What is c-peptide? What do c-peptide levels mean?
   What’s type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
   Is it OK to discuss diabetes insipidus here? What is it?
   How about discussing hypoglycemia?
   Helping with the diagnosis (DM or hypoglycemia) and waiting
   Exercise and insulin
BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING (found in part 2)
   How accurate is my meter?
   Ouch! The cost of blood glucose measurement strips hurts my wallet!
   What do meters cost?
   Comparing blood glucose meters
   How can I download data from my meter?
   I’ve heard of a non-invasive bG meter — the Dream Beam?
   What’s HbA1c and what’s it mean?
   Why is interpreting HbA1c values tricky?
   Who determined the HbA1c reaction rates and the consequences?
   HbA1c by mail
   Why is my morning bg high? What are dawn phenomenon, rebound,
     and Somogyi effect?
TREATMENT (found in part 3)
   My diabetic father isn’t taking care of himself. What can I do?
   Managing adolescence, including the adult forms
   So-and-so eats sugar! Isn’t that poison for diabetics?
   Insulin nomenclature
   What is Humalog / LysPro / lispro / ultrafast insulin?
   Travelling with insulin
   Injectors: Syringe and lancet reuse and disposal
   Injectors: Pens
   Injectors: Jets
   Insulin pumps
   Type 1 cures — beta cell implants
   Type 1 cures — pancreas transplants
   Type 2 cures — barely a dream
   What’s a glycemic index? How can I get a GI table for foods?
   Should I take a chromium supplement?
   I beat my wife! (and other aspects of hypoglycemia) (not yet written)
   Does falling blood glucose feel like hypoglycemia?
   Alcohol and diabetes
   Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum
   Has anybody heard of frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)?
   Gastroparesis
   Extreme insulin resistance
   What is pycnogenol? Where and how is it sold?
   What claims do the sales pitches make for pycnogenol?
   What’s the real published scientific knowledge about pycnogenol?
   How reliable is the literature cited by the pycnogenol ads?
   What’s the bottom line on pycnogenol?
   Pycnogenol references
SOURCES (found in part 4)
   Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups
   Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists
   Online resources: commercial services
   Online resources: FTP
   Online resources: World Wide Web
   Online resources: other
   Where can I mail order XYZ?
   How can I contact the American Diabetes Association (ADA) ?
   How can I contact the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) ?
   How can I contact the British Diabetic Association (BDA) ?
   How can I contact the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) ?
   What about diabetes organizations outside North America?
   How can I contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)?
   Could you recommend some good reading?
   Could you recommend some good magazines?
RESEARCH (found in part 5)
   What is the DCCT? What are the results?
   More details about the DCCT
   DCCT philosophy: what did it really show?
   Is aspartame dangerous?
IN CLOSING  (found in all parts)
   Who did this?

——————————

Subject: Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups

On the Usenet, the misc.health.diabetes newsgroup carries most of the
messages related to diabetes. Volume runs about 200-250 articles/day. Suppose
you obtained this FAQ by some method other than by reading m.h.d and you want
to participate. If you already have access to Usenet news, just subscribe to
misc.health.diabetes; the exact method depends on the software used at your
site, so you should inquire locally for details. If you do not have access to
Usenet news, inquire locally about obtaining such access. The key words are
"I want to participate in the Usenet newsgroup misc.health.diabetes". Usenet
is available at most colleges and universities, many companies, all of the
large commercial services (including Delphi, Netcom, America Online,
Compuserve, Prodigy), many smaller local services, most Freenet systems,
and many locally run BBSs. Some of these have selective news feeds, and you
will have to ask them to get misc.health.diabetes before you can subscribe
via their system.

m.h.d is not gatewayed to any mailing list, and to my knowledge is not
archived anywhere as such. However, DejaNews has all of Usenet from March
1995 to present online and available to the public, and plans to extend the
scope farther into the past. You can create a filter specifying only the
newsgroup you want, and then search for key words. See

    http://www.dejanews.com

Another newsgroup, alt.support.diabetes.kids, has a much smaller volume of
articles, about 2-3 per day. Being in the alt.* hierarchy of newsgroups, its
propagation is somewhat restricted compared to misc.health.diabetes. To
obtain access, follow the same instructions as for m.h.d, above.

Other Usenet newsgroups which might be relevant are

     rec.food and its subgroups
     the sci.med hierarchy
     the alt.support hierarchy, especially alt.support.diet
     bit.listserv.transplant (only available at sites that carry bit.* —
                              see the description below of the TRNSPLNT list)

——————————

Subject: Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists

Several public electronic mailing lists have diabetes-related content. The
main alternative to a newsgroup is the DIABETIC list, which carries about
60-80 messages/day. Its charter is to be "a support and information group for
diabetics". The overall flavor and atmosphere are different from the m.h.d
newsgroup, so if you find that you are uncomfortable with one, try the other.
If you subscribe to the DIABETIC list, be prepared for the large volume of
messages. If you have not dealt with this volume of email before, it will be
quite disconcerting to see so many messages appear in your personal mailbox,
and I advise that you consider one of the following methods to avoid being
overwhelmed:

     – set up a mailbox (aka userid, account, screen name) separate from
        your normal personal mailbox in which to receive the mailing list.
        You will have to ask locally whether this is possible on your system.
        You may also be able to use your mail program to filter mailing list
        messages into a separate mailbox.

     – convert to the digest as soon as you have subscribed. The digest
        option collects messages into large postings called digests (a misuse
        of the word, as all messages are included in their entirety). This
        digest is sent daily, or when its size passes a limit (currently 2000
        lines). Convert to digest form by sending a message addressed to the
        listserv (see below) with a message body containing

            set diabetic mail digest

TYPE_ONE is a low to moderate volume mailing list for discussion of type 1
diabetes, intended primarily as a support group. It carries about 10
messages/day. There is no digest option. If you get any error messages from
"majordomo", be sure to write directly to the list owner,
jamyers(AT)netcom.com, as sometimes the software at netcom prevents him from
replying directly.

DIABETES-EHLB started as an Electronic HighLights Bulletin to distribute
information presented at the ADA conference in June 1996. It was carried
forward as a moderated mailing list. The moderator plans to try to keep
discussions focussed on specific topics.

TRNSPLNT is a low volume mailing list for discussion of organ transplants. It
carries about 10 messages/day. It is relevant to diabetes because
complications of diabetes often lead to kidney transplants. TRNSPLNT is
gatewayed with the newsgroup bit.listserv.transplant, which is available at
Usenet sites which carry the bit.* hierarchy of newsgroups.

DIABETES-NEWS is a one-way list provided by _Diabetes Interview_ magazine. It
provides a sample, one article per week, from the printed magazine. See the
section on "Could you recommend some good magazines?" for more information
about the printed magazine.

AUTOIMMUNE is a moderated, low volume list carrying technical information
about research on autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes.

HYPO is a moderate volume mailing list for support and information on
hypoglycemia (as a medical condition as opposed to an insulin reaction).

To subscribe to the mailing list in the first column, send a message to the
email address in the second column (or to the alternate if given) containing
the command in the third column. Note that Firstname Lastname is your real
name, such as John Doe. The listserv software will use the email address in
your message header for your subscription. If you have trouble sending email
to the listserv, or if you receive no response, then you will need the help
of someone at your site.

   DIABETIC   listserv(AT)lehigh.edu     subscribe diabetic Firstname Lastname

   TYPE_ONE   listserv(AT)netcom.com     subscribe type_one

posted by admin in Uncategorized and have Comments (2)






2 Responses to “diabetes FAQ: sources (part 4 of 5)”

  1. admin says:

    Archive-name: diabetes/faq/part5
    Posting-Frequency: biweekly
    Last-modified: 14 July 2005

    Changes: see part 1 of the FAQ for a list of changes to all parts.

    ——————————

    Subject: READ THIS FIRST

    Copyright 1993-2005 by Edward Reid. Re-use beyond the fair use provisions
    of copyright law and convention requires the author’s permission.

    Advice given in m.h.d is *never* medical advice. That includes this FAQ.
    Never substitute advice from the net for a physician’s care. Diabetes is a
    critical health topic and you should always consult your physician or
    personally understand the ramifications before taking any therapeutic action
    based on advice found here or elsewhere on the net.

    ——————————

    Subject: Table of Contents

    INTRODUCTION (found in all parts)
       READ THIS FIRST
       Table of Contents
    GENERAL (found in part 1)
       Where’s the FAQ?
       What’s this newsgroup like?
       Abuse of the newsgroup
       The newsgroup charter
       Newsgroup posting guidelines
       What is glucose? What does "bG" mean?
       What are mmol/L? How do I convert between mmol/L and mg/dl?
       What is c-peptide? What do c-peptide levels mean?
       What’s type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
       Is it OK to discuss diabetes insipidus here? What is it?
       How about discussing hypoglycemia?
       Helping with the diagnosis (DM or hypoglycemia) and waiting
       Exercise and insulin
    BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING (found in part 2)
       How accurate is my meter?
       Ouch! The cost of blood glucose measurement strips hurts my wallet!
       What do meters cost?
       Comparing blood glucose meters
       How can I download data from my meter?
       I’ve heard of a non-invasive bG meter — the Dream Beam?
       What’s HbA1c and what’s it mean?
       Why is interpreting HbA1c values tricky?
       Who determined the HbA1c reaction rates and the consequences?
       HbA1c by mail
       Why is my morning bg high? What are dawn phenomenon, rebound,
         and Somogyi effect?
    TREATMENT (found in part 3)
       My diabetic father isn’t taking care of himself. What can I do?
       Managing adolescence, including the adult forms
       So-and-so eats sugar! Isn’t that poison for diabetics?
       Insulin nomenclature
       What is Humalog / LysPro / lispro / ultrafast insulin?
       Travelling with insulin
       Injectors: Syringe and lancet reuse and disposal
       Injectors: Pens
       Injectors: Jets
       Insulin pumps
       Type 1 cures — beta cell implants
       Type 1 cures — pancreas transplants
       Type 2 cures — barely a dream
       What’s a glycemic index? How can I get a GI table for foods?
       Should I take a chromium supplement?
       I beat my wife! (and other aspects of hypoglycemia) (not yet written)
       Does falling blood glucose feel like hypoglycemia?
       Alcohol and diabetes
       Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum
       Has anybody heard of frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)?
       Gastroparesis
       Extreme insulin resistance
       What is pycnogenol? Where and how is it sold?
       What claims do the sales pitches make for pycnogenol?
       What’s the real published scientific knowledge about pycnogenol?
       How reliable is the literature cited by the pycnogenol ads?
       What’s the bottom line on pycnogenol?
       Pycnogenol references
    SOURCES (found in part 4)
       Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups
       Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists
       Online resources: commercial services
       Online resources: FTP
       Online resources: World Wide Web
       Online resources: other
       Where can I mail order XYZ?
       How can I contact the American Diabetes Association (ADA) ?
       How can I contact the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) ?
       How can I contact the British Diabetic Association (BDA) ?
       How can I contact the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) ?
       What about diabetes organizations outside North America?
       How can I contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)?
       Could you recommend some good reading?
       Could you recommend some good magazines?
    RESEARCH (found in part 5)
       What is the DCCT? What are the results?
       More details about the DCCT
       DCCT philosophy: what did it really show?
       Is aspartame dangerous?
    IN CLOSING  (found in all parts)
       Who did this?

    ——————————

    Subject: What is the DCCT? What are the results?

    The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial was a large multi-center
    trial involving over 1400 volunteer patients with type 1 diabetes. It
    began in 1983, ramped up to full speed by 1989, and ended early in 1993
    when the investigators felt the results were clear. The volunteers were
    all undergoing "standard" treatment when they were recruited, meaning
    one or two injections per day. They were randomly assigned to two
    groups. One group continued as before. The other group received
    intensive treatment aimed at achieving blood glucose (bG) profiles as
    close as possible to normal. The intensive treatment involved multiple
    bG checks per day, multiple injections and/or an insulin pump, and
    access to and regular consultation with a team of treatment experts.

    It is particularly important to note that intensive treatment was
    defined as a collaborative effort involving the patient and a skilled
    team of health care professionals. It was not defined by particular
    techniques, although certain techniques were typically used. The
    frequent consultations and availability of a professional team were
    critical components of intensive therapy.

    The results show that the intensive treatment group did indeed achieve
    bG levels closer to normal, and that they experienced far fewer
    diabetic complications though also more hypoglycemia. In particular,
    patients who maintained HbA1c levels around 7% appear to be much better
    off than those whose HbA1c hovers around 9%. (See caveats in the
    section on HbA1c.) Though it is not possible to separate the effects of
    all the aspects of the intensive treatment, it is reasonable to believe
    that lowering average bG may be effective even in isolation from the
    other aspects of the intensive treatment. In its position statement,
    the ADA says

        Patients should aim for the best level of glucose control they can
        achieve without placing themselves at undue risk for hypoglycemia or
        other hazards associated with tight control.

    Though type 2 patients were not included in the study, it is generally
    believed that the results showing the benefits of tight control apply
    to type 2 patients as well.

    The entire position statement was published in most of the ADA’s
    publications (see "could you recommend some good reading") in the
    summer and fall of 1993.

    The formal report detailing the results was published in The New England
    Journal of Medicine, aka NEJM, of September 30,1993 (v 329 pp 977-986).
    The following discussion is based on that article.

    Several DCCT subjects participate in m.h.d and are willing to answer
    questions related to the personal aspects of DCCT participation.

    ——————————

    Subject: More details about the DCCT

    The study placed subjects into two cohorts, primary prevention or
    secondary intervention, depending on duration of diabetes and existing
    complications — the primary prevention cohort were those with
    essentially no complications.

    Specifically: all subjects met these criteria:

         Insulin dependent as evidenced by deficient C-peptide secretion
         Age 13 to 39 years at entry to the study
         No hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, severe diabetic complications,
             or other severe medical conditions
         Meet the criteria for one of the cohorts

    and were separated into the two cohorts by these criteria:

                                   Primary          Secondary
                                  Prevention       Intervention
                                   Cohort            Cohort

         Duration of IDDM        1-5 yrs           1-15 yrs
         Retinopathy             none detectable   very mild to moderate
                                                       nonproliferative
         Urinary albumin         < 40 mg / 24 hr   < 200 mg / 24 hr

    Within each cohort, the subjects were randomly assigned to either
    conventional therapy or intensive therapy. Thus the study compared
    intensive to conventional therapy in two different cohorts. The two
    questions the study was mainly designed to answer were

       1) Will intensive therapy prevent the development of diabetic
          retinopathy in patients with no retinopathy (primary
          prevention), and
       2) Will intensive therapy affect the progression of early
          retinopathy (secondary intervention)?

    Conventional therapy included one or two injections per day, daily self
    monitoring of blood or urine glucose, education, quarterly
    consultations, and intensive therapy during pregnancy. Intensive
    therapy included three or more daily injections or an insulin pump, bG
    monitoring at least 4x/day, adjustment of insulin dosage for bG level
    and food and exercise, monthly personal consultations and more frequent
    phone consultations.

    To simplify a lot, the DCCT showed the following changes in the
    intensive therapy groups compared to the conventional therapy groups.
    Note that ‘-’ shows a decrease, ‘+’ shows an increase, in the number of
    patients affected. Patients were judged as affected or not based on
    binary criteria, so the results only say how many subjects were
    affected, not how severely those subjects were affected.

    Intensive therapy compared to conventional therapy:

                                     Primary                    Secondary
       Complication                 Prevention    Combined     Intervention
       ————                 ———-    ——–     ————
       Retinopathy(*)                 – 75%                       – 55%
       Nephropathy(*)                 – 35%                       – 45%
       Neuropathy(*)                  - 70%                       – 55%
       Hypoglycemia(*)                              +200%
       Weight gain(*)                               + 33%
       Hypercholesterolemia(*)                      - 35%

    (*) This brief table begs many questions about

    read more »

  2. admin says:

    Archive-name: diabetes/faq/part3
    Posting-Frequency: biweekly
    Last-modified: 15 October 2002

    Changes: see part 1 of the FAQ for a list of changes to all parts.

    ——————————

    Subject: READ THIS FIRST

    Copyright 1993-2005 by Edward Reid. Re-use beyond the fair use provisions
    of copyright law and convention requires the author’s permission.

    Advice given in m.h.d is *never* medical advice. That includes this FAQ.
    Never substitute advice from the net for a physician’s care. Diabetes is a
    critical health topic and you should always consult your physician or
    personally understand the ramifications before taking any therapeutic action
    based on advice found here or elsewhere on the net.

    ——————————

    Subject: Table of Contents

    INTRODUCTION (found in all parts)
       READ THIS FIRST
       Table of Contents
    GENERAL (found in part 1)
       Where’s the FAQ?
       What’s this newsgroup like?
       Abuse of the newsgroup
       The newsgroup charter
       Newsgroup posting guidelines
       What is glucose? What does "bG" mean?
       What are mmol/L? How do I convert between mmol/L and mg/dl?
       What is c-peptide? What do c-peptide levels mean?
       What’s type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
       Is it OK to discuss diabetes insipidus here? What is it?
       How about discussing hypoglycemia?
       Helping with the diagnosis (DM or hypoglycemia) and waiting
       Exercise and insulin
    BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING (found in part 2)
       How accurate is my meter?
       Ouch! The cost of blood glucose measurement strips hurts my wallet!
       What do meters cost?
       Comparing blood glucose meters
       How can I download data from my meter?
       I’ve heard of a non-invasive bG meter — the Dream Beam?
       What’s HbA1c and what’s it mean?
       Why is interpreting HbA1c values tricky?
       Who determined the HbA1c reaction rates and the consequences?
       HbA1c by mail
       Why is my morning bg high? What are dawn phenomenon, rebound,
         and Somogyi effect?
    TREATMENT (found in part 3)
       My diabetic father isn’t taking care of himself. What can I do?
       Managing adolescence, including the adult forms
       So-and-so eats sugar! Isn’t that poison for diabetics?
       Insulin nomenclature
       What is Humalog / LysPro / lispro / ultrafast insulin?
       Travelling with insulin
       Injectors: Syringe and lancet reuse and disposal
       Injectors: Pens
       Injectors: Jets
       Insulin pumps
       Type 1 cures — beta cell implants
       Type 1 cures — pancreas transplants
       Type 2 cures — barely a dream
       What’s a glycemic index? How can I get a GI table for foods?
       Should I take a chromium supplement?
       I beat my wife! (and other aspects of hypoglycemia) (not yet written)
       Does falling blood glucose feel like hypoglycemia?
       Alcohol and diabetes
       Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum
       Has anybody heard of frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)?
       Gastroparesis
       Extreme insulin resistance
       What is pycnogenol? Where and how is it sold?
       What claims do the sales pitches make for pycnogenol?
       What’s the real published scientific knowledge about pycnogenol?
       How reliable is the literature cited by the pycnogenol ads?
       What’s the bottom line on pycnogenol?
       Pycnogenol references
    SOURCES (found in part 4)
       Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups
       Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists
       Online resources: commercial services
       Online resources: FTP
       Online resources: World Wide Web
       Online resources: other
       Where can I mail order XYZ?
       How can I contact the American Diabetes Association (ADA) ?
       How can I contact the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) ?
       How can I contact the British Diabetic Association (BDA) ?
       How can I contact the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) ?
       What about diabetes organizations outside North America?
       How can I contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)?
       Could you recommend some good reading?
       Could you recommend some good magazines?
    RESEARCH (found in part 5)
       What is the DCCT? What are the results?
       More details about the DCCT
       DCCT philosophy: what did it really show?
       Is aspartame dangerous?
    IN CLOSING  (found in all parts)
       Who did this?

    ——————————

    Subject: My diabetic father isn’t taking care of himself. What can I do?

    We’ll assume your father has type 2 diabetes. See separate section for
    definition of types.

    Type 2 diabetics, and those who care for them, are in a difficult situation.
    Type 2 strikes late in life, so personal habits and patterns are already
    formed and solidly engrained. Yet in most cases those habits and patterns are
    exactly what must be changed if a newly-diagnosed diabetic is to care
    properly for his or her health. This is a difficult psychological problem.

    The cornerstones for treating type 2 diabetes are exercise, weight control,
    and diet. A high percentage of type 2 patients who apply these therapies
    assiduously can control the disease with these therapies alone, without
    insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs. Naturally these are also some of the most
    difficult aspects of life to change. There can be no single or simple answer
    of how to help or encourage a particular individual find a combination of
    therapies which not only controls the disease but also is psychologically
    acceptable and which can be incorporated as a lifetime pattern. Helping
    depends on knowing the individual’s habits, patterns, motivations, desires,
    likes and dislikes, and working with all the existing conditions and
    everything brought forward from past life.

    Doctors and other health care professionals have a choice in treating
    patients with type 2 diabetes. They can prescribe drugs (oral hypoglycemics)
    and insulin, or they can try to get their patients to make the difficult
    lifestyle changes described above. (Many patients need both.) The latter
    effort is time consuming and often frustrating, as doctors too often see
    patients failing to make any change at all.

    Friends and family can help by learning about type 2 diabetes, and doing what
    you can to encourage your loved one to make diet and lifestyle changes. If
    this supports the plan a treatment team is urging the patient to follow, you
    will add your support for difficult changes. If the doctor (or the whole
    treatment team) falls down on the educational and motivational structure, you
    can fill in some of the gaps. Your effort is well spent in either case.

    In particular, if a doctor has left the impression that drugs and insulin are
    the only treatments, make sure to counter that impression with information
    about the value of exercise, diet, and weight control.

    At the same time, it’s important to remember that needing oral hypoglycemics
    and/or insulin injections as additional tools isn’t failure. On the contrary,
    a patient who’s been actively involved in self treatment already has an
    excellent chance of using these additional tools successfully. Those who have
    learned to use the exercise – weight control – diet triumvirate will also be
    able to utilize insulin and oral drugs as additional treatments when needed.
    Choose the appropriate tools and use them effectively.

    These treatment choices can interact in positive ways as well. Bringing blood
    glucose under control often increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin. So
    ironically, using insulin may decrease the need for insulin. This is a
    positive change which can then be reinforced by the other, interacting
    treatments.

    You will need far more information than is appropriate for a Usenet FAQ
    panel. As a start, call the ADA (see ADA section), get a subscription to
    _Diabetes Forecast_ (see journals), and visit a university library and browse
    in the diabetes section in the stacks.

    Beyond the generalizations above, a few specifics are usually of value:

        Set a good example in your own life. Exercise and eat a good diet.
        The recommendations for diabetics are healthy choices for anyone.

        Share your example. Serve a tasty, low-fat diet to family and friends
        when they are your guests.

        Suggest joint activities. Suggest a walk instead of watching a
        ball game.

        Make sure your diet and activities are visibly enjoyable so your
        guests will accept your invitiation to join you.

    ——————————

    Subject: Managing adolescence, including the adult forms

    Adolescents have special problems in managing diabetes. These include a
    variety of physiological problems related to puberty and rapid growth, social
    problems related to growing up and the general social pressures of adolescent
    life, and the psychological turmoil caused by the expectations of others. I’m
    here today to talk about (hey, hold the eggs and tomatoes) expectations.

    Actually, this all applies to adults as well, though the subtle points may
    differ.

    The most important thing to remember, for the adolescent, the parent, and the
    health care provider, is

                   All Blood Glucose Measurements Are Good.

                   There Are No Bad Blood Glucose Readings.

    If that doesn’t sound right, then please take two steps. First, learn why it
    is true. Then chant it like a mantra until you internalize it, so that you
    never give off the slightest vibes to the contrary.

    Why is it true?

    There are two kinds of adolescents (to simplify life enormously): those who
    rebel and those who want to please. Ironically, the rebellious are probably
    easier to deal with in treating diabetes. "So my blood sugar is 350, so
    what?" Bad? No, that’s good: you know what’s going on, and so does your
    child. The point of blood glucose measurement is to respond — not to be good
    or bad — and only with an accurate report can you and the patient respond.

       [Compulsory digression: 350 mg/dl = 20.0 mmol/L.]

    Look what can happen to the eager-to-please child:

        Child: My blood sugar is 350.
        Adult: Oh, that’s awful! You must try to be better!

           [next time:]

        Child: My blood sugar is … um [to self: I must be good] 140 …
        Adult: Oh, that’s great!

    In short order, the log book looks great

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