Page 5 - December 2013

GPS for Diabetes: Giving People Strategies for living with Diabetes • Get your A1C checked every 3 months • Schedule your annual eye, foot, dental How do I know if I have Diabetes? Who is at • check-ups to prevent complications Get your complete labs checked every risk? 6-12 months per your provider „ Ethnic background „ Family history of Diabetes „ Test on schedule you can live with on a regular „ Overweight or obese basis; share your Diabetic log with your provider regularly. „ History of Diabetes while pregnant „ Diet: most “diets” are hard to maintain; learn „ Age: risk goes up with age meal planning from Pat Odiorne, RD, CDE „ Sedentary lifestyle that you can understand and make a part of your daily lifestyle. „ Stress: releases “stress hormones” which raise blood sugar Do physical activities you really like. The • Eat breakfast: people who maintain a healthy weight eat breakfast; a good Symptoms and signs: often several of the more fun you have, the more likely you will Diabetic breakfast is two eggs and a slice following do it each day. It can be helpful to exercise of toast; BUT cereal, oatmeal and cream „ Excessive thirst with a family member or friend. of wheat have loads of sugar, so they are „ Frequent trips to the bathroom to urinate • Monday–Wednesday- Friday schedule not good choices. Pat can give you other „ Blurred vision gives your provider enough information • suggestions. Dividing your plate into 4 sections to adjust your medication for you, but „ Weakness and fatigue you should test if you feel your sugar is with ½ for your vegetables and fruit, „ Cut or scratch that is slow to heal too low or too high, or if you just want to ¼ for your protein and only ¼ for your „ Tingling or numbness of feet see what a certain meal has done to your carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes and blood sugar. pasta. Limit bread to one slice per meal Diagnosis of Diabetes: • Write down the readings for your next or 1 ½ sandwiches daily; avoid regular „ Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) greater than 126 or appointment. sodas or regular juices; have one serving A1C 6.5 or higher (fngerstick A1C test gives at meals. you your average blood sugar over the past 2-3 Feelings of Diabetes Distress „ Exercise months) Feelings of being overwhelmed and burned out • Walking three days a week for 30 „ 2 hour after meal blood sugar >200 should be expected with Diabetes at times. minutes lowers your risk of a heart attack „ Almost everyone with Diabetes feels frustrated „ Random blood sugar >200 FBS 106-125 and distressed from time to time: “my blood by 50%, lowers blood pressure and helps Pre Diabetes sugar is just not going down,” I have been maintain a healthy weight. „ A1C of 5.7-6.4 is considered in the Pre going to the gym, but my weight just won’t go Chehalis Tribal Community Diabetic range (with Diabetes Prevention down,” “Everyone in my family has Diabetes, I Wellness Center Team Program of Pat Odiorne, RD, CDE, at can’t do anything to prevent it anyway.” Chehalis Tribal Wellness Center, if you have „ Some feel burdened by the demands of Barbara Mora, Paiute/Dine, says, “I Pre Diabetes you can reduce your risk of Diabetes management……testing, planning have a wonderful life, I am healthy becoming a Diabetic by 58% with lifestyle meals, when and how much to exercise. with Diabetes. If I can overcome the changes alone) fear, the pain, the hopelessness of „ This is especially true when a new Diabetes, you can too.” Self Monitoring of Blood Sugar complication occurs, such as an eye or kidney When Should I check it? problem……who’s to blame? „ If you are not on insulin with each meal on a sliding scale depending on your mealtime „ Some may simply feel they should give up… blood sugar to pick the correct dose, then ”What’s the use anyway?” testing before breakfast and two hours after a „ Disregarding or ignoring one’s feelings can meal is ideal. make it worse……can lead to depression. • A1C value depends on both Fasting Blood Sugar and 2 hour after meal Managing Diabetes Distress sugar result; an average of both of these Do one thing at a time: the greater the number numbers of things changed in your management plan • Goal Fasting Blood Sugar 90-120 at once, the greater the chance nothing will be • Goal 2 hour after meal sugar is 140-180. accomplished Portion size is crucial to successfully If both at goal, A1C will be 7.0 or less or • Make an appointment just to review your managing your diabetes. Here is an average blood sugar approximately 150 Diabetes every three months example in achieving your goals. chehalistribe.org  greatwolfodge.com  luckyeagle.com  eagleslandinghotel.net Page 5