Road Rules
According to AAA, over 31 million Americans will hit the road this Memorial Day weekend, with another 6 million traveling by other modes of transportation. If you are traveling America's highways and byways today, take a few simple precautions to keep your diabetes in check and stay safe and comfortable.
- Keep cool. Excessive heat can dehydrate you, causing erratic blood sugar levels. It can also damage insulin and diabetic supplies. If it's hot, use your air conditioner. You'll actually do better on gas mileage when highway driving if you leave the windows up and the AC on, anyway.
- Stay out of direct sun. Use a windshield screen to keep the heat down in the car when you're parked, and crack the windows to encourage ventilation. Depending on the material and color of your car interior, your upholestry, steering wheel, stick shift, and other controls could heat up to dangerous, skin burning levels. Carry a spare towel or blanket in the trunk to cover hot seats, and never keep blood glucose meters and supplies, insulin, or medication in a hot car.
- Lather up. Burns are especially dangerous to people with diabetes. Even when you're driving in the car, the sun's rays can reach you through windows and sunroofs. Before you get in the car, put on sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. If you're out with the top down or the roof open, wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your head.
- Snack safely. Always have adequate non-perishable snacks on hand, including fast-acting carbohydrates, to treat any blood sugar lows in case traffic or circumstances delay a meal. Foods that are perishable should be kept in an insulated cooler; replace the ice or ice packs regularly.
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The dLife Wall
If you've watched dLifeTV, you know that each show starts off with a story of the day from a member of the dLife community. What you may not know is that you too can be a part of the dLife Wall simply by uploading your story and photo to dLife. Your photos will also become a part of the set of dLifeTV.
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Not Just a River in Egypt...
dLifeTV's Mother Love explains why denial and diabetes can be a deadly combination.
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dLife in Washington Post
Today's Washington Post has a piece on dLife and the medutainment genre: "Treatment Program To Watch." Interesting factoid of the day: the Post reports that 88% of Americans learn about health issues from TV.
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War Stories
Do you remember the day you learned you had diabetes? Did your doctor deliver the news compassionately and face-to-face, or did you get a curt phone call from an overworked lab technician? Were you handed a prescription and told to drop a few pounds, or put in touch with a diabetes educator to learn more about your new way of living?
On her recent two-year anniversary, Amy Tenderich of Diabetes Mine recalls how her wisecracking doc made the sign of the cross and annointed her "a diabetic." And Violet at Pumplandia tells the tale of the doc who brushed off her assertion that he that she might have type 1 diabetes until her lab tests suggest otherwise.
The stories we've heard here at dLife, via email and on the dLife Wall and forums, run the gamut from moving to moronic. Even the dLifeTV hosts have had their own brushes with misinformation. J. Anthony Brown was told by one physician pre-diagnosis that the numbness in his feet was not diabetes but a signal that "his socks were too tight." Nicole Johnson Baker was misdiagnosed three times (with maladies ranging from influenza to appendicitis) before a doctor correctly pronounced she had type 1 diabetes. The healthcare professionals in his office told her she'd have to give up pageants and any hope of a career.
We'd like to hear your story. Visit the dLife Wall and forums to tell us about the start of your dLife.
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Prepping for Picnics
Have a special family reunion or picnic planned for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend? Read our tips for handling special occasions, then visit the dLife Recipe Box to search for some diabetes-friendly picnic dishes.
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Larry Redux
If you missed Larry King Live on Friday evening, you can read the transcript here.
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Larry King Live
This just in...Tonight's Larry King Live show will be devoted to diabetes in America, and dLifeTV's very own Nicole Johnson Baker will be there. Larry, as you may know, has type 2 diabetes.
Larry King Live airs 9:00 PM ET on CNN (check your local listings for details).
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Two Out of Three
A new report issued by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Wednesday finds that two out of three Americans with type 2 diabetes aren't meeting blood glucose control goals - yet a whopping 84% believe that they're adequately managing their diabetes. The release of the report, State of Diabetes in America, was accompanied by a media presentation of the AACE's new campaign to get America's collective blood sugar under control.
Unfortunately, the State of Diabetes concept isn't breaking much new ground. It consists of the standard diabetic recipe book, a website that shows you how your state stacks up against the rest of the nation (interesting but not particularly helpful), and an online patient "Oath" that puts the entire burden of making the healthcare relationship work on the patient. Certified diabetes educators, registered dietitians, and other crucial members of the diabetes team aren't even acknowledged.
The AACE deserves kudos for their tighter control goals of an A1c of 6.5% (as opposed to the American Diabetes Association's 7% recommendation). But recipe pamphlets and scary statistics aren't enough to drive people to bring their blood glucose under control. If the AACE works in tandem with other diabetes organizations to provide tools and support and make diabetes management less of a 'do-it-yourself' project and more of a community effort, we can affect some real improvements in diabetes compliance. We're all in this together.
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Welcome to the Blogosphere
Techno-savvy dLifers may notice a change in "dLife Today." For the past several months we've been running as something of a pseudoblog, with regular entries but none of the interaction, syndication, and other features that makes blogging such a provocative medium. Thanks to MovableType (and a few persuasive emails from the diabetes blogging community), we now have a full-fledged blog here at dLife.
For the uninitiated, blog is short for web-log...a daily dose of what's going on here at dLife and in the diabetes community at large. There's a number of excellent diabetes blogs already on the net - Amy Tenderich at Diabetes Mine and Paul Chaney at The Diabetes Blog are two of the more compelling voices out there.
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National Women's Health Week
Mother's Day marked the start of National Women's Health Week in the U.S. Free health screenings for diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic conditions are being held nationwide. Check the state-by-state listing at 4women.gov for events in your area.
RELATED: Women and Diabetes at dLife.com
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And It's a Wrap...
The final shows for the next series of dLifeTV episodes were taped today in New York. UK pilot Doug Cairns told his story of dealing with discrimination and flying around the world, Chef Michel Nischan shared low-carb pizza with the audience, and diabetes specialists discussed preventing complications. Look for these new episodes coming in June to dLifeTV!
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Battle Royale
The low-carb debate found its way to the Chelsea soundstage of dLifeTV today, where Diabetes Solution author Dr. Richard Bernstein and registered dietitian and author Hope Warshaw went head-to-head on the issue. This is one food fight you won't want to miss. Keep checking dLife.com for air dates.
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Backstage Pass
dLife Today is coming to you live from our New York studios today, where new episodes of dLifeTV are being shot this week. Seen on the set - Gary Hall, Jr. hula-hooping, audience members trying to guess their blood glucose levels (not very successfully), and insulin inhalers. Check in tomorrow for more behind-the-scenes info on upcoming dLifeTV episodes.
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