Celebrating Religious Holidays with Diabetes

Many religious observances are challenging for people with diabetes, particularly those that involve food or fasting. We are in the midst of the Jewish high holy days, culminating in Yom Kippur this Friday. Visit Friends With Diabetes for their comprehensive series of Diabetes Guides focusing on different Jewish holidays.

FWD founder Rabbi Hirsch Meisels is looking for input from Jewish readers with type 1 diabetes who have experience with fasting:

I urgently need some feedback from type 1's who fasted in previous years. How did you (or more precisely, how did your body handle) the breaking of the fast at the end of the day? Did your BG spike? How high? What did you then do? How long did it take you to get back to normal numbers?

Comment here or contact Rabbi Meisels if you would like to contribute.

This is also the Islamic month of Ramadan, which traditionally involves dawn to dusk fasting. Diabetes UK has an excellent primer on dealing with diabetes issues during Ramadan.

Comments

1. At 06:44 PM on Fri, Sep 21, 2007 barb wrote:

   I am a type 2- and fasting is not easy my glucose dropped and I had the worst headache- I found a glass of orange juice before morning service helped alot