Inspiration And Expert Advice: Expert Columns

Are You a Good Parent to Your Diabetes?

By Janis Roszler, RD, CDE, LD/N

If you have diabetes, you probably view yourself as a victim – this disease entered your world, uninvited, and you must learn to live with it. But there is another way to look at this situation. Last Sunday, I stopped by our local grocery store to pick up a few things. I don’t usually shop on the weekends, but parents with small children apparently find this time quite inviting; there were lots of them! After bumping into these parent/children groups several times up and down the aisles, I began to observe an interesting pattern. The parents who paid close attention to their little ones enjoyed the trip – their children behaved well and even assisted with the shopping. Sure, the little guys giggled and squealed a bit, but they were kept in line by their parents and all was well.

The parents who ignored their kids paid a heavy price, as did the other shoppers around them. Their children were unruly, loud, and obnoxious, and found it very entertaining to bother everyone nearby by tossing food items into the aisle in front of their shopping carts.

Now, picture your diabetes as a small child who tugs at your pant leg and asks for attention. It will cause your blood sugar level to climb and fall. But ultimately, how it behaves has a lot to do with the type of attention that you give it.

If you focus on your diabetes and engage it in positive behaviors, such as, exercise, stress reduction activities, and healthy eating, you’ll enjoy the benefits of a well-behaved companion. Your risk of complications will be reduced greatly, you’ll sleep more soundly, and you should be able to do the activities that you enjoy.

If you ignore your diabetes “child” and don’t give it the care that it requires, you will pay dearly. You may lose your vision, require an amputation, experience challenging digestion problems, find it difficult to participate in sexual activity, experience heart, circulation and kidney problems, and have infections and other medical issues that don’t heal rapidly.

What kind of parent are you?

Don’t ignore your diabetes and leave it to wreak havoc on your life. If you don’t know how to get it under better control, try one or more of the following:

• Meet with your health care provider.
• Attend a diabetes class.
• Watch dLifeTV every Sunday evening on CNBC.
• Listen to expert podcast interviews on dLife.com.
• Read helpful diabetes books.
• Enjoy diabetes magazines.