Yesterday, I responded to the question about "things you wish your doctors knew about diabetes and the daily task of living [with it] by mentioning that many healthcare providers' knowledge of diabetes is incomplete and/or out of date. Rather than be a part of the problem, I've proposed a first-draft solution — some things I would put into a Continuing Medical Education (CME) syllabus to fill in some of those gaps. I'm sure I'm missing rather a chunk of stuff, but then again, this is a first draft.

If I were to develop a syllabus to fill in the gaps in professional diabetes education, as I perceive they exist today, these are some of the things I would consider:

  (READ MORE)

On dLife's Facebook page, the following question is posed:

There is no doubt that doctors are key to success in maintaining your diabetes. However, not all doctors have diabetes. There are some things that even doctors do not know or understand about living with diabetes. What are some of the things you wish your doctors knew about diabetes and the daily task of living with the illness?

The responses range from issues of doctors not spending enough time with PWDs, giving incorrect information, doctors believing the information we gather about our diabetes is solely for their use (and not ours!), and having poor bedside (or examination room) manners.

  (READ MORE)

Yesterday, I merged inspiration from Ecclesiastes with the liturgical forms of responses and contrasts to highlight some of the variables that make each person's experience of living with diabetes unique.

  (READ MORE)

"The human race can be divided into two groups: those who produce their own insulin, and those who don't."

  (READ MORE)

Sometimes, the weirdest things can set us off. Earlier today, Sara tweeted that she'd written a letter in rhyme, saying she was "#outofcontrol". I asked whether it was Alexandrine, Limerick, iambic pentameter, or something else, and that set my mind to composing "random diabetes limericks"...

Starting with...

A woman who had diabetes
Says her doc told her, "Never eat Wheaties.
The starches and fructose
Will spike up your glucose
And violate national treaties."

After coming up with the starting couplet of

A man who had lived with Type 1
For more years than the Earth saw the sun

it took me a while to finish it with (READ MORE)

Sometimes, what I know, and what I believe, isn't politic to proselytize.

I don't mean religion in it's Deity-centric sense, or partisan politics the way it is played out in our system of Federal, state, and local governments. I'm talking about diabetes politics.

I tend to turn the "more insulin, more strips" outcry on its ears, because when I look at the issue I don't see it as a public health issue or an access-to-healthcare issue, but as issues of crime, infrastructure, and -- at it's most basic level -- poverty. While I understand the "Type 1 versus Type 2" issues of proportion, confusion, alarmist publicity, and palliation-versus-remediation, I'd much rather us present a united front to those we approach for funds to prescreen, arrest, remediate, and (eventually) cure all types of diabetes than get caught up in internicine squabbles that would turn our benefactors away.

  (READ MORE)