D Dealing with iabetes
Never too late
Dr. Ellen Andrews

Ever notice how a roll of paper towels gets used up so fast toward the end of the roll? Or how the gas gauge moves so fast towards empty from the quarterfull mark?

Something similar happens in illness. We can be moving toward "empty" pretty fast toward the end, meaning that we are losing function in our bodies faster than we realize. Early on, declining function might not even show on blood tests or x-rays. The pancreas can hang on for example, keeping things apparently under control for a long while. By the time diabetes does show, we've lost half of our cells that make insulin. And it keeps on getting worse from there.

To address this problem, doctors re-evaluate the progress of your disease frequently. If you are doing all you can with your diet and exercise, it's time to adjust your medication. There are several categories of medicine for diabetes, so you might need to combine two or even three kinds. Byetta or insulin by injection should be considered if your sugar is not controlled. Keeping control of your blood sugar is the key thing. As the disease moves ahead, you have to move with it and keep in control. You can't let people tell you that bad glucose readings are inevitable, or that you should just accept chronically high readings.

Close collaboration with your doctor and adherence to the standards of care are important, because these guidelines keep you focused. Getting the proper lab work, regular check-ups on your eyes, feet, and teeth will alert you to the early signs of complications. All complications are easier to deal with if you find them early. As a chronic disease, diabetes never goes away, but it doesn't necessarily destroy you.

Sometimes, after having had diabetes for so long, you're tired of it. You feel you've done about all you can do. You might think you know all there is to know. You and your doctor might feel frustrated with the disease and with each other. Diabetes shows no mercy, though. It takes no heed of whether you're discouraged. How can you inject energy into this situation? A heart-to-heart talk with your doctor is a good place to start. Meeting some other people who share your predicament, reading, seeing a specialist, and enlisting support from family and friends might help. Is it possible you are depressed? Get help for that, for sure.

Diabetes keeps moving, so we need to keep up and move with it. However severe your diabetes, it is still possible to control your sugar. Remember that old saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going? Do whatever it takes. It's never too late. There's never been a better day than today to work on it.

Please join us at the Moss Library Wednesday March 28 at 4 p.m. for more information about diabetes.

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