Dialogs About Diabetic Dynamos

DIALOGS
ABOUT DIABETIC DYNAMOS
by Debra Frank, MS MS
CDE

LIONS Club International Diabetes
Education Program Sponsors Youth Camp

They come in with the LIONS and leave ready for

the challenge! For five years now the LIONS Club Diabetes Education Center has funded a

camp for children with IDDM. Each year, boys and girls, recruited by their hospital

diabetes education programs, are welcomed by the LIONS to a free summer camp program,

Myths About Diabetes

MYTHS ABOUT DIABETES

It is human nature to fear the unknown. Tribesmen

told stories of trolls and demons; early sailors kept watch for sea monsters. We're still

afraid of not knowing—and we tell a lot of tall tales about diabetes! Scary stories

fill a void when we don't know the truth—and disappear when the truth is known. Here

are a few myths about diabetes, and the answers.

"I got it from eating sugar."

Gobbling sugar isn't good for anyone. Usually the

Hypoglycemia And "Insulin Shock"

HYPOGLYCEMIA AND
"INSULIN SHOCK"
by Peter J. Nebergall,
PhD

Significantly, the most common problem diabetics

experience today is not "high blood sugar" but "low blood sugar!"

Diabetes medications are powerful but imprecise, and today's blood glucose testing cannot

always guarantee you'll stay out of "too low."

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial,

Impotence Update

IMPOTENCE UPDATE

In VOICE, Vol. 11, No.4, fall 1996, we published

"Impotence and How to Prevail," a review of the least-discussed of diabetic

complications: Male impotence, the inability to achieve and sustain an erection sufficient

for penetration. In our culture, men who cannot "perform," for whatever reason,

often feel "diminished," so when difficulties arise, rather than seeking medical

help, they conceal and they suffer.

Blind Diabetics Can Draw Insulin

BLIND DIABETICS
CAN DRAW INSULIN
WITHOUT DIFFICULTY
by Ed Bryant

(This article appeared in VOICE OF
THE DIABETIC, Volume 11, Number 1, Winter 1996. Because of frequent requests
for this information, and our greatly increased circulation since then, I decided
to run it again.)

A major aim of the Diabetes Action Network of the

National Federation of the Blind is to provide support and information for blind

The Day After Civil Rights

THE DAY AFTER
CIVIL RIGHTS
by Kenneth Jernigan

Dr. Jernigan, President Emeritus of the National

Federation of the Blind, delivered the following keynote address at our NFB annual

convention banquet, in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 4, 1997.

It has been said that all knowledge consists of

definition and classification, and even definition may be just another way of classifying.

History, for example, can be classified (or divided) into ancient, medieval, and modern;

High Sugar Blues

THE HIGH SUGAR
BLUES
by Karen Devaney

New Rezulin Cautions

NEW REZULIN CAUTIONS

Parke-Davis, maker of Rezulin (troglitazone), is

revising its prescribing instructions for this diabetes medication, in response to reports

of adverse reactions involving hepatic (liver) dysfunction. To ensure the highest degree

of patient safety, closer and more frequent monitoring of liver function will be required.

Difficulties experienced by Rezulin users ranged

from slightly elevated levels of serum transaminase (in approximately 2 percent of cases),

Insulin Resistance And IGT

INSULIN RESISTANCE AND IGT

Diabetes isn't simple. Although every diabetic,

by definition, has difficulty with insulin supply and glucose metabolization, there are a

number of different ways to arrive there. You may encounter the terms insulin resistance

and impaired glucose tolerance. What are they?

Insulin resistance is the body's inability to

correctly utilize its normal (endogenous) insulin supply, even though that insulin is

About Insulin

ABOUT INSULIN

What is this stuff I have to take? Is
it a drug? Will it make me better, so I don't have to take it anymore? What
does it do? Why can't I just drink it, or take a big shot once a month? And
why are there so many different types? Will there ever be something better?

Insulin is a hormone, normally produced in

sufficient amounts by the healthy human pancreas. Its role is to facilitate the final

digestion of glucose by the human body. When insulin is lacking (diabetes), glucose