Voice of the Diabetic

Voice of the Diabetic

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Artwork: Dancing fruit and vegetables.

We invite blurbs and tidbit articles for inclusion in this column. Materials

received may be edited and used as space permits. Products and services included

in this column are for information only and do not imply endorsement by the

Diabetes Action Network of the NFB.

Check for Diabetes At Age 10

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine,

in Houston, Texas, now advise that overweight children, those who show two

or more risk factors for diabetes, should be regularly tested for the condition

starting at age 10. Significant risk factors include: family history of diabetes,

nonwhite ethnicity, overweight, and inactive lifestyle.

The complications of diabetes can take years

to develop, but the earlier the condition is detected, the better start can

be made on prevention: with exercise, lifestyle change and weight reduction.

Discuss with your physician whether your child should be tested for diabetes.

Anti-Slip Traction Gear for Safe Walking on Ice and

Snow

(From “Monitor Miniatures,”

a regular feature of the Braille Monitor, published by the National Federation

of the Blind, monthly, in large print, Braille, audiocassette, e-mail, and

on the web at www.nfb.org: Vol. 14, No. 10, November 2001 edition.)

Snow and icy weather can create dangerous walking

conditions for anyone, whether exercising, shoveling snow, or just going to

the mailbox in winter. However, everyone can now walk safely with STABILicers

easily attachable ice cleats. STABILicers act like snow tires for the feet,

and will help keep people active and agile despite slippery winter weather.

STABILicers look like sandals, and attach easily with velcro straps, over

anything from running shoes to boots. Designed with flexible Vibram (r), STABILicers

have cleats that bite into snow and ice, providing traction needed to get

around with confidence in the worst weather conditions. STABILicers have been

used for years by letter carriers, utility line workers, and delivery personnel.

For information, contact: Dave Washburn, 32 North,

PO Box 500y, Biddeford, ME. 04007-5007; telephone: 1-800-782-2423.

VOICE Formats

is offered in two formats: standard print, and

15/16 ips audiocassette, “talking book” speed. Anyone who is currently

receiving the Voice in print and having difficulty reading it, may receive

it on cassette at no charge. VOICE tapes require the special tape player available

free to the legally blind from Regional Libraries for the Blind and Physically

Handicapped, which can be obtained by telephoning the National Library Service

at: 1-800-424-8567. Note: Attempting to play Voice tapes (or any other tapes

in NLS format) on a conventional music-speed tape player will yield incomprehensible

"chipmunk sounds."

All a subscriber needs to do, to switch from

standard print to tape, or to receive both formats, free of charge, is contact

us at the VOICE OF THE DIABETIC Editorial Office.

More Support for Tight Control

The evidence continues to come in: “tight

control,” keeping your blood glucose down close to the non-diabetic “normal”

range saves lives. A study reported in the November 8, 2001 New England Journal

of Medicine details how diabetics, placed in hospital intensive care (ICU),

were 42% less likely to die there, if they were practicing tight control,

than if they were not tightly controlling their blood sugars.

Researchers chose 1548 critically ill patients

with diabetes, placed one group under “accepted hospital procedure,”

and aggressively lowered the BGs of the other group with insulin injections.

They found their tight control regime so effective, at reducing both mortality

and various indicators of morbidity, that the study was halted early, for

ethical reasons.

Researchers describe the study's results as significant

because they demonstrate that hyperglycemia, high blood sugar, in ICU patients,

is neither adaptive nor beneficial, and should be treated with intensive insulin

therapy. “Few if any intensive care interventions have improved outcomes

to the extent that intensive insulin therapy did in these patients,”

said one researcher.

Weight Loss Drugs and Diabetes

If you have diabetes and are overweight, good

blood sugar control is harder for you to achieve. Excess fat raises your insulin

resistance, forcing both your body and your insulin medications to work harder

to achieve normal BG levels. Any means by which you successfully reduce your

body fat will help you better self-manage your diabetes. And note that if

you have type 2 diabetes, and lose a significant percent of your excess bodymass,

you may well require less insulin medications. Talk to your doctor about appropriate

weight-loss strategies.

HEAR YE, HEAR YE, A RAFFLE

The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation

of the Blind reaches out and provides support and information to thousands

of people. Because it costs to operate this valuable network and to produce

the VOICE OF THE DIABETIC, we must generate funds to help cover these expenses.

Our Diabetes Action Network has elected to hold a raffle, which will be coordinated

by our division treasurer, Bruce Peters.

THE GRAND PRIZE WILL BE $500! The winning ticket will be drawn, and the winner's

name announced, on July 8, 2002, at the banquet held during the annual convention

of the National Federation of the Blind.

Raffle tickets cost $1 each, or a book of six

may be purchased for $5. Tickets may be purchased from state representatives

of our Diabetes Action Network or by contacting the VOICE Editorial Office,

1412 I-70 Drive SW, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203; telephone: (573) 875-8911.

Anyone interested in selling tickets should also contact the VOICE Editorial

Office. Tickets are available now! Names of persons who sell 50 tickets or

more will be announced in the VOICE.

Please make checks payable to the National Federation

of the Blind. Money and sold raffle ticket stubs must be mailed to the VOICE

office no later than June 10, 2002, or they can be personally delivered to

Raffle Chairman Bruce Peters, at this year's NFB convention in Louisville,

Kentucky. This raffle is open to anyone age 18 or older, and the holder of

the lucky raffle ticket need not be present to win. Each ticket sold is a

donation, helping keep our Diabetes Action Network moving forward.

Volunteers Needed

In VOICE Vol 11, No. 3, 1996, we told you how

doctors had discovered that, for diabetics with severe heart disease, who

might have received balloon angioplasty, traditional, invasive “bypass

surgery” produced significantly higher rates of patient survival. Although

the findings were “counter-intuitive,” the opposite to what one

might have expected, they were solid.

A follow-up study (the “BARI-2D”),

is now beginning, to further explore questions of how best to treat type 2

diabetes patients who also have coronary heart disease. The study will compare

the effectiveness of two different types of drug therapy, and will also compare

drug therapy plus early surgery (angioplasty or bypass surgery) to drug therapy

alone.

Up to 2800 volunteers are needed for this study.

These individuals should be: Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, diagnosed with

coronary heart disease, otherwise in good health, and willing to commit to

the study's five-year program.

There will be no placebos. All participants

will receive medically meaningful treatment, either medications to increase

insulin production, or to decrease insulin resistance. Half the participants

will also undergo “revascularization” surgery. There are no experimental,

untested procedures here.

For further information, see your doctor, or

go to the following website: www.bari2d.org

Articles Needed

If you have diabetes, are a family member or

friend of a diabetic, or a health professional with an interest in diabetes,

we invite you to submit an article for publication in the VOICE OF THE DIABETIC.

Our philosophy regarding diabetes is positive.

Do you have an inspiring, enlightening story? We, the Diabetes Action Network

of the National Federation of the Blind, seek to show people they are not

alone, and do have options, regardless of diabetic complications. If you have

experienced ramifications, others, who may be facing the same side-effects,

could benefit from what you have to say.

Perhaps you have not experienced complications—your

unique insight, coping strategies, and lifestyle can still inspire others.

Are you a relative, a friend, or a health professional? More than 300,456

VOICE readers could benefit from your story.

For information and article submission guidelines,

contact: VOICE OF THE DIABETIC, 1412 I-70 Drive, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203;

telephone: (573) 875-8911.

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