Vim & Vigor - Winter 2011 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 45)

Extra crEdit: Get serious about weight loss by setting a reasonable goal. A loss of just 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight can yield measurable health benefits. aSSiGNMENt: DefenD against the flu. Having the flu isn’t pleasant for anyone, but individuals who have even well-controlled diabetes are at greater risk for flu complications, including hospitalization and death. This makes vaccination mandatory. “The flu shot is an annual preventive measure and a CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendation,” Warshaw says. The CDC also recommends a pneumonia vaccine for people with diabetes. Extra crEdit: To further decrease your risk, the ADA recommends that your friends and loved ones also get a flu shot. Successful Diabetes Self-Management The key to successful diabetes self-management is education and communication with your healthcare professionals. Parrish Medical Center’s diabetes education department provides timely, quality, appropriate, cost-effective care to people who have diabetes. Instruction is offered to children and adults with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes and prediabetes. Participants may be instructed during a hospitalization or in an outpatient setting. Inpatients often complete their education as an outpatient. Your diabetes education professionals will: • Empower patients to translate diabetes knowledge into lifestyle changes. • Optimize your quality of life and prevent or minimize the complications that may result from poor diabetes control. • Acknowledge that diabetes is a lifelong disease and cannot be managed perfectly every day. • Provide emotional support and diabetes aftercare with follow-up visits and support groups. • Put forth special effort to target the underserved and those with special needs in our community. Program benefits include understanding diabetes as a disease process, goal setting and problem solving, and how to prevent, detect and treat acute or chronic complications.  aSSiGNMENt: take your glucose meDicine. We all want to be healthy, but for some, taking medications feels like a daily reminder that all is not well. “People seem to want to avoid blood-glucoselowering medication, but that’s not the recommended approach for type 2 diabetes today,” Warshaw says. “There are many different kinds of medications designed to address the various reasons why blood glucose is out of control and insulin resistance is up, to get your glucose under control and keep it there.” Experts recommend that you begin taking a bloodglucose-lowering medication that targets insulin resistance as soon as you’re diagnosed. Extra crEdit: Pay attention to how your body responds to your blood-glucose-lowering medications and talk to your doctor about reactions or concerns you have. aSSiGNMENt: photography by photolibrary target your efforts baseD on your risks. Many people who have diabetes worry about complications that may not be a concern for them, and ignore the more likely scenarios. “A big fear is, ‘I’m going to lose my sight or my feet.’ But the reality is, the large-vessel diseases—heart disease, heart attack and stroke—are typically a bigger concern in type 2 diabetes,” Warshaw says. “So it goes back to managing your ABCs.” Extra crEdit: Ask your healthcare provider what complications you’re most at risk for, so you can gear your daily actions toward preventing them. events Connect with a Community Go to parrishmed.com/calendar for diabetes classes and support groups. Learn how to self-manage your diabetes, or talk to others who are living with the disease—available through Parrish Medical Center. Vim & Vigor • WI NTER 2011 45 http://www.parrishmed.com/calendar

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2011 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2011 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
Delegation of Authority
Back in Action
Supplementary Knowledge
Keys to Survival
Clearing the Air
Mark Harmon of NCIS fame makes 60 look good
This One’s for the Girls
Life After a Loss
Do Your Diabetes Homework
Healthy Returns
Making Time
Exercise Disguised as Fun
Community Health: Sleep apnea
Foundation Focus: Gifts make a difference
Ask the Expert: Rotator cuff tears and tendinitis

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2011 - Parrish Medical Center