AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors For Diabetes

I just ran across this and had not see it before. It makes a lot of sense and I hope you can gain from it like I have. Enjoy your day!

AADE7

Measurable behavior change is the desired outcome of diabetes education.
AADE believes that behavior change can be most effectively achieved using the AADE7™ Self-Care Behaviors framework. The 7 self-care behaviors are healthy eating, being active, monitoring, taking medication, problem solving, reducing risks and healthy coping.
Below is a description of each behavior for patients and healthcare professionals. Tools and references for healthcare professionals are available here.

Healthy eating
Making healthy food choices, understanding portion sizes and learning the best times to eat are central to managing diabetes. By making appropriate food selections, children and teenagers grow and develop as they would if they didn’t have diabetes. And, by controlling their weight, many adults may be able to manage their condition for a time without medications. Diabetes education classes can assist people with diabetes in gaining knowledge about the effect of food on blood glucose, sources of carbohydrates and fat, appropriate meal planning and resources to assist in making food choices. Skills taught include reading labels, planning and preparing meals, measuring foods for portion control, fat control and carbohydrate counting. Barriers, such as environmental triggers and emotional, financial, and cultural factors, are also addressed.

Being active
Regular activity is important for overall fitness, weight management and blood glucose control. With appropriate levels of exercise, those at risk for type 2 diabetes can reduce that risk, and those with diabetes can improve glycemic control. Being active can also help improve body mass index, enhance weight loss, help control lipids and blood pressure and reduce stress. Diabetes educators and their patients collaborate to address barriers, such as physical, environmental, psychological and time limitations. They also work together to develop an appropriate activity plan that balances food and medication with the activity level.

Monitoring
Daily self-monitoring of blood glucose provides people with diabetes the information they need to assess how food, physical activity and medications affect their blood glucose levels. Monitoring, however, doesn’t stop there. People with diabetes also need to regularly check their blood pressure, urine ketones and weight. Diabetes education classes instruct patients about equipment choice and selection, timing and frequency of testing, target values, and interpretation and use of results.

Taking medication
Diabetes is a progressive condition. Depending on what type a person has, their healthcare team will be able to determine which medications they should be taking and help them understand how your medications work. They can demonstrate how to inject insulin or explain how diabetes pills work and when to take them. Effective drug therapy in combination with healthy lifestyle choices, can lower blood glucose levels, reduce the risk for diabetes complications and produce other clinical benefits. The goal is for the patient to be knowledgeable about each medication, including its action, side effects, efficacy, toxicity, prescribed dosage, appropriate timing and frequency of administration, effect of missed and delayed doses and instructions for storage, travel and safety.

Problem solving
A person with diabetes must keep their problem-solving skills sharp because on any given day, a high or low blood glucose episode or a sick day will require them to make rapid, informed decisions about food, activity and medications. This skill is continuously put to use because even after decades of living with the disease, stability is never fully attained: the disease is progressive, chronic complications emerge, life situations change and the patient is aging. Collaboratively, diabetes educators and patients address barriers, such as physical, emotional, cognitive, and financial obstacles and develop coping strategies.

Reducing risks
Effective risk reduction behaviors such as smoking cessation, and regular eye, foot and dental examinations reduce diabetes complications and maximize health and quality of life. An important part of self-care is learning to understand, seek and regularly obtain an array of preventive services. Diabetes educators assist patients in gaining knowledge about standards of care, therapeutic goals, and preventive care services to decrease risks. Skills taught include smoking cessation, foot inspections, blood pressure monitoring, self-monitoring of blood glucose, aspirin use and maintenance of personal care records.

Healthy coping
Health status and quality of life are affected by psychological and social factors. Psychological distress directly affects health and indirectly influences a person’s motivation to keep their diabetes in control. When motivation is dampened, the commitments required for effective self-care are difficult to maintain. When barriers seem insurmountable, good intentions alone cannot sustain the behavior. Coping becomes difficult and a person’s ability to self-manage their diabetes deteriorates. An important part of the diabetes educator’s work is identifying the individual’s motivation to change behavior, then helping set achievable behavioral goals and guiding the patient through multiple obstacles. They can provide support by encouraging you to talk about your concerns and fears and can help you learn what you can control and offer ways for you to cope with what you cannot.

Tools for healthcare professionals
AADE7™ IMPACT - Internet based suite of tools for diabetes educators
AADE7™ Goal Sheets
AADE7™ Poster
Detailed information on the development of the AADE7™

The 4 Different Types of Diabetes

There are 4 main types of diabetes:



Type 1 Diabetes - or some people refer to it as "juvenile" diabetes. It is mostly diagnosed when kids are in their teens or younger. 5-10% of the diabetic population has Type 1 Diabetes. It is diagnosed when the pancreas fails to produce any insulin at all, or too little of an amount to do the body any good. Insulin is the prescription but not the cure. Without the insulin one cannot survive after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.


Type 2 Diabetes - 90-95% of all people with diabetes are Type 2 so most of the diabetic population have Type 2 diabetes. Most individuals that are diagnosed are overweight, over the age of 40 and most of the time inactive. Not all but most diagnosed with type 2 fit into this catagory. The pancreas produces insulin but the body does not utilize the insulin properly - cells won't respond to the insulin. Althought diet and exercise are prescribed and can actually reverse the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, most individuals will end up taking a pill form of medication to control their type 2 diabetes. In my opinion it is also not the practice of doctors to educate the type 2 diabetic patient but to medicate the patient due to the doctors time contraints and also knowing that diet and exercise is a tougher pill to swallow than an actual pill.



Pre-Diabetes - Also known as borderline diabetes. This is diagnosed when patients are showing signs of increased levels of blood sugar and are beginning to have problems in keeping their blood sugars at a normal range. Pre-diabetes affects over 40 million people, which is a huge number of people. Pre-diabetes will turn into Type 2 Diabetes in most cases if left untreated. Those with pre-diabetes are urged to alter their diets and begin to get on a regular exercise routine.



Gestational Diabetes - Approximately 2-7% of pregnant women will be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It is caused by the pancreas not being able to keep up in delivering insulin to control the glucose level. Gestational Diabetes will go away after pregnancy in the majority of the cases, but there is an increased risk of both mother and baby becoming diabetic later on in life. Insulin resistance usually starts around the 26th week of pregnancy, which is when doctors will test pregnant women for Gstational Diabetes.

Enjoy your day!

30 Advantages of Rebounding and Effect on Blood Sugars

Rebounding has many benefits which I've listed below. Rebounding has helped to stabalize my blood sugars. Just test it for yourself - jump every morning on a bed if you can for 10 minutes for just a few days and tell me if you don't see a stabalizing of your blood sugars. Why do you think kids like to jump on beds - because it makes them feel good. As you jump up and come back down your cells get squeezed which helps your body detox. I can attest that my blood sugars are much more stable on the days that I jump. I have and highly recommend the Needak Rebounder which you can pick up for around $200. The newer Needak tramplines fold up to make sotoring easy. It has the best platform for jumping so you can jump longer without getting tired. Just compare the Needak to other less expensive rebounders before you purchase.

These are the 30 health advantages of regular rebounding, including the following:

1. It increases the capacity for respiration.
2. It circulates more oxygen to the tissues.
3. It establishes a better equilibrium between the oxygen required by the tissues and the oxygen made available.
4. It causes muscles to perform work in moving fluids through the body to lighten the heart's load.
5. It tends to reduce the height to which the arterial pressures rise during exertion.
6. It lessens the time during which blood pressure remains abnormal after severe activity.
7. It holds off the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
8. It increases the functional activity of the red bone marrow in the production of red blood cells. 9. It aids lymphatic circulation, as well as the flow in the veins of the circulatory system.
10. It encourages collateral circulation.
11. It strengthens the heart and other muscles in the body so that they work more efficiently.
12. It allows the resting heart to beat less often.
13. It lowers elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
14. It stimulates the metabolism.
15. It promotes body growth and repair.
16. It tones up the glandular system, especially the thyroid to increase its output.
17. It adds to the alkaline reserve of the body which may be of significance in an emergency requiring prolonged effort.
18. It chemically attains absolute potential of the cells.
19. It reserves bodily strength and physical efficiency.
20. It expands the body's capacity for fuel storage and endurance.
21. It improves coordination through the transmission of nerve impulses and responsiveness of the muscle fibers.
22. It affords muscular vigor from increased muscle fiber tone.
23. It offers relief from neck and back pains, headaches, and other pain caused by lack of exercise.
24. It enhances digestion and elimination processes.
25. It allows for better and easier relaxation and sleep.
26. It results in a better mental performance, with keener learning processes.
27. It curtails fatigue and menstrual discomfort for women.
28. It minimizes the number of colds, allergies, digestive disturbances, and abdominal problems.
29. It tends to slow down aging.
30. It reduces the likelihood of obesity.

Enjoy your day!

Do Something Fun for Yourself / Guitar

This has nothing to with Diabetes but I just wanted to share with you that I am starting to learn how to play the Guitar at 48. You are never too old to start something new. I knew nothing about music - absolutely nothing except that I liked to listen to music. I didn't even know the musical alphabet which is just 7 letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. I had never played an instrument in my life except the flute in the 4th grade. I can still play the song I learned (Mary had a little lamb) if someone hands me a flute but other than that my music knowledge was very limited.

So I bought myself a used acoustic/electric guitar off of EBay and started teaching myself from youtube and other free sites on the Internet. I also started taking lessons from a local guitar teacher in town and that has helped me alot. He is leaving town though so I'll need to find a new teacher shortly. It' s been a very fun journey and I'm glad I did it!

Enjoy your day!

Diabetes - Insulin Pump

An Insulin Pump is a medical device used for administering insulin. It changed my life when I got my first one in 1992. I did not have to follow as rigid of a schedule with injecting insulin and then eating right after. I had more freedom!

Before I got my first pump I was mixing 2 types of insulin - a short acting and a long acting. I was giving a shot before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner and before I went to bed. Four shots per day. This still did not control my blood sugars. I've been pumping now for 16 years and love it!

I had been diagnosed with Diabetes at 10 and I was 32 when I got my first pump. Before I got my pump I would often times wake up with extremely low blood sugars - sometimes needing help from the fire department and paramedics in the middle of the night or very early morning. I could feel the symptoms of my blood sugars drop when I was awake but as I got older I could not feel them drop when I was sleeping. This was due to some nerve damage from the sugar running around in my blood.

With my Insulin Pump I use all fast acting insulin and have programmed my pump to automatically administer a little less than a unit of insulin for most hours of the day. And this is automatically reduced at midnight to 4am. This is called a "basal" rate of insulin When I eat carbohydrates I administer additional insulin (about 1 unit for every 15 grams of carbohydrates) to cover the carbohydrates I'm eating. This is called a "bolus" of insulin. I can also suspend the insulin delivery if I need to.

I can remove my pump for showering and other more intimate activities :) and these are the only times when I remove it. It's easy to sleep with - I just lay it on the bed and instinctively move it around with me if I toss and turn.

I only have one complaint about my pump and that is the scar tissue that has built up in my abdomen from the cannula that remains in the subcutaneous fatty area of my stomach for 2-3 days at a time. I use my hips and upper ab area to insert the cannula too. The scar tissue gets in the way of the insulin delivery and this is really my only complaint. I just have to be careful to make sure I'm not inserting near scar tissue and change the cannula every 3 days max.

Enjoy your day!

My Diet / Breakfast Recipe

Having diabetes I'm always looking for the latest and greatest to help control blood sugars. There was a year in my life when I didn't eat anything that was cooked. When you cook foods it removes the nutrient value. I lived on raw vegetables and some fruits and nuts. I ate alot of avocados, salads, greens, dehydrated foods and juiced quite a bit too. I hope someday to get back to that way of eating and for the most part I try to incorporate that way of eating into my daily life. It's not easy but definitely doable and a very healthy way to eat.

My breakfast for the past 7 years or so is always a cereal made up of ground flax seed. I buy the flax seed in bulk and grind it in a coffee grinder. I add the Omnibalance Stevia that I talked about in the Almond Joy Recipe post, cinnamon, grey Celtic Sea Salt, plain yogurt, kefir and some raw almonds or sunflower seeds. It's quite delicious and keeps me full until lunch. It also keeps me very regular :) and gives me the good fats that we all need.

Enjoy your day!