Barceline Blog

Diabetes is estimated to effect 18 million people just here in the United States. This is just over 6 % of the total population. To say this disease is epidemic is an understatement. Because this is a chronic disease that can last over years and decades, it is vital for sufferers to learn how to minimize its effect over their lives. Simply learning how to live with diabetes is a major challenge. A major element in managing diabetes is the patient’s diet. Finding ways to “live” with diabetes and to eat healthy is vital for long term successful management of this insidious disease.

The internet offers diabetics a wonderful array of recipes and food choices that can be incorporated into their health regimen. Recently, Paula Deen was in the news headlines because she is now diabetic. She has developed a great source of the recipes and food choices highlighted in the following website:
www.DiabetesinaNewLight.com. These inspired recipes are diabetic –friendly and quite varied.

www.diabeticlifestyle.com is also a great website that offers not only recipes designed for the diabetic, but aids and hints in daily living with diabetes. The information suggested on exercise regimens and the basics of diabetes are especially helpful to the newly diagnosed patient.

The American Diabetes Association has offered for years a simple, basic cookbook that should be on the shelves of any conscientious diabetic. This is the “Betty Crocker” cookbook for all with this disease. However, this website is easy to use and a great source for additional information.

One of the most popular and timely sites for feeding the diabetic is; recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Recipes_for_Diabetics

This site is user friendly and gives detailed instructions and recipes that are focused on every day meals. It is loaded with helpful tips and hints on ways to reduce risks for patients watching their starch and sugar intake. The meals are also pictured and appealing.

Learning to live with diabetes is no doubt a big challenge. With the aid of great web sites and internet convenience, this disease is easier to control and living with it is much more viable than in the past.

In our aging society, many retiring baby-boomers are faced with the difficult task of caring for their senior parents. This can be a daunting proposition, especially if your parents have a plethora of ailments. Many times a single patient must juggle instructions for a number of specialists. Each specialist has his own agenda and priorities so there is plenty of room for confusion and sometimes dangerous consequences.

In the case of my own father, he is seeing a cardiologist, an orthopedic specialist, an endocrinologist, a urologist, an oncologist, an internal medicine specialist, an ophthalmologist, an audiologist, and a dentist specializing in geriatric care. Wow- I am tired just listing all his doctors.

The difficulty lies in trying to manage the medicine each doctor proscribes, the instructions for care each doctor requires, and the general plan involved in maintaining the health of each particular ailment with which the patient must contend.

For most of us with busy lives, children and grandchildren to balance, church and charitable responsibilities, and trying to maintain a social life, this task of caring for a senior parent with multiple health issues requires a herculean effort. I have found the responsibility impossible to meet without the aid of a “General” who can coordinate and facilitate all of the various specialists into a manageable plan.

My solution has been to sit down with our internist and explain the difficulties and challenges that need to be met. I asked him to be our “General” and to function as a central command post to deal with each and every specialist so that we avoid any dangerous medical combinations. I have asked every individual doctor to filter all information through our internist. This allows me to discuss with one doctor the overall medical plan to be implemented for the general care of my father. Without this approach, I would feel completely inadequate dealing with so many varied and complicated health issues.

I still need to keep detailed notes and questions, but when I visit our “General” I am prepared to discuss our concerns and inquiries with my father’s overall health as our main focus. Don’t try to do this yourself, enlist a “General” to lead the fight for better heath care for your aging parent.

This is the coming out post for my very first blog, BarCeline.com. I work in Healthcare, but my blog is nothing related to my field. I am using this space to discuss all of the wonderful things I have found on the internet. I am not tied down to one specific topic. Now that you have found my blog, I hope you enjoy and keep coming back!