Diabetes Can Be Sweet Once You Bury It

Below are selected excerpts from Diabetes Can Be Sweet ... Once You Bury It, by Julie Wanner Rossetti, followed by some statistics on diabetes.

Self-Diagnosis

"It just so happened that we were studying diabetes in our health education class ... I went up to my teacher and said, 'I have just diagnosed myself with Type 1 diabetes.'"

Diabetes “Mis-treatment” Center Experience

"I was able to see how these people handled their diabetes out in the real world. I did not like what I saw, so I made a decision to live my life in a different way. This diabetes treatment center felt more like a torture chamber than a place to get help. I would listen to all of these people (that were older than me and had diabetes for many years) that wanted to live a better life, but just did not get the help that they needed. So many of them were there again and again to try and get their diabetes under control. I don't know what happened to any of these great people that I met at the diabetes treatment center. I can only pray that they are all doing well! I made a major decision that day to never step foot in that place again."

Keep Dreaming

“When dreaming, I think of things I want to have. I have a vision that's on a mission to obtain those dreams and make them come true. It seems like my dreams keep my eyes filled with gleam. Life without a dream is like a stream that never flows. Dreams are wonderful and can come true. If we learn to visualize them and put forth the work it takes to make our dreams come alive. Strive to keep your dreams alive, for they will provide you with the life you want to have."

Lose The Diabetic Label

"You have a full life ahead of you no matter what your age is, and diabetes can be made to fit into your daily schedule. It's all up to you, and your diabetes consultant can guide you in the right direction. With a little organization and skill, you can do it. If you fall down (I have many times), get back up and start again. It's okay to make mistakes and learn from them. What's even more important is that you start over and make the necessary changes. Every decision you make will determine the outcome of how diabetes affects your life. Making no decision is still a decision and a negative one at best. Now is a good time to evaluate the words or colors that you are choosing to use everyday. What does your life portrait look like so far? Choose the right words and lose the labels, then you will win!"

Diabetes Statistics

* There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.

* It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes.(90-95% with Type 2).

* Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases in the United States each year.

* Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. There are 54 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes. Two million adolescents (or 1 in 6 overweight adolescents) aged 12-19 have pre-diabetes.

* 1.5 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2005

* About 1 in 400 to 600 children and adolescents has Type 1 diabetes.

* Age 60 years or older: 10.3 million, or 20.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes.

* Men: 10.9 million, or 10.5% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes although nearly one third of them do not know it.

* Women: 9.7 million, or 8.8% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes although nearly one third of them do not know it. The prevalence of diabetes is at least 2 to 4 times higher among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander women than among non-Hispanic white women.

* Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2002. This ranking is based on the 73,249 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. According to death certificate reports, diabetes contributed to a total of 224,092 deaths.

* Diabetes is likely to be underreported as a cause of death. Studies have found that only about 35 to 40 percent of decedents with diabetes have diabetes listed anywhere on the death certificate and only about 10 to15 percent had it listed as the underlying cause of death.

* Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without diabetes of a similar age.

Source: American Diabetes Association, reprinted with permission.