BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
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Rule your diabetes, don't let your diabetes rule you. That's the advice of Dr. Ian Blumer, author of the best-selling book Diabetes for Canadians for Dummies. He will speak about managing diabetes effectively in the Watters Room at College Boreal today (Wednesday) at 7 pm.
Diabetics need to get control of their disease by empowering themselves with information from their physician or diabetes educator, he says.
"If you have appendicitis, you lie on the operating room table, the surgeon operates, and you get better," says Blumer, a diabetes specialist who practices in Durham.
"But if you have diabetes, you have to be the surgeon, and you have to take charge. You have to basically know as much as you can about the measures to stay healthy."
The Canadian Diabetes Association brought the doctor in as the keynote speaker for their regional annual meeting. His speech is free and open to the public.
There are more than two million diabetics in Canada, and only 10 percent of them have Type 1 or childhood onset diabetes. The other 90 percent suffer from Type 2 or adult onset diabetes.
Both types of diabetics should eat properly, exercise regularly and check their blood-sugar levels often, says Blumer.
They should also have a yearly eye exam, keep their cholesterol and blood pressure under control and check their feet daily to avoid foot ulcers and possible amputation.
"If their (blood-sugar) levels aren't within target, they need to know which health-care provider to call to help them along. There's no value in testing your blood, finding it high, and not knowing what to do about it," says Blumer.
"It's sort of like 'Why bother having a needle on your fuel tank in your car if you don't know how to fill it up with gas?'"
In Sudbury, people can learn more about diabetes management by visiting the Diabetes Education and Care Program, located at the YMCA Centre for Life on Durham St.
Dealing with diabetes can be intimidating because there is so much to learn, but the payoff is a healthier, longer life, says Blumer.
While it's not possible to prevent Type 1 diabetes, adults can reduce their odds of getting Type 2 diabetes by about 50 percent if they lose weight and exercise.
But even slim people who exercise can get Type 2 diabetes, so there's no guaranteed method of prevention, says Blumer.
Genetics can also play a part in the disease. If both of your parents have Type 2 diabetes, there's a high chance you'll get it yourself, although healthy active living can still reduce your risk.
"Although the numbers (regarding genetics) are a statistical fact, I don't think they have to imply inevitability," Blumer says.
"I would hope that if people know their sister, mother, father and brother have diabetes, they would go that extra step, literally and figuratively to make sure that they don't get diabetes."
For more information about Blumer's diabetes management strategies, go to www.ruleyourdiabetes.com .
