Managing diabetes easier thanks to new technologies

• Reprints

The Edward Diabetes Center’s education program has helped Donald DeJohn, with wife Lindsay, in his management of the disease. | Courtesy of Edward Hospital

Updated: January 1, 2012 1:45AM

No one wants to hear, “You’ve got diabetes.” But people living with diabetes can take comfort in knowing that new technologies and better diabetes education are making management of the disease more user-friendly.

Naperville resident Donald DeJohn, 58, has had difficulty managing his glucose levels over the past several years. He was beginning to have diabetes complications, including neuropathy, numbness in his hands and feet. And this summer, DeJohn’s weight was down 40 pounds compared to a year earlier because his cells were beginning to starve from a lack of insulin.

Blood sugar, or blood glucose, provides energy to the cells in your muscles and tissue. It is the main source of fuel for your brain. When you have diabetes, you have too much glucose in your blood. This can cause serious health problems affecting the cardiovascular and nervous systems, kidneys and more. It can even lead to blindness or amputation of a limb.

Things began to change for DeJohn last summer when his wife Lindsay was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and enrolled in a Diabetes Education program at Edward Hospital. Donald accompanied his wife. The classes soon cleared up one of Donald’s misconceptions, that he needed to be counting carbohydrates and not just sugars as he had been doing.

“I liked the classes so much that I signed up for a second series for myself,” says Donald, who also had sessions with Celia Morelos, an Edward Diabetes Center educator. “I was so excited to learn all the things that are available now. One of the first things I looked into was getting an insulin pump, and having one has helped keep me on track.”

The goal of diabetes management is to keep blood sugar at a safe level, free of extreme ups and downs. Treatment includes insulin and sometimes oral medication. Also key is education about diet, exercise and the new medical technologies, such as:

Hand-held meters, used daily to check blood glucose levels, which now come in spring-loaded versions, all but eliminating pain when blood is drawn.

Varied insulin formulations, from rapid acting to those with longer-range impact.

Insulin pens, which eliminate the need to get medication from the vial into the needle. The pen delivers the dose just under the skin.

External insulin pumps, the size of a pager, replace injections for some. The pump includes a reservoir, and a computer chip regulates the amount of insulin dispensed through a tiny tube inserted under the skin.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors collect and store blood sugar readings every five minutes. The sensor, which is a thin wire inserted under the skin and attached to a transmitter, also provides information on how glucose levels vary over time.

At the Edward Diabetes Center, patients receive assistance in how to use sensors they’ve purchased or, with a doctor’s order, they can check out one of the center’s sensors for several days.

DeJohn opted to purchase his own CGM, an integrated, state-of-the art system that combines a transmitter and a sensor that automatically sends glucose level information to his insulin pump.

“Whether patients have their own sensor or use one of ours, we discuss the results with them and share the information with their healthcare provider,” says Brenda Jagatic, BScN, an Edward Diabetes Center educator. “Either the patient’s care plan is validated or it’s updated. We’ve seen the sensors improve quality of life for many patients.”

State Rep. Tom Cross and the Edward Diabetes Center will host a free Diabetes Awareness Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Edward Plainfield Outpatient Center, 127th Street and Van Dyke Road in Plainfield.

For information, call 815-254-0000. To learn more about the Edward Diabetes Center, visit www.edward.org/diabetes.

Health Aware is a weekly column submitted by Edward Hospital.