Diabetes education vital

Regularly consulting doctors and nurses about diabetes is as important for maintaining health as seeing a dentist or eye doctor regularly, according to the director of Intermountain Health Care's Diabetic Care Center.

Dr. Samuel Abbate says that even though diabetes is a disease in which patients treat themselves, it's important to have the help of professionals to make the best decisions.

"Doctors and nurses and dietitians don't treat diabetes. People with diabetes treat diabetes," Abbate told the Deseret Morning News. "I'm a coach, not a fixer."

Abbate and Kristin Stanley, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator at the center, answered calls about the disease during the Deseret Morning News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline Saturday morning.

Abbate and Stanley said a lot of people appreciated learning what goals they should have for their blood sugar levels.

Just monitoring blood sugar without doing anything to maintain certain levels isn't effective, Abbate said. For whatever reason, people often leave their doctor's office understanding how to monitor blood sugar levels but not what they should be and what to do to raise or lower them.

"What came out is that many of the callers would benefit from receiving diabetes education and working with diabetes educators on a regular basis," he said.

Fortunately, many local hospitals and care facilities have diabetes education clinics.

Stanley said patients should contact their insurance companies and ask about their diabetes coverage. Most policies will not cover an outpatient dietitian, but seeing a diabetes education dietitian is often covered.

"There's kind of a loophole," she said.

The subject of diet came up frequently during the two-hour hotline session. Many people who avoid eating sugar still have high blood sugar levels, often because they are eating carbohydrates like breads, pastas and potatoes, which have the same effect on the body as sugar, Stanley said.

But that doesn't mean low-carb diets have all the answers. Some foods like fruits are high in carbohydrates but are still healthy for diabetics to eat, she said.

Diabetes often sets in later in life. Abbate said he answered a few calls from people who were developing diabetes and wanted to know how to prevent it. Others were concerned about their risk if family members had the disease.

One mother called in worried about her child, who might have diabetes because his blood sugar level frequently changes. It's difficult for a physician to take his case seriously, however, until it's confirmed he has the disease.

Abbate said when a child appears to have "bouncing" blood sugar levels it's important for them to wash their hands before taking a blood sample. Sometimes when a child eats something sweet the sugar on the hands will affect the sample.

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E-mail: akirk@desnews.com