Get diabetes under control; regaining focus
Q: I have Type 2 diabetes and feel so discouraged. My A1C keeps climbing, and I'm headed for complications. I'm trying, but what else can I do? - Gary G., Mentor, Ohio
A: Type 2 diabetes is a challenge to control. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in 2006, 43 percent of folks with diagnosed diabetes had an A1C of 7 percent or higher, indicating that they hadn't established consistent blood sugar control. (A1C is a long-range estimate of average blood glucose levels; for people without diabetes, an A1C of 5.7 percent or less is normal; 5.7 to 6.4 percent is prediabetes and 6.5 percent indicates diabetes.)
But we know how YOU can get a handle on your diabetes. And a new, 21-year study out of Sweden backs us up. Those researchers confirm the effectiveness of what we've long been advocating: increased physical activity (it decreases insulin resistance); nutritional management (to lower blood sugar and abdominal fat); adjustment of medications; and regular interaction with health-care providers (for support and reinforcement). Those steps can add years (they said eight!) to your life. Your bonus: Positive lifestyle choices can turn off genes that predispose you to Type 2 diabetes.
At the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, headed by Dr. Mike, such a program of managed intensive treatment sets a goal (which 60 percent of patients reach) of totally reversing their Type 2 diabetes and living full time with an A1C of 5 to 5.8 percent. You can adopt the plan by:
1. Accessing a program like Dr. Mike's; many programs, including ones at YMCAs, are covered by health insurers. You also can put together your own diabetes-defeating support team (doctor, diabetes educator, exercise physiologist, nutritionist). Read the guide by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases "Redesigning the Health Care Team: Diabetes Prevention and Lifelong Management" with your doctor.
2. Setting short- and long-term goals for nutritional changes, exercise intensity, weight loss, stress reduction, glucose levels and medication use. Then sit down with your team and write out a plan to meet those goals.
3. Taking time daily to remember that the hard work (and it is hard) has great rewards. You dodge life-crushing complications, add quality years to your life and discover how much fun it is to live a healthy, active life.
Q: Since I got my smartphone I am more and more distracted. I feel like I never quite finish what I start. Is that a sign of future cognitive problems? I'm 57. - Ginger D., St. Louis
A: We hear so much about the problems of distraction: texting drivers; oblivious, cell-phone-clutching pedestrians; even cell-phone-using pilots, according to the National Transportation Safety Board! It seems humans crave distraction. Perhaps, as comedian Louis C.K. says, it's because we "don't want to be alone for a second, because it's so hard." But distraction also can be a symptom of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), temporary stress and boredom.
Fortunately, you can become more focused. Some techniques are easy and effective. (Some are a little more challenging, like the idea that you turn OFF your cellphone, powering it up only when you want to check or send messages or make a call.)
Focus Technique No. 1: When you're having trouble concentrating, use white noise to help you stay inside your bubble. White noise generators, even fans, can block out conversation in the next cubicle, noise from the street, etc.
Focus Technique No. 2: Improve your self-esteem. If you're compulsively on social media/email/texts, that may signal (or trigger) deep insecurity. To build self-esteem, therapists recommend "taking an inventory of your own strengths and abilities. And try to accept who you are and genuinely like the person you have become." We say volunteer with an organization that helps others; you'll be amazed at how it upgrades your sense of self-worth.
Focus Technique No. 3: Practice mindful meditation. The daily mental discipline clears the mind and increases concentration.
Those Three Focus Techniques will steer you away from distraction.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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