November 15th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Yesterday was World Diabetes Day. While my best friend’s baby shower is this weekend and I’ll be busy preparing for and helping with that event, I know there are lots of events taking place to celebrate the big, blue circle (including the Big Blue Test … more on that later).
But today is just another day in diabetes management, and it happens to be another endocrinologist appointment for me and the ol’ BSparl. BSparl is getting bigger, as evidenced here: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
November 3rd, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Opinion
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… and that five letter word is “guilt.”
At the ePatient conference last week, Sue Rago was talking about diabetes and the complications that can arise. “But the complications of well-managed diabetes? None.”
And despite the fact that I met and enjoyed hanging out with Sue, this statement cut right through me. Well-managed diabetes produces no complications? So diabetes-related complications are just the result of an inattentive “host,” or “slacking off?” It’s not the fault of diabetes itself? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 29th, 2009 by Joseph Scherger, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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I’ve written before here about the glycemic index, that measure of how fast a food causes your blood sugar to rise. High glycemic foods, like simple sugars, cause our blood sugars to rise quickly resulting in a pouring out of insulin, a rapid fall in our blood sugar, and we become hungry again soon. Protein in our diet blunts this glycemic index effect, as does eating more complex carbohydrates such as vegetables.
An new concept has emerged that complements the glycemic index, called the glycemic load. The glycemic load reflects how much total carbohydrate is released in your body from various foods. While carbohydrates, sugars and starches, are a core part of our nutrition, we know that eating a lot of them results in more hunger and we end up eating more calories and gaining weight. Low carbohydrate diet plans have shown some advantage over low fat diet plans for losing weight, although both work if the total calories eaten are reduced. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at eDocAmerica*
October 24th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Do you know how hard it was to not tell you guys I am pregnant? Sitting on that information for three months was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. There were SO MANY questions I wanted to ask, and so many stories I wanted to share, but I knew it was best to keep my mouth shut until we were past a certain point. And it is still early in our pregnancy, all things considered, so I shared our news with hopeful optimism and in hopes of some positive thoughts being sent our way.
And holy crap do you guys deliver. I’ve read every comment on the Dear Baby post, even though I’ve had to take breaks to grab tissues because you made me tear up quite a bit. My husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law are reading the comments, too. And they say thanks for the support as well. 🙂
So now you know. And now I can talk about what the past three months have been like. (Video to come this afternoon.) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 21st, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Dear Baby,
I’ve been thinking about you for a long time.
My doctors told me it would be a challenge to have you. They said that diabetes would be a tricky hurdle as I planned for you. They said you might not happen. There were so many reasons to be scared and so many reasons to doubt, but I never gave up on you, Baby. I have always wanted you and have worked so tirelessly to make my body safe for you. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
