Stumble It!
Pimp Your Diabetes
Are you messed up with your diabetes? WELL… ARE YOU READY?
This is going to be SOOO COOL. I just discovered that the innovative and fun-loving diabetes advocates over at TCOYD (a non-profit offering D-education around the country) are launching a new extreme makeover program especially for suffering PWDs. And it shall be called PIMP YOUR DIABETES.
It’s not TV, and it’s not The Swan, exactly. No surgery, and no ball gowns. But Dr. Steven Edelman of TCOYD, in conjunction with Dr. William Polonsky of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI) and their teams will soon be taking applications. They’re looking for folks who are in a bad D-way and are anxious to improve. This means:
- very high A1c results
- other test results extremely out of range
- physically out of shape
- psychologically struggling with the disease
And an entire D-Dream Team* is going to whip these folks into shape! (OK, over a period of 6-12 months; we know these things take time)
*On board for treatment are:
- Dr. Edelman himself as the endo
- Dr. Polonsky as psychologist
- Diane Pearson as CDE
- Dr. Larry Verity as exercise physiologist
- and more experts, TBD
AND … the coolest news of all is that we plan on tracking their progress here at DiabetesMine.com! Regular updates and photos — the whole shebang! At least that’s the plan.
Note that the first few patients will probably be selected out of San Diego, to make it easier for the TCOYD/BDI team to kick off the program on their own turf.
Look for an application link here within the next month or two. And make sure to tell a friend — whose diabetes is out of control and is therefore in the market for a custom “pimp” fix!
Explore posts in the same categories: Fun Stuff
Im In, I probably would be the perfect candidate
Posted by: gina | October 13th, 2006 at 6:26 amOh how suh-weet is that?! What an all star team!
Great idea, and HUGE positive step for you and all the work you do here Amy!
Way to go!
Posted by: Scott K. Johnson | October 13th, 2006 at 7:37 amJust curious… Is this for type 1 or 2 or both?
Posted by: Anne | October 13th, 2006 at 10:14 amVery cool! And right in my backyard. Too bad my diabetes is so well controlled!
Posted by: Kelsey | October 13th, 2006 at 10:28 amAmy,
This is a wonderful idea. It will surely prove that however bad ones diabetic health is, the patient can be saved by diabetes experts.
But I think that there is a better idea, better in the sense that good results will be obtained faster, benefits will be enjoyed earlier, the experiments will be shorter and less expensive, there will probably be more beneficiaries, and the beneficiaries are younger: work on the newly-diagnosed type 2s. Teach them and show them that the correct amount of regular and consistent daily physical activities plus heart-healthy foods are good enough to put type 2 diabetes to sleep. No need for expensive diabetes pills and/or insulin which usually have undesirable side effects.
Posted by: Bonny C Damocles | October 14th, 2006 at 2:09 pmSounds like a great program. Good Luck!
Posted by: Charles Keyserling | October 16th, 2006 at 8:51 amNo offense to Bonny Damocles, but I know there are a number of type 2’s out there who wish all it took was a healthy diet and excercise in order to be free from pills/shots.
“Undesirable side effects” are the least of most type 2’s worries.
(I am type 1, so not necessarily speaking from experience, but tell my type 2 aunt that she doesn’t need insulin! She tried diet and excercise, and her pancreas just doesn’t put out enough. Sheesh.)
Anyway. Amy, that sounds like an excellent program. It’s a shame I am all the way on the other side of the country. But this may be of interest to everyone reading this post–will the diabetes makeover be free to the participants? That would make it the chance of a lifetime…a full diabetes/healthy lifestyle makeover and none of the bills for it!
Posted by: Hannah | October 16th, 2006 at 10:29 pmHi Hannah,
You are right about diet/exercise, of course. They’re great tools, but don’t necessarily make people’s diabetes “go away.”
And yes, the program is for free, of course!
Posted by: AmyT | October 17th, 2006 at 9:15 amHi Hannah,
Nothing will ever offend me. Living this long (turning 71 in 3 months), I think that I have learned to accept that there are many others who are smarter than I. The truth is I appreciate all reactions I get from what I have said. I surely learn from them.
Just so I don’t get misunderstood, I made it clear above only newly-diagnosed type 2s.
One observation I have made during all the more than 15 years that I have been using exercise as my only diabetes medication, type 2 is a very different disease from type 1. From this observation, I have reached this crazy conclusion that type 2 should never be treated in any way similar to the way type 1 is treated. In short, I doubt very much how a type 1 diabetic who has his hands full with problems re his disease can understand clearly a type 2 like me. I will never dare say anything about type 1 because I got zero knowledge of it. My type 2 is more than I can handle.
Another observation: the undesirable side effects I mentioned above, per my suspicion, are the reasons that type 2s don’t improve their health. All type 2s I know who are using diet and exercise for their diabetes control are getting healthier, stronger, and feeling younger.
Amy, you did not hear me say “go away.”
Thanks for the lesson. I am getting smarter.
Posted by: Bonny C Damocles | October 17th, 2006 at 7:08 pmGreat idea and I hope I can become one of the people selected to participate. I started Byetta injections this month and my blood sugars have INCREASED 50-80 points!! HELP!!!
Posted by: Maruta Gardner | November 8th, 2006 at 5:31 pmwhen are you coming to san antoino ,tx ? please
Posted by: george mack | April 17th, 2007 at 6:32 pm