Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, April 26, 2001
DIABETES FACTS
Blood Sugar Warning Signs
If your blood sugar is too high,
Caused by:
■ Eating without taking insulin
■ Illness
■ Stress
■ Not taking insulin at the right time
Symptoms:
■ Vomiting
■ Trouble breathing
■ Dry, itchy skin
■ Excessive thirst
■ Frequent urination
■ Fatigue
■ Blurred vision
■ Coma
High blood sugar is the most serious because through time it may damage your eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart.
Treatment:
Treatment:
The only way to treat high blood sugar is to check the sugar level and inject insulin.
If your blood sugar is too low,
Caused by:
- Taking too much insulin
- Eating too little or skipping a meal
- Eating at the wrong time
- Eating at the wrong time
- Exercising extra hard or too long
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach
Symptoms:
Trembling
Dizziness
Hunger
Crying
Sleepiness
Clumsiness
Pale skin
Headaches
Fatigue
Thirst
Hunger
Confusion
Nervousness
Coma
Treatment:
Low blood sugar can be treated by giving carbohydrates, such as sugar cubes, hard candy, fruit juice or regular soda, followed by a snack of crackers with cheese or peanut butter, half a sandwich or cereal with milk.
All about Diabetes
How it forms:
Insulin-dependent (Type 1) diabetes is caused by damage to the pancreas, an organ near the stomach. The pancreas contains cells called beta cells, which make insulin, a hormone that helps cells take in the glucose they need.
The beta cells get wiped out and cannot produce insulin anymore. Without insulin, glucose stays in the blood instead of going into cells.
In most people with insulin.
Diabetics check their blood sugar levels several times a day by placing a drop of blood onto a test strip and inserting it into a calculator-size machine that analyzes the blood for glucose levels.
Catherine Teel displays the insulin pump she wears almost 24 hours a day. The pump releases a slow, steady trickle of insulin through a tube into a needle she inserts into her abdomen.
Diabetics face lifelong battle
Continued from page 1A
from their parents, who aren't there to help maintain their child's life-supporting routine.
"It is imperative that diabetics take care of themselves," said Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins Health Center. "There is a day-to-day, minute-to-minute regulation of blood sugar. It requires vigilance and discipline that those without diabetes do not have to have."
Mealtime Mathematics
Fleming said diabetics must critically look at what they were eating and calculate the number of carbohydrates being digested. Carbohydrates turn to sugar once in the body, and diabetics must give themselves enough insulin to counteract the sugar. A plate of food becomes a math game for Fleming as he tries to estimate the number of carbohydrates in each meal.
For Fleming, who was diagnosed at age 12, mealtime mathematics and daily shots have become second nature. He begins his day with one shot before he even gets in the shower. Fleming gets out his syringe and vial of insulin. He gently rolls it through his hands to mix up the hormone, pulls up 50 units of air in the syringe to guard against air bubbles, injects the air into the vial and draws the insulin into the syringe. He pinches an area of fat on an arm or his stomach, inserts the needle and pushes the plunger. Fleming rotates giving himself shots in different areas, allowing the needle punctures time to heal.
write the shots are an effective substitute for an ineffective pancreas, taking the required three to seven shots a day comes at a cost. Diabetics can develop bruising from the shots if they hit a nerve or muscle instead of fat. After years of shots, their bodies produce areas of scar tissue called fat pockets in places they frequently inject insulin.
"I have a lot better control than when I was younger." Fleming said. "I am always checking my blood sugar. It becomes an addiction. I am always trying to get the perfect number. I have
gotten really good at it. I wish they had a Diabetic Olympics."
Still, his diet routine doesn't have to be flawless. Fleming points to the marshmallow cereal in his kitchen cupboard and his unhealthy habit of munching on Wescoe Terrace hot dogs as evidence that he sometimes cheats.
But Fleming has learned the limits to tempting his disease. As a teenager, a bout with the flu triggered a nearly deadly episode. The flu teamed up with diabetes to throw Fleming's body "completely out of whack." The illness ravaged his body and caused him to lose 50 pounds during his sickness. He looked into the mirror one day and saw a gaunt face he didn't even recognize.
Dangers of the Disease
This episode taught Fleming a lesson, but he worries that Ian, his 18-year-old brother who is also diabetic, hasn't learned. Ian falls into the age group of people who often lack the self-control to monitor their own disease. Fleming said, and Ian has suffered a number of seizures. The latest one came this year when he realized too late that he had low blood sugar. Ian rushed from his bedroom toward the kitchen for a snack but made it only to the bottom of the stairs before he started convulsing. His dad dialed 911 for help.
"It really scares me, but we don't talk about it that much." Fleming said. "We get enough nagging from our parents." Ian will have to manage the disease on his own for the first time when he attends the University in the fall.
But Ken Stoner, director of University of Kansas student housing department, is no stranger to diabetes. He worries about his own son, J.C., a freshman at Kansas State University.
J. C. said he had made a smooth transition to his new life but said his parents still worried about him and questioned him closely when he went home for breaks.
"They are just concerned for me, and they have always been there for me," he said. "Sometimes it's an annoying, but it's nice to have them there."
Ken and Ruth will never forget the morning they found their unconscious, in a coma induced by low blood sugar. They said J.C. might have taken two shots of insulin before he went to sleep that night by accident. While J.C. fully recovered, the memory leaves Ruth with a never-ending question, especially now that her son is away at college.
"There's not a morning that goes by that I don't wonder if he's awake." Ruth said. "I just have to convince myself he's awake. It harder now because I can't check on him."
because it is after his diagnosis at age 12. J.C. and his family received a crash course on the illness at the hospital. They learned that diabetes is caused by the pancreas' inability to produce beta cells, which produce insulin, the hormone that transports glucose to the cells. Without glucose, cells are starved for energy and through time, the lack of glucose in the cells produce
problems with vision, kidneys, nerves and heart.
While the initial trigger of diabetes is still unknown, the immune system mistake mly begins killing the body's own beta cells, causing diabetics to need insulin.
"There are still several theories." Rock said. "There may be an infection affecting the pan-
Brian Foster, Atlantic City, N.J., graduate student, faces the drinking dilemma as well. He said he had chosen to stay away from the bars, which was the only safe way.
"There are a lot of times I wish I didn't have it," Foster said. "But if you are unable to accept who you are, it leads to problems. It helps me stay accountable, and it led me to be the person I am today."
The Hidden Disease
A collegiate track athlete and marathon runner, Foster's lean body does not show the serious illness inside of it. Hidden illnesses such as diabetes can be difficult for others to understand, Foster said. While everyone can empathize with someone in a wheelchair, he said, people have a harder time relating to handicaps they can't see.
Monthly cost of Type 1 diabetes treatment:
Foster gives as an example missing
100 syringes $25
100 test strips $50 to $65
blood testing machine
■ blood testing machine $75 to $100 (one time cost)
■ Long-lasting insulin $25
Regular insulin $25
creas. There is a question about some genetic factors that predispose some individuals to diabetes. The exact causes are still unknown."
- prices reflect cost for diabetic who takes four insulin shots each day
Fighting Deadly Influences
In addition to the complications of living with an already difficult disease, students face a culture that features deadly temptations.
Mia Brown, St. Louis freshman, said she must make the difficult decision whether to drink with her friends or abstain from alcohol, which can cause soaring blood sugar and impair her ability to monitor her body. She said that she had enjoyed drinks with friends before but that she took precautions before and after. Before she goes out, she checks her blood sugar, and upon her return, she checks it again.
"Iget scared that I might pass out and not be able to wake up when I really need to," Brown said.
Foster's *girl*
Cathy Brinton, teasingly calls him "grumpy" when his mood turns sour from low blood sugar. The easy-going Foster is transformed into a silent and aloof person who doesn't like to be touched. But Brinton knows it isn't him but the diabetes acting out
"Thonestly have come to love it about him," Brinton said about his illness. "It makes him who he is. His life revolves around it. It's one of his greatest weaknesses but also one of his greatest strengths."
Weak and Woozy
Foster is one of the lucky diabetics who is able to tell when low blood sugar is beginning to affect him.
Alicia Green, Towanda junior, also knows the signs well. Her symptoms include extreme hunger followed by weakness and difficulty concentrating. It suddenly becomes difficult for her to follow class discussions or take notes. Sometimes she starts shaking.
On a few occasions, she has had to leave class to take care of her diabetes with a snack and rest. She religiously carries food or coins for vending machines to conquer low blood sugar.
During an English class last year, she began feeling the effects of low blood sugar. She could no longer concentrate on the lecture and couldn't find an energy snack in her bag. Her notes became illegible, and she knew she had to leave class, which had already been disrupted by students coming and going. When Green got up, the professor asked her if it was really necessary to leave. Green replied with a simple "yes" and returned with orange juice a few minutes later.
After class, she told the professor she was diabetic, and the professor apologized.
Getting Help
Because of her illness, Green registered with Services for Students with Disabilities. She has not yet used its services to let professors know of her diabetes, but she said it was important to let the University know.
Lorna Zimmer, director of services for students with disabilities located in room 135 of Strong Hall, said it was in the best interest of students to register with her office. Zimmer said she and her staff could provide personal and confidential letters to professors and help with in-class necessities.
While college life does not provide the most ideal setting for controlling diabetes, Green helps combat these challenges by living in the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house, which offers three scheduled meals each day and a well-stocked kitchen. She also is comforted because she has three roommates and someone is always in the house.
Green begins each morning with a daily routine that includes testing her blood. She gets out the needed equipment and pricks her finger with a small gun. The finger-pricking device has a trigger that releases a spring with a small needle attached. Green usually chooses her middle or ring fingers for the test because they are less sensitive than other fingers. She puts the blood on test paper and inserts it into a machine that tests her blood sugar.
She brushes her teeth while waiting the 30 seconds to learn her blood sugar count. When she gets the count, she can inject insulin to lower her blood sugar, or eat a little more breakfast to raise it.
Every two weeks, Green joins Friends and fellow diabetics for meetings of the KU Diabetes Organization. They enjoy dinner as they discuss their lives and
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2001 LENDENBAUM LECTURE
In the nine months just prior to World War II nearly 10,000 children were sent, without their parents, to Great Britain from Haiti Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. These children were rescued by the Modernisierung movement. Most of the children never saw their parents again.
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An ongoing free lecture series in memory of Sig Lindenbaum
*My Knots Were Amplifying: Remembering the Kindertransport.* An "among-standing documentary feature narrated by Joanne Woodward and was produced," directed and edited by Melissa Hacker, whose other escape Vimona on a Kindertransport.
A Viewing and Discussion with Melissa Hacker, Producer & Director
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Surgeon General's Warning: Cigarette
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International Student Association International Awareness Week 2001
Friday, April 27 World Expo
Thursday, April 26
Kansas & Burge Union Afternoon Tea
International Fashion Show: Parade of Nations
3:00 PM Kansas Union Outdoor Plaza
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM Kansas Union (Level 5 & 6)
International Dinner: Flavors of the World 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Kansas Union Ballroom
Festival of Nations 8:00 PM Kansas Union Ballroom Admission: FREE
Tickets: Call 864-3617 or 312-2624 Tickets also available in RM2 Srong Hall
Saturday, April 28 International Dance Party 8:00 PM - 4:00 AM Tremors Cover Charge: $6 at the door