Showing Results for: “Glycemic Index and Diabetes”

Type 1 diabetes? There are many ways to describe it, but at its core, it is a lifelong autoimmune disease that changes the way you live from the moment of diagnosis. However, what many people don’t know is that living with type 1 diabetes is often a test of strength and endurance, something no one understood better than Milford Driskill. Born February 19, 1940, Milford was an active kid growing up in Kansas. In 1952, at the age of 12, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes which back then, was known as juvenile diabetes. Insulin had only been discovered 30 years prior and Milford was told if he

Since the dawn of time, we have searched for ways to make life easier for us. The modern age has given us some amazing technological advances—what we would do without the internet, our iPhones or high-speed travel? For many people, surviving life without these things sounds rough. However, if you have diabetes, no doubt you’re also a big fan of one particular 20 th -century discovery: insulin. Before insulin was discovered in 1921, people with diabetes didn’t live for long; there wasn’t much doctors could do for them. The most effective treatment was to put patients with diabetes on very

Alfonzo has type 1 diabetes and has battled the disease on a very low income. This is his story: Still Fighting After 18 Surgeries I was 16 years old when I got diagnosed with diabetes. I had been using the bathroom a lot, drinking a lot of water, and eating anything that I could find. I was taken to a children’s hospital, where I was given a big bag of insulin [vials] to bring down my A1C. I then had to do a week of classes. It seemed like nobody wanted to help me, but no one in my community really understood diabetes. Just Trying to Survive Being poor and having diabetes was not a good

Life has changed a lot for me over the past 28 years of living with type 1 diabetes. Leading up to my diabetes diagnosis at just 12 years old, I remember experiencing some common symptoms including weight loss and extreme thirst. I also dealt with some eye-related issues – severe conjunctivitis and trouble seeing certain colors, such as when my teacher would write in red and green on the whiteboard in school. However, once I was diagnosed and started taking insulin, my eye problems quickly subsided. From then on, I never had to wear glasses or contacts and didn’t experience any eye-related

Stephen Habbe is the Director of State Government Affairs covering states in the Northeast including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Prior to joining the ADA, Stephen worked in the Massachusetts Senate where he had the opportunity to collaborate with the ADA on legislation aimed at improving health insurance coverage for people with diabetes. Stephen says, “working with ADA’s wonderful volunteers to pass laws in support of people with, and at risk for, diabetes, has been immensely rewarding.” Outside of

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Nicolene, diagnosed at age 26, knows all too well how diabetes can impact vision. This is her story: I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 26. I never had any severe problems with it until last year. Suddenly, my eyes were giving me trouble. I was seeing blurry and double vision, and I almost couldn’t see anything without glasses which made it difficult to work with my clients and do what I love in the hair industry. I went to an optometrist and she was shocked. She sent me to an eye specialist for a checkup. He couldn't believe his eyes. The fact that I'm 33 and have cataracts

Type 1 diabetes approached my life at the age of 10 and it hasn't gotten easier. To take care of diabetes requires a lot of responsibility, anything can go wrong if you don't take care of yourself. I have been to the hospital a bunch of times, but that didn't stop me from taking care of myself and continuing to build myself up. Yes, the outcomes can be scary sometimes, but that doesn't mean you have to fear it. I didn't have time to sit and cry about it, I had to learn and adapt. And because of that, I became the man I am today. I use my diabetes as motivation because there was a time where I

Forestry Major, Mary Murdock, was excited to receive her welcome packet from AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps NCCC) in the Spring of 2017. It meant that she was chosen to be a member of a full-time, residential, team-based community service program for young adults, that would take her on a 10-month journey to strengthen communities across the country. Her chance to embark on this journey, however, was threatened because of her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. After submitting her medical information to AmeriCorps NCCC, she was told that she could not be cleared to join