4 6
Living with Diabetes-
Community Calendar A 24-Hour Job
Here are some programs offered by Catherine McAuley Health
Center and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (SJMH) throughout the fall hen Anne Merkel of Chelsea we can avoid having a very large infant
w fire tnld hi hr d taina a t h tim ofd lir H-nxa~ hlfof
and early winter. The introductory classes in BOLD are free (there
is a fee for the remainder of the sessions) except for the breast-
feeding class. There are also numerous classes for seniors, includ-
ing educational sessions on reducing stress, varicose veins and
how to prevent strokes. The Health Center's Health Promotion Van
will be out in the community throughout the fall as well. For more
information on classes for seniors or on the Health Promotion
Van, please call 572-3675 and let them know you read about it in
Capsules.
9e-i v'e
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15
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21
Hypertension screening
Intro to BE TRIM!
Intro to BE TRIM!
Volunteering at CMHC-
informational meeting
Hypertension screening
Hearing screening
Workshop for the hearing impaired
22 BREAST-FEEDING CLASS
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Glaucoma screening
Hypertension screening
Health risk appraisals
Cardiac spouse support group
Workshop for the hearing impaired
SJMH Lobby
Arbor Health Building
Arbor Health Building
SJMH Education Center
Reichert Health Building
Reichert Health Building
Reichert Health Building, Fifth floor
SJMH Education Center
Reichert Health Building
Arbor Health Building
Arbor Health Building
Arbor Health Building
Reichert Health Building, Fifth Floor
SJMH Education Center
Arbor Health Building
SJMH Education Center
SJMH Education Center
Reichert Health Building, Fifth Floor
SJMH Education Center
4-8 p.m.
7-8:30 p.m.
7-8:30 p.m.
7-8 p.m.
1-3 p.m.
1-3 p.m.
10 a.m.- noon
(Call 572-3816
to pre-register.)
7:30-9 p.m.
(Call 572-3675
to pre-register.)
1-3 p.m.
1-5 p.m.
1-5 p.m.
7-9 p.m.
10 a.m.- noon
(Call 572-3816
to pre-register.)
7-8:30 p.m.
7-9 p.m.
7-8:30 p.m.
7-8:30 p.m.
10 a.m.- noon
(Call 572-3816
to pre-register.)
7-8:30 p.m.
svwas 1rsL Lto s1 e au gestatounat
diabetes, she burst into tears. "It was so
scary I didn't know anything about di-
abetes and I was worried about how it
would affect the health of my baby"
Diabetes is a disorder in which the
body cannot convert food properly into
energy When a person eats sugars and
starches, the body, with the help of a
hormone called insulin, converts them
mainly into a specific sugar called
glucose. In diabetics, the amount of
glucose in the blood is not controlled,
either because they don't have enough
insulin in their bodies or the insulin
they do have isn't working. This results
in a glucose build-up which can cause
increased thirst, frequent urination,
weight loss, fatigue and skin infections.
Over many years, if this condition isn't
controlled, complications of the disease
such as stroke, blindness, heart disease,
kidney failure and nerve damage can
result.
Gestational diabetes is a type of
diabetes that can occur in pregnant
women. Says Marv VandenBosch, RN, di-
abetes education specialist at Catherine
McAuley Health Center, "If the condition
is well-controlled during pregnancy, the
chances of the woman not having di-
abetes after pregnancy are good. By
controlling the mother's blood sugar,
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What's
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the women who develop gestational
diabetes will have chronic or perma-
nent diabetes 15 to 20 years later."
Merkel's blood sugar was almost back
to normal the day after her baby was
born. "I'm not diabetic now, but I don't
think I'm going to be diabetes-free all
my life," she says. The fact that she de-
veloped gestational diabetes will play a
part in her and her husband's decision
on whether to have another child. Be-
sides the increased risks for the fetus
if the mother is diabetic, the likelihood
of a woman who has had gestational di-
abetes developing chronic diabetes in-
creases with successive pregnancies.
All encompassing disease
Trudy Dunaway of Brighton did not
learn about her problem with diabetes
until after she switched to a Catherine
McAuley Health Center physician. By
then she had already had gestational di-
abetes with all of her children and then
developed chronic diabetes herself be-
fore she became pregnant with her
fourth child.
"The support I received from the
Health Center staff-the clinicians, the
nurses and the nutritionist-was tre-
mendous," she says. "They were willing
to work within the restrictions of my
Here are some health-related
facts from our doctor's corner
that may surprise you.
" Fluorescent light in supermarkets
quickly destroys vitamin A and
riboflavin in milk kept in glass or clear
plastic containers and causes the flavor
to deteriorate. Milk in cardboard car-
tons stays fresh and nutritious longer.
" One out of three childhood poison-
ings from prescription drugs involve
a grandparent's medication.
* The tendancy to sleepwalk is heredi-
tary and occurs most frequently in
childhood. According to one study,
15 percent of all children between
the ages of five and 12 sleepwalk at
least once.
lifestyle. FDunawa, the most diffi-
cult part of being diabetic was having to
eat certain foods at certain times of the
day. "The people at the Health Center
understood that with so many young
children, it was hard for me to find the
time to eat when I needed to eat. They
helped me plan snacks that would meet
my needs but wouldn't interfere with
my schedule."
According to VandenBosch, diabetes
is one of the most encompassing of all
diseases. She stresses, "We need to
know everything affecting that person's
ability to control his or her condition."
This includes the person's knowledge
and acceptance of the disease and their
method of dealing with stress and their
lifestyle. VandenBosch also determines
complicating conditions such as arthri-
tis that might make it difficult for the
person to administer insulin, for
example.
VandenBosch, who coordinates the
Diabetes Education Program at the
Health Center, works with patients in
group and individual settings, depend-
ing upon the person's needs. A team ap-
proach is used with all patients. For a
pregnant woman with diabetes, the
team includes an obstetrician, an inter-
nist, a dietitian, an educator, a diabetes
nurse and other specialists, as needed.
The goal of the program is to help dia-
betics become self-sufficient, to deliver
a healthy baby of normal birth weight
and to avoid or minimize complications.
"Diabetes is a self-help disease. We
want people to be able to control their
blood sugar level by following a
continued on page 8
" One corporation's study found that
mental health programs for employ-
ees cut medical plan utilization by
50 percent.
* Nearly $1 out of every $4 spent by the
Michigan state government is for a
health-related activity, yet less than
six cents out of every dollar spent on
health care is spent on prevention.
" The United States Chamber of Com-
merce estimates that by 1992, the aver-
age employee health care will cost
$5,120 per year.
* Nationally, advertising costs for ciga-
rettes exceed $1.5 billion each year. 61
yoysj K
3 Intro to BE TRIM!
3 Alzheimer's support group
3 Intro to PERSONAL STRESS
MANAGEMENT
3 Intro to SMOKE STOPPERS
4 Workshop for the hearing impaired
4 Intro to SMOKE STOPPERS
3