Diabetes Companion

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Description

The Diabetes Companion is a simple reference guide for the self-management of diabetes. It aims to help diabetics take control of their condition and maintain a fulfilling life despite the odds. With up-to-date information on treatment guidelines and targets, diabetes medications, and also real-life stories to illustrate points made in the various chapters, The Diabetes Companion is indispensable for the diabetic and their caregivers. In anticipation of a wide and varied readership, the author has avoided using technical jargon where possible, and included a Glossary of Diabetes Jargon to help explain terms that are unavoidable or will add the understanding of the subject.

Sujets

• Diabetes mellitus
• Diabetes

Informations

• Publié par: MarshallCavendishM
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814484459
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Copyright 2009 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Online bookstore: http://www.marshallcavendish.com .
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices: Marshall Cavendish Ltd. 5th Floor, 32-38 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8FH, UK Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Lim, Heok Seng.
The diabetes companion /- Lim Heok Seng with Jonathan Seah, Magdalin Cheong and Tan Li Jen. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, c2009.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN-13 : 978 981 4484 45 9
1. Diabetes- - Popular works. I. Seah, Jonathan. II. Cheong, Magdalin. III. Tan, Li Jen. IV. Title.
RC660.4
616.462 -- dc22 OCN302386402
Printed in Singapore
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Preface
How to Use This Book
Introduction
1 Understanding Diabetes Mellitus - The Basics
2 Complications of Diabetes
3 Treating Diabetes
Part 1: Tackling Obesity
Part 2: Eating Right
Part 3: Exercise
Part 4: Oral Diabetes Medications
Part 5: Insulin Therapy
4 What is Good Control?
5 Monitoring Diabetes Control
6 Hypoglycaemia
7 Managing Diabetes during an Acute Illness
8 Diabetic Eye Disease
9 Foot Problems and Foot Care
10 Fasting and Diabetes
11 Sexual Health
12 Pregnancy and Child-bearing
13 Travelling with Diabetes
14 Coping with Diabetes and Your Emotions
15 Handling the Child with Diabetes
16 Interacting with Your Health Care Providers
17 Alternative Medicines and Supplements
18 Frequently Asked Questions
Part 1: Ask Your Dietitian
Part 2: General Topics
19 The Future
20 Conclusion
List of Cases
Glossary of Medical Jargon
Resources
References
About the Authors
Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to record our gratitude to Dr Tavintharan Subramaniam, currently Senior Consultant, Department of Medicine, Alexandra Hospital, and Mrs Joanna Wong, Assistant Director, Clinical Support Services, Changi General Hospital, who were the editors of Diabetes Totally Uncovered (a previous in-house publication of Changi General Hospital) which spurred us to write this book.
We very much appreciate the valuable feedback and comments given by Senior Staff Nurses Authilakshmy N Manickam, Sri Rahayu Masjum and Lee Pau Li of the Diabetes Centre, Changi General Hospital.
Thanks also to Dr Emily Ho, Registrar, Department of Endocrinology, Singapore General Hospital, for her valuable comments in the early days of writing this book.
Ms Jessie Phua, Senior Podiatrist, Changi General Hospital, and Mr Jasper Tong, Principal Podiatrist, Podiatry Unit, Singapore General Hospital, were very gracious and prompt in giving useful suggestions on the chapter, Foot Problems and Foot Care .
Ms Ai Ling Sim-Devadas, Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs, Changi General Hospital, provided much needed administrative support, and was very encouraging throughout the preparation of this book.
We would like also to mention that the staff at the Dietetics and Food Services of Changi General Hospital were very helpful and supportive.
Last but not least, we are thankful to Mr Pradhap Sadasivam and Mr KH Tan, who allowed us to use their actual names/initials for their personal diabetes stories mentioned in Chapter One. To them and to our other patients whose experiences with diabetes we describe in this book, with altered name initials for confidentiality, we are grateful for the many lessons that we have learnt from their experience.
FOREWORD
I am very encouraged by the publication of this book which, while simple in format and language, is extremely useful to patients, caregivers and the general public. Written by several key staff of Changi General Hospital, it is backed by decades of experience in managing diabetes in thousands of patients.
Medical science has made great strides in general and for diabetes in particular. Diabetes is a disease on the rise worldwide for the reason that obesity is on the rise. Most patients have Type 2 diabetes because of this. Insulin treatment may not be necessary until the late stage of the disease. So, long before this, there are many treatments and lifestyle changes that can be effectively made to control the disease and prevent complications.
It is my hope that this book will serve its purpose of educating those who need to know about diabetes and its many facets. Knowledge is the essential first step towards better care. It should lead to a change in attitude and lifestyle behaviour. This will result in as near normal a life as possible for the patient.
I congratulate the editor and the authors for this well-written and presented book.
Professor Chee Yam Cheng
Assistant CEO, National Healthcare Group and
Senior Physician, Department of Medicine,
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
PREFACE
We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.
-Sir Dr William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian-born physician, Father of Modern Medicine
I can safely say that if you are reading this book, either you have diabetes, are at risk of getting it, or know someone (most likely a family member) who has it.
If, indeed, you have diabetes, you have plenty of company. Diabetes is prevalent in epidemic proportions globally. In Singapore, based on the 2004 National Health Survey, 8.2% of adults aged 18 to 69 years (or 328,000 adult residents) have diabetes, half of whom had not been previously diagnosed with the condition in that survey.
It is not surprising, therefore, that hardly a week passes without something being mentioned about diabetes in the local mass media. Some news can be depressing but others hold up hope for diabetics who are waiting for a cure.
Aware of the long-term individual health, social and economic implications of diabetes and its twin problem of obesity, the Ministry of Health, Singapore, is ever looking for more effective ways to prevent and tackle these two conditions head-on.
I have been treating diabetes for the better part of my medical career and am convinced that the role of the person with diabetes, or the person at a high risk of getting diabetes, is crucial. His or her active lifelong participation is integral to the treatment and prevention process. Health authorities, the medical community, and medical science can only do so much, notwithstanding the great advances that have been made in diabetes care in the last 20 years.
Patient education in diabetes self-care gained momentum in the early 1970s, when a landmark study 1 in the United States demonstrated that a group of diabetics who had received diabetes education had fewer hospitalisations, diabetic comas and diabetic foot problems.
It is the responsibility of the health care provider to initiate the education process, but the patient must also be a willing and active partner in order to achieve the best possible therapeutic outcome. He/she must be fully equipped with not only pure or hard facts about the disease, but also the skill to manage it on a day-to-day basis. With diabetes being a lifestyle disease, the patient has to make appropriate choices in the area of diet and physical activity. There are tasks, such as self-monitoring of blood glucose, that he/she must not shy away from.
We have met with many successes where the diabetic person s knowledge, skill and self-motivation contribute significantly to improved health. However, there remains a large number of people with diabetes without a basic knowledge of the condition and how to self-manage it. The reasons are numerous, ranging from failure on the part of the health care professionals and their education programmes to the patients own lack of interest.
It is, therefore, the objective of this book, The Diabetes Companion, to help fill this education gap amongst patients. This book will also serve as a simple reference guide for the medical and health care community interested in the management of diabetes.
The Diabetes Companion is inspired by a previous in-house publication (entitled Diabetes Totally Uncovered ) which we at the Diabetes Centre in Changi General Hospital were using as a supplement to our personalised diabetes patient self-care, nutrition and foot-care counselling.
This book is different from its predecessor in its style and information. Those familiar with the latter will quickly notice that The Diabetes Companion is more detailed, has a more consistent style of presentation, has many updates on treatment guidelines and targets and diabetes medications, and has new chapters, such as Interacting with Your Health Care Providers an