Diabetes educators: Who are they and what do they do?imgres

Likely every type 1 child and their families have seen an educator: at the hospital, for insulin management, to start on a pump, or for school paperwork.  But what do you really know about your diabetes educator and what are their backgrounds?

The Definition

According to the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE):

A certified diabetes educator (CDE) is a healthcare professional for diabetes or people at risk for diabetes with behavioral goals to achieve better clinical outcomes.  So what exactly does that mean? The idea is an educator helps a child with diabetes (or family members, in the case of children) with eating habits, exercise habits, insulin dosing, sick day management, and basically the day-to-day activities for a child that affects blood sugars and A1c levels.  A diabetes educator’s background is varied.  He or she may have a background as a registered nurse, a nutritionist, a pharmacist, a physician, or a mental health professional, to name a few.  He or she must take a certification exam to become an educator.  The basis for their education revolves around what the AADE calls the 7 self-care behaviors:  healthy eating, being active, monitoring and taking medications, problem-solving, healthy coping, and reducing risks.

Who Pays to See a CDE

Typically a person with diabetes can see an educator more often than the endocrinologist; however, this is based on insurance coverage.  Insurance coverage for an educator will differ between plans (so check your insurance plan out).  Usually you need a referral from the endocrinologist.  After the referral is made you can typically see the educator more often than the endocrinologist depending on the reason for seeing the educator.

How do you use your educator in your community?  Is he or she helpful or is the endocrinologist you see more helpful?  Have you seen your educator lately?

Here is the link to the American Association of Diabetes Educators with a full-page on what an educator is:

http://www.diabeteseducator.org/export/sites/aade/_resources/pdf/Definition_Diabetes_Educator.pdf

What Exactly Does a Certified Diabetes Educator Do?

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The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes

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The Barbara Davis Center in Denver, Colorado has been a center for all people with diabetes to receive care. The center began as a way to help underprivileged children with type 1 diabetes to receive care and supplies. Over the years the center has developed and written several books and added programs like classes for grandparents, for families of persons with diabetes.

One popular book that you may be familiar with is Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, otherwise known as the Pink Panther book.imagesThis one of the books in the Bag of Hope that many children with type 1 diabetes receive when they are newly diagnosed. What a great book it is!  The Pink Panther book is an essential reference to understanding all things diabetes.

The Barbara Davis Center mission statement is:

Our mission is to provide state-of the-art care to children and adults with type 1 diabetes and to teach our patients how to prevent or delay complications. Our research is devoted to finding prevention, cure, and most effective treatment of diabetes and associated disorders.

Recently the center has combined with the University of Colorado Health Science Center.  They still provide easy access for care and the variety of programs the center originally created.  The Barbara Davis Center is still acting as a funding raising entity. You can find out more at:  Barbara Davis Center.

 

Toes in the Sand and Pumpers

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Its summer time and most of us are heading out for a vacation. Some to big cities, some to forested mountains, some to lakes and camping. And then there are those of us headed to warm sun, sand and ocean! Think of it, seeing to the bottom of the ocean and the fish swimming and surfing, sailing, and sand castles! But wait….

sandcastle

….There is insulin and insulin pumps and strips and all that fun stuff to figure out! Hot weather and taking the pump off to play in the water and then putting it back on every two hours and trying not to get sand in everything!!! Here are some tips to save the sand everywhere (and if you are at a beach, have been at any time in your life then you know sand just sticks to everything!):

1. If your child or self uses an insulin pump. always put the site cap back on. If sand gets into the site then it is site change time.

2. Have a dedicated cooler for only insulin supplies, (insulin, strips, sugar etc )that is large enough sand will have a hard time jumping in!

3. Consider going back to shots for the time you will be at the beach. No pump, only glucometer, and strips to worry about.  If doing this connect with you Diabetic educator and review what basal insulin and an insulinshot schedule.

Our book has all of the equations to determine correction factor and insulin needs for food as an easy resource for your beach travels!

While at the beach have fun and keep you r toes in the sand for those of us by the Rocky Mountains

What Diabetes Apps Do You Use?

Technology is great! It allows us to keep connected with other people in our lives. For example, It allows my teenager to contact me always. So when he is over at a friends or out with school activities he texts me his blood sugar numbers when they are out of range. So my question is what apps for your smart phones do you use for your type 1 diabetic?

Type 1 Available apps

There are so many apps available for use. Some seem perfect for a type 2 diabetic because  they help with meals and weight loss. The few type 1 diabetic apps I have reviewed and looked at are ManageBGL, My care Connect, and Go Meals or Calorie King. ManageBGL website talks about real-time Blood sugars (a sitter/child enters it and it gets to the parents), predictive lows or highs, ans so much more. What a wonderful way for parents to help easy an overnight with others. Then there is My care Connect. This one allows information from school, child, parent to communicate back and for as well as with the endocrinologist. I have not had the chance to use either one but have look at both closely.

 

Then there is the applications that help you carb count:Calorie King, GO meals. We utilize apps and books. Usually just what we can get our hands on fastest. They have allowed my teenager to feel more comfortable counting carbs.

Pros and Cons

Apps help so much and in so many ways depending on which app you decide to use. Apps need good cell service or wi-fi to get the information live. Don’t get me wrong I utilize every thing I possibly can to help me with my sons diabetes management, but there are times a book or a phone call is easier or more reliable. So a mix of technology and old school paper is good.

Knowing when to tell your child or other adult if the app, phone call or consulting a book, like ours “type 1 Diabetes and Babysitting”, will be the fastest or safest method. We can rely on technology until it does not work then we need to rely on paper. Plus there are things that are tangible like having a flow chart right infornt of you to know management. Let me know which do you prefer: paper or a screen?

Type 1 Diabetic Apps

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Children with Diabetes Book Review

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It’s week Children with Diabetes feathered our book. The review of the book came highly recommended!!! Look at the website  Http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/d_06_ao1.htmimage

 

 

 

Book Interest

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When we started out writing our book as writers we knew how important a book about Type 1 diabetes and babysitting would be. We did  not plan for interest so fast.  Can you imagine our excitement when so many groups showed intersed quickly.

First, a few weeks ago I picked up a Colorado Springs Kids Magazine.  I started to look through it for things to do during October and there was an article about Type 1 Diabetes. And At the end of the article the physician mentioned our book. To be fair I work in the same large medical group with Dr. Garscadden, a pediatrician. What I did not know is he was going to mention our book in his article! And thank you Colorado Springs Health Partners and Dr. Garscadden for your support!Colorado_Springs_Kids_article Secondly,  JDRF reviews books twice a year for their online bookstore. They did contact us about a month ago to ask for a copy to review. So we sent on with fingers crossed! This week we found our book on their website! At JDRF’s bookstore you can find many helpful books for raising children with type 1 diabetes. Here is their website:  http://jdrf.org/life-with-tid/bookstore/

Sleepovers and Type 1 Diabetes

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Type 1 diabetic children and sleepovers

What was your childs first sleep over  as a type 1 diabetic? How did it go with the other parents? How did you prepare for the sleepover?

My sons first sleepover was stressful for me as a parent and a professional. He was going over to a wonderful families house to stay the night just 4 blocks away. I had trained the mother and she said she felt very comfortable helping him give shots and counting carbohydrates. I felt comfortable leaving him. But only after we had talked and discussed it thoroughly! He had only had diabetes for 8 months or so. So my husband and I had some time to ourselves for a while. Then dinner time came. The mother had called me upset because she just couldn’t give him his shot. The idea of putting a needle in another person upset her so much. This was something she did not expect to feel.  I went over and gave him his shot and then went the next morning to give him his shot. He did his own blood sugar testing. I was lucky because it was just down the street.

Once he had a pump he had an easier time with sleepovers. I still was very strict on where he could go. If he had a friend with physician parents they had an easier time keeping him overnight. They did get easier each time and as he became older.

I am curious about how this has worked for others. How did you teach families and parents? What materials did you use to teach these parents?

But mostly what is your story about the first sleepover and your type1 diabetic child?

Type 1 and Babysitting

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http://www.momseveryday.com/video?videoid=2674483

Here is our 2 minute video clip about our book! We were so lucky to have been able to go on and discuss Type 1 diabetes and babysitting. It was all very exciting! I am a behind the scenes kind of gal (so slightly nervous) and Dayna appeared so comfortable (at least on the outside!).

We want to thank KKTV and CSHP for setting up this interview.

Check it out. We talk very briefly about the book and how it evolved! Type 1 moms developing this babysitting tool.

Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9 September 2013 | Colorado Springs, Colorado

Stacey Smith-Bradfield and Dayna Frei

Date Night possible again for parents of children with Type 1 diabetes

TYPE 1 DIABETES AND BABYSITTING:  A PARENT’S TOOLKIT

After the diagnosis of a child with Type 1 diabetes, the first weeks, even months, are filled with sleepless nights, insulin shots, blood sugar numbers, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed.  From day one, parents are taught to prepare for the worst case scenario:  a plummeting blood sugar resulting in seizures or even unconsciousness.  Once a family starts to venture out of their safe, structured environment, simple pleasures such as play dates, sleepovers and even an evening out for parents seem like an insurmountable challenge.  As fellow parents of children with Type 1 diabetes, Stacey Smith-Bradfield and Dayna Frei have sought to ease the fears and frustrations of leaving children with a sitter, a nanny or even a friend.

“From a medical standpoint, you cannot gloss over the needs of a child with Type 1 diabetes.  In writing Type 1 Diabetes and Babysitting:  A Parent’s Workbook, we knew we had to cover so many critical topics,” says Smith-Bradfield, an Advanced Practice nurse.  Co-author Frei adds, “Not only is this a teaching tool for the parent, but we had to consider caregivers who might not have any knowledge of diabetes.”  The workbook walks a parent through teaching sitters about day-to-day care, as well as emergency situations, and includes places to completely tailor the pages to their child’s needs.  Additionally, Smith-Bradfield and Frei have added pull-out pages, with sections such as “Dinner and a Movie” and “Sleepovers” leaving the person in charge with the most important and likely needed information.

Julie Marmon, M.D. says, “This book provides parents a method to convey crucial data and not worry that important details have been glossed over. The step-by-step instructions and flow charts with areas to personalize, streamline care and remove fear from a situation which may be scary for sitters and family members. Great work!”

While there are hundreds of books on diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes and Babysitting: A Parent’s Toolkit is the first to simply teach the pertinent information, without overwhelming the teenager or adult caregiver.  For more information, please visit www.sciencehorse.com.

TYPE 1 DIABETES AND BABYSITTING:  A Parent’s Toolkit

By Stacey Smith-Bradfield and Dayna Frei

Science Horse Productions, LLC

P.O. Box 38879, Colorado Springs, CO  80937

ISBN:  978-0-615-86345-0

Price:  $15

CONTACT:      email sciencehorseproductions@gmail.com       phone 719.237.6631