 Beating diabetes: St. Mary's helps Greensboro businessman beat diabetes James Lakeman of Greensboro puts it bluntly: “For a diabetic, a bag of fast food ought to have a skull and crossbones on it.” Tough words, but he ought to know: his father died from complications of diabetes and in May 2007, James himself was rushed to St. Mary’s Emergency Department with severe abdominal pain. The diagnosis: Type II diabetes was damaging his pancreas. “Diabetes is a very serious condition,” says Beth Melvin, a certified diabetes educator and coordinator of St. Mary’s Diabetes Education Department. “Your body isn’t able to process sugars correctly. Living with poorly controlled diabetes increases your chance of heart disease, blindness, stroke, amputation and kidney disease.” “James was very sick when he came to us,” says certifed diabetes educator Kim Credle. “But he attended every appointment and completed our program, working hard to make the lifestyle changes he needed. He is an inspiration to others to make those meaningful changes in order to control diabetes.” First Steps It took four days of inpatient care to get James’ blood sugar levels under control. Working with his physician and St. Mary’s diabetes educators, he quickly came to the realization that he had to change the way he lived. And James has a lot to live for. He’s a devoted husband and the father of three teens. He is a decorated public servant who takes children and veterans with disabilities on outdoor adventures. He owns a one-of-a-kind manufacturing plant near Greensboro that lines chemical reactors and pipes with glass for use in processes that would be contaminated by exposure to steel. At St. Mary’s, James and his wife, Allyson, learned that regular insulin injections would help keep his blood sugar levels under control. But they also learned that lifestyle changes could increase his quality of life and reduce his need for medication. To learn more, James signed up for St. Mary’s diabetes education classes. Accredited by the American Diabetes Association, these classes teach self-management of diabetes. The staff helps patients understand how to do everything from blood sugar testing to meal planning. “I watch my diet now, trying to be much more conscious about eating potatoes and breads,” he says. “That was something I ate at every meal. Now, I try to eat things that are a little healthier.” “The good news is that cutting back on calories and fat, being physically active, and losing weight can delay or prevent Type II diabetes,” Kim says. “Diabetes doesn’t go away once you have it, so it’s better to prevent it in the first place.” Making changes for life Since prevention is not an option for James, he has thrown himself into fighting diabetes with the same ferver that enabled him to build his glass business into a plant that employs 25 people. He monitors his blood sugar on schedule, takes his insulin as prescribed and sticks to his low-carbohydrate diet. He has also incorporated exercise into his day, taking long walks or going on 6-mile bicycle rides with Allyson. But James is doing more. In addition to fighting his own diabetes, he talks to friends and family members about the disease. For example, James says one of his friends, who knew he had diabetes, had stopped eating right and taking his medicine. James convinced him to test his blood with James’ blood sugar meter. The off-the-scale reading convinced his friend that it was time to get help. “The things that St. Mary’s taught me help me encourage other people who have diabetes,” James explains. “It’s easy to get discouraged, because you do have to give up a lot of things you used to love. I have seen a lot of my friends who have diabetes give in and get worse. You have to keep fighting.” “Encouraging people with diabetes to make lifestyle changes can be challenging,” Beth says. “That’s one of the main reasons we created a diabetes support group at St. Mary’s, so that people living with diabetes will have a resource to help them stick with their plan of care.” James and Allyson also have included their children in their outreach. “Because of his family history of diabetes, we made it a big deal to involve the whole family so that they can know what they should be eating to avoid these problems,” Allyson says. “I was very impressed with the hospital as a whole,” James concludes. “Everyone that worked with me was so helpful and made sure I had what I needed when I needed it. They took the time to explain everything to me. If my family ever needs to go to another hospital, it will be St. Mary’s.” Having diabetes doubles your chances of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke. St. Mary's Diabetes Education Program helps patients lower their risk. Signs and Symptoms of diabetes
Risk factors for diabetes
The American Diabetes Association recommends you have a screening at least once every 3 years. For a risk factor assessment visit www.diabetes.org. Tips A few simple changes can help healthy people avoid diabetes, and can help people with diabetes manage their condition. Here are some tips from St. Mary’s diabetes educators:
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