Caring for Your Eyes
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted July 10, 2009My sister Mary Sue developed diabetes 43 years ago. I’d never known anyone with diabetes before, so I knew absolutely nothing about it. That changed quickly: I saw how demanding life with diabetes could be, and how challenging it was to keep blood sugars close to normal to avoid complications. The list of those dreaded complications was always in my consciousness, and the list always began and ended with blindness - my sister losing her vision was the complication that scared me most. Many people with diabetes did go blind in those days. Read More
Help from Your Pharmacist
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted July 10, 2009If you are like most people, your pharmacist is the health care provider you see most often. I have patients who take lots of pills, sometimes 30 or more a day. That’s a lot of trips to the drugstore, and a lot of interactions with the pharmacist. I know that many of these interactions aren’t wonderful ones, especially if they involve long waits in line or confusion about your prescription. But the fact is you can get lots of help from your pharmacist. Read More
Worried about Starting Insulin
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted July 10, 2009Many people with type 2 diabetes dread the idea of taking insulin. I often hear people say they “hate shots”, but I suspected that the reasons people resist taking insulin go far beyond a fear of injections. In the last few years I have conducted research studies to help me better understand how many people resist taking insulin, the reasons for this resistance, and how to overcome it. Read More
Vacationing with Diabetes
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted July 10, 2009It’s summer vacation time. Have you had yours yet? Will you be visiting relatives and friends, going places you’ve come to enjoy or finding new ones, or staying home to relax or to take care of things that need tending? However you spend your vacation, you have to take your diabetes into account. You want to enjoy this special time without paying too high a price in blood sugar control or guilt. Read More
Relieving Stress
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted July 10, 2009
If you could check your stress level as easily as you check your blood sugar, where would it be most of the time – nice and low, or sky-high? I have a good friend, Dr. William Polonsky from The University of California in San Diego. Bill and some colleagues developed a questionnaire called the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) questionnaire to see how people felt about living with diabetes. Of the hundreds of people who completed the questionnaire, 99% said they experienced diabetes-related stress. So if you feel stressed about diabetes you have lots of company. Read More
Emotional Eating: Feeding Feelings
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted April 20, 2009
Few of us eat only when we are hungry. Often we eat to feed feelings, not to fill our stomachs. We eat because we are bored, or stressed, or depressed, or even because we are happy. And the things we are drawn to when we eat emotionally, while undeniably delicious, are rarely healthy choices – the mid-afternoon candy bar at work, or the bowl of ice cream in the evening, for example. Take this little quiz to see how much of an issue emotional eating is for you.
Read More Diabetes Police or Diabetes Support: What's the Story in Your Family?
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted April 20, 2009
Diabetes runs in my family. My sister Mary Sue was 9 when she got it, and she just turned 50 last December. My son Stefan, now 28, got it when he was 7. Many families are like mine, with more than one person who has diabetes. I met a man last year who told me that he and every one of his siblings had type 2 diabetes – all 22 of them! Now that’s one for the books. Read More
Stop Smoking!
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted April 20, 2009
I just finished reading an article with important and encouraging news for people with diabetes who want to stop smoking. In this study a nurse offered a program for patients at hospital diabetes clinics. Six months later 17% of the patients had quit smoking, and most of those who were still smoking had cut back significantly. That 17% who quit altogether might seem like a small number, but it is seven times the number who usually stop smoking in a six-month period. Just as important, we know that each time a smoker hears a stop-smoking message, a few take it to heart and quit. So if you smoke, please read on. Read More
Fact Sheets and Patient Resources on Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
Courtesy of The Hormone Foundation
Posted February 27, 2009
The Hormone Foundation is a leading source of hormone-related health information for the public, physicians, allied health professionals and the media.
The Hormone Foundation produces a variety of bilingual (English/Spanish) fact sheets on endocrine and metabolic disorders. To view the factsheets go to:
http://www.hormone.org/Resources/factsheets.cfm.
In addition, the Hormone Foundation produces Patient Guides which are free for patients and available at: http://www.hormone.org/Resources/patientguides.cfm.
Please feel free to download any and all these helpful materials to share with your patients.
Tips for Sticking with Your New Year’s Resolution –Or Getting Back on Track
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted January 23, 2009
Every year half of all adults in the US make New Year’s resolutions. Most make a commitment to improving their health: eating better, being more active, or losing weight, for example. I like New Year’s Resolutions. Even though these resolutions are often fueled by guilt over a long holiday season of too much food and too little activity, they still reflect our deepest hopes for better health and wellbeing. We really, really want to turn over a new leaf for the New Year. Read More
Helping Your Feet Last a Lifetime
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted January 23, 2009
Our feet were made to last a lifetime – so we can stroll, dance, garden, golf, and keep up with our children and grandchildren until our days on earth are done. That’s what we all dream of. But for people with diabetes realizing that dream presents special challenges. Read More
Working In Working Out
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted January 23, 2009
Exercise is as close to a panacea or “magic pill” as anyone could dream of. In fact, if it were possible to create a medication with the benefits of exercise, those who owned the patent would be very wealthy. Better mood, more energy, closer to normal blood glucose levels and weight, and a longer, healthier life – who could ask for anything more? Read More
What is a CDE?
American Association of Diabetes Educators
Posted August 29, 2008
Certified diabetes educators are there to help their patients learn how to take care of themselves – guide them through their treatment and help them with any fears, issues and problems they encounter along the way. Read More
Education and Compliance Tips for Patients with Diabetes
In July 2008, PCMG conducted a contest among PCMG members on education and compliance tips for patients with diabetes. We asked you to share some of your more innovative approaches to helping your patients comply with their treatment and lifestyle modifications as well as educating your patients on the progressive nature of diabetes. We received lots of wonderful tips and suggestions and wanted to share them! We hope you find these tips useful and practical to your everyday primary care practice. Read More
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Information for Patients
Anne Walsh, PA-C, MMSc
Posted August 5, 2008
What is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)? Fatty liver is a sign of “metabolic syndrome”. It is the most common cause of high liver enzymes in people who don’t drink much (or any) alcohol. Diet, weight, inactivity, and heredity cause excess calories to be stored in the liver as fat, called “steatosis.” Some people have a more serious form, called “Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis,” or NASH, which leads to cirrhosis (severe liver scarring) in 26% of patients. Read More
Pratical Approaches to Happiness
Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE
Posted April 8, 2008
I’m a psychologist, so I’ve spent most of my career talking to my patients about their problems. But more and more recently I’m talking to my patients about happiness, an approach some of us are calling positive psychology. Read More
