While preparing for a recent Diabetes Manager University (DMU) training program in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan my colleague was reflecting on insulin options and hypoglycemia management. She asked me if I could remind her why people living with Type 1 Diabetes did not have a glucagon response to low blood sugars aka hypoglycemia. While insulin’s main job is to move sugar from the blood stream into the cells, glucagon’s job is to mobilize sugar from the liver and muscle into the blood stream to raise blood sugars up when the body’s blood sugar levels get too low. In Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), the gluca ..read more

Written by Michelle Archer, RD, CDE of Diabetes Training 101 Inc. Fear of Hypoglycemia and Hypoglycemia Treatment Options in Canada In Part 1 of my Update to the Diabetes Canada CPG Hypoglycemia Chapter blog post, we reviewed the new classification system for hypoglycemia created by the International Hypoglycemia Study Group and discussed the importance of asking about episodes of hypoglycemia at each visit with a diabetes professional. New to the Hypoglycemia Chapter: Fear of Hypoglycemia In addition to the updated hypoglycemia classification system, there is also now a section on Fear of Hyp ..read more

Written by Michelle Archer, RD, CDE of Diabetes Training 101 Inc. New Classification of Hypoglycemia in Canada I attended the Vascular 2023 conference in Montreal, PQ and wanted to share and highlight that there was a significant update to the 2023 Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG)-Hypoglycemia Chapter. Hypoglycemia, often also referred to as low blood sugar, is a significant risk factor and burden to people living with diabetes who use insulin or sulfonylurea diabetes drugs.  The big changes with the hypoglycemia chapter are a new classification system that was adopted f ..read more

Non-Compliance with Diabetes Are you wrestling or dancing with your patients? Written by Michelle Archer, RD, CDE As a Certified Diabetes Educator who supports health care professionals to help people Live Well with Diabetes, I cringe when I hear or read the phrase “the patient is non-compliant”.  At times I hear medical office staff use the phrase ‘non-compliant’, less often do my colleague’s comment in this way.  I personally don’t cringe at the thought of working with any individual regardless of their struggles.  I don’t cringe because the patient has not met the outlined tr ..read more

This blog post is a summary of a lecture recently held at the 2022 Diabetes Canada Conference in Calgary, Alberta.   The Hidden Risk Marker in Diabetes – Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Risk Speaker: Dr. Akshay Jain, MD, FRCPC, FACE, CCD, ECNU, DABIM, DABOM Endocrinologist Vancouver BC (Dr. Akshay Jain’s website)  Triglycerides are a type of blood fat that is routinely measured in our patients living with diabetes as part of their blood cholesterol lab work.  Most often the markers of cholesterol that we focus on are LDL-C (Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol) due to its athero ..read more

NIHB Coverage for the Freestyle Libre As a Canadian Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) I have had the opportunity to assist many individuals to access and use the Freestyle Libre flash glucose monitor to assist with their diabetes management.  A colleague recently asked me about non-insured health benefits coverage for the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring device so that prompted me to share some of what I know to help others learn as well. The Freestyle Libre is a blood glucose monitoring device that has become a popular piece of diabetes technology in recent years.  It helps ..read more

Screening for Diabetes In Canada How do we know who to screen and when to screen for diabetes in Canada?  Do we screen for Type 1 diabetes or only type 2 diabetes?  Read on to learn more about the current Canadian diabetes screening approaches. Screening for Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes is primarily caused by an immune response that destroys the beta cells of the pancreas: the cells that make insulin.  Evidence tells us that those who develop type 1 diabetes often pass through a series of immune changes that lead to the full destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas.  ..read more

The Freestyle Libre 2, Abbott’s Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) device has recently been approved in the USA as an integrated continuous glucose monitor (iCGM).  The new device will use Bluetooth technology to alert the user of high and low blood sugars which CGM monitors have been able to do.  Reports are that it is the same cost in USD and offers better accuracy than the Freestyle Libre device currently available in Canada. Read more at: https://diatribe.org/freestyle-libre-2-cleared-fda-icgm The post Freestyle Libre 2 iCGM Device USA Approved appeared first on Diabetes Education Tr ..read more

The Shock and Awe of Newly Diagnosed with Diabetes (Part 2 of 2) Like I mentioned, we have an instinct to jump in.  We went to university for this!  We want to talk about treatments or carbs or insulin resistance.  We want to get to the heart of the problem and to fix the issue so our client can live a good life.  We’ve studied and trained to understand this disease on a deep level and we know we can help people live well with diabetes.  We’ve done it hundreds or maybe thousands of times. Or maybe you have not counselled someone newly diagnosed with diabetes.  Or ..read more

This post is about a client/patient we have all had.  I use the word client, some use the word patient.  I prefer client as it feels more collaborative to me.  But back to my client.  My friend. We all know this client.  Newly diagnosed.  Frantically calls you because they know you will know what to do. They tell you there was no mention of their blood sugars rising in the past. The doctor says they have fasting blood sugars of 16-22 mmol/L, and an A1c of 8%, 10% or 15%.  The don’t “feel” any different.  They are very emotional. Doctor wants them to sta ..read more