September 24, 2008

How You Can Help!

A lot of people have asked me what they can do to help people with diabetes. Well, one thing we can all do is get the same information that has been so helpful to all of us online to people with diabetes who aren't online.

To further this goal, I've put together a flyer which adapts the information found on the Alt.Support.Diabetes "Newly Diagnosed" web page so that it will fit onto one page.




It's a PDF file. If you like it, print out some copies and leave them by the pile of magazines at your doctor's office. Post some on community bulletin boards. Give it to friends with diabetes. Put it anywhere you see other posters.

The technique described on the flyer is very simple but extremely effective. It's time more people knew about it.

You can download the flyer by clicking on this link:

flyer.pdf

For the version that uses mmol/L measurements download

flyer-mmol.pdf


Be sure to click on "save a copy" to store a copy of the flyer on your own computer.

If you have comments or ideas for improving the flyer, please post them in the comments or email me at jruhl9999-d1@yahoo.com. Let's make this flyer great and get it to the people in our communities who need this information!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perfect timing. I have an appt in two days with a new Primary Care Physician; I'll leave some copies in the waiting room. I also have an appt with my endocrinologist in just under two months. I'll leave some in the waiting room, as well as in the lab waiting room when I go for a blood draw a few days before the appt.

I need to remember to ask my endo if he took a look at your book (I gave him a copy in June, but in the rushed 10 minute appt this month, I forgot to follow up on it).

I'll keep a stack by the door, too. I've taken to saying "yes, I'll listen to the political/religious spiel if you'll give me equal time on why cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease or why most dietary guidelines are not helpful." Seems fair to take turns proselytizing, right? ;-)

Heh, heh, I love this sort of "sneaky" activism. The flyer is a great idea. I can't even count how many times I've had a conversation with someone about good BG control (for themselves or someone they know) and not had something to hand out. Sure, I scribble your Diabetes 101 URL on a scrap of paper, but the flyer is more likely to get some attention long after the memory of the conversation fades.

Anne said...

The flyer is great, but I imagine that the doctor offices will quickly remove them. I will leave some at my next appointment and hope it will help at least one more person.

Anonymous said...

I don't suppose you'd put the mmol values back in, would you, O wonderful person who can edit PDFs? :P

Thanks,

Nicky.

Jenny said...

Nicky,

I'll put a non-U.S. version of the flyer out too.

You can create your own PDFs with some shareware named cutepdf. Very easy.

Anonymous said...

Excellent notion! I tend to push the original website version on newbies (and doctors!) having a brief paper version is going to be useful.

I just suggested Dave Nickerson at ADA review it with a view to running an RCT on the protocol and have done the same on this website

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=31169

but my comment obviously hasn't been published

until there's "data" not just anecdotal evidence of the superiority of this approach we will need to continue to get it out there By Any Means Necessary

(maybe we could even sell this for £24, see the above website)

Anonymous said...

Stop press! My comments on test test test HAVE now been published

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=31169

also Frank Roy has come on board

Jenny said...

Trink,

Good work!

One concern I have with the web page is that it has not been updated in many years and displays an out of date "normal fasting bg" number.

That upper level defining normal fasting blood sugar has been set at 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) by the ultra-conservative ADA. So listing 110 as "normal" is a mistake.

I have changed that on my flyer.

Anonymous said...

That's a point, I don't read the thing any more. I wonder if the other versions have been updated also (it gets posted in numerous places).