TCOYD - Winter Newsletter Vol 38

NEWSLETTER

MY

Winter 2012 Volume 38

Medical Advice Should Always Be Questioned Knowledge is Key

Dr. Edelman’s Corner

INSIDE Remote Glucose Monitoring Helps Parents Page 3

Diabetes and Cholesterol Packaged in One Pill Page 4

Question of the Month Page 5

Join the Revolution with Insulindependence Page 6

Know Your Numbers Page 7

Get Personal Attention From Your Diabetes Support Program Page 8

Diabetes in Motion Page 9

Top Off Your New Year’s Resolution Page 10

Filling the GAP Page 11

TCOYD Facebook Community Page 12

I

n health care today it is very important to question the medical advice you are given. NEVER blindly trust what you are told to do by any medical professional. The best thing that you can do for your health is to be your own best advocate, take control and be informed and involved.

This may sound harsh but, as an endocrinologist working at several major medical centers and hearing stories from my colleagues around the country, I have seen first hand the effects of just plain wrong advice given to people with diabetes and, sometimes, that advice is the culprit of severe negative outcomes.

You, the person living with diabetes, will suffer the consequences of poor advice, not the person giving the harmful information. Before I give you some examples, let me say that NONE of these situations were created intentionally and

it just boils down to plain old ignorance on the part of the medical professionals as well as individuals with diabetes, who have not learned to take control!

If you have type 1 diabetes and a surgeon says to you, “Do not take your Knowledge (continued on page 2)

Special Acknowledgements Medical Advisory Board Chair: Ingrid Kruse, DPM Veterans Affairs Medical Center Alain Baron, MD CEO, Elcelyx Therapeutics John Buse, MD, PhD University of North Carolina Jaime Davidson, MD Dallas, TX Mayer Davidson, MD Drew University Daniel Einhorn, MD Diabetes & Endocrine Associates Robert Henry, MD Veterans Affairs Medical Center Irl Hirsch, MD University of Washington

Board of Directors Steven V. Edelman, MD Founder and Director, TCOYD Sandra Bourdette Co-Founder and Executive Director, TCOYD S. Wayne Kay Margery Perry Terrance H. Gregg CEO, DexCom, Inc. Daniel Spinazzola President, DRS International Contributing Authors Jennifer Braidwood Steven Edelman, MD Candis Morello, PharmD, CDE Deepika Nayyar, PharmD Candidate 2012 Michelle Day Blair Ryan Roz Hodgins Joy Pape

TCOYD Team Steven V. Edelman, MD Founder and Director Sandra Bourdette Co-Founder and Executive Director Jill Yapo Director of Operations Michelle Day Director, Meeting Services Antonio Huerta Director, Latino Programs Roz Hodgins Director, External Affairs Jennifer Braidwood Manager, Outreach and Continuing Medical Education Jimm Greer Manager, Social Media David Snyder Manager, Exhibit Services

MyTCOYD Newsletter Editor: Jennifer Braidwood Assistant Editor: Robyn Sembera Design: Hamilton Blake Associates, Inc. MyTCOYD Newsletter is offered as a paid subscription of Taking Control Of Your Diabetes.

All material is reviewed by a medical advisory board. The information offered is not intended to constitute medical advice or function as a substitute for the services of a personal physician. On the contrary, in all matters involving your health, TCOYD urges you to consult your caregiver. ©2012 All rights reserved.

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Knowledge (continued from page 1)

basal insulin (Lantus or Levemir)” or “Stop your pump” the day before your scheduled operation, would you do it? Believe it or not, this is a very common occurrence. The surgical specialists often do not have a clue about diabetes and especially the difference between type 1 and type 2. A person with type 2 on insulin would probably be okay with this advice but a person with type 1 will go into the severe metabolic state called diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA. If it is an elective procedure, the surgery will most likely be cancelled due to high blood sugar levels. Give me a break! One of my colleague’s patients had a heart attack while in DKA that was caused by stopping his insulin.

My doctor friend, who is a diabetes specialist, even told the patient a week before surgery not to stop his basal insulin even if the surgeon or anesthesiologist tells him to stop. This scenario happens every day multiple times across America. I bet each one of you has a frustrating story about what happened to your diabetes while in the hospital, but this patient should have known better.

This next example is super common but typically not as dangerous. Health care professionals commonly give steroids for many different conditions and, out of ignorance, do not tell their patients with diabetes that their blood sugar levels will go through the roof. What happens is that the person

with diabetes, who doesn’t have any knowledge about what steroids can do to blood sugar levels, panics and starts calling their diabetes specialist or primary care physician with no idea of what is happening or why! Every person with diabetes should know the basics of which medications can mess with their diabetes control and steroids are the worst offenders. With a little bit of knowledge, proactive adjustments can be made, especially for those on insulin.

These types of scenarios occur between caregivers and patients in all disease states, some with more serious consequences than others. Diabetes is a condition with a 24/7 presence and it can be thrown off by many variables throughout the day and night. Medical professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, etc., went into medicine to help their patients, but can not know every single thing about every disease. What it comes down to is that the person with the medical condition needs to be as smart and informed as they can be about their own disease. Knowledge is the key for both the patient and the provider.

You owe it to yourself and your family to take control of your diabetes and never blindly trust the medical advice given to you.

Steven Edelman, MD Founder and Director Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

Remote Glucose Monitoring Helps Parents of Children With Type 1

By Jennifer Braidwood

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nyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes knows first-hand that living a happy and healthy life with diabetes is a challenging feat. A feat that is certainly attainable but at times difficult. Daily life changes, priorities shift, and your A1C becomes a very important component to your overall health and wellness. Non-diabetic parents who have young children with diabetes share many of the same challenges.

Doctor Francine Kaufman, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of the Diabetes Unit of Medtronic states, “after all my years of caring for patients and families with diabe-

any individual who has diabetes and is aiming for greater awareness of his or her nocturnal glucose levels, but it may be especially helpful for parents who have children with diabetes.

Remote glucose monitors provide real-time information about an individuals glucose levels in addition to a tes, I am still amazed that so many sense of comfort and perhaps a more parents wake up multiple times each restful sleep for the parent. Parents night to ensure the safety of their can be awakened by an alarm or alert children.” One of the most vulnerat the same time the alert occurs on able periods of time for a child with the child’s pump. The mySentry™ for type 1 diabetes is when he or she example, is designed to enhance the is asleep. It is estimated that up to MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time 75% of severe hypoglycemic epiRevel™ System and includes the folsodes in children with type 1 lowing features: diabetes occur at some point u Alarm loud enough to wake up during the night. deep sleepers A remote glucose monitor, such u Large color screen displays with as the mySentry™ Remote Glucose key insulin pump and CGM Monitor, could potentially alleviate a information, including: parent’s anxiety when both they and u The same alerts and alarms their children are sleeping. Remote that are displayed on the glucose monitors can be useful to Paradigm® Revel™ Insulin Pump u A snapshot of the most recent sensor glucose readings with up or down trend arrows u CGM graphs (3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour views) u Insulin pump and CGM status Remote glucose monitors can be placed in the bedroom or in any room throughout the house. The communication range is up to 50 feet or greater in a normal household. If you have a child with diabetes and you find yourself worried about him or her during the night, this just might be your answer!

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

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Ask Your Pharmacist

Juvisync: Diabetes and Cholesterol Control Packaged in One Pill Another benefit of

By Candis M. Morello, PharmD, CDE & Deepika Nayyar, PharmD Candidate

D

o you need some help controlling both diabetes and cholesterol? On October 7, 2011, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Juvisync, a combination oral medication to serve both purposes. Juvisync is one tablet filled with two medications: sitagliptin (Januvia—for diabetes) and simvastatin (Zocor—for cholesterol). Juvisync is used to help patients lower their blood glucose and cholesterol levels and it is packaged in a convenient tablet taken only once a day.

sitagliptin is that it does not cause weight gain like many other diabetes medications.

diabetes and may also be beneficial if diet changes and other nonmedication measures have proven insufficient to control diabetes and cholesterol. Juvisync can help control blood glucose and cholesterol without causing hypoglycemia and weight gain. It also decreases the hemoglobin A1C (a weighted Figure 1 measure of average blood glucose concentrations over the previous 3 How Does Sitagliptin Work? How Does Simvastatin Work? months) by 0.8% and LDL (the bad Sitagliptin is a diabetes mediSimvastatin, a cholesterol medi- cholesterol) by 30-40%. If you need a moderate decrease in hemoglobin cation classified as a dipeptidyl cation also referred to as a “statin peptidase IV inhibitor (DPP-IV drug,” is classified as an HMG-CoA A1C and cholesterol levels, Juvisync may be a good choice for you. In Inhibitor). reductase inhibitor. By inhibiting addition, two medications combined Simply stated, by inhibiting the cholesterol production in the liver, into one tablet taken once per day DPP-IV enzyme, sitagliptin causes it decreases LDL cholesterol (the is convenient and may help with an increase in incretin hormones. bad cholesterol) and triglycerides medication adherence. To get the These hormones stimulate insulin (fat particles in the blood), while most out of the medication, Juvisync release (only when glucose values are also increasing HDL cholesterol elevated) and help decrease glucose (the good cholesterol). Studies have should be taken in the evening or at production. The overall effect of shown that this drug may also reduce bedtime.

Patients who are already using sitagliptin is to lower blood glucose the risk of heart attack, stroke, or another statin drug should not take concentrations without causing other health problems in patients Juvisync as this would be a duplicate low blood glucose (See Figure 1). with high risk factors for heart or therapy and potentially harmful.

Another benefit of sitagliptin is that blood vessel disease.

Since statin drugs may interact it does not cause weight gain like with different antibiotics, be sure to Is Juvisync Right for You? many other diabetes medications. tell your prescriber you are taking Juvisync has been approved by Juvisync when starting new antibiFDA for patients with type 2

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Question of the Month

otics. In addition, grapefruit juice increases simvastatin concentrations, so be sure to avoid grapefruit juice when using Juvisync. If you develop unexplained muscle pain and/or severe abdominal pain that will not go away, you must contact your provider. Patients with active liver disease and those who are pregnant or lactating should not use Juvisync.

The Bottom Line Juvisync is a combination of two medications—sitagliptin and simvastain. If you need better blood glucose and cholesterol control, and want the convenience of one pill and no weight gain, Juvisync may be a good option.

Candis M. Morello, Pharm D, CDE, FCSHP, Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacist at VASDHS Deepika Nayyar, PharmD Candidate 2012 at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

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By Steven Edelman, MD

W

hat should you ask your health care professional when you are going to be given steroids to help with your asthma, bad back, carpal tunnel syndrome or any other condition?

Answer: First, you need to know what dose (low, medium or high) of steroids you will be given and how long you are expected to be on them.

The answers will depend on what condition is being treated. Next, you need to find out if your diabetes medications will need to be adjusted while you are taking the steroids. If you have type 2 diabetes and are on oral medications, you may not need to do anything but just be aware that your numbers may rise pretty high into the 3-400 range. If you are going to be on steroids for a short time, a week or less, then nothing needs to be done but you should be extra careful with your caloric intake, drink a lot of fluids and try to exercise as much as you can. If you are going to be on steroids for a longer time, then you may temporarily need insulin. Typically, what is recommended is fast acting insulin (Humalog, Novolog and Apidra) at mealtimes and also at other times if your numbers are extremely high (a correction dose, explained below).

If you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes that is treated with insulin, you will need an insulin adjustment. During this time it will be of utmost importance to test your blood sugar a lot more often and having a continuous glucose monitor would be very helpful. Typically, we treat steroid induced hyperglycemia by increasing the fast acting insulin at mealtimes and being aggressive with using a correction factor. A correction factor allows you to give frequent doses (every two to three hours) of a fast acting insulin at mealtime and at times in-between meals when the blood sugar levels are elevated. A typical correction factor would be to take one unit of a fast acting insulin for every 25 points above 120mg/dl. The dose of your long acting insulin, such as Lantus or Levemir, may also be adjusted but normally only with prolonged steroid usage. The bottom line is, proactive planning with your insulin dose is crucial when starting steroids.

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

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Living Well

By Blair Ryan

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hether it’s international climbing expeditions, 100mile canoe trips, 24-hour relays, backcountry ski trips, triathlons, surfing expeditions, ocean kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, rock climbing, group camping trips, or local walks and hikes, Insulindependence (IN), a not-for-profit organization, is aiming to revolutionize the way people approach diabetes. The organization operates on the belief that the most effective and influential system of support is the diabetes community itself, and at the center of that community an active fitness-focused lifestyle is paramount.

By encouraging people with diabetes to make fitness and exercise a vital part of their diabetes management and providing them the support to work toward those goals, the IN model has been the catalyst to many impressive bucketlists.

IN offers an annual volunteer leadership training program called University of Insulindependence

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events in their local communities.

These events provide an ongoing opportunity for individuals with type 1, type 2 or simply a supporter of someone living with diabetes to dialog about diabetes management strategies and exercise.

“I don’t think I have ever felt so much support in my life,” said Corine, age 31, after participating with Insulindependence in a 24-hour relay as part of a 12-person team of people with diabetes. “It was indescribable to finally be able to discuss what I’ve been doing The organization operates before a run, or to remedy a low, on the belief that the most with people who understand what effective and influential that means.” system of support is the The Captains also use skills diabetes community itself.... learned at U of IN to mentor Type 1 youth in a one-on-one setting, as (U of IN) that allows the orgathey prepare for a triathlon, relay nization to expand its outreach race or group expedition. These sigcapacities by training volunteers nature events offer opportunities for to become Captains in their com- adolescents to interact with their munities. U of IN curriculum is peers in fun and challenging envidesigned by world-class professional ronments. Past youth trips include faculty in areas of organizational a four-day canoe adventure on the development, community outreach, Namakagon River in Wisconsin, and diabetes health and managea sailing trip through the Channel ment. Accepted applicants partici- Islands, and a camping expedition pate in on-site general education in Zion National Park. workshops and hands-on recreation “It is telling these kids that sessions in remote locations such nothing can stop them,” says as Yosemite National Park and the Nicole, mother of Allison (12), a Channel Islands. Those who com- 2010-2011 youth program participlete the program (Captains) are pant. “She’s doing things that she certified to serve their local comwould have never done if she didn’t munities as mentors and chapter have Type 1 diabetes. These kids event leaders. are getting out there doing things IN Captains are responsible for they might not have had presented setting up monthly Dawn Phenom to them otherwise.”

Know Your Numbers

IN trips are structured around the idea that an individual will grow the most when his or her limits are tested. By offering experiences that help individuals with diabetes overcome challenges and fears, program participants gain enhanced self-images, enduring friendships, and fresh life-perspectives that lead to improved selfmanagement of their diabetes.

IN trips are structured around the idea that an individual will grow the most when his or her limits are tested.

“This organization of amazing and talented people has changed my life. Before, my A1C was consistently about 8.4 - 8.8. In the 6-and-a-half months since I have been a part of IN I’ve met so many people who understand,” says Amy Flores. “[During that time] my A1C has gone from 8.4 to 7.2.”

While most of IN’s efforts are directed toward improving the lives of those living with diabetes, IN is proud to be working with a cohort of other diabetes organizations with the goal of advancing the understanding of Type 1 diabetes by finding and funding new treatments and technologies.

Insulindependence says that you don’t have to win, but it is important to keep moving, and you are invited to join the revolution!

By Steven Edelman, MD

I

am a 65 year-old man and currently on Glucophage, glyburide, Lantus and Byetta for my diabetes. My blood sugars have gone haywire and I cannot figure it out. I am taking no new medications and eating the same things. I am not exercising as much because my back went out with a lot of pain. See my readings below. The trouble started with the values in red.

As you can see, on Oct. 25th his blood sugar levels started to rise extremely high. I called the patient, whose name is Dan, and spent at least 30 minutes with him on the phone trying to figure out the cause. We discussed several issues: 1) were any of his diabetes medications including his insulin expired 2) was his insulin exposed to excessive heat or frozen by accident 3) did he start taking any new medications 4) was he eating new types of food or consuming excessive calories and 5) was he experiencing any emotional stressors.

As mentioned above, the only change to his daily routine was the back pain which lead to reduced exercise. At the end of our conversation, Dan told me that the orthopedic surgeon had injected something into his back but he did not know what it was. I replied with, “Do you mean to tell me that a doctor injected something into the space around your spinal cord (epidural) and you did not know what the heck it was?” It turned out that he was given a HUGE dose of Kenalog, a very strong steroid, into his spinal canal to relieve pain and neither the doctor or nurse warned him about what it would do to his diabetes.

Well, this situation could have been avoided entirely if the doctor or Dan had a clue about the effect of steroids on blood sugar. Dan could have been given a proactive plan for adjusting his insulin to account for the presence of the steroid.

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

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Get Personal Attention From Your Diabetes Support Program with Cornerstones4Care ™

By Joy Pape, RN, BSN, CDE, WOCN, CFCN

A

s a person with diabetes, you have plenty of support programs to choose from to help you manage your condition. These programs tend to have a few things in common. All of them can help you learn what diabetes is and what treatments are available, for example. Most offer 24-hour access to web-based tools and information. And many offer online blood sugar and meal tracking tools.

Cornerstones4Care™, from Novo Nordisk, is the program I recommend to my patients.

Cornerstones4Care™ helps you manage your diabetes by adapting itself to each individual member— serving up specific information based on your personal needs and preferences.

At Cornerstones4Care.com, you’ll find tips, tools, and information to help you in each of these areas. For example, the Healthy Eating section includes a menu planner that lets you choose from dozens of delicious recipes, a food look-up tool that provides nutritional information on hundreds of foods, and food exchange lists that can help you add variety to your Cornerstones4Care™: A Foundation You Can Build On menu while staying on your meal plan.

Cornerstones4Care™ gets its In the Taking Medicine section, name from the four main parts— you can learn about the Novo or “cornerstones”—of a good Nordisk medicine you’ve been diabetes care plan: prescribed…as well as some other • Healthy Eating options you may want to discuss with • Physical Activity your doctor. And throughout the • Taking Medicine site, you can see if you qualify for • Diabetes Self-Management special money-saving offers on your

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Novo Nordisk insulin.

Some of the other offerings of Cornerstones4Care.com that I find particularly helpful are: u Guide Me: Not sure where to start? Answer a single question and this tool will give you a customized “road map” to the sections most relevant to you u Healthy Coping: Advice for dealing with some of the common issues facing people with diabetes u Overcoming Barriers: Ways to get over common hurdles that sometimes make it hard to follow your plan There’s also a library of articles I’ve written, offering a wide variety of practical, real-life advice that can help you manage your condition.

TCOYD in Motion

Ready to Start Managing Your Diabetes with Cornerstones4Care™?

Registering for Cornerstones4Care™ is easy—just go to Cornerstones4Care.com. You can update your profile any time your treatment changes. That way, you’ll be sure to get the information that’s most relevant to you.

When you join, you’ll also receive three free gifts: u A co-pay savings card worth up to $50 on your next Novo Nordisk insulin prescription u A cookbook with over 350 diabetes-friendly recipes u Five free diabetes e-books And here’s a special bonus for TCOYD attendees: If you sign up at the Novo Nordisk booth, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win an iPad®2!

In closing, let me say that the best patient support program is the one that you’ll actually use. With its ability to adapt to your needs, comprehensive content offerings, and targeted mail and email support, Cornerstones4Care™ is my diabetes support program of choice.

Joy Pape is a Certified Diabetes Educator and President of EnJOY Life!

Health Consulting, LLC, which provides health education to individuals and groups on a local and national level.

iPad® is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.; Cornerstones4Care™ is a trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S. © 2012 Novo Nordisk Printed in the U.S.A. 1211-00006539-1 January 2012

TCOYD in Motion

By Jennifer Braidwood

I

t is amazing to see how effectively our conferences and health fairs bring the diabetes community together across the nation. From Honolulu, Hawaii to Albany, New York the 2011 conference season was an incredible year for TCOYD. Not only did we complete another series of national Taking Control of Your Diabetes Conferences and Health Fairs but we were able to inspire and motivate thousands of individuals with diabetes. You laughed with us, cried with us, learned with us, and most importantly you walked away from a conference with something more valuable and life changing than you probably thought was possible, the motivation to change, to take control and lead your best life. TCOYD would like to thank each one of you for making our 2011 conference season so memorable. We would also like to thank our wonderful guest speakers who made our conferences vibrant and inspirational, not only for our attendees but for each one of us here at TCOYD as well. Billy Mills, Bo Irvine, Charlie Kimball, Natalie Strand, Urban Miyares , and Nicole Johnson, your stories changed a small part in each one of us. You made us want to push a little

harder and smile a bit brighter each day.

TCOYD is also proud to announce that in the summer of 2011 TCOYD-TV’s season four episode “Weight Management” was honored with the ‘Aurora Gold Award’ and our award winning newsletter was made available online to 60,000 TCOYD members. Additionally, Dr. Edelman published his Taking Control of Your Diabetes book in Spanish.

With 2011 behind us we can only look forward to another fabulous year in 2012. We are working toward expanding our online presence in addition to launching our re-designed website.

Additionally, we are aiming to create stronger partnerships with other local and national diabetes organizations including the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Insulindependance, The Behavioral Diabetes Institute and online diabetes communities such as dLife, Tu Diabetes, Diabetes TCOYD IN MOTION (continued from page 12)

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

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“Walking is man’s best medicine.” This New Year commit to taking your daily dose of walking.”

– Hippocrates

By Michelle Day

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hat if I told you there is a prescription that can help alleviate the majority of health problems, including: diabetes complications, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, depression, anxiety, dementia, cancer and muscle aches? Would you take the prescription? Yes, you probably would. You’d be crazy not to!

Well, I’m here to tell you that this miracle prescription does exist and it’s not even hard to swallow. It’s organic, natural, has no side effects and no co-pay. In fact, it’s as easy to take as putting one foot in front of

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the other. This all-encompassing prescription is called EXERCISE. I’m not suggesting you need to run a marathon. I’m merely encouraging you to limit your time being sedentary and start walking for 30 minutes a day.

Our bodies are designed to be in motion. Being immobile for long periods of time diminishes our ability to prevent certain diseases.

It lessens our quality of life and, ultimately, it will shorten your life expectancy. If you don’t have a consecutive 30-minute chunk of time, then walk 3 times a day in 10-minute segments. The most vital thing to remember is that

every step counts and every step puts you closer to improved health and a better quality life!

Many individuals, including myself, tend to feel guilty about taking time out of our busy schedules to exercise. We have a tendency to think, “I’m just too busy!

My kids, husband, employer, they all need me!” What we need to realize, and what I need to remind myself of sometimes, is that “yes” they do need me and the best way for me to be there for the most important people in my life is by leading the healthiest life I can lead, and setting an example for my children. By walking daily, I am able to take care of my kids, my husband, and my employer—for the long run.

The Ancient Greek Philosopher Hippocrates said it best.

“Walking is man’s best medicine.”

This New Year commit to taking your daily dose of walking. (continued on next page)

Tips for Adding More Walking To Your Day a Walk

during your lunch break

a Walk

before you leave for work

a Walk

the second you get home from work

a Park

your car a few blocks

away from your destination a Get

off the bus a couple stops before

a Choose

stairs over escalators or elevators

a Always

wear comfortable shoes

Giving Back

Strategies for Turning Your Walking Goal into a Healthy Habit Place a pair of comfortable shoes and socks by your front door. Slip them on 30 minutes before you normally leave the house and go for a walk around your neighborhood. If you missed your morning walk put your comfortable shoes on as soon as you return home. Go for a walk immediately. Don’t get distracted by your household duties. They can wait; your health can’t wait.

Do this 5 times a week for one month and I guarantee by the second month you will be thanking yourself for turning this goal into a life changing, healthy habit.

On-line Resources Outlining the Benefits of Walking Get motivated by listening to Doctor-Professor Mike Evans’ compelling speech on YouTube, keyword 23 and ½ hours. Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, and an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, answers the age old question “What is the single best thing we can do for our health?”

Filling the Gap

By Roz Hodgins

A

s we begin the new year, each of us at TCOYD wants to thank those of you who have partnered with us financially. Your contributions in any amount make a monumental impact and assist our organization in reaching tens of thousands of people across the country who have diabetes.

Since our inception in 1995, our funding has been from private sources, both corporate and individual. Individual donations play a very important role, seeing as TCOYD would not be able to function at such a high capacity on corporate funding alone. Individual donations help to fill the gap and allow us to continue our mission to ignite motivation, provide invaluable education, offer hope and understanding to individuals with diabetes who at times, unfortunately, feel utterly lost and alone.

We look to 2012 as a new year to narrow that gap and grow our base of support from individuals.

So what does that mean to YOU? If you already partner with us financially, please consider increasing your TCOYD gift to make a greater impact. If you are just on

the verge of making a gift, let us know how we can provide you with tools to do that. There are a number of different opportunities to give including giving online, mailing a donation, gifts of securities, and planned giving.

This past year we provided financial aid to a record number of individuals who wanted to attend one of our conferences but were struggling financially. Through the Living Well With Diabetes Scholarship Fund, which is made possible by your private support, hundreds of individuals, who would not have been able to, were given the opportunity to experience a powerful and life changing day at TCOYD. Diabetes has no borders and affects people from all walks of life. Through the many programs TCOYD offers, we effectively change those lives.

To learn more about the benefits of giving and how you can make a difference, please contact Roz Hodgins, Director of External Affairs. Email Roz: roz@tcoyd.org or call (858) 792-4741, ext. 20.

On behalf of the thousands we serve, thank you!

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

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TCOYD Conferences & Health Fairs 2012 Schedule

Taking Control Of Your Diabetes 1110 Camino Del Mar, Suite “B” Del Mar, CA 92014 | www.tcoyd.org

Tel: (800) 998-2693

(858) 755-5683 Fax: (858) 755-6854 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

February 11 Washington, D.C.

March 3 Sacramento, CA

April 14 Honolulu, HI

April 15 Maui, HI

May 19 Raleigh, NC September 8 Missoula, MT September 22 Des Moines, IA

October 27 San Diego, CA November 10 Austin, TX

TBA Native American

TBA Latino Confernces

PAID

San Diego, CA Permit No 1

For schedules, bios, trailers and more, visit www.tcoyd.org

TCOYD is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 charitable educational organization.

Are You Part of TCOYD’s Facebook Community?

TCOYD IN MOTION (continued from page 9)

Mine and Diabetes Daily. Our goal in collaborating with fellow diabetes organizations is to cross promote all e are really excited to support, guidance and friendship of the amazing programs that these promote our Facebook Fan to one another. Not only do we organizations have to offer. TCOYD Page. Be sure to “Like” our page so want to keep you up to date with also continues to focus our efforts that we can keep you up to date on what is happening in the fields of on raising funds to support all of our the latest diabetes events and news medicine, product development activities and planning for Extreme that is happening in your local area and nationwide TCOYD events, Diabetes Makeover season two. as well as across the globe. We do but, we want to provide a place Don’t forget to join our Facenot want to be yet another informa- where you feel welcome and are a book community! Be sure to log tion source that merely bombards part of our family. So, if you have onto Facebook and “Like” TCOYD you with loads of miscellaneous not had the opportunity to check today! It’s the best way to stay coninformation. Instead, it is our us out on Facebook, make sure to nected to us and, of course, allow us mission to create a strong on-line stop by, “Like” us and give us a nice to stay connected to you! community where everyone of you hello. We’ll be sure to return the will be able to reach out and offer salutation!

By Jimm Greer

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