How to Celebrate National Diabetes Month in November

November is National Diabetes Month - main graphic

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Will you be celebrating National Diabetes Month this November? It rolls around every year, and it’s a chance for us to celebrate and reflect. It’s a time for education and sharing and encouragement also.

So today I’m sharing a bit about diabetes itself and National Diabetes Awareness Month. And I’ll also share some of my story and five practical ways you can get involved.

How to Celebrate National Diabetes Month

What Is National Diabetes Month?

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Diabetes Month is “a time for the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) and the world to rally behind the fight to end diabetes.” And while that might sounds like a bit of a large-scale initiative, there are actually several things you can do personally to become involved (keep reading).

What is Diabetes?

Perhaps we should back up just a bit more and answer this question first. In general, diabetes is a disease in which your body doesn’t properly process the carbohydrates from foods. We’ll break that down more in a sec.

Various types of diabetes affect more than 38 million people in the United States. Now, 38 million people is a LOT of people. A bit of quick math can tell us that more than 11% of the US population are living with it in one form or another.

Diabetes is so prevalent, the Center for Disease Control includes it in their list of “major chronic diseases” along with heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and cancer (of which 129 million people in the US have at least one). The ADA shares this: someone in the US is diagnosed with diabetes every 28 seconds!

Now, there are different types of diabetes, reasons for diagnosis, and treatment options. Let’s take a look at those.

National Diabetes Awareness Month Statistics from the ADA

Type 1

Type 1 is the type I have personally, and have lived with for 30+ years. Once known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 is an autoimmune disease in which your pancreas stops basically producing the insulin needed to properly break down carbohydrates in food when we eat.

As a result, insulin needs to be injected through a syringe or an insulin pump. (There are also new inhaled insulin options as well.) But the point is that insulin is required to live.

More than 2 million people have type 1 and require insulin, according to the CDC’s data. That includes both American adults and children.

Type 2

Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes, affecting 90-95% of people of those diagnosed, according to the CDC. It is different from type 1 in that the cause for the diagnosis is different. Typical treatment is different as well.

Type 2 is most often caused when cells in the body don’t respond normally to the insulin being produced by the body. This can happen over time with poor diet and physical inactivity. When the pancreas can’t keep up or the cells aren’t responding well, the sugar in the blood rises, causing high blood glucose.

Treatment is often first about lifestyle changes. Typically, the improved lifestyle habits suggested are a combination of weight management, healthy eating of a balanced diet, and physical activity. This helps encourage the body to function properly and use the insulin being produced properly. Sometimes injected insulin or other medications are used in conjunction with the healthier lifestyle.

This is mostly a chronic disease that affects the older population. But recently, young people are being diagnosed more and more often.

Gestational Diabetes

Approximately 10% of pregnant women experience gestational diabetes, but that is reportedly on the rise.

Why does it happen? Although it’s not fully known or agreed upon, Yale Medicine states it well. The prevailing theory is that the placenta—the organ that delivers water and nutrients to the fetus—produces hormones that block the mother’s ability to use insulin effectively.

Patients with gestational diabetes typically need to watch their diet, limiting sugary and high carb foods, so that the baby doesn’t grow too large. They will need to monitor blood sugar and potentially take insulin or an oral medication. But it usually resolves after delivery.

Other Types of Diabetes

There are other types of besides these, like MODY and LADA, but the previous types cover the vast majority of people with diabetes.

Pre-Diabetes

Pre-diabetes affects an estimated 97.6 million people. That’s 1 in 3 people in the US. And many of them are unaware they have slightly elevated blood sugar. This makes early detection and screening so important. (More on that below.)

Beautiful diabetic woman preparing for outdoor run in the city. Young woman wearing an insulin pump during exercising. Concept of exercise and diabetes.

Diabetic Symptoms

I discuss this a bit in my post about the 8 Warning Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes, but we can talk about it here, too.

The American Diabetes Association lists several common symptoms of diabetes that many people start to notice before their diagnosis:

  • Frequent urination
  • Extreme thirst
  • Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Blurry vision
  • Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
  • Unexplained weight loss—even though you are eating more (type 1)
  • Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)

Potential Complications of Diabetes

A range of diabetes health problems can occur in the case that it isn’t managed well over the long run. Those health problems include diabetes complications like:

  • diabetic ketoacidosis
  • kidney disease and kidney failure
  • nerve damage
  • heart attack and stroke
  • diabetic neuropathy
  • vision loss
  • poor circulation
  • foot problems
  • cardiovascular disease

In the case that diabetes management is poor and blood sugar levels are not well controlled, the risk for these potential complications is greater.

Diabetes Month Highlights The Need for Early Detection

As I mentioned above about pre-diabetes, screening and early detection are super important. Catching diabetes early can help prevent complications and allow you a healthier long term life, and a better quality of life, too.

The ADA offers a quick and easy online test to help determine your risk factors of developing type 2 diabetes.

For early detection of type 1 diabetes, TrialNet offers screening for relatives of people with type 1. Screenfortype1.com also offers options. And your doctor’s office can also order lab work that can help identify if you are at increased risk.

Woman sitting on the couch checking her blood sugar levels

How You Can Participate in National Diabetes Month

So how can you participate in National Diabetes Month? There are several ways, but I will highlight five different ideas here.

1. Prayer And Gratitude

If you’ve been around this blog much time at all, you know we talk about prayer! That’s because it’s so important. As is having a heart of gratitude.

Of course, we have so much to be prayerful about with diabetes. And not just for the cure (as I discuss in day 23 of my book), but so much more.

For ideas on prayer and prayer template printables, check out these blog posts:

We have much to be thankful for as well. And that’s good news! The posture of both our heart and mind is so important for our mental and overall health. For resources and ideas on gratitude, check out these blog posts:

2. Share Your Story

Sharing your story and your journey with this chronic illness can be impactful for both you and the people you share with. Plus, it educates people, and that’s always helpful.

The American Diabetes Association recommends sharing your story to help raise awareness as well. Whether you share through the ADA or to a neighbor or small group, it can help us relate and bring us together. The ADA also has a downloadable toolkit you can use to share your story.

You could also share on social media, especially on World Diabetes Day (November 14). I shared my story on my blog on my 32nd diaversary. How can you share your story?

3. Contribute Financially

There’s always the idea of a financial contribution also. Find a local or national organization you support and make a donation to help fund research for a cure.

4. Participate in a Diabetes Month Event

This seems like a really fun option to me! There are diabetes-related events going on all over the place during the month of November. You can find something through a major diabetes organization online that has local chapters, or you can explore what might be going on at your local hospital even.

There are walks, meetings, conferences, and all sorts of things. Connect with some like minded people and celebrate life with them.

5. Celebrate World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign, as it holds a global audience. It’s held each year on November 14, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who discovered insulin with Charles Best in 1922. It’s a day of recognition that reaches 160 countries around the world, according to worlddiabetesday.org.

There are events around the world for World Diabetes Day or you can take a well-being survey. Their website also has materials you need to send a letter to your local lawmakers encouraging them to support those with diabetes.

And the ideas go far beyond just these five. Celebrate how you like to celebrate, and share it with others to educate and encourage them.

Young woman sitting at her desk working and checking her CGM with her phone

My Diagnosis Story And Why I Celebrate National Diabetes Month

Back in May, 1992 I experienced the onset of type 1. I look back now and I can’t help but be grateful for just how far we’ve come in diabetes care over the last 32 years.

We have so many different ways to manage type 1 now. When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t really have a choice. My health care providers had me taking multiple daily injections and checking my blood sugar multiple times a day also.

But now I know people who wear insulin pumps, myself included. And many people take injections or other diabetes medicines. People wear continuous glucose monitors instead of pricking their fingers, myself included. Treatment today can be so personalized, and there are better treatment options overall. And I am so thankful for that.

I talk about the idea of living with a thankful heart in my book on day 9. Every day is a gift. It’s a day to live the life God has called me to life. It’s a day to be grateful and thankful for all I have. And it’s a day to focus on the positive – whatever is good and lovely and admirable (Philippians 4:8).

Life with this chronic condition may be a daily challenge and difficult to manage, but life is good. And that is why I celebrate.

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How to Celebrate National Diabetes Month

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HEY - I'M KAYCEE!

Welcome to my Devotions on Diabetes website! Thanks for stopping by. I've lived with diabetes for 30+ years. And I'm here to provide you with a heaping helping of encouragement while you deal with diabetes and navigate this chronic illness with God by your side.

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