The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A club for diabetics to best manage their lifestyle

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Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A club for diabetics to best manage their lifestyle

Staff Reporter

Type-1 Diabetes Club brings together like-minded people

The club functions like a support group for persons with Type-I diabetes
‘Managing the condition requires balance between insulin doses, food intake and physical activity’

Bangalore: Proper exercise, food and regular intake of insulin are enough to manage diabetes, say diabetologists. But management of Type-I diabetes, which is mainly diagnosed in younger individuals and needs insulin replacement therapy (insulin injections) for the rest of their lives, needs to be done efficiently.

“As Type-I diabetes mainly occurs in children, parents have to adjust the timings of the food and insulin intake depending on the child’s daily schedule. Most of the time, children do not follow a fixed timetable and this makes it difficult for the parents to manage the medical condition in them,” says Madhuri Patil-Gole, a city-based diabetologist.

Living with it

Dr. Patil-Gole, who has been living with Type-I diabetes since her childhood, along with Mallika Viswas, whose husband has been living with it since childhood, have started the Type-1 Diabetes Club (Bangalore).

This club, which functions like a support group for persons with Type-I diabetes, conducts monthly meetings to discuss diabetes management. In its recent meeting on August 24, the club members discussed how important exercise is for managing the medical condition.

“Though exercise is not a therapy for Type-I diabetes, it is very essential. Managing the condition requires minute-to-minute balance between insulin doses, food intake and physical activity,” Dr. Patil-Gole says.

Sharing experiences

The club is meant to bring together anyone having Type-1 diabetes and their families in and around Bangalore. The objective is to share positive experiences and professional advice to help members master the art of diabetes management, including health as well as social aspects, and lead normal and successful lives, she says.

Discussions on group therapy, diabetes care and family education of Type-1 diabetes, and discussion of common challenges (physical, psychological and social) faced by people having Type-1 diabetes, are regularly taken up at the meetings.

The club, which will be a year old in November, discusses on a specific topic related to diabetes management every month. “We do not expect members to change their diabetologists. Every one coming to this group will continue to see their own doctors. Those requiring help will be directed as required and participation is free of cost,” says Ms. Viswas.

For details call 9448366118 or visit http://sites.google.com/site/type1clubblr

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