Experts help beat 'diabetes burnout'
Bryant Wollman of Half Moon Bay, had type 2 diabetes for 10 years before he started an exercise and education program at Mills-Peninsula that turned his life around.
By age 54, he had had two heart attacks, congestive heart failure and hyperthyroidism. He refused to test his blood glucose levels, although he knew they were dangerously high.
"I've always been young at heart, but my body was giving in, and I had virtually given up," he said.
Many people today are distressed about living with diabetes, according to William H. Polonsky, Ph.D., C.D.E., researcher, internationally known speaker and author of "Diabetes Burnout: What to do When You Can't Take it Anymore."
"When you're diagnosed with diabetes, you need to make significant lifestyle changes," he said. "People can easily feel overwhelmed, alone and powerless." The number one strategy for beating diabetes burnout is to get support, Dr. Polonsky said.
Wollman -- who has lost more than 15 pounds and brought his blood glucose levels down significantly -- credits the support he found at Mills-Peninsula's Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for giving him the courage to get his diabetes under control.
Another key is to establish clear, reasonable and meaningful goals with a health practitioner, according to Dr. Polonsky.
"People weigh themselves in the morning, see they haven't lost as much as they'd like or at all, and then become terribly discouraged" he said. "But the numbers are just information. The challenge is to stick with it long enough to see some payoff."
"I never could have done it without Bonnie De Leuw (diabetes educator) and Liliana Perazich (exercise physiologist)," Wollman said. "They stuck with me with such confidence and compassion," he said.
Wollman now measures his blood glucose levels daily and sees the results of the tools he's incorporated into his life step by step. "It's turned my life around," he said.
"Mills-Peninsula diabetes educators are specially trained to give patients information they need to get these kinds of results," Cindy Rudolph, C.D.E., said. "We are proud to be recognized by the American Diabetes Association for our education program."
Today, Wollman dreams of increasing his activity levels, including travel to Europe. "For 10 years I was procrastinating, but now I'm headed in the direction of new beginnings," he said.
Dr. Polonsky will speak at a November conference co-sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. "Don't Let Diabetes Get You Down," will be held Nov. 16 at Mills Health Center. Call 696-5600 for more information.