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Individual Education

A group setting may not be the best learning environment for you to receive diabetes general education. For example if you have physical disabilities, language barriers or learning impairments, working one on one with a diabetes education is the best method. The Diabetes Center will schedule an individual session with the diabetes educator. Discuss with your physicians opportunities to receive other individual diabetes instruction in the following arears:

  • Insulin Instruction
  • Byetta/Symlin Instruction
  • InsulinPump Instruction & Therapy
  • Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
  • Pre-Pregnancy Evaluation & Management

Insulin Instruction
here may come a time in managing your diabetes that insulin would be the medication of choice. When this occurs, you are instructed on drawing up and giving an insulin injection per syringe or insulin pen device. Insulin instructions also include Signs, Symptoms and Treatment of Hypoglycemia and Blood Glucose Meter use.

If you are managed by the Diabetes Center Clinicians, you will report your glucoses to the Baptist Diabetes Center twice weekly for management of medication. You will continue to interact with the diabetes clinicians until target blood sugars are reached or released by your referring physicians.

Byetta / Symlin Instruction
"Byetta is an injection used to improve glucose (blood sugar) control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It can be used with metformin, a sulfonylurea, or a thiazolidinedione. BYETTA (bye-A-tuh) is unique and works in a different way than pills or insulin. By helping your body produce the right amount of insulin at the right time, BYETTA helps take the guesswork out of type 2 diabetes." For additional information, visit the Byetta website at http://www.byetta.com.

Instructions on the use, action and timing of a Byetta pen are provided during a one on one session with a diabetes clinician. Survival skills are assessed and reviewed when needed.

"SYMLIN is an injectable medicine used to control blood sugar after meals in adults with type 2 and type 1 diabetes who take mealtime insulin. SYMLIN is an important tool for people with diabete because it helps keep your blood sugar from going too high after meals, smooth out blood sugar levels throughout the day and improve your AIC. With SYMLIN, you will not need to take as much insulin. SYMLIN may also help you feel full sooner at meals, so you may eat less. This may help you lost weight." For additional information, visit the Symlin at website: http://www.symlin.com.

Instructions on the use, action and timing of a Symlin pen are provided during a one on one session with a diabetes clinician. Survival skills are assessed and reviewed when needed.

Insulin Pump Instruction & Therapy
For many people with diabetes, attempting to control schedules, activity and food intake to match the available insulin is difficult. The alternative is to provide flexible insulin delivery through an insulin pump. Insulin needs vary for many reasons. Using blood glucose monitoring results to make and evaluate daily decisions, an insulin pump user can quickly respond to their insulin requirements. Responding to the same situations may be difficult or even impossible with conventional insulin injections. With the pump, you receive a continuous supply of insuli through a catheter which is inserted and remains in your subcutaneous tissue.

At the Diabetes Center, certified insulin pump educators will assess your needs, share options, initiate and monitor effectiveness of the insulin pump.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
Continuous glucose sensors are available for patients with diabetes. These devices give patients the ability to view real-time blood sugar levels, review trends and fluctuations in their recent blood sugar levels, and receive alerts when their blood sugar level becomes too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia). At the Diabetes Center we use this technology to evaluate blood sugar trends, problems in order to make recommendations to your physician for diabetes medication changes.