Lifestyle Issues of Diabetes Mellitus

The purpose of this research is to examine change-of-lifestyle issues surrounding the onset of severe diabetes mellitus. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which physical and psychological symptoms of the disease would emerge, as well as behavioral patterns that contribute to the severity of problems associated with it and then to discuss primary treatment options available for people with this problem, along with short-term and long-term changes that would be necessary to accommodate the disease. Throughout, it will be assumed that the disease has affected home and professional life, including the shape of personal relationships and the effect that the disease might have on the relationship between the individual and his social environment.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that reflects the fact that the body does not produce of the hormone insulin to break down the body's blood sugar from being excessively high (Squires, 1997; Novitt-Moreno, 1996), but one of the most striking features about diabetes is the estimate that nearly one-half of those who have the disease are not aware of it (Type II, 1996; Squires, 1997). There are two types of diabetes, one congenital and the more common other type, known as diabetes mellitus or sugar diabetes, which mainly affects persons over 40 years of age. Symptoms include frequent urination, thirst, high blood pressure, and fatigue, and the condition is aggravated by overweight (Gomez & Gersh, 1968). Severe cases

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esign of a properly nutritional "prescription" diet, based on recommendations of the American Diabetes Association. Hospitals that have a strong nutrition-counseling component would appear to be best suited to providing dietary counseling. Transforming dietary and exercise behavior is far preferable to maintaining the ill-advised behavioral habits that may have caused the disease. The specter of possible amputation or cardiovascular complications alone makes this transformation necessary. Susman and Helseth (1997) say that individualized counseling and support groups are one option for this kind of therapy. The support-group option, however, has the potential of straying from the point, owing to the encounter of diverse personalities and needs. Accordingly, an individualized, customized approach is the more to be preferred and more likely to be effective. In this regard, Spollett suggests individualizing a nutrition "prescription," (1997, p. 296). If the disease were so bad that blindness or amputation might occur, individualized treatment would seem even more important; Dittbrenner (1997) cites the benefits of home health care, which implies a strongly individualized component, for diabetics along these same lines. If diabetes is

Category: Medical - L