Diabetes experts to talk at community forums

BANGOR – For years, people have traveled to Joslin Diabetes Center to learn more about the disease that can destroy vision, limbs, organs and lives.

On Saturday, they can hear one of the center’s experts, Dr. Tihamer Orban, talk about prediction and prevention of Type I diabetes, the kind in which the body does not make insulin.

The 9 a.m. talk will be part of the American Diabetes Association’s community forum, “The Measure of Our Success,” at Mason Auditorium, Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Other sessions scheduled are: 10 a.m., “You and Your Kidneys,” Dr. David Levy, Northeast Nephrology; 11 a.m., “Natural Herbs and Foods for Staying Young and Healthy,” Dana Green; 1 p.m., “Managing Weight and Blood Sugars,” Heather Leclerc; 2 p.m., low-impact exercise break; 2:15 p.m., “New Developments in Diabetes,” Sally Patterson.

A similar forum will be held Nov. 17 at the Sheraton Hotel in South Portland. Speakers will be Dr. Stephen Babirak, Donna Deletetsky and Randee Bowden, Julie Barnes and several exercise specialists.

The cost of registration for each forum is $10. Send fee to American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 521, Skowhegan, ME 04976. For information, call (888) 342-2383, Ext. 3720.

November is American Diabetes Month, when the Maine office of the American Diabetes Association spreads the word to people with diabetes about the benefits of controlling blood sugar levels, thus helping to prevent complications of diabetes.

Activities for patients and their families will focus on the theme “Diabetes: What to Know, Head to Toe.” The centerpiece of this campaign is a free brochure that provides a step-by-step guide on how to delay the leading complications of diabetes – eye and foot problems – through foot checkups at every doctor’s visit and annual dilated eye exams and blood pressure screenings.

Diabetes is a serious disease in which the body either does not produce insulin, Type I, or does not effectively use or produce adequate amounts of insulin, Type II. Insulin is a hormone that allows blood sugar to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney disease, and lower-extremity amputations. It is the seventh leading cause of death by disease in the United States. There is no cure for diabetes.

In Maine, there are 70,000 adults with diagnosed diabetes and an equal number of adults who have the disease but do not know it. Diabetes costs Maine nearly $460 million and 1,000 lives every year.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s primary voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information, and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the association supports volunteers in every state and region of the country, providing services to more than 800 communities.

For more information on the association, call 1-888-DIABETES or check the Web at www.diabetes.org.