The Family and Friends' Guide to Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know [Paperback]

Eve Gehling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Everything You Need to Know

Help and reassurance for everyone who knows, loves, and cares for someone with diabetes.

Diabetes doesn t affect just the person with it. It touches family, friends, and coworkers as well. Without solid information, often those who care for someone with diabetes find the psychological, psychosocial, and financial challenges of the disease confusing, stressful, and even frightening. Here, finally, is a clear, sensitive, and informative guide that tells you what diabetes is and how to cope with it on a daily basis.

Drawing on her personal experience with family members with diabetes as well as her own professional expertise, Eve Gehling has designed The Family and Friends Guide to Diabetes for those who want to learn how to best help someone with diabetes. Learn what diabetes is and how it s treated, how you can help your loved one manage low blood glucose and get through periods of illness, how to prepare healthy meals and plan special events with confidence, and how to create positive work and home environments for both the person with diabetes and the family.In addition, this book offers practical, reassuring advice on the important emotional aspects that can affect you, from understanding how you re feeling to coping better with the day-to-day challenges of living or working with someone who has a chronic disease. Written in an easy-to-grasp question-and-answer format and filled with informative sidebars, easy-to-prepare menus, and invaluable tips, The Family and Friends Guide to Diabetes will restore your confidence and help you make a difference in the lives of all those around you.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you have a friend or family member with diabetes, you probably feel poorly educated about the disease and uncertain about how you can help your loved one cope. You may believe myths or have outdated information about diabetes. This book offers the up-to-date information you need, written in a question-and-answer format and in a chatty, friendly style. The book starts with the "nitty-gritty details about the disease--what it is and isn't, who gets it, and how it's treated." Then you learn the nutritional guidelines and how to prepare healthy meals for someone with diabetes, how to deal with illness and hyperglycemia, how to plan holiday occasions, and much more.

If you have a diabetic coworker or employee, you'll appreciate the "Creating Positive Work Environments" chapter. A self-assessment test--"Is My Work Environment Diabetes-Friendly?"--helps you look at whether workers have enough break time to take care of diabetes needs, have access to food at different times during the day, and can select low-fat, sugar-free food and beverages from vending machines, for example. This chapter also helps you create a medical emergency plan that covers diabetes needs. --Joan Price

From the Back Cover

Everything You Need to Know

Help and reassurance for everyone who knows, loves, and cares for someone with diabetes.

Diabetes doesn?t affect just the person with it. It touches family, friends, and coworkers as well. Without solid information, often those who care for someone with diabetes find the psychological, psychosocial, and financial challenges of the disease confusing, stressful, and even frightening. Here, finally, is a clear, sensitive, and informative guide that tells you what diabetes is and how to cope with it on a daily basis.

Drawing on her personal experience with family members with diabetes as well as her own professional expertise, Eve Gehling has designed The Family and Friends? Guide to Diabetes for those who want to learn how to best help someone with diabetes. Learn what diabetes is and how it?s treated, how you can help your loved one manage low blood glucose and get through periods of illness, how to prepare healthy meals and plan special events with confidence, and how to create positive work and home environments for both the person with diabetes and the family.In addition, this book offers practical, reassuring advice on the important emotional aspects that can affect you, from understanding how you?re feeling to coping better with the day-to-day challenges of living or working with someone who has a chronic disease. Written in an easy-to-grasp question-and-answer format and filled with informative sidebars, easy-to-prepare menus, and invaluable tips, The Family and Friends? Guide to Diabetes will restore your confidence and help you make a difference in the lives of all those around you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471348015
• ISBN-13: 978-0471348016
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,672,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help and reassurance for friends and families of someone wit, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Family and Friends' Guide to Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

Based in science but translated for the everage person, this question and answer format resource provides just what friends and families need to know to learn to deal with someone's diabetes. The book does an excellent job dispelling common myths about the disease and it't treatment, especially important myths like eating sugar causes diabetes, or once you have diabetes you will lose your limbs. Interactive opportunities are sprinkled throughout, so readers have the chance to explore their own feelings, methods of interacting with others, how they support the person with diabetes in the way food is made available and prepared. Definitely a book to read and keep as a reference for those times when the diabetes seems overwhelming and confusing. Included is a thorough list of resources to read, explore and contact. This book makes the reader able to take a deep breath and feel like things are going to be ok.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Family & Friends Guide to Diabetes: Everything You Need, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Family and Friends' Guide to Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

The Family & Friends Guide to Diabetes is a wonderful compilation of helpful information for people with diabetes as well as those who love them. It is filled to the brim with up-to-date informtion and helpful tips, explaining medical facts and offering helpful suggestions on how to be supportive of your loved one with diabetes. The 282 page book answers questions about everything from what to serve for holiday meals to emotional challenges faced by people whith diabetes. If you cook or entertain people with diabetes, you will enjoy the many practical cooking and meal planning suggestions offered.

There is a section in the book about high protein diets which doesn't encourage their use, though people have tried these diets and a few individuals may have been successful initially. The American Diabetes Association does not endorse the high protein, low carbohydrate diet at this point as a means for treating diabetes due to the possible harmful side effects they may cause. Thus far these diets have not been shown to be successful for individuals in scientific studies. The American Diabetes Association and Geihling cannot endorse their use for this reason anymore than using a medication or other medical treatment which may be medically harmful and has not been proven to be successful in scientific studies.

As friends, family members or coworkers of people who have diabetes, we often feel helpless and unable to do anything other than stand by and watch the individual grapple with challenges of the disease. This book offers us a positive resource to learn how we can take an active role, helping friends or family members take good care of themselves and their diabetes.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Diabetes Support Book, June 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Family and Friends' Guide to Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

This book contains everything you need to know about how to support your friends and family members who have diabetes. My mom was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few months ago and I have 3 co-workers with diabetes. Two of them are on insulin, and one wears an insulin pump. I feel so much more comfortable after reading this book...it's amazing! I now know exactly what to do if one of them is having an episode of low blood sugar. This book told me just what to expect when a person has a low blood sugar reaction, and how to treat a reaction. I really love the section on how to handle special situations such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays. Since I invite my mom over for dinner frequently, it's important for me to know what kinds of meals to prepare. This book has it all. Great meal plans, practical tips, up-to-date sound advice and more. The question and answer format is easy-to-read and covers so much information about diabetes. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has a family member or a friend who has diabetes. It's even helpful for the person who has diabetes.