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Welcome to 'not ARTIFICIALLY Sweetened'! Episode 14

Touching listeners in 13 countries!

This Episode is brought to you by the CDE Online Pharmacy (https://cdeonline.co.za/), the online store of choice for people living with diabetes.

If you're living with diabetes or a health professional that facilitates diabetes care, you're in the right place!

Join us on our journey, as we grow together in understanding, insight, and self-awareness to change lives for the better. Our deliberations will always be honest, challenging and thought provoking. Nothing is off the table as we discuss real people, their real issues and stories, and together discover real answers to many vexing practical issues in diabetes and its care.

This week Stan and Michael remind listeners to have their flu vaccination sooner rather than later. They also chat about an often-overlooked orthopaedic condition commonly seen in people with diabetes, ‘frozen shoulder’, and the practical and sleep implications of this painful and debilitating condition. In the post-COVID world, mental health conditions are on the rise, and skilled health professionals are decreasing. With a topical case study, we encourage listeners to empower themselves to prevent mental health issues as much as possible, by paying attention to foundational lifestyle needs like regular physical activity and sufficient, quality sleep. It also seems that physical activity should be the first choice for treatment of depression…

Our studio guest this week is a rare, under-remunerated and under-recognised, but vital specialised diabetes team health professional. Podiatrist, Rae Bernstein joins us to discuss:

• her journey to becoming a podiatrist and how her family history of diabetes sparked her interest in the field
• the dire shortage of podiatrists in South Africa and Africa
• the preventative role of podiatrists in people with diabetes who are ‘well’ and without complications
• how diabetes may potentially affect foot health through damage to nerves and blood vessels, and the joints, bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and skin they serve
• the need remove shoes and socks for at least an annual foot examination in people with diabetes, and how little this is done in practice
• often ignored ‘red flags’ for potentially looming problems - dry skin, a risk for cracking and infection, red marks and thickenings like callus or corns which indicate undue pressure, changes in foot architecture or structure which interferes with normal pressure distribution and ingrown toenails
• the need to understand the ‘whys’ behind standard lists for foot care in diabetes
• optimum diabetes management and smoking cessation as vital in treating diabetes related foot complications
• the importance of eyesight and physical mobility in self-management of foot risks in diabetes - how support from a family member or other person may be needed
• the issue of cost in foot complications and how prevention reduces this
• what she would like healthcare funder and policy makers to know about the value of podiatry in diabetes
• the mental and physical burden of foot complications

We also introduce the next Sweet Life Diabetes Community Advocacy Message, “There's always so much going on in our heads and it’s not always easy to put it into words…”

Please participate in our listener polls and questions below!

We want to hear from you! If you have any questions, suggestions, comments or contributions for future episodes, or if you'd like to advertise on this podcast, please email us @ Podcast@CDEDiabetes.co.za

For health professionals working in diabetes

The CDE Academy Foundation Course in Diabetes Care for Health Professionals is a real-world-applicable online learning experience at one’s own pace. Access it 24/7/365 & earn 30 CPD points: https://academy.cdeonline.co.za/

Learna/University of South Wales offer a one-year, online, part-time, distance learning Postgraduate Diploma in Diabetes Care: ⁠⁠https://www.diploma-msc.com/p/diploma-in-diabetes⁠⁠