Chair George Van Ankum welcomed 40 people to the diabetes information meeting on April 14 at the Drayton Reformed Church.
Reports were given regarding membership, assistance programs, the save-a-tape program and annual appeal donations of $50,815.
Guest speaker Wendy Graham is a mentor and best practice facilitator with Waterloo-Wellington Diabetes in Cambridge. She asked the question does gastro paresis affect your stomach when you have diabetes? The short answer was “yes.” Graham explained how the stomach works using two balloons. With gastro paresis, the nerves in the stomach are damaged and the usual contractions are disjointed.
Normally four hours after a meal, the stomach empties. If the stomach is slow to empty, sugars linger and in turn that’s when sugar enters the blood stream. There is little research in this field and it is seldom discussed, leaving the condition typically undiagnosed.
There are a number of signs to watch for like bloating, reflux, heart burn, and feeling full, but the most common are nausea and vomiting. A procedure including nuclear medicine could verify the diagnosis.
Better nutrition so the stomach will work better naturally would be the first line of treatment; however medications and alternative therapies could help. Graham encouraged everyone to aim for good blood sugar control to hit targets and keep readings under 10 at most.
The draw for the Diabetes Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook was won by John Joostema of Drayton.
George Van Ankum expressed appreciation to Alice Van Ankum for preparing the refreshments and encouraged everyone to look over the literature. The next meeting is May 19 in Mount Forest.
The meeting was sponsored by the North Perth – North Wellington Branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association, located at 94B Elora Street South in Harriston.
The office is open Tuesday and Friday afternoons.
To reach volunteers call 519-338-3181 or email npnw@diabetes.ca.
