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Clinical Director

Overcoming Challenges for Women with Diabetes

In 2021, we published an article about needing more research on people with diabetes assigned female at birth that discussed a lack of research on common challenges that women with diabetes experience. In this article, we will present research articles published since the last article relating to women with diabetes. Please note, that when we are referring to “women” we are referring to anyone who has a uterus, as we will be discussing menstruation and menopause. Menstruation Research Updates Keeping your blood glucose levels in target range is not easy to do at baseline. When you add the changes in […]

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Tips and Hacks to Make Diabetes Easier

When you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you learn all the “rules” from your diabetes care team, such as how, when, and where (on what body part) to take insulin; how to count carbohydrates; what to do when you are ill; and what devices you should consider using. But, sometimes, even when you do everything as taught, your blood sugars don’t behave like you think they will. Sometimes you can take the same amount of insulin for the exact same meal three times in a row and can have three different results. There are many variables that can affect […]

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Tackling Health Disparities for Non-Hispanic Black Americans

In honor of Black History Month, CWD wants to recognize some of the organizations that are working diligently towards reducing racial health disparities in the U.S. Before we can do that, we will provide some important context so that the challenges and the work are better understood. What are health disparities or inequities? Health disparities are defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.” (CDC: Health Disparities, 2020) There are many different types of […]

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Supporting Young Adults with Diabetes

Being a young adult is one of the most exciting times in life. Usually, it’s a period of life full of excitement and life changes. As a result, it can also be one of the most difficult times to manage diabetes.1 In fact, recent research has shown that less than 20% of people with type 1 diabetes aged 18-25 years are meeting their diabetes targets.2 One of the best ways to set your adolescent or young adult up for success is to ensure they have adequate support. Health care professionals and researchers refer the young adults as “emerging adults” that […]

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Losing Weight with Type 1 Diabetes

Almost three-quarters of adults 20 years or older in the United States are overweight, with 42.5% of adults meeting the C.D.C.’s definition for obese.1 For people with type 1 diabetes, the incidence may be even higher according to studies over the past ten years, partially due to the increase in weight gain when on intensive insulin therapy.2 Increased weight adds additional challenges for people with type 1 diabetes, including insulin resistance and increased risk for complications. One of the biggest barriers to losing weight for people with diabetes is fear of hypoglycemia that goes along with exercise, weight loss and […]

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Closing the Loop in Our Youngest Kids

Automated Insulin Delivery is something that people with diabetes have been dreaming of for decades. Thanks to the advent of technologies such as the continuous glucose monitor (CGM), this dream has become more of a reality for people who have access to the latest hybrid closed-loop systems. These systems use the CGM data to adjust the insulin given through the insulin pump, allowing for decreased burden and more time in range. There is still work required by the user, but it’s certainly a step up from what we’ve had for the last 100 years. There also is usually a lag-time […]

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Insulin Options in the US as of January 2022

There are many different types of insulin and different ways of taking it. No matter what type you use or how you take it, people with type 1 diabetes need two basic types of insulin: basal and bolus. The good news is that, right now, we have options, and the options keep changing. In this article, we’ll go through the insulin options available in the United States as of January 2022. For more information on how to get insulin into your body, check out CWD’s What is Insulin Page.  Basal and Bolus Defined Basal insulin is the background insulin that […]

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What the Research Says About COVID-19 and Type 1 Diabetes: January 2022 Update

We are entering the third January with COVID-19 top of mind for many scientists, health care professionals, researchers, and people in general. We all hoped to be out of the pandemic by now, but alas, here we are. The good news is we have learned a lot about the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about type 1 diabetes and COVID-19. 1. People with T1D are not at an increased risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus.1 We’re starting with some good news, which, hopefully, you already know. A systematic review of risks […]

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Challenges in Flattening the Post-Meal Spike

People often say that managing diabetes is so difficult because you can eat the same thing every day, take the same dose of insulin, and have different blood sugars each day. This can be so frustrating and make people feel like they are failing at their diabetes. But getting the bolus for meals right depends on many things, including counting the carbohydrates accurately, timing the bolus properly given the glycemic index or fat and protein content, and ensuring that the insulin gets into the body properly, to name a few. What the Research Shows High post-meal glucose levels affect Time […]

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New Years Tips for People with Type 1 Diabetes

It’s that time of year again-the time where we all consider making positive changes in our lives for the coming calendar year. And, what better than to make a diabetes-related new year’s resolution? We’ve curated a list of tips to help improve your diabetes self-management based on the last year of research articles reviewed by the CWD Team. 1. Get a CGM if You Can All signs point to Time-In-Range as the new standard of care for diabetes management, and it’s quite difficult to get an accurate measurement of your glucose’s time in range (TIR) without the use of a […]

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