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SUGAR SURFING 2018: GO BIG
2018 inaugurates my term as AADE Diabetes Educator of the Year. "Honored" can't describe the feeling of being the first physician certified diabetes educator (MD-CDE) to receive this national recognition. Having never been the "first" of anything, this will be a very special and unique experience. As part of this award, I will be traveling to several regional AADE (American Association of Diabetes Educators) coordinating body annual meetings across the US (Texas, Ohio, Califo


SUGAR SURFING LESSON #2: STOLEN BASES
The other day, I was discussing Sugar Surfing™ with a t1d teen in clinic. She is a competitive softball player; a pitcher. As I reviewed blood sugar levels on her CGM, most were elevated. Her glucose readings before breakfast were generally in range. But during the day they tended to go up and stay up. I asked her how many insulin doses she injected each day. Her answer was immediate: “I dose with each meal”. Next, I inquired how often she checks her BG level. Again, she resp

“CRANKY LOWS”: HOW DO YOU MANAGE/DEAL WITH THEM?
A post I read today inspires this question. Over my half century of living with diabetes I’ve experienced thousands of low blood sugars. Some have been quite severe. Fortunately, my lows are much fewer in severity now that I Sugar Surf. But I still have them from time to time. Sugar Surfing™ has saved me.
Low blood sugars change our emotional tone. This can happen in many ways. Lows can take us from "giddy" to morose, and everything in between. Over time we develop ways to


SUGAR SURFING LESSON: BASAL NEUTRALITY
The ability to establish and keep a steady basal blood sugar trendline pattern (called a “shelf” in Sugar Surfing™ parlance) is an essential step in mastering the art of Dynamic Diabetes Management. Establishing a steady basal insulin effect (i.e., basal neutrality) is vital to long term Sugar Surfing success. Basal insulin, whether delivered by an injection or an insulin pump, has a single purpose: to maintain blood sugar stability over time. It is not intended to lower bloo

A VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE AND REQUEST TO ALL WHO EMBRACE DIABETES EDUCATION
It has been my mission to change the way we manage diabetes in the 21st century. I began this journey decades ago. More recently, years of posts, face to face workshops and a medical practice based caring for thousands of adults and children with diabetes resulted in the creation of a non-profit corporation entitled “Dynamic Diabetes Management” (DDM), Inc. on January 1, 2016. We are now ready to take the next step. Our success ultimately depends on YOUR support. DDM aims to


How to Sugar Surf™ a Pizza
Slices of hot pizza are a true delight for most people of all ages. However, those of us with type 1 diabetes often eat pizza with some amount of trepidation. It may even be a food "to be avoided at all costs". Sugar Surfers see pizza as just another glycemic challenge to dominate. In this post I will describe how to Sugar Surf a few slices of thin crust pizza. Three to be exact. You will note some methods which may fly in the face of ‘static thinking’ common sense. In the im


Sugar Surfing is a process, not a result
Every day, most of us apply Sugar Surfing principles in most areas of our lives. When driving a car, crossing a busy intersection on foot, or even answering the doorbell, we are using the Sugar Surfing process. By this I mean each of these actions involve some application of critical thinking if we are to perform these tasks effectively. And in each of the examples above, our choices (either actions or omissions) can result in failure (lack of the desired outcome to one degre