Diabetes is both a personal and professional crusade for this educator
Empowering patients to take control of diabetes
Imagine giving yourself an insulin shot while ordering a hamburger at the drive through. That’s when you know that diabetes is just an accepted part of your life, said Laurie Pariseau who did just that while growing up with Type 1 diabetes. It was a disease that she despised yet needed to control. So when she became a nurse, she realized she could use her experience to help the millions of Americans diagnosed with diabetes. “The complexities of actually living with diabetes is mind boggling, from the price of insulin to navigating the grocery store,” said Pariseau, 52, who is a diabetes educator at Lahey Health Primary Care, Arlington, where she helps patients make living with diabetes more manageable. She spoke with the Globe about working on the frontline of this healthcare epidemic:
“Being diagnosed with diabetes can come as a shock. There are so many questions: ‘Will I ever be able to eat dessert again? Why did this happen to me? And even, will I lose a limb because of this?’ That’s where I come in as a diabetes educator – I help patients cope and develop a plan to stay healthy. Diabetes education, like the kind I provide, is covered by Medicare and most insurance plans. I see so many patients a day, and I know that change doesn’t come easy for them, whether it’s losing weight or beginning to exercise. I don’t have a pre-packaged plan and I’m not like a car salesman. Scare tactics don’t work and you have to meet people where they’re at. When they say to me, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to have diabetes,’ that’s when I tell them that I’ve lived with diabetes for over four decades. Then they change their tone and want to hear more. I totally sympathize, and it’s my job to teach and motivate patients to take a more active role in their condition. Unlike many chronic diseases, diabetes requires constant vigilance on the part of the patient, demanding more than just pills or insulin shots – it’s a total lifestyle adjustment. Because diabetes is so intertwined with all aspects of a patient’s life, I’m part pharmacist; part social worker; part psychologist; part nurse. I review labs; devise plans to get numbers to target levels; assess nutrition and exercise habits. I also make sure patients are up to date on other appointments, like kidney, eyes and podiatry, to help monitor for complications. Diabetes doesn’t discriminate, so I have patients of all ages, even a 101 woman who’s awesome and enthusiastic and loves coming in. She takes detailed blood sugar records and asks informed questions about her glucose monitor. This is the most rewarding part, seeing the improvements made by my patients over time. I’ve been at Lahey for 16 years and work with a diabetes healthcare team – about 25-30 percent of the clinic population come through my office at one point or another. But I know from personal experience that diabetes doesn’t have to define your life. And it’s getting easier for all of us: injections are easier than they used to be; telemedicine makes it simpler to keep in touch; and hopefully, one day, not far from now, there will be a cure.”
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