Struggles on a low income does not help her diabetes
March 19, 2010
Donovan Vincent
STAFF REPORTER
Keeping her diabetes in check isn’t easy for Sherry, especially since she has to do it on a low income.
The 59-year-old St. Jamestown resident learned several years ago that she has Type 2 diabetes. She says it’s difficult buying the right foods.
Some experts believe low-fat diets based on whole-grain foods, organic vegetables and fruits help maintain a healthy weight and can decrease problems associated with Type 2 diabetes.
But that food doesn’t come cheap.
“I can’t afford organic food at all. It’s out of my price range,” says Sherry, who asked that her real name not be used, given her economic situation.
The former government employee receives disability support, which covers the two diabetes medications she takes, Metformin and Glyburide, as well as the blood glucose test strips she needs — costs she says she’d never be able to bear on her own.
Sherry tries to buy organic milk when she has the money, and eats as many vegetables as she can, though they aren’t organic.
A health club membership is out of the question for her, but she walks regularly and swims at her local community centre.
Her story highlights the difficulty of managing diabetes if you are poor.
But Sherry is also one of about 250 people who’ve had support from a diabetes education program run out of the Regent Park community health centre at Dundas and Parliament.
The program, operated by registered nurse Eleanor Tyrell and Raquel Figueroa, a registered dietician, began in the summer of 2008, one of about 45 new diabetes education teams that started after Ontario’s health ministry announced $9.8 million in funding to improve access to diabetes care.
Targets for the Regent Park program are immigrant groups, people with mental health issues, drug users and the poor — “people who face the most barriers,” explains Figueroa.
She says the intersection between poverty, migration, mental health or stress and their effect on a person’s ability to manage diabetes can be extremely complex.
“To really tackle the problem of diabetes in the community ... we need to go beyond just tailoring Canada’s Food Guide to a specific culture,” she adds. “We need to engage individuals and communities in a meaningful way to find community-based solutions.”
Clients live within the area around Regent Park: south of Bloor, east of Yonge and west of the Don River.
Because glucose strips can cost about $1 a pop, many clients don’t test their blood sugar regularly at home. They’re too expensive, says Tyrell. So her program has glucometers available for use on site.
Tyrell and Figueroa’s education program also offers:
• Counselling and education for people who have, or are at risk of developing, diabetes.
• A monthly diabetes support group that’s run with a mental health expert. It addresses topics such as the importance of foot-care. If people with diabetes suffer long periods of high blood sugar levels, they can develop poor circulation and deadened nerves in their feet, which can ultimately lead to amputation.
• Individual consultations at a local mental health recovery centre, where people can drop in and ask about nutrition, and diabetes prevention and education.
• Help for those with Hepatitis C who may be users of crack or other drugs. Studies have suggested cocaine, for instance, can harm the way the body processes sugar.
Some of the programs operate in tandem with doctors who work at the health centre.
There are also workshops for East African men and women, as well as people from the Tamil, Vietnamese and Bengali communities.
Retired but needing to stay active, Marian Ahmed uses her knowledge and first-hand experiences with diabetes to help others like her in the East African women’s group.
Once a month since January, Ahmed, 65, a Regent Park resident, volunteers as a peer facilitator for the group.
She helps more than a dozen women understand the importance of controlling sugar and carbohydrate intake, as well as the need for regular exercise, such as yoga and tai chi.
She understands how a person’s income can affect his or her ability to deal with diabetes, given she’s on a fixed income and relies on government assistance to pay for the things she requires, such as an insulin pump, medication and the test strips.
As a woman from Somalia, there’s a key cultural aspect that Ahmed understands.
Those in her sessions often grapple with hardships happening in their former homelands — like war or economic calamity — and stress from those worries can cause these women to make their health less of a priority.
“Sometimes they’re tired, angry, sad, and they’re not eating well or getting good results when they test their blood sugar,” says Ahmed with a friendly smile as she sits in a room at the health centre.
Diabetes is a significant problem in non-white communities, and experts say issues such as poverty and diet are compounding factors.
Diabetes in its most common form (Type 2) is a chronic ailment that happens when the body can’t produce enough insulin or properly use the insulin it does. Insulin is essential to the process of converting glucose in the blood stream into energy the body can use. If the sugar stays in the blood, it does damage to the cardiovascular system over the long-term and can lead to blindness, kidney problems, heart attacks or limb amputations. Most people with Type 2 diabetes die of heart disease.
Ahmed’s workshop for East African women will run until June, at which time an evaluation will be done. She says she’s thrilled to be able to get out of the house and assist others in their fight with diabetes.
“I’m not capable of doing a job, but I’m capable of helping people in the community,” she says.