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“A Memorable Experience” A registered Dietitian Nutritionist talked about her most memo- rable experience. “One experience that will stay with me forever is when I was working at a hospital. One man came in very upset. He was dia- betic and, although he was taking insulin and testing his blood sugar, he was still having very high blood sugar levels. He was so frustrated because he had done everything his doctors and nurs- es had told him to do without any success. Then, when he went to the doctor, or saw the nurse, they automatically assumed he was not following orders and would lecture him about the dam- age that having high blood sugar will do to your body. No won- der he was frustrated! “I will always remember how it felt to help him. I listened to him that day and let him know I cared. I took a look at his insulin regimen and compared it to his blood sugar log. I did some calculations that gave me an idea of how much insulin he should be getting. I knew exactly what the problem was. Over the course of several visits, I was able to help him get his blood sugar down to a very good range. I taught him the effects diet, exercise, sleep, and stress have on blood sugar levels and how his insulin needs changed, depending on these and other factors. He went from feeling angry, scared, frustrated, and hopeless, to being confident in his ability to manage his care. Ultimately, he led a healthier life because of something I taught him.”

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Dietitian Nutritionist