Saturday, August 25, 2012

You CAN dance en pointe

I've had several dancers emailing me telling me that as diabetics they were told that they weren't allowed to dance en pointe.  What do I have to say to that?  They were misinformed!  Of course you can dance en pointe.  There are many dancers including myself that have danced en pointe and still have healthy feet.  Zippora Karz for one of them!  So there you go, living proof!

The one disclaimer I have is that if your A1C is out of control it probably is best to wait until it's a bit lower before you pull those pointe shoes on.  The reason I say this is that pointe work beats up your feet...a lot.   You want to give your skin the best fighting chance to heal from all the abuse.  So the better your A1C, the better your feet will feel and the better your pointe work will be!  


Typical ballerina feet, take good care of them!
So eat healthy, keep active, watch your A1C, keep a close eye on your feet and tie those ribbons!







-Exit Stage Left


10 comments:

  1. Ouchie.. How do you get your feet healed up in time to dance again???

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    1. Wel...you keep your feet clean and try to let them dry out and heal but more times than not you bandage them with bandaids and duct tape and continue to dance. It hurts but that's just ballet!

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  2. Hi Catherine! I stumbledupon your blog while searching for "how to live with diabetes." Though I'm not a diabetic but both my parents are. Lately, I felt the rush to know this stuff as they grow old and fragile. Just to let you know that your blog is a joy to read, and I'm happy that you've lived quite adjusted to it. Sure do, many of your readers will find to pursue their own passion despite the illness.

    Btw, have you got any idea about actos lawsuit? Sorry to ask, but from what I know, it's a common drug prescribed for diabetic patients that went wrong.

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  3. Hi Ada,
    Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my blog. It certainly is fun to write.

    I've heard of the lawsuit but since I'm type 1 and don't use any oral meds it really doesn't affect me. On the other hand it did frighten the FDA to the point that they slow down approval of medical devices, devices that are already available in other countries. Ugh, it's frustrating!

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  4. I found you're blog when I searched 'diabetic dancers' as I'm a type 1 diabetic dancer and was looking for inspiration. I certainly found it! I was wondering how old you were when you started en pointe?

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  5. Hey Mia! I'm so happy you found my blog. It badly needs updating but I've just been so focused on school lately and rehearsals. That's great that you're a dancer too. What sort of dance is your favorite?
    I started en pointe when I was 13. I wanted to start earlier but I just kept growing! I'm glad my teacher made that call because if she didn't it really could have damaged my feet.

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    1. My favorite dance style is probably ballet/lyrical, I like to dance with emotion. I'm hoping to start en pointe next year but my bloodsugar's been going crazy. I have the omnipod pump and the Dexcom CGM and my pumps have been acting up :(

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  6. I have found your blog looking for information regarding diabetes and ballet. My daughter is newly diagnosed and a serious ballet student. I'd love to find information about fine-tuning her treatment with ballet. Do you have any suggestions?

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    1. Hi, I just found this blog. I too would like more information on this.

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  7. You seem like an amazing person! I am very impressed. I want to start a blog on my journey as a type 2 diabetic from being overweight to fit enough to dance ballet again and go en pointe. Do you have any advice about blogging or the journey itself?

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