Episode #0082 Philip Stevanovic – CF Related Diabetes (CFRD)

Philip Stevanovic is 36 years old with cystic fibrosis and diabetes. He lives in New York, is married with twin boys, works full-time as a construction manager, and received a double lung transplant in August 2007 at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Philip was diagnosed at age two at the University of Minnesota. “Growing up with CF was pretty uneventful, except that I slept in a mist tent. I played soccer, tennis, football and lived in Africa, the Middle East and Yugoslavia,” Phil says. Philip was diagnosed with CFRD in 2006 via glucose tolerance test.  “I kept getting repeat infections because I had high blood sugar, and bacteria feeds on sugar." “I treat my CFRD with insulin shots before I eat, and that controls the sugar at meals. Blood sugars are controlled by food, medication and exercise." “Since I started insulin treatment for my CFRD, I have gained weight, which is something I could never do with CF,” Phil says. Philip sees an endocrinologist for his CFRD. “My role models are my mother and father – they are responsible for making me the person I am today, and I thank them for everything.” Philip’s recommendation to others with CFRD: “Enjoy life, be happy, stay focused and get an endocrinologist familiar with CF.” This “LIVING. BREATHING. SUCCEEDING.” Podcast/Vodcast series is the 4th in a series of 12 made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.