Today, a quick heads-up on a rather original and fun approach to raising money for diabetes: make some D-art out of your loose change! The folks at Pump Wear Inc., the company that claims to have started the trend of cool, colorful insulin pump accessories and mini-packs for kids, have created a new fundraising initiative in [...]

Today, a quick heads-up on a rather original and fun approach to raising money for diabetes: make some D-art out of your loose change! The folks at Pump Wear Inc., the company that claims to have started the trend of cool, colorful insulin pump accessories and mini-packs for kids, have created a new fundraising initiative in [...]

After I blogged recently about the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in October, a number of

Family Practice

Doctors say negative online reviews of their services can ruin their reputations, but consumer advocates say patients have a right to post reviews on their care.

Last night I finished “The Born Again Diabetic” and I had to tell you about it.Well, what I want to tell you is that you need to read it. Well, if you have diabetes you do. It is not like any other diabetes book I have read. It is funny, to the point, pulls no punches and covers everything!I should tell you that I am not a reader. It takes me forever to finish any book. I plowed through this book and honestly, want to read it again. It was filled with so much and some things I never knew. I learned a ton and had a great time doing it. Perfect balance right?This book was written by William “Lee” Dubois, whose blog Life After DX was one of the first blogs I started reading over 3 years ago when I started blogging. He is a great writer and a cool guy.I know this blog is the B.A.D. blog but as of late I feel like I could be born again, AGAIN. I needed a kick start. A refocusing on my diabetes. This book did that for me and shed a whole new light on why we do what we do and how we should be doing it.I really cannot think of more to say except, BUY IT AND READ IT! And let me know if you do.Oh and one last thing, Thanks Lee for writing such a great book! Can’t wait for the next one!!Here is a link to the Amazon store. GO GO GO!!!

I’m sorry to report that the first day of the two-day Diabetes Forum 2009 conference here in snowy Washington, DC, was not very encouraging. Don’t get me wrong, the event was extremely well-organized, well-attended, and fascinating. It’s just that what we were hearing was a lot of bad news about the state of diabetes [...]

Wow. I can’t believe it has been so long since my last blog post. I guess there are 2 reasons for that. First, and the main reason, is because work has had me so busy this last month with new product releases, product testing and updates that I have had no time to sit down [...]

I couldn't resist the alliteration, sorry.There are two opportunities to meetup with folks in Massachusetts this month. This coming Sunday a group of us will be getting together in Marlboro for a presentation on the Latest and Greatest Diabetes Technologies. Dr. Howard Wolpert of Joslin clinic will be presenting, he's a great speaker and worth hearing.The following Saturday, ADA is holding a diabetes expo in Boston. It runs from 10 AM to 4 PM, but a group of us is planning to meetup at 2 PM beside the DESA booth and then gather in the food court area.You may have heard me say this before. If you're nearby to either of these locations I recommend getting to one of the events. Meeting up with a group of folks with diabetes is uplifting and supportive. We don't get together and complain about our challenges. We do talk about the latest things we've learned and support those of us who are having some issues. It's fun and liberating to sit down to eat and be with others who are pulling out test kits, injecting insulin or playing with the buttons on their pump. If you've never used a pump or a CGM it's a great chance to talk with others who have and learn some of the pros and cons.I hope I'll see you at one of these events.

As I've mentioned countless times before, I love the CWD forum folk.  They are compassionate, kind, and always doing their best to raise awareness for diabetes.I received an email from one of my friends at CWD this morning about Michelle...

Featured Blogger of the Week: March 1-7Kelly Close, diaTribePost # 1We're so happy to be the featured blogger of the month!I've been diabetic since the mid-1980s when I was a teenager .. I now focus on learning more about new therapies and technologies for people with diabetes and write newsletters based on this.We write our learnings in a newsletter called diaTribe - we love knowing what is on patients' minds and have learned incredibly from the blogosphere.I really applaud Gina for all her work in medical technology in particular - I'm a happy CGM wearer for example and have been thrilled that coverage has increased over the past year.I just got new insurance (Aetna) and knowing this will be covered from the start, was really reeassuring. Thank you so much to Gina for getting so many patients to send their opinions out!Like many people with diabetes, I get very frustrated by the disease - I've had a lot of bouts of severe hypoglcyemia recently, as one example. We were thrilled to learn through our work that there is a new insulin pump that has been approved in Europe that has a "shut-off" feature if you don't respond to the integrated CGM. GREAT - this was shown in studies just released to reduce hypoglycemia substantially. (If you would like more details, please write me - we'll have an update in the next diaTribe with all the details.) Unfortunately, this will take awhile to reach the US - it's likely up to a couple of years away - because regulatory standards are tighter here.We're happy to have safety of paramount importance at FDA but hope that innovation won't be slowed -- we heard from many of you who signed a patient petition put together by Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine.com, Manny Hernandez of tuDiabetes.com, and me — thank you! That is at www.HelpTheFDA.org - check it out if you didn't see it. Amy and I are at a conference this week for Avalere Health - we will be taking the signatures and over 1500 comments to FDA this week so if there is anything you'd like to tell them, please let us know!I'll be back later this week with more learnings on new products on the horizon....--If you would like to be a featured blogger send an email to diabetesoc@gmail.com and put FEATURED BLOGGER in the subject.

Guess where I am today?  That’s right. If the headline didn’t tip you off: I’m in Washington DC, elated to be rubbing elbows with some of our nation’s most prominent diabetes advocacy groups, at the high-level Diabetes Forum 2009 Conference, this year titled “Broaden Your View.” I say “high-level” because this truly is the most influential [...]

Hey dBlogville - I need your input & help! It's very last minute, especially with yesterdays crazy weather, but I've been asked to attend a Panel Discussion about Insulin Pump Therapy and how it impacts PWD's lives tomorrow at Animas Corp.I know the positive changes my insulin pump has brought to my life, like; more freedom (sleeping late, eating what I want, skipping meals), better control, which equals better A1C’s, fewer highs & lows, less complications in the future, and the ability for my to OWN my diabetes – instead of it owning me!But what positive changes has your insulin pump and or CGM (regardless of the brand) brought to your life?I want to give you a chance to be heard and I know you have a lot to say!

It's time to get your creative juices flowing for the 2009 DiabetesMine Design Challenge, which was announced by Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine this morning. A while back, Amy asked me if I would be willing to participate in the video announcement for this contest; of course I readily agreed! I strongly believe that huge strides in diabetes management could be made by improving the design of current medical devices, without necessarily requiring huge improvements in the medical technology itself. (Although, I would love to see some diabetes products that don't require expensive and high maintenance disposable parts. And of course a super-accurate, noninvasive blood glucose meter is the holy grail!)View the video below, and check out the rules at the official contest page. There are top-notch judges and cash prizes of up to $10,000!<object height="315" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_XqH-udcrPU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_XqH-udcrPU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="315" width="500"></embed></object>

Welcome one and all! Today I’m excited and proud to announce the kickoff of the 2009 DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge, an online competition to encourage creative new tools for improving life with diabetes. Do you have an idea for an innovative new diabetes device or web application? This is your chance to win up to $10,000 [...]

I wrote this post on Diabetes Daily a few weeks back, but I wanted to share this here, too.&nbsp; When it comes to patient blogging, there are plenty of people who want to know more and who benefit from the...

Featured Blogger of the Week: February 15-22Hannah McDonald, DorkabeticPost # 2Diabetes: The Invisible Co-WorkerAt the end of a frustrating workday, do you ever just throw your pen down on your desk, declare, "That's it! I've had it!", and make a beeline for the door after some quick goodbyes to your associates? I'm sure nearly every working stiff out there has. Even if you're having fun at your job, everything can get overwhelming once in a while. Your boss gave you too many extras on your already full plate. Your co-worker is on vacation so you have a lot of extra slack to pick up. Maybe you just don't like your job. No matter the case, you know you can go home at the end of the day and forget about the stress for a while. You can have an entire weekend dedicated to the good stuff.Unfortunately, when you have diabetes, there doesn't seem to be that whistle-blowing moment at the end of the day when you can slide down off your Brontosaurus, declare, "Yabba dabba doo!" and speed off for home. (My apologies to Mr. Flintstone.) It's a good blood glucose reading, hopefully followed by another. There is always the constant worry of what's around the corner: a nasty, sickening high? A debilitating low? Scary complications? There are so many little stressful moments, and sometimes you don't get that surprise coffee break to snap you out of it. Diabetes can be bad enough on its own.But then...You have to take it to work with you. And what do you do with it once you get there? Do you hide it away in a desk drawer like the good pens you don't want people to steal from the reception area? Do you hang it on the wall with pictures of your pet? To tell your boss or not to tell, that is the question!Diabetes is one hell of a nagging, nosy co-worker, and I definitely have a few moments to prove it. Diabetes can hang around your desk and make your job difficult sometimes. Other times, it will leave you alone, going about its own job, whatever that may be. (Taunting your non-functioning islet cells and making loan-shark-like threats to your nerves, I'd suppose.)In my last job, I was going through an experimental period of taking Symlin. Symlin tended to give me a mid-morning low crash that usually came out of nowhere, the worst of which, well, I could barely believe I was functioning. One minute, I was making copies for one of my bosses, the next minute, I'm sitting at my desk and seeing spots. Normally, my lows creep up on me, usually starting with a starving feeling in the pit of my stomach followed by the shakes or a headache. I knew something was not right, so I checked my BG right away. 35 mg/dl had decided it was going to come along and try to ruin my workday for a while. I chomped down a couple of glucose tabs, but decided I needed something more, so I headed for the break room. On the way, every single person I worked for stopped to talk to me, and I was able to easily carry on conversation and collect more work from them. I was completely amazed to be functional with 35 hanging around--35 is not just the co-worker who limits your productivity, he's usually the guy who shuts it down entirely for an hour! Once in the break room, I made myself a cup of coffee with real sugar. I was back to almost normal in 20 minutes, and no one knew the difference.Diabetes gets me to work late when an unexpected high or an annoying pump infusion site problem keeps me up for too long the night before. Last week, I woke from a dream around 4:30 in the morning, and decided I needed to change sleeping positions. As I was rolling over, somehow my arm got looped under my pump tubing, and I pulled the set straight out. Then I had to do the whole process of telling my husband everything was okay, I just needed to turn on the light for a minute, etc. He sleeps through everything, so my turning on the light is never a problem for him. The next morning, I stumbled out of bed a few minutes too late, so I ended up shuffling into the office about 20 minutes late. Sigh.Diabetes can just get obnoxious in the workplace. He sends you home on an unexpected early lunch break because you happen to be out of emergency pump supplies at your desk when your infusion set goes bad. He shows his unwanted face when someone brings in cupcakes and you get asked, "Should you be having...?" or "Hey, what kind of MP3 player is that?", or God forbid, "Is that a syringe at your desk? Are you, uh, okay?"You can't fire Diabetes. You can't take major disciplinary action against Diabetes at work. You can try to ignore Diabetes at all costs, but he's just going to come back and make your life miserable. Diabetes is a horrible co-worker who can constantly test your patience and wear you down, but somewhere along the line, we just learn how to cope with this. What's your secret for dealing with your diabetes at work?--If you would like to be a featured blogger send an email to the diabetesoc@gmail.com and put FEATURED BLOGGER in the subject.

I know, I know. It's been a long time since I last posted. I'm busy looking for a job and I seem to let anything else slide in the meantime.I came across the blog my new islets. The author Kathy had a pancreas transplant on August 23rd 2008 and is writing about the experience. That made me realize that the Diabetes search engine wasn't looking at any sites that had information on pancreas transplants. So I spent some time this evening fixing that, and I've added over 20 sites with information about pancreas, or kidney/pancreas, transplants. Many of these are hospitals that have transplant programs.Since we're going into summer planning. I also added a large number of diabetes camp sites. I was fortunate to get to most of these by using the Children with Diabetes Camps page.The diabetes search engine now looks for diabetes information on over 1400 sites or pages, including over 450 diabetes related blogs. I have looked at each one before adding it, to make sure they're valid. It's been used over 10,000 times, which means that it now ranks in the Google directories. And it's raised over $150 to support Dr. Faustman's research into a type 1 cure.Let me know of any ways I can improve this tool for you.

Following quickly on my post about Pharma companies warming up to social media, I got a call this week from some folks I know at Sanofi-Aventis. They are launching their very own YouTube channel to promote their Go-Insulin campaign aimed at offsetting the myths and misperceptions about insulin use among type 2 diabetics. So far, [...]

LURKING!!!Last week I wrote a quick post about the events of the previous 24 hours. I didn't think much of it......ya know....just relaying some more "firsts" in our journey.Well, Saturday morning as I'm just getting out of the shower hubby comes with the phone and says in a whisper, "It's Medtronic. They want to talk to you about your blog. Do you want to talk to them?"A lot went through my mind in that instant. Why do they want me? What did I write? I was a little fearful, yet excited. What was this all about?Adrian was her name. She made sure I was the author of J.J.'s diabetes journey at blogspot dot com, then went on to explain how she was alerted to my blog.....something about an e-mail, and a vice president of something, and whatever. Somehow, someway she was in charge of the situation at this point.She complimented me on my writing.....thought I was a nurse.....yada, yada, yada... I really wasn't paying much attention I just wanted her to get to the point!! Turns out there were multiple "points".Basically I believe my last post was a bit concerting to the folks over at Medtronic. J.J. had the "bleeder" when he took out the site, said he wanted to switch to shots(nothing new), a piece on his clip had busted off, and there was a cannula that was a tad longer than normal. To me, just a relay of information....not to the folks at Medtronic. Maybe it was bad press for them to write what I did. I was in no way lambasting or even complaining about Medtronic. All of it was typical for kids with type 1.At any rate....Adrian was sweet and offered us a new pump clip to replace the broken one. She also wanted J.J. to enjoy his pump and offered to send us a pump skin to make his pump more "fun". Then I was transferred to another nice lady who recorded the lot number of the "long" cannula for future reference and quality control. She threw into the mix a couple of infusion sets. Pretty nice "offers" for simply writing about my day dontcha think?So.....I guess the good folks over at Medtronic have blog lurkers out there. Who knew? I wonder why they weren't listening when I talked about the $500 transfer fee for donated and/or used pumps. I didn't receive a phone call then!