Category Archives: Events

Heading out again.

April 17, 2015 – 8:46 am

As the sun begins to break through again (thank you rain, but thank you sun!), I’m all packed and ready to head off to something called the HealtheVoices conference in Jersey City… wait for it… New Jersey.  It’s just across the Hudson river from Manhattan.

This is not just a diabetes conference– there will be a number of online patient advocates in attendance who are dealing with a myriad of medical conditions, including HIV, breast cancer, cardiovascular issues, Chron’s/colitis, and many others.  I’m very interested in getting ideas and perspective from people living with and affected by conditions that are not my own.

The conference has been put together by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which, among other things, produces the Type 2 medication Invokana.

This is where I tell you that Janssen Pharmaceuticals is paying for my train travel, hotel, and meals so I can take part in this gathering.  In case you’re wondering, all opinions expressed here, or using the #HealtheVoices15 hashtag are entirely my own.

This is the first time a company has invited me, at their expense, to attend a conference.  Guess I should think about creating that disclosures page now.

If I can, I’ll let you know what’s happening when it’s happening. Otherwise, I’ll try to give you a recap later on.

I hope your weekend is off to a great start, and I hope the nasty weather stays away from your part of the world too. Talk to you Monday!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Tagged , , , | Comments (6)

Scholarships: The application window is beginning to close.

March 30, 2015 – 9:50 am

I’ve mentioned this a lot before, but I’m going there again. That’s because time, as they say, is of the essence. In other words, time is running short. This is very important if you have a desire to get to big diabetes events this year, but you can’t necessarily pay your own way.

Are you a procrastinator?

That’s okay, as long as you don’t procrastinate past Friday.

Diabetes Hands Foundation and Diabetes Advocates has their application process open for candidates to receive scholarships to diabetes events this year. But applications will only be accepted until 5:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (or 8:00 p.m. on the east coast) on April 3rd.

That’s this Friday, folks.

Scholarships will be awarded to cover travel, hotel, and conference registration for things like the American Diabetes Association’s 75th Annual Scientific Sessions, the two-day MasterLab advocacy workshop in July, the entire Friends For Life conference in July, and the American Association of Diabetes Educators conference in August.

Full disclosure: I received a scholarship to attend MasterLab last year, and it changed my life. I’m not applying for scholarships this year, so you have one less competitor!

DHF will award scholarships to advocates of all experience levels. Yes, that means you and me.

Let me say this again: You have until Friday to apply for these scholarships.

So… you need to do two things:

1) Take the Diabetes Advocates advocacy survey: CLICK HERE

2) Complete the application: CLICK HERE

To find out more about scholarships offered, and to get to these two links again, CLICK HERE. If you have any questions, e-mail the always helpful Mr. Mike Lawson and he will tell you everything you need to know.

Now is the time. The application window is closing. If you otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to one or more of these events, I urge you: Apply for a scholarship.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

More disclosure: As evidenced by the button in the left column of this page, I am proud to say that I am a member of Diabetes Advocates. I get nothing in return for sharing all of this with you, except the possibility that your life will be forever changed too. Apply now.
 
 
 

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More Diabetes UnConference News, and FDA doings too.

March 27, 2015 – 9:38 am

I know I’ve written a lot about The Diabetes UnConference, but I need to share this bit of exciting news:

First: There will be another Diabetes UnConference in Las Vegas next year!
Details are still being worked out, but it will be in Las Vegas, and it will be in March 2016. For me, this is very encouraging. There were many people from the western part of the USA who attended this year, and I know at least a couple would not have made the trip had it not been so close. So I’m glad that adults living with diabetes in Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah, and other western states will have something relatively close to go to. But that’s not all….

Second: There will be an East Coast version of the Diabetes UnConference in the Fall of 2016!
Again, it’s still in the planning stages, and there isn’t much to tell yet, but for all of you who can’t quite make the trip to Vegas next year, know that there will be an East Coast UnConference in the fall. More to come on that development. But wait… that’s not all…

Third: Both editions of the 2016 Diabetes UnConference will include separate “Adult T3/People without Diabetes” sessions! Some parts of the UnConference will offer opportunities for both People With Diabetes and People Without Diabetes to interact, but there will also be a separate space and special sessions so People Without Diabetes can experience the UnConference too, sharing among their tribe, peer-to-peer (still adults only).

Hard to imagine next year already, but it already looks like it will be great.

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Advocacy Opportunities:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding a couple of public meetings in April.

The first, on April 14, is a meeting of the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Advisory Committee, which will go over outcomes of research on patients using the Type 2 medications Saxagliptin and Alogliptin. The public is welcome to attend, but you must register. To do that, and to get all of the information on this Advisory Committee meeting, CLICK HERE.

Also, one week later on April 21, there will be a public workshop titled “An Interactive Discussion on the Clinical Considerations of Risk in the Postmarket Environment”. This workshop is really a forum to discuss possible risks (or not risks) of devices after they’ve been approved by the FDA. This is not specifically diabetes related, but hey, we wear devices, right? There is also an opportunity for patients (that’s me) to submit comments, and even speak at this public workshop. Looks very interesting to me. Want to attend? CLICK HERE.
 
 
There you have it. Exciting doings in the diabetes world, both in the near future, and next year. Enjoy your weekend!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Also posted in Advocacy | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Impact of The Diabetes UnConference.

March 25, 2015 – 8:28 am

I’m still processing The Diabetes UnConference.

It’s really hard to describe. At least to someone who was not in attendance. I’ve received a couple of inquiries about the event. Good inquiries, actually.

MLitchman
mpoulton

The problem is, the UnConference was not about one subject or another as much as it was about us, the people who were there, and our lives with diabetes, how we choose the devices we choose, how we navigate relationships involving diabetes, and that awful trifecta of guilt, depression, and burnout. And a LOT more.

What was said was not necessarily said for the benefit of educators, or healthcare professionals, or drug manufacturers, or even diabetes bloggers. Instead, what was shared was shared for the benefit of the people in attendance. As much as it makes me cringe when I say it, in this case, you really had to be there to fully feel the depth of our discussions.

That’s not to say that there won’t be any visible initiatives to come from the UnConference. There may very well be advocacy jumpstarted, or increased diabetes volunteerism due to some of the issues that were discussed. I certainly hope so. But it may come from individuals, or a team of individuals, rather than from the UnConference saying “here’s what we decided to do”. I have an idea in my head that came from the Aging with Diabetes session. I don’t know if I can do something with it, but I would like to try.

I also think that many of the things that were talked about will eventually make their way out beyond the confines of our walls at The Flamingo hotel. It just won’t be via Tweets and Facebook and blogs and so on. It’s going to be person to person, peer to peer, PWD to PWD. The conversations, however sacred, are not over. In many cases, they are just beginning. I like to think we cracked open quite a few cans of worms at the Diabetes UnConference.

When I consider bonds that were solidified over that weekend, and I look at Facebook posts and read blogs in recap of our time in Las Vegas, I’m finding that I wasn’t the only person who was moved by what I heard and experienced. And I’m not the only one having trouble describing it in a way that someone who was not there would understand and grasp hold of completely.

That’s kind of frustrating in a way. Except that the thing that makes it frustrating is also what made it so great—no social media during the sessions, keeping what was shared within the confines of the UnConference rooms, making it safe to open up, and ensuring everyone was listening.

That’s a tradeoff that this patient, anyway, is happy to make for the benefit of my fellow People With Diabetes who were there, and for the feeding of my soul that surprisingly happened during this special time in my life. I’m generally far too jaded to really get emotional anymore. I still feel things deeply, but I’m much more likely to keep my feelings to myself until the moment passes. That’s another thing I really had a hard time with, and I found myself opening up far more than I tend to do at traditional conferences.

Here’s the thing: Closing one window (social media) allowed another window (self fulfillment, enlightenment, relationship building, keep adding to the list) to open wide. Not just for me, but for everyone there. When I think of that weekend, I’m still a little raw. But I’m also ready and willing to listen to the next Person With Diabetes who needs a little more care and feeding of their soul.

My guess is that the impact of the first ever Diabetes UnConference will be both immediate and long-lasting. You’ve been reading about the immediate impact now, and the benefits of that are mostly internal. The long-lasting impact will be written about in years to come, and calculated in how one person makes an impact on another person’s life.

I’m still processing all of this, and I’m sure some of the attendees still are too. The conversations are just beginning. Lives are just starting to be changed. And that makes me feel like the UnConference will never really be over at all. I like the idea of that very much.

Unless, of course, there’s a cure. Then I’m okay with it ending. Just so you know…

By StephenS | Tagged , , , | Comments (12)

Now is the time– Make an impact.

March 18, 2015 – 9:56 am

I have one piece of semi-big news for Type 2s today, and one very big reminder for Type Anythings…

First: Abbot Diabetes Care is going ahead with clinical trials of its Freestyle Libre system. Already available to People With Diabetes in Europe, it promises glucose monitoring without performing fingersticks. That’s a potential game changer for many PWDs. But there’s a lot more to it than that. For a super write-up on the Libre, check out this review from diaTribe.

Now Type 2s have the opportunity to take part in 14 day clinical trials of this device. Trials will be held in California, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. So there might be one near you.

I’ve written many times about the importance of clinical trials, and the importance of your participation in trials. So consider taking part in this trial and helping to advance device options for others living with diabetes in the USA. For all the lowdown on the trials, CLICK HERE.

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Diabetes Hands Foundation and Diabetes Advocates sponsor MasterLab, the (now) two-day diabetes advocacy workshop happening July 7 and 8 at the Friends For Life conference in Orlando. DHF and DA are offering 19 scholarships to participants who are looking to get their advocacy on by attending this event. Scholarships include airfare to and from Orlando, hotel accommodations, and other considerations. I received a scholarship to attend MasterLab last year, and it made a huge impact on me. What I learned there helped me tremendously when I spoke at an FDA workshop later in the year.

This year I won’t be asking for a scholarship. So you already have one less competitor! But you must apply by April 3. To find out more about MasterLab and other scholarships available through Diabetes Hands Foundation, CLICK HERE. NOW.

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Very exciting stuff folks. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the Libre clinical trials and MasterLab from some of you. Please let me know if you take part, and what it does for you. Good luck!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Also posted in Clinical Trials | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)