Tag Archives: big blue test

Diabetes By The Numbers: Mike Lawson talks Big Blue Test.

October 14, 2016 – 9:08 am

bbt-2016
Today begins one of my favorite times of the year. Every year, Diabetes Hands Foundation sponsors the Big Blue Test. Now until November 14 (World Diabetes Day), you and your loved ones, plus anyone else you know, are encouraged to get moving. And log the results. And help diabetes groups doing amazing work to build community and help others.

Here’s how it works: first, check your blood glucose. Not living with diabetes? Skip this step. Then get out and get moving for 14 to 20 minutes or more. You can walk, run, swim, bike, play badminton, ride a Big Wheel, whatever. Then do another BG check (or skip it if you don’t live with diabetes) and log the results at BigBlueTest.org. Or make it easy on yourself and download the Big Blue Test app on your iPhone or Android device, and do the same.

For the next month, every Big Blue Test logged will result in a $3.00(US) donation, split evenly among three wonderful diabetes non-profits:

Diabetes Sisters

We Are Diabetes

Riverside Community Diabetes Collaborative

Three fantastic organizations providing help, education, and support to those living with or at risk of living with diabetes.

Today, Mike Lawson, Senior Director of Programs and Marketing for Diabetes Hands Foundation, joins me to talk everything Big Blue Test, including a little about this year’s grantees, the goals for this year, and a new way for exercise groups to get involved in the Big Blue Test initiative. Have a listen, then click on the links below.
DBTN

Reference Material – Click below for more information on this topic

Mike Lawson is Senior Director of Programming and Marketing for Diabetes Hands Foundation:
diabeteshandsfoundation.org

You can log your Big Blue Test Results at:
BigBlueTest.org

You can also log your exercise after downloading the Big Blue Test app on your iPhone or Android device.

Groups can sign up and log their group exercise activity by going to:
BigBlueTest.org/groups

Don’t forget to share your Big Blue Test activity and follow others by using the hashtag:
#BigBlueTest

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes By The Numbers | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Like these Diabetes Awareness Month links.

November 10, 2015 – 11:00 am

It’s Diabetes Awareness Month! Saturday marks another World Diabetes Day.

Guess what? There are still very easy ways to advocate and show your solidarity with your friends who are also living with or affected by this disease. Here are just a few:

Big Blue Test: In case you didn’t know, Big Blue Test is the yearly effort from Diabetes Hands Foundation that encourages us to check our BGs, get up and get moving, then check again and log the results at BigBlueTest.org. Don’t have diabetes? No problem! Just leave out the BG test results. Or, if you really want to, go ahead and prick your finger before and after your exercise anyway. Whatever makes you happy.

The best part is that each test logged helps to raise much needed cash for worthy diabetes organizations like SucreBlue and CarbDM. They’re about 6500 tests short of their goal of 110,000 entries by Saturday night. So do not forget to log those Big Blue Tests, either at the website or via the handy-dandy app.
 
 
CGM coverage for Medicare patients: If you live in the USA, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition makes it super easy to e-mail your congressperson and senators. In fact, I’ll bet you can do it in under one minute. Start the clock! CLICK HERE and get the necessary text, including references to the existing bills before the House and Senate. Enter your information, click submit, and your piece of advocacy is on its way. Really, it doesn’t get any easier than that.
 
 
World Diabetes Day Twitter Chat! Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation is once again sponsoring hour upon hour of Twitter chats on World Diabetes Day, hosted each hour by a different person, all designed to raise awareness, support one another, and have a few laughs. Check in throughout the day and meet new people from around the world, engage in the conversation, and tell us how your day is going.

This year we’re doing 14 hours of continuous Twitter chat using the hashtag #WDDChat15. Each hour will have a different theme. I’ll be leading off beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time here in the USA, followed at 8:00 by Kelly Kunik. Remember… follow the #WDDChat15 hashtag to join the conversation.
 
 
However your week shapes up, I hope it’s filled with raising awareness and celebrating our fellow friends living with and affected by diabetes. So get going, write those letters, and I’ll talk to you on Saturday morning!
 

By StephenS | Posted in Like these links | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Why Diabetes Awareness Month Matters.

October 31, 2014 – 9:26 am

Saturday, November 1st marks the beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month 2014.

I saw this video the other day, and part of it keeps coming back to me. It was when Kim Vlasnik said “My disease is not a punch line”. I’ve seen the video a few times now, and every time I hear that part I shift uncomfortably in my chair, thinking of a couple of moments in my recent past. I had shoved these memories deep inside, I thought, to the point where I didn’t think I’d be reminded of them (I’m good at sweeping these kind of things under the rug and moving on with my life). But watching that part of the video brought them to the surface again, and I’m having trouble shaking them.

One was during my workday, while I was walking outside, on my way to have lunch by the harbor. The other happened on the subway, on my way home. In both cases, a sudden low hit me hard. I wound up on the ground on Baltimore’s beautiful harbor promenade, and on the disgustingly dirty floor of a subway car, struggling to maintain consciousness, mere moments from potentially losing my life.

In both cases, no one helped or asked if I needed help. No one called 911. However, in both cases, at least two people got out their phones and started shooting video of the entire episode. People with good jobs, good clothes, and disposable income stopped what they were doing in order to commit my trauma to digital media before it was over. My medical emergency became fodder for their Facebook post or their Tweet or their ha-ha YouTube video.

In my country, about ten times more people will be diagnosed with diabetes this year than will be diagnosed with breast cancer. In October, countless media outlets help promote marathons designed to help raise money for an organization that has, according to some reports (like this one), contributed as little as 15 percent of of its donations on research awards that fund studies on everything from hard-core molecular biology to the quality of breast-cancer care for Medicaid patients. In October, the White House was lit up in pink. In October, the National Football League sells pink accessories and pink jerseys and pink who-knows-what-else and donates a portion of sales to breast cancer research. The same thing happens in May as Major League Baseball tries to get in on the action.
 
 
Meanwhile, people are using the near-death experiences of people living with diabetes as social media entertainment. I wonder how much this might change if diabetes received even one tenth of the awareness of breast cancer.
 
 
Awareness.
 
 
This is only one reason why we need Diabetes Awareness Month.
 
 
This is only one reason why we—why I—need the Diabetes Online Community.
 
 
Ignorance does not look good in pink, or blue, or any other color.
 
 
If you can’t do it for any other reason: As you take the Big Blue Test, form a human Blue Circle, or even think about performing some other measure of outreach or advocacy this November, please remember the importance of awareness.
 
 
I know I’ll get over these brief moments in my life.
But don’t allow anyone else to experience anything like this ever again.
 
 
Awareness.
 
 
This is only one reason why we need Diabetes Awareness Month.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Advocacy | Also tagged , , | Comments (8)

Reminders, reminders. And more reminders.

October 29, 2014 – 9:31 am

Here are a few reminders of things happening right now where you can make a difference:
 
 
Tweet your elected officials! Tell them to #Vote4DM!

VOTE4DIABETESM

Maybe you were getting ready for last week’s DSMA Twitter chat and you started noticing all of the tweets going out from the Diabetes Community to House members and Senators here in the USA. Do you know where that started? It started at Strip Safely, who started the campaign and even provided this nifty web page that made it super easy for people to Tweet their elected officials about coordinating the federal response to diabetes, covering CGMs for senior citizens on Medicare, and permitting Certified Diabetes Educators to provide already approved education benefits to their patients.

Guess what? There will be a brand new Tweet-In again tonight (October 29) beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. Once again the Diabetes Community will be showing strength in numbers by massively tweeting the lawmakers we elected and letting them know how important it is (less than a week before election day) to make diabetes an integral part of the legislative landscape. And soon.

It will take less than five minutes for you to be an advocate.

At 8:00 eastern time tonight (US)– You can help by going to this page, finding your congressperson and senators, and clicking on the specific links listed to either encourage the people (that we elected) to take up the cause, or to thank them for already doing so.

————————————————————————————–

Five days until #DOCAsksFDA

I’m very much looking forward to the conversation (via webcast) that will be taking place on Monday, November 3 beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern time (US). This is a chance for you to learn more about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, how and why they review devices and drugs, and how we, as a community, can work with the FDA toward better outcomes in all areas.

To RSVP for the webcast, go to this Diatribe link or this FDA link, get all the information, and register. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a look at the agenda and a link to join the webcast on Monday. I hope you’ll be there!

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Don’t forget about the Big Blue Test

Hashtag-Big-Blue-Test

The Big Blue Test is going strong. As of this writing, there were over 1600 Big Blue Tests recorded so far. But that’s a far cry from the goal of 35,000 set for this year’s event.

Don’t forget… Now until November 19, every Big Blue Test that is logged will result in a $1.00 (US) donation to non-profit diabetes groups that are working tirelessly to provide education, support, and supplies to people who need them. My guess is maybe you’ve forgotten to log all of your activity. Well what are you waiting for?

Here’s how it works:

1. Test your blood glucose. If you do not have diabetes, you can skip this step.

2. Get active. For 14 to 20 minutes, get up and get moving. You can , walk, run, clean the house, swim, tap dance…whatever!

3. Test again. On average, Big Blue Testers seen their blood glucose level drop 20% after 14-20 minutes of exercise.

4. Share your results. Answer the questions in the right column of the page at bigbluetest.org. And don’t forget to talk about your experience on social media using the hashtag #bigbluetest.
 
 
 
So there you have it. Three great ways to learn, stay active, and hold congressional feet to the fire for People With Diabetes. It’s not always about big projects with huge budgets and lots of manpower. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying, “Yeah, I can do that” and making a small effort.

And while I’m at it, let me say: Thank You for your advocacy. Your efforts continue to make a difference.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Advocacy | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

It’s Big Blue Test Time!

October 20, 2014 – 9:06 am

Big-Blue-Test
 
 
Today marks the start of one of my favorite parts of the year. It’s Big Blue Test time!

For the next month, every Big Blue Test that is logged will result in a $1.00 (US) donation to non-profit diabetes groups that are working tirelessly to provide education, support, and supplies to people who need them.

Here’s how it works:

1. Test your blood glucose. If you do not have diabetes, you can skip this step.

2. Get active. For 14 to 20 minutes, get up and get moving. You can , walk, run, clean the house, swim, tap dance…whatever!

3. Test again. On average, Big Blue Testers seen their blood glucose level drop 20% after 14-20 minutes of exercise.

4. Share your results. (Answer the questions in the right column of the page at bigbluetest.org). And don’t forget to talk about your experience on social media.

Hashtag-Big-Blue-Test

Tell everyone you know, whether they’re living with diabetes or not. Log those moments of activity throughout your day.
Share this with everyone you know (use the hashtag #bigbluetest).

Have you been looking for a way to help move the needle toward better outcomes for People With Diabetes, but you’re not sure how? This is how.

I’ve already logged my first one! I took the long way walking from the train station to work, and my BG dropped 53 points. I’m going to try to do this every working day (twice per day, of course) for the next month. I’ll bet there’s something similar you can do where you live and work.

Sometimes, diabetes advocacy is both fun and easy. Go to bigbluetest.org to find out more.

By StephenS | Posted in Advocacy | Also tagged , , | Comments (2)
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