Tag Archives: diabetes

Happy World Diabetes Day, 2013.

November 14, 2013 – 9:00 am

It’s World Diabetes Day 2013!

Thanks, and a Happy WDD to you too.

I’m very happy on a day like this, knowing that people all over the world—not just People With Diabetes, but people with all kinds of backgrounds, from every corner of the globe, are tuned into this one day designed to raise awareness and promote advocacy for our cause.

I am not happy about the reason for this day, and it is my fervent hope that we will one day look at November 14 as a day to celebrate a cure for diabetes.

Did you know that 382 million people are living with diabetes right now? The population of those living with the big D is growing in every country. Part of that is surely the fact that technology and drugs are better, so more of us are living longer, and that’s good.

But did you know that diabetes caused 5.1 million deaths this year alone? The long reach of this insidious disease is mind-blowing. Confession: When I was first diagnosed, one of the little factoids I found somewhere said that the life expectancy of the average male with diabetes in America was 59½. Ever since I read that, my goal has been to blast through that statistic and help skew it in the upward direction. More has to be done on a global scale… we must help those who don’t yet have access to the tools we have to manage diabetes.

Did you know that four out of five people diagnosed with diabetes live in what are considered low or middle income countries? Places where insulin is hard to come by, let alone refrigeration for it. For some, having a glucose meter and test strips is a pipe dream. Still others die simply from a lack of education about things like hyperglycemia, retinopathy, infections, heart problems, and other issues that are of particular concern to those of us living with this condition.

Those are the latest figures. They are taken from this year’s diabetes atlas, prepared by the International Diabetes Federation.

Take a look at how the numbers have changed in a year, and you’ll begin to see (if you haven’t already) why it is so important for us to:

1. Stay healthy – Live Well

2. Raise Awareness – Living well doesn’t mean it’s easy

3. Share our stories with others – By sharing our experiences, we become an example and help crowdsource ideas that will improve outcomes

Hey, we’re 382 million strong. Even if only a quarter of us do the three things above, we’ll know that nearly 100 million are making a difference—a positive difference—for people everywhere.

How are you telling your story today?
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in World Diabetes Day | Also tagged | Comments (2)

Clinical Trial Update, Week Three.

November 11, 2013 – 8:46 am

Remember that thing I wrote last week about testing the Dexcom G5? It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. At least not now. There’s a delay in delivery of the device, and it may not be until next year when it can be tested.

I’m finding out that this isn’t uncommon in clinical trials. And my feeling is: Dexcom did a great job developing the G4 and making sure it was ready before it was rolled out. I’m going to trust that there’s a good reason for the delay.

Nevertheless, my study continues. The goal is really designed to test glucose variability anyway, and that can be done with or without a new CGM.

Last week, I made the drive down to Charlottesville for an outpatient visit to the clinical research unit (CRU) at the University of Virginia Medical Center. The team was kind enough to put me up in their research house (where they do outpatient testing of the Artificial Pancreas) so I wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel room.

The next morning, I was at the CRU at 6:30 a.m. I had to be fasting for this test, by the way. Throughout the day, there was a lot of testing going on, but I spent nearly all of my time in a hospital bed, with IVs inserted in both arms.

It was a last-minute decision to wear my YouCanDoThis Project T-shirt. I didn’t think much about it when I put it on, but as the day wore on, I think it helped me stay strong. Read on to find out why.

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There was a lot of blood drawn from those IVs. Beginning at 7:15, they started taking blood out every 15 minutes. The procedure was the same each time: Use a syringe to draw out a little blood, and discard it. Then draw anywhere from 2 CCs to 5 CCs of blood to give to a technician, who gets two BG readings from the sample. Finally, a third syringe is used to inject saline into the IV, so blood doesn’t dry up in the tubing. That’s why the first syringe was always discarded… probably saline in it, which would change the BG reading.

Dr. Sue Brown was in the room almost all the time too, monitoring my BGs and making sure things were on schedule, and we were able to share cycling stories throughout the morning.

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At 8:00 a.m., I was given a carb boost drink (chocolate!), designed to raise my glucose. It took about two hours, but I eventually got up to 297 mg/dL. Once I leveled off a bit, but while I was still high (around 10:00), I received an injection of regular insulin… right into an IV.

Then we waited about two more hours for my glucose to make it down. All the way down to 59 mg/dL. Beginning at 12:00 noon, the team started taking blood out of the IV every 5 minutes until the end of the test at 3:00.

You know, it’s a strange feeling waiting for your glucose to go up, knowing there’s nothing you can are supposed to do about it. But it’s even stranger waiting for your glucose to go down. Feeling the effects of hypoglycemia coming on. Feeling the fog entering your brain, and the world getting smaller, and talking about how you’re feeling while all of it is happening (that was not part of the testing– I just shared).

After that, they gave me a dextrose drink to help me get up to at least 80 mg/dL. Then another. Once I made it over 80 at about 1:30, they fed me lunch. A cheesy, lemon pasta with shrimp, a great salad, and fresh (no, really fresh) fruit for dessert. As you may have imagined, it was delicious. The blood draws and monitoring continued until 3:00 p.m.

Dexcom graph showing my BG variability during the test.

Dexcom graph showing my BG variability during the test.

So in all, I think there were 56 blood draws, 56 BG tests during my visit. I’ve written about this here so you could get a window into one day of my experience during a clinical trial. They’re not all like this. My previous study didn’t have any days like this.

Like I’ve said before, my job is to help researchers move the needle toward better outcomes for People With Diabetes. If that involves testing a website, or sitting still for intentionally induced hyerglycemia and hypoglycemia, it’s worth it because of what it could mean for those who need better outcomes. If you’ve been considering volunteering for clinical trials, I hope you’ll decide to do it. If you need help getting started, click the E-mail Stephen link on the top left of this page and I’ll point you in the right direction.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Clinical Trials | Also tagged | Comments (7)

Medical IDs– Update your info.

November 6, 2013 – 8:54 am

I’ve seen a few #dblog posts recently (like this one) from writers talking (and asking) about medical ID gear. So I thought I would weigh in on the subject too.

Officially, I’m still wearing my Medic Alert necklace that I purchased about 15 years ago (click here to see– no, I don’t have the beaded chain). The reasons are simple: I’m okay with how it looks, it’s durable, and it’s always around my neck. I really only take it off to swim.

But it’s not that simple. Medic Alert keeps a profile on you containing lots of information like your emergency contacts, your medical team, and more. The idea is that responders can call the number on the back of my ID, give the serial number on the back, and get all of this info in a flash. While I’ve had my necklace for a long time, I recognize that some of the important information is out of date.

How out of date? Really, really out of date.

I logged onto the Medic Alert site. Well, no, that’s not exactly what I did. I went to the site and had to create a user ID and password. It’s been so long since I updated my information that Medic Alert has gotten into the 21st Century and actually created an online way for you to update your information. For all I know, this could have occurred back in 1999, because it’s been that long since I last updated my info.

Since then, I’ve changed doctors (3 times), I’ve changed insulins (twice), I’ve added an insulin pump, and I actually got a mobile phone!

Moral of the story: It’s great to have something that alerts responders of your condition, and who to contact when you can’t do it yourself. Extra points if it looks good too. But something new and bright and shiny doesn’t help if the information associated with it is stale.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Also tagged | Comments (2)

Clinical trial, week two.

November 4, 2013 – 8:48 am

So here’s a quick update on my latest clinical trial. Okay, maybe not so quick, but I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible.

Officially, I’ll be testing the new Dexcom CGM, the G5. Not sure at this point when I’ll be hooked up to the G5. It’s a 32 day trial. For now, I’m wearing the G4 version, which I will continue to wear for the length of the study. This week, I’m traveling back to Charlottesville to go through a series of tests. On the day of testing, I’ll have an IV in my arm. I’m not sure what all of the tests will be, but I understand part of it will entail getting my glucose up over 200 mg/dL quickly, then dosing me with insulin to bring me back down quickly. I don’t know more about it than that, but I should have a couple of stories to tell later.

The team will measure the results, taking blood samples throughout the day. That’s probably the reason for the IV.

In addition to all of that, four days of the trial will be “insulin sensitivity days”, which involve eating exactly the same meals and snacks, at exactly the same time, throughout each of the four days. So if I’m eating instant grits and turkey sausage for breakfast at 6:00 in the morning (true), then a ham sandwich for lunch at 12:15, and a granola bar as a snack at 3:00, I have to eat exactly that, at exactly the same time, on the other three days too. The hard part for me is the Stouffer dinner I picked out. Easy to do the carb count, but I’m spoiled… I am not a fan of boxed dinners.

What’s the upshot of all this testing? Let me answer a question with a question: Did I mention this version of the G5 is specifically designed to speak to UVA’s artificial pancreas technology? I know I’m connecting dots that are not even on the chart yet, but in short, if these tests are successful, it should help clear the way for at-home artificial pancreas testing. That’s where patients would get hooked up to the AP, then go home for anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. That’s a huge leap forward in the development of this important technology, which is why I say I’m connecting dots that aren’t on the chart yet. But I can see the natural progression of the testing, and I can understand that a day like that is coming, and not too far off into the future. Okay, now I am really speculating, so I’ll stop now.

I hope to have another update next week… Thanks for supporting me through this important testing!
 
 
 

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

Athlete with diabetes? You deserve an award.

November 1, 2013 – 9:22 am

Welcome to November 1st, the first day of Diabetes Awareness Month, 2013. World Diabetes Day is once again scheduled for November 14th, which is a Thursday. There will be many happenings this month, which I will do my best to keep track of over the next few weeks.

You know, every year around this time, I see blog posts and Twitter conversations filled with “What are you going to do this year for Diabetes Awareness Month or World Diabetes Day?”. And to me, that question is always kind of intimidating. I mean yeah, it’s helpful to remember that one thing at a time is important, and small changes can have a big impact. But when I hear that question this time of year, I don’t hear “What are you doing?” as much as I’m hearing “What big, gargantuan thing are you doing that will wow the masses?”.

Well, I don’t know if this will wow the masses. But it’s an idea that came to me a few weeks ago, and I’m going to try it and see if it gets any traction. If it does, great. If not, no big deal.

What am I talking about? I’m glad you asked!

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I am constantly in awe of athletes with diabetes. Not just the ones that climb Everest or run the Sahara desert. I’m also in awe of those people who get up and make a commitment to exercise, and keep going, despite how our bodies initially respond to said exercise, and in some cases, what years of insulin, and diabetes in general, does to our bodies (raising my hand here). Seriously, as an athlete prior to and after my diagnosis, I can tell you that it is waaaay more difficult to start and maintain exercise as a Person With Diabetes. It can be both scary and exhilarating all at the same time.

Yet, competing in events and going to the gym generally means you’re competing for the fun of it. No prize money, no podiums, you get the idea. Very few events give out awards or medals to anything lower than the top three finishers, if they give out anything at all. But the efforts of all of us are worthy of recognition and support. If you finish your first 5K run, if you ride your bike 50 miles, if you get up and hit the trails for a week when you haven’t gone for years, you’re a champion in my book. And I want to give you a medal.

Your effort as an Athlete With Diabetes should be recognized and rewarded.

So I had this crazy idea to see how much it would cost to have medals produced. They aren’t Olympic medals, but they turned out nicer than I thought they would. And I thought the blue ribbon was a nice touch.

Maureen and I sat around this week and came up with a few simple rules for getting your medal. You are encouraged to send a request if you are an Athlete With Diabetes, a spouse or partner of an AWD (see what I did there?), or an awesome parent of a kid Athlete With Diabetes.

1. The athlete receiving the award must be living with diabetes.

2. The athletic event must have taken place in the last six months. For now, we’re going with a pretty loose interpretation of the word “event”. If you feel you’ve accomplished something important to you, that’s an event. ‘Nuf said.

3. Send me an e-mail at champswithdiabetes@gmail.com. Tell me your name, name of the athlete (it’s okay if it’s you), and your address (gotta know where to send the medal). Most important, tell me what athletic goal was accomplished, and when. Extra points if you tell me how you felt accomplishing the goal. Full disclosure: I reserve the right to use your testimonial here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. Let me know if you don’t want me to use any names.

4. When you receive your medal, you need to post a photo of it around the athlete’s neck. You can send a Tweet to @ChampsWithD (hashtag: #champdathletes) or post it on the Champion Athletes With Diabetes Facebook Page.

Those are the only rules so far, though I reserve the right to change them as this thing develops. Not to make it more restrictive. To make it more fun.

I have all of 24 medals to send out. If this idea takes off, I’ll order more. If not, we’ll all forget about it by December.

So instead of asking what big thing you’re doing this month, I’m asking: What big athletic goal did you complete? Send me your e-mail today.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Athletes With Diabetes, Exercise | Also tagged , , , | Comments (5)