Inclusion of materials in this publication is for information only and does not imply endorsement by the Diabetes Action Network of the NFB.
Insulin Pump Updates
Animas, maker of the R1000 insulin pump, has a new product. The IR-1200 insulin pump has received FDA approval, and should be on the shelves shortly. It has several new features, including the largest, sharpest display screen yet, and the facility to offer basal increments of .25 per hour, which will be good for children.
Deltec is reported to be developing a new pump called the Cozmonitor, which will partner with a small Therasense blood glucose monitor. Where the Minimed Paradigm 512 and larger-capacity 712 use a radio frequency link, the Cozmonitor's meter will snap directly onto the pump, reading results directly.
If you have special needs in an insulin pump, check closely with the different manufacturers (Animas, Dana, Deltec, Disetronic, Minimed, and Nipro); there are many new products out there, and what you need may be either on the way, or here already.
Diabetes Supplies
American Diabetic Supply, Inc., will ship your diabetes supplies to your door. They handle all insurance claims and provide free delivery. Folks with Medicare and/or private insurance (no HMOs) may receive supplies at no further cost. For information, contact: American Diabetic Supply, Inc., 400 S. Atlantic Ave., Suite 108, Ormond Beach, FL 32176; telephone: 1-800-453-9033, ext. 200; website: www.americandiabeticsupply.com
Easy Diabetic Cookbook
If you want to prepare healthy diabetic meals, but find most cookbooks just too complicated, you need Linda Coffee and Emily Cale's new and improved Diabetic 4 Ingredient Cookbook. There are almost twice as many recipes as before, 350, in all food categories, with complete nutritional and exchange information, each one using four ingredients. The book costs $19.95 (+$3.50 shipping), from: Coffee and Cale, P.O. Box 2121, Kerrville, TX 78029; telephone: 1-800-757-0838; www.fouringredientcookbook.com
Full Service Diabetes Supplier
Access Diabetic Supply promises free delivery, no paperwork, and free in-home training in the use of blood glucose testing devices. Your private insurance is welcome, and they accept Medicare, too. They offer free blood glucose monitors to folks who sign up. Check them out online: www.diabeticsupply.com or call: 1-800-713-7062.
New Statistics
According to data just released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in developed countries, and, in most of them, the fourth leading cause of death. In 2003, the countries with the highest numbers of diabetics were: India (35.5 million), China (23.8 million), the USA (17 million), Russia (9.7 million), and Japan (6.7 million).
Diabetic Products
Health Care Products makes many over-the-counter medications and supplements for diabetics, including DiabetiSweet sugar substitute and DiabetiDerm skin cream (with L-Arginine) for the feet. Find these products in the diabetic section of Eckerd, Osco, Sav-on, Target, GNC, and other retailers. For information, contact: Health Care Products, 369 Bayview Avenue, Amityville NY 11701; telephone: 1-866-263-9003; website: http://www.diabeticproducts.com
Literature on Tape
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of the U.S. Library of Congress, both provides the free 4-track tape players for the legally blind and maintains an extensive library in alternative format. However, they are not the only source for recorded literature. Several other agencies and organizations assemble "magazines on tape." One of them is Choice Magazine Listening.
Choice Magazine Listening offers, free of charge, anthologies of current magazine articles, short stories, and poetry, on 4-track audiocassette, every other month. A service of the American Foundation for the Blind, these tapes have been coming for the last 41 years. For information, contact: Choice Magazine Listening, 85 Channel Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050; telephone: 1-888-724-6423; website: www.choicemagazinelistening.com
Medical Supplies
U.S. Medical Supply, from Miami, Florida, offers diabetes, impotence and respiratory supplies. There is no paperwork; they'll fill out the forms. Free training is available, and home delivery is free. Se Habla Espanol! Contact: United States Medical Supply, 8260 N.W. 27th St. #401, Miami, FL 3312; telephone: 1-800-787-6331; website: www.us-med.com
Relief
Many diabetics suffer from dry feet. It "goes with the territory." They hurt, they itch, they dry out and crack, and you need to do something about it. Sometimes neuropathy, nerve inflammation, in your feet can really drive you 'round the bend. But Steuart Laboratories offers help. Steuart's Foot Cream, with Melalenca Oil, is excellent for dry diabetic feet. Steuart's CNS Liposomes offers relief from neuropathy; also good for back, muscle, and joint pain. Prices (2 oz. Jar): $9.25 plus shipping for the Foot Cream; $19.80 for the CNS Liposomes. Contact: Steuart Laboratories, PO Box 297, Harmony, MN, 55939; telephone: 1-800-210-9665; website: www.steuartlabs.com
Adaptive Computing Equipment
Freedom Scientific is a powerhouse adaptive equipment maker for the blind and visually impaired computer user. A union of Arkenstone, Blazie Engineering, and Henter-Joyce, Freedom Scientific offers screen magnifiers (including MAGic 9 software, which both magnifies up to 16x and speaks the words on the screen), talking attachments (voice synthesizers) for your computer, Braille printers and much more. Whether you need adaptive software or hardware, check them out: Freedom Scientific; telephone: 1-800-444-4443; website: www.freedomscientific.com
Healthy Cookbooks
JoAnna Lund writes healthy cookbooks. They are simple, "common folks" recipes, and all contain both complete nutrient counts and diabetic exchanges. There are three titles: Fast, Cheap, and Easy; Grandma Jo’s Soup Kettle; and Fresh from the Hearth. Price is $10 each, or $25 for all three. There is no shipping charge. Contact: Healthy Exchanges, PO Box 80, DeWitt, IA 52742; telephone: 1-800-766-8961; website: www.healthyexchanges.com
Diabetic Student Help
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is a program jointly sponsored
by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The paper is titled: "Helping the Student With Diabetes Succeed: A Guide
for School Personnel." It includes copier-ready action plans, a diabetes
primer, and a review of school responsibilities under federal laws, all in
a user-friendly format.
The NDEP has just made an important publication available on their website: www.ndep.nih.gov/resources/school.htm or by telephone: 1-800-438-5383.
Diabetic Supplies Online
Pharmacist Bryan Luna, Rph, offers diabetes supplies, including glucose monitors, online at www.diabeticsupplies.com This convenient website is simply laid out, and can be accessed in large print, too. For those without the Internet, telephone: 1-877-787-7543. They will file your Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance forms. Free product catalog; 30-day, money-back guarantee.
Diabetes Literature from NFB National Center
The National Federation of the Blind maintains an extensive literature collection,
with free materials on many subjects available in a variety of formats. The
articles listed below make up one part of the collection, the "diabetes" category.
They are available, in large print or on audiocassette, in a single volume
titled: Diabetes Action Network Articles, or singly, in large print.
They are: "Arthritis and Diabetes: A Common Association," "Blind
Diabetics Can Draw Insulin Without Difficulty," "Can I Eat Sugar?," "Carbohydrate
Counting and the Exchange List," "Cardiovascular Health: Bypass May
Be Better for Diabetics," "Check Your Hemoglobin A1c I.Q." "Diabetic
Eye Disease," "Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy," "Diabetics,
Don't Give Up on Braille," "The Emotional Side" "Finger-Sticking
Techniques," "How I Went Blind ... And Then What," "Hypoglycemia--Low
Blood Sugar" "Insulin Measurement Devices," "Insulin Types:
A Review" "Keeping Your Feet," "Kidney Failure: Prevention,
Dialysis, and Transplantation." "Male Sexual Dysfunction," "Many
Blind Diabetics Successfully Use Insulin Pumps," "Oral Diabetes Medications
Update," "Talking Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems," and "What
Is Diabetes Mellitus?"
A new article, "Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction," is available
singly, in large print, and will be inserted into the next revision of Articles.
These are free of charge.
The Materials Center also has a supply, in Braille and on 4-track audiocassette, of the new ADA Exchange List For Meal Planning, 2003. In Braille, price is $10; on tape, $2.
The Materials Center also offers "Diabetes, Neuropathy, and the Feet," an audiotape by Dr. Kenneth B. Rehm, DPM. Recorded on normal (music speed), this tape costs $2 per copy.
To order, or to request a complete NFB literature catalog, contact: NFB Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone: (410) 659-9314. You may also order by email: [email protected]. The Materials Center is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., EST, weekdays.
Diabetes Supplies
Do you get tired of having to "shop around" for your various diabetes items? "Go to this place for these; to that place for those..." Do something about it. Check out diabetesstore.com, the leading online source for discount diabetes products. Contact them by telephone: 1-800-891-9399; or website: www.diabetesstore.com
Hear Your Computer
Computer programs and operating systems are constantly improving. If you are blind, and use a screen reader, a program that speaks the screen content to you, so you can work without sight, is it keeping pace? GW Micro, maker of the Window Eyes series of screen reading software, announces Window-Eyes Professional, an up-to-date program designed to take full advantage of the newest generation of Windows' capabilities. For information or free demo disk, contact: GW Micro, in Fort Wayne, Indiana; telephone: (260) 489-3671; fax: (260) 489-2608; email: [email protected]; website: www.gwmicro.com.
NFB-NEWSLINE®
The National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE is an electronic publication of major daily newspapers, specifically tailored for blind and visually-impaired readers. NFB-NEWSLINE electronically "reads" all of each day's edition, which is immediately made available via modem to the local distribution centers. Users listen to the articles they choose, read to them in a synthesized voice. The reader is free to jump between articles, sections, and publications, and to pick the speed of reading to suit their needs. There is no subscription fee, and NEWSLINE is not the Internet, so no computer is necessary to use it, just a touch-tone telephone. Service is available to any person at least legally blind. There is no charge.
For further information, contact NFB-NEWSLINE, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone: 1-888-882-1629.
Full Service Diabetes Supplier
DS Medical Supply is a full-service supplier with a catalog of more than 55,000 items, dealing with diabetes, its complications, and many other medical supplies, delivered to your home. Diabetes products range from glucose monitors by Bayer and LifeScan, and the AccuChek VoiceMate talking glucose monitor, strips, lancets and other supplies, to a broad selection of diabetic orthotics/foot care items, and much more. They accept Medicare, private insurance, some HMOs, and, in most states, direct or crossover Medicaid. Contact: DS Medical, 2105 Newport Place, Suite 600, Lawrenceville, GA 30043-5561; telephone: 1-888-724-4357 , website: www.dsmedical.com.
New Email Diabetes List
Our Diabetes Action Network now offers its own 'listserv:' [email protected]. Although its primary focus is on blindness and diabetes, any and all discussions concerning diabetes are welcome. We welcome topics like: diet, devices, healthcare, diabetes control, and how to improve the Voice of the Diabetic. Remember, please do not give any direct medical advice, unless you are a medical professional. Membership is free, and open to all.
There are two ways to sign up. You can go to the following website: www.nfbnet.org/mailman.listinfo/diabetes-talk or you can sign up by email, by sending a message to: [email protected] and putting "subscribe" in the subject line.