What You Always Wanted to Know

What You Always Wanted to Know

WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW BUT DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE TO ASK
(Resource Column)

Inclusion of materials in this publication is for information
only and does not imply endorsement by the Diabetes Action Network of the NFB.
DIABETES RESOURCE LIST
The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the
Blind now offers DIABETES RESOURCES: EQUIPMENT, SERVICES AND INFORMATION, a
comprehensive list of resources for diabetics. DIABETES RESOURCES is a compilation
of companies and individuals offering products and/or information to help diabetics,
especially those who are blind or are losing vision, to self-manage their diabetes.
The list contains the following subject categories: General and Miscellaneous,
Insulin Measurement Devices, Insulin Syringe Magnifiers, Insulin Injection Systems,
Diabetic Foot Care, Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems, Insulin Pumps, Products
for the Blind, Food and Diet, Literature and Information, Distributors of Diabetes
Equipment and Supplies, and Medication Assistance.
Blind diabetics can and do accurately draw up insulin, monitor
blood glucose, and perform the other tasks of independent self-management. By
using alternative techniques and products, they can continue being independent,
and control their diabetes as efficiently as do their sighted peers. Limitations
are usually self-imposed--often all that is needed to overcome negative thinking
is simply to know where to go for information.
DIABETES RESOURCES: EQUIPMENT, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION costs
$5 per copy and is available in Braille, large print, and audiocassette (recorded
at 15/16 IPS for the blind). Please order from: National Federation of the Blind,
Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone: (410)
659-9314. Note: the NFB Materials Center is open weekdays 12:30pm to 5:00pm
Eastern time.
INSTA-GLUCOSE
If you have type 1 diabetes, you know low blood glucose can
be a sneaky enemy. Diabetes medications are powerful but imprecise, and, if
you misdose, if you miss a meal, if you are ill, or if you have unexpected,
unscheduled exercise, you can find yourself going down. You need sugar, fast!
You need to be carrying it with you, before trouble hits.
Many people carry sugar candy, or diabetic glucose tablets,
but one practical alternative is Insta-Glucose, by ICN Pharmaceuticals. Insta-Glucose
is stronger (one tube, one treatment, equals 24 grams of glucose), and it works
faster than glucose tablets. It is easy to use, and very easy to carry. Be prepared!
It is available at many pharmacies and discount chains. For information, contact:
ICN Pharmaceuticals, ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; telephone:
1-800-711-9486; website: http://www.instaglucose.com
TALKING COMPUTERS
Henter-Joyce, Inc., maker of the "JAWS" series of
computer screen readers, offers screen-to-speech software such as JAWS For WINDOWS
(JFW), the new MAGic 6.1 screen magnifier, and tutorials on cassette for programs
like Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word 8. They also offer Windows 95, 98,
and NT compatibility, and as of August 31, there have been significant price
cuts. Find out more at their website: http://www.hj.com, or contact them for
information: Henter-Joyce, Inc., 11800 31st Court North, St. Petersburg, FL
33716; telephone: 1-800-336-5658; fax: (813) 803-8001; e-mail: [email protected]
DIABETES SUPPLIES
When you need it, you need it. When it's time to test, when
it's time for medication, you need it already there. Diabetic Care Center will
ship your diabetes supplies to your door, and they do the paperwork. No forms,
no trips to the pharmacy. Medicare and most private insurance accepted. Call
the Diabetic Care Center, telephone: 1-800-633-7167; website: http://www.diabeticare.com
NEEDLE-FREE INSULIN INJECTION
There is a way to inject insulin without a needle! The Vitajet
3 administers a fine jet of insulin through the skin without need for a needle.
It works, and users report less discomfort. Try it yourself; 30-day money-back
guarantee. Contact: Bioject, Inc., 7620 SW Bridgeport Road, Portland, OR 97202;
telephone: 1-800-848-2538; website: http://www.vitajet.com
DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
Homed Pharmacy Services will deliver your diabetic supplies
to your door. If you have Medicare, and/or private insurance, your supplies
may come at no cost to you. Homed handles all insurance claims, and delivery
is free. For more information, call Homed Pharmacy Services; telephone: 1-800-226-7212;
fax: 1-800-381-9929; internet: http://www.diabetsupply.com
DIABETIC SPECIALTY PRODUCTS
If you have diabetes, you may need alternatives to some commonly
used items, like cough medicine (full of sugar!), table sugar for cooking and
baking, or a good moisturizing skin cream, for the dry skin so many of us have,
especially on our feet. Health Care Products offers all of the above.
DiabetiSweet is an alternative to table sugar, without the dietary
impact. It handles just like sugar, and you don't need complex math to figure
out the proportions.
Diabetic Tussin is a line of cough syrups, formulated without
sugar, sodium, alcohol, fructose, sorbitol, codeine, or dye.
These items are available in most major drug and discount stores.
For information, contact: Health Care Products, telephone: 1-800-899-3116; or
at their website: http://www.diabeticproducts.com
SAVE YOUR SKIN
Lantiseptic is a line of skin care products of interest to diabetics.
The line includes a cream and a skin protectant, both appropriate for the dry
skin diabetics can face. The cream is especially appropriate for dry feet, and
has been clinically tested as appropriate for diabetic foot care.
Both products come in tube or jar, and FREE SAMPLES ARE AVAILABLE.
For information, or to obtain a free sample, contact: Summit Industries, Inc.,
PO Box 7329, Marietta, GA 30065; telephone: 1-800-241-6996. For a free sample,
telephone: 1-800-347-2456.
READING MACHINE
There are many ways to cope with the problems loss of vision
brings to reading. One is to use an optical reading machine like the Kurzweil
1000. With such a machine, you scan a printed page into computer memory, from
where it is then read by a synthesized voice. Large print text is not necessary;
you can read most any text.
There are several reading machines available today, but all
are not "created equal." They vary in accuracy, size of vocabulary,
and quality of synthesized voice. Kurzweil has been a leading name in sound
synthesis for over 20 years, and the L& H Kurzweil 1000, their newest product,
is a superb instrument. To find out more about this reading machine, contact:
Lernout and Hauspie Speech Products USA, Inc., Kurzweil Educational Systems
Group, 52 Third Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; telephone: 1-800-894-5374; e-mail:
[email protected]; website: http://www.lhsl.com/kurzweil1000
NEW TALKING BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITOR
Roche Diagnostics has developed a new talking blood glucose
monitor. Based on the proven Accu-Chek Advantage meter, the Accu-Chek Voicemate
provides the following: Clear, high-quality speech synthesis, talking the user
through preparations, test procedures, and results, without the need for sighted
assistance; an "insulin vial identifier" which reads Eli Lilly insulin
vials and speaks their type, as a safety aid in tactile insulin mixing; a new,
improved, "touchable" test strip--the Accu-Chek Comfort Curve (no
more "hanging drop of blood" needed!); no meter cleaning required;
and a new, tactile "code-key" system for programming test strip codes.
The Voicemate is the most "blind-friendly" talking glucose monitor
available today, and the only one whose regular operations require no sighted
assistance at all.
The Voicemate comes with an adjustable over-the-shoulder carrying
case, with meter, voice box, battery, adapter cord, 10 Comfort Curve strips,
earphone, insulin check-vial, manual and quick-reference guide (in print), and
instructions on audiocassette. Also included is the Accu-Chek Softclix lancing
device, and a packet of 10 lancets. The new meter (catalog # 2030802) can now
be ordered through any pharmacy (suggested retail price $495-525). To do so,
have your pharmacist contact Roche Diagnostics, 9115 Hague Road, Indianapolis,
IN 46250; telephone: 1-800-428-5074, For direct purchase, and a price below
$500, contact any of the following retailers: BeyondSight, Inc. Littleton, CO:
303-795-6455 ($498); Independent Living Aids, Inc. Plainview, NY ($495): 1-800-537-2118;
or the National Federation of the Blind Materials Center Baltimore, MD ($475):
(410) 659-9314.
DIABETES SUPPLIES
Preferred RX offers three ways to help you save on diabetes
supplies and prescription drugs:

1. INSURANCE BILLING: They file the claim, handle the paperwork,
and pay for delivery. No advance payment needed.
2. MEDICARE BILLING: Medicare pays for approved diabetic
supplies (and now that list covers type 2 diabetics!). Preferred RX will
handle the details, and pay for delivery.
3. DISCOUNT PRESCRIPTION CLUB: No insurance? No prescription
drug coverage? Preferred RX offers discounts at over 36,000 pharmacies nationwide.

Contact: Preferred RX, 34208 Aurora Road, Suite 132, Solon,
OH 44139; telephone: 1-800-843-7038; website: http://www.preferredrx.com
DIABETES SUPPLIES AT WAL-MART
Most people don't have to look too hard to find a Wal-Mart.
You may even get some of your diabetes supplies there. But it's time for another
look! Wal-Mart now has a new line of house-brand diabetes care products, what
they are calling the ReliOn family. This new ReliOn label is now on syringes,
lancets, glucose tablets, skin cream, and alcohol swabs. Check them out at your
nearest Wal-Mart.
SUGAR FREE PRODUCTS
The Sugar Free Shoppe offers tasty holiday treats like candies,
cookies, jams, sauces, syrups and chocolates, all made with low-impact sugar
substitutes, so you can enjoy more of them. They have hundreds of items; so
contact: The Sugar Free Shoppe, 4515 Vinewood Lane, Minneapolis, MN 55442; telephone:
1-800-579-2572; e-mail: [email protected]
WINDOWS SCREEN READER
GW Micro now offers WINDOW-EYES for WINDOWS 98, a screen reader
program that also supports Microsoft WINDOWS 3.1, WINDOWS 95 and WINDOWS 98.
Once equipped with a voice synthesizer such as the Dectalk (your standard soundcard
won't do), any computer that can run WINDOWS can run WINDOW-EYES. A free demo
disk is available, or you may download the demo program from the Internet. The
WINDOW-EYES program is available from: GW Micro, 310 Racquet Street, Fort Wayne,
IN 46825; telephone: (219) 489-3671; fax: (219) 489-2608, e-mail: [email protected];
website: http://www.gwmicro.com
DIABETES SUPPLIES
Heritage Diabetic Supply is a small, personalized source for
your diabetes needs (insulin included), offering reasonable prices and one-on-one
service. If you need something hard to find (like Diascan test strips), they
will get it for you. Heritage handles Medicare and private insurance paperwork
(no HMOs), and offers a free Glucometer Elite glucose monitor just for signing
up! Contact: Heritage Diabetic Supply, PO Box 1270, Marion, NC 28752; telephone:
1-800-267-6509.
FREE DIABETES LITERATURE
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:
"Insulin Measurement Devices," "Diabetic Peripheral
Neuropathy," "Diabetics, Don't Give Up on Braille," "How
I Went Blind...And Then What," "Review of Oral Diabetes Medications,"
"Preventing, Minimizing, or Delaying Kidney Failure," "Impotence,
and How to Prevail," "Can I Eat Sugar?," "Cardiovascular
Health: Bypass May Be Better for Diabetics," "Arthritis and Diabetes:
A Common Association," "Blind Diabetics Can Draw Insulin Without Difficulty,"
"New Dietary Guidelines for Diabetes Management," "Keeping Your
Feet," "What Is Diabetes Mellitus?," "Talking Blood Glucose
Monitoring Systems," "Diabetic Eye Disease," and "Kidney
Failure, Dialysis, and Transplantation."
These articles are available in large print and four-track 15/16
IPS audiocassette for the blind (all the diabetes articles are on one tape).
All are free of charge. To order, or to request a complete NFB literature catalog,
contact: NFB Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone:
(410) 659-9314. The Materials Center is open 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm, EST, weekdays.
DEX-4 GLUCOSE TABLETS
FROM THE EDITOR: Dex-4 glucose tablets, in lemon, raspberry,
orange and grape flavors, are tasty, effective, and the tubes of 10 are easy
to carry in a pocket or purse. They are also easy to open when you need them.
I use Dex-4 myself. You can find them in pharmacies and supermarkets nationwide.
Each fruit-flavored, easy to chew glucose tablet contains four
grams of fast-acting carbohydrate, with no fat, sodium, caffeine, or cholesterol,
and only 17 calories. These value-priced tablets are available in tubes of 10
tablets or economy size bottles of 50.
For further information about Dex-4 or their many other diabetes
care products, including Formulated for Fingers skin cream with tea tree oil,
contact your pharmacist or Can-Am Care Corporation, Cimetra Industrial Park,
Box 98, Chazy, NY 12921-0098; telephone: 1-800-461-7448.
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.
NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT
Your insulin or oral diabetes medications are only part of your
diabetes self-management. Although food supplements do not replace your medications,
and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated their efficacy to
prevent or treat any disease, a healthy diet is important, and research is continuing
on the role specific supplements may play in controlling diabetes. AlphaBetic
Multi-Vitamin Supplement is a food supplement formulated for the special needs
of diabetics. A blend of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, it is available
in sugar-free caplets. Contact: Abkit, Inc. New York, NY 10128; telephone: 1-800-226-6227;
website http://www.alphabetic.com
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VOICE DISTRIBUTORS NEEDED
Since the VOICE is now offered free, our Diabetes Action Network
will provide extra copies to anyone wanting to help spread the word. We will
gladly send from five to five hundred-plus copies each quarter to be used as
free literature. Medical facilities can order as needed for patients. Individuals
can usually place copies of the VOICE in libraries, pharmacies, hospitals, doctors'
offices, or other public locations.
Diabetes education is essential. Anyone who distributes the
VOICE will be helping people with diabetes, and their families, to learn about
the disease and its ramifications; to learn that they have options; and that
their world is far greater than whatever "limits" may be imposed by
the disease. If you would like to help spread the word by distributing the publication,
please contact: Voice of the Diabetic, 811 Cherry Street, Suite 309, Columbia,
MO 65201; telephone: (573) 875-8911, fax: (573) 875-8902. NOTE: Please provide
a phone number so we can reach you.