Voice of the Diabetic

Voice of the Diabetic

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DIABETES AND BLINDNESS RESOURCES

by Ed Bryant

We've often told you, our readers, that no diabetic is alone, regardless of

complications; all have good, constructive options. Today I want to cover some

of the tools available to help you realize those options.

First is our Diabetes Action Network's principal publication,

this paper, VOICE OF THE DIABETIC. Four times a year, without charge, we bring

you our optimistic message about diabetes, blindness, and the latest and most

effective ways to cope, to maintain or achieve full participation in life's

mainstream, regardless of complications. The VOICE reaches more than 295,000,

in standard print, on 4-track audiocassette for the blind, and on the web at:

www.nfb.org/voice.htm. There is no charge for subscription, in either format,

and we offer multiple copies to volunteer distributors, free of charge. Use

the Subscription Form on page 27, or contact us: VOICE OF THE DIABETIC, 1412

I-70 Drive SW, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203; telephone: (573) 875-8911.

Diabetes equipment changes rapidly, and lists of products and services are frequently

out of date. Because it is important to have a complete and current list, we

publish and regularly update our Divisional publication: DIABETES

RESOURCES: EQUIPMENT, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION, available in large print,

Braille, or audiocassette, through the NFB Materials Center: 1800 Johnson Street,

Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone: (410) 659-9314; fax: (410) 685-5653; or at the

NFB website. This Resource Guide costs $5 (print, Braille, or cassette) and

is free for downloading from the Web.

Because diabetes is the biggest producer of new blindness and

visual impairment among working-age Americans, we are a division of the National

Federation of the Blind (NFB), the largest organization of blind individuals

in existence. Many of our materials are available through the Federation's's

headquarters, the National Center for the Blind. The Federation has free catalogs,

of blindness literature, and of products for the blind, available in print,

in Braille, and on the Web at: www.nfb.org

The National Federation of the Blind maintains an extensive

collection of literature, on all aspects of blindness, in large print, Braille,

and audiocassette, including the following diabetes articles:

* Arthritis and Diabetes: A Common Association

* Blind Diabetics Can Draw Insulin Without Difficulty

* Can I Eat Sugar

* 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 Disease: Prevention, Dialysis, and Transplantation

* Male Sexual Dysfunction

* Many Blind Diabetics Successfully Use Insulin Pumps

* New Dietary Guidelines For Diabetes Management

* Oral Diabetes Medications Update

* Talking Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems

* What Is Diabetes Mellitus?

These diabetes articles are available, free of charge, individually

(in large print) or together (on one 4-track audiocassette titled “Diabetes

Action Network Articles”).

Products carried at the NFB Materials Center include the AccuChek

Voicemate and the LifeScan One Touch talking blood glucose monitors, a talking

thermometer, a talking blood pressure meter, and the tactile insulin-measuring

Lo-Dose Count-A-Dose. Because the NFB and its Materials Center are not for profit,

items are priced substantially below retail.

Many blind individuals, diabetic or not, are unemployed or under-employed.

The NFB runs the telephone-based database search America's

Jobline® (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), accessible, with any touch-tone

phone, at: 1-800-414-5748.

Do not forget that both our Diabetes Action Network and the

NFB itself exist to advise, to offer information. Our network has many Support

Committees, including:

* Amputation and Treatment

* Blindness/Visual Dysfunction

* Get Well

* Heart Disease and Stroke

* Insulin Pump

* Legislative Issues

* Pancreas Transplantation

* Resource Library

* Renal Failure - Dialysis and Transplantation

* Male Sexual Dysfunction

* Women's Issues

For information on our Support Committees, or to learn more

about our Diabetes Action Network and the work we do, contact us at Voice of

the Diabetic, 1412 I-70 Drive SW, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203; telephone: (573)

875-8911; fax: (573) 875-8902; website: www.nfb.org/voice.htm.

To learn more about the National Federation of the Blind, and its many divisions,

contact them at: National Center for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore,

MD 21230; telephone: (410) 659-9314; fax: (410) 685-6563; e-mail: [email protected];

or website: www.nfb.org.

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