Voice of the Diabetic

Voice of the Diabetic

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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.

Insulin Pumps and Supplies

MiniMed is one of the world's leading manufacturers of insulin

pumps -- those precision microdevices that are the closest thing to an artificial

pancreas we have. If you are an insulin-dependent diabetic, talk to your doctor

about pump therapy -- you might find the MiniMed 508 pump right for you. If

you need pump/infusion supplies, Minimed offers a complete line. Minimed also

offers (for doctor's use) the Continuous Glucose Monitor -- which can precisely

chart 3-days' sugars, as an aid to establishing better control. And Minimed

has the (still investigational) 2007 Implantable Insulin Pump. For information

contact: MiniMed, Inc., 18000 Devonshire Street, Northridge, CA 91325-1219;

telephone: 1-800-646-4633; website: www.minimed.com

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.

WINDOWS Screen Reader

GW Micro now offers WINDOW-EYES Version 4 with Braille Support,

a screen reader program that also supports Microsoft WINDOWS ME, WINDOWS 95

and WINDOWS 98 (support for WINDOWS 2000 will follow later this year). 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. WINDOW-EYES

reads the internet too, and provides you both speech and Braille output! 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, 725 Airport North Office

Park, Fort Wayne, IN 46825; telephone: (219) 489-3671; fax: (219) 489-2608,

e-mail: [email protected]; website:

http://www.gwmicro.com

Change Your Ways

Good diabetes management is a lifestyle. Although doctors can

prescribe medication and recommend changes, sometimes "changing your ways,"

adapting/adopting a healthy lifestyle, can be a lot of work -- for there is

so much to learn.

The NEWSTART Lifestyle Center offers 12- and 18-day in-house,

physician-supervised intensive education programs, that emphasize permanent

lifestyle changes designed to help the participant lose weight, maintain health,

and adopt healthier habits in nutrition, cooking, exercise, and stress management.

Contact: Weimar Institute; telephone: 1-800-525-9192; e-mail: [email protected]

Discount Healthcare

We're all concerned about the high price of health care. Doctor

visits and medications seem to rise faster than a cabbie's counter, and not

all of us can afford health insurance, or qualify for Medicare. There is another

alternative, the "preferred provider organization, " or PPO. Care

Entree is a PPO. Members are entitled to reduced prices from participating doctors,

dentists, pharmacies, and hospitals. It is NOT "insurance," so there

are no exclusions. For information, telephone: 1-877-406-2077.

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,

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.

Escape the Paperwork

If you have Medicare and a supplementary policy, or one of many

private insurance plans, you may be able to get your diabetes supplies, perhaps

even insulin and syringes, delivered to your door at no charge, and with no

forms for you to fill out. Contact: The Diabetic Support Agency; telephone:

1-800-595-0228, and mention "keycode 162."

New Diabetes Resource List

The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the

Blind will soon offer the 2001/2002 edition of DIABETES RESOURCES: EQUIPMENT,

SERVICES, AND INFORMATION, our 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 will contain 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 will cost $5 per copy,

and will be available in Braille, large print, and audiocassette (recorded at

15/16 IPS for the blind). Available October 31. 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

8 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time.

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, is available

in sugar-free caplets. Contact: Abkit, Inc., New York, NY 10128; telephone:

1-800-226-6227; website: http://www.alphabetic.com

Diabetes Supplies

Diabetic Supply Distributors, Inc., helps you save four ways

with your diabetes supplies:

1. Insurance billing. They file the claim, and they pay for delivery. No advance

payment needed -- and THEY do the paperwork.

2. Medicare billing. Medicare pays for approved diabetes supplies

(and, since last July, that list has covered type 2 diabetics!). Diabetic Supply

will handle the details.

3. Free, fast home delivery. Your order comes quickly to your

door.

4. Friendly personal service. You're not talking to a computer.

Contact: Diabetic Supply Distributors, Inc., PO Box

1820, Laurel Springs, NJ 08021; telephone: 1-800-962-8098.

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 THE DIABETIC

4-INGREDIENT COOKBOOK. There are over 200 recipes, in all food categories, with

complete nutritional and exchange information, each one using four ingredients.

The book costs $9.95 (+$2.95 shipping), from: Coffee and Cale, PO Box 2121,

Kerrville, TX 78029; telephone: 1-800-757-0838.

Talking Blood Glucose Monitor

Based on the proven Accu-Chek Advantage meter, the Roche Diagnostics

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 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. The 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

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

Treat Male Impotence

For men who've had diabetes many years, one possible ramification

is impotence, the inability to sustain an erection. This can be treated in a

number of ways, but the least invasive is vacuum therapy.

The Vet-Co Vacuum Therapy System for male impotence is FDA-approved, safe, non-invasive,

and easy to use. For information, call: Coast To Coast Home Medical; telephone:

1-800-330-6316.

Diabetic Products

Health Care Products makes many over-the-counter medications

and supplements for diabetics, including DiabetiSweet sugar substitute and Diabetic

Tussin sugar-free cough syrup. Find these products in the diabetic section of

Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens, K-Mart, and other retailers. For information,

contact: Health Care Products, 369 Bayview Avenue, Amityville, NY 11701; telephone:

1-800-899-3116; website: http://www.diabeticproducts.com

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 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: 1-800-722-2604, website:

www.dsmedical.com

Talking Computer

The VoiceNote, from HumanWare, is a laptop note-taker/organizer

for blind individuals and those losing vision. It combines the familiar MicroSoft

WINDOWS CE operating system, and standard computer keyboard, with voice access.

You can create MS Word documents, access your e-mail, transfer documents to

and from a standard PC computer, use your VoiceNote as a speech synthesizer

for another computer, and access a number of planning and scheduling tools.

For more information, about the VoiceNote or their many other products, contact:

HumanWare, 6246 King Road, Loomis, CA 95650; telephone: 1-800-722-3393; website:

www.humanware.com

Diabetes Supplies

Inverness Medical Corporation carries a full line of discount-priced diabetes

supplies, including: Dex-4 glucose tablets, skin cream, and Excel test strips

for the Glucometer Elite monitor. The company also markets the Monoject line

of insulin syringes and lancets. Many Inverness (formerly Can-Am) products are

also sold as "house brand" at major pharmacy chains. Their low price

in no way compromises their high quality.

For information, contact: Inverness Medical Corporation, 200

Prospect Street, Waltham, MA 02453; telephone: 1-800-461-7448.

Needle and Lancet Disposal

Careful and safe disposal of used insulin syringes and blood

glucose test lancets is everyone's obligation. Until now, there have been only

two choices: something recycled, like coffee cans, or a large, clumsy "sharps

container" like you might see in a hospital lab. And you can never find

one when you need one... Now there is a third choice, and it is small and practical.

The Voyager Diabetic Needle Disposal System is a personal sharps

container meant to be carried in a pocket. It will hold your used lancets, and

up to 100 needles, but it does more. Insert your used insulin syringe into the

the device, and a simple turn removes the needle and destroys the syringe barrel

-- hands don't touch! Contact: Safe Medical Systems, LLC, 315 Bell Park Drive,

Woodstock, GA 30188; telephone: 1-877-723-3633; website: www.safemed.com

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