Includes Art: Hand removing book from shelf.
Inclusion of materials in this publication is for information only
and does not imply endorsement by the Diabetes Action Network of the NFB.
New Non-Invasive Meter
The SugarTrac noninvasive blood glucose monitor, by LifeTrac, of Fort Myers, Florida, seems close to FDA approval. In FDA Phase III clinicals, the device appeared acceptably accurate, and the prototypes held up well in a hospital environment. LifeTrac expects FDA approval some time late this year, followed by distribution, perhaps in January 2004. See the story "NEW NON-INVASIVE METER" in this issue.
LifeTrac says they intend to include speech capability in this meter. For more information, or to support their plan to add speech, contact: LifeTrac, 12751 Westlinks Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33913; telephone (marketing/distribution): 1-877-768-6978; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.sugartrac.net
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.
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, P.O. Box 535, Mabel, MN 55954; telephone: 1-800-210-9665; Web site: www.steuartlabs.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]; Web site: www.gwmicro.com
Diabetes Supplies and More
MPTotalcare offers the huge, comprehensive www.diabetic.com Web site and magazine. There you can access a lot of U.S. Government diabetes information, find links to pertinent organizations, reviews of the latest products and devices, and in "The Diabetes Superstore," you can purchase your supplies. They'll even complete your Medicare and insurance forms for you. Give them a call, toll-free: 1-800-234-9312, or visit them on the Web: www.diabetic.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 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, P.O. Box 2121, Kerrville, TX 78029; telephone: 1-800-757-0838.
Tapes from the NFB
The National Federation of the Blind Materials Center, in Baltimore, Maryland, offers a great deal of literature, in various formats, about aspects of blindness. Some of it directly pertains to diabetes. Here are two items you might consider:
Diabetes Action Network Articles, a compendium of "most requested" past articles from VOICE OF THE DIABETIC (and these articles are regularly updated) is available in large print, or on NLS-format 4-track audiocassette. No charge for single copies, either format.
Diabetes, Neuropathy, and the Feet, an address by podiatrist Kenneth B. Rehm, DPM, is available in standard ("music-speed") audiocassette, cost: $2 plus shipping.
For more information about literature and appliances available from the NFB, contact: NFB Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230-4998; telephone: (410) 659-9314; Web site: www.nfb.org
New Impotence Medication
For five years, there has been Viagra, if you wanted to "take a pill for it." Now the "little blue pill" has some competition. Levitra, a similar medication manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer, was approved on Tuesday, August 19, and is expected to hit the shelves in the next few months. It will also hit the airwaves; a sponsorship deal has been signed with the National Football League, and former NFL coach Mike Ditka has been hired as a product spokesman.
Like Viagra, Levitra is a powerful and effective medication -- under certain conditions. Men with certain health conditions should not use this drug -- and the manufacturers recommend a full physical exam before using it. Talk to your doctor about Levitra.
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: 1-888-724-4357, Web site: www.dsmedical.com
Blindness Web site
For a thoughtful discussion of issues pertaining to living with blindness, go to www.whitsacre.info/vip/index.htm. Moderator Robert Leslie Newman has assembled a collection of short stories, links, papers, and a discussion group ("Thought Provoker") into an extremely usable collection. Check out the site, or contact Mr. Newman at: telephone: (402) 556-3216; email: [email protected]
Disetronic Difficulties
Diabetes Mall reported, on July 31, 2003, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has halted importation of any new Disetronic insulin pumps into the United States. There is no "design flaw"; rather the FDA's scheme for testing and certification, designed for monitoring an assembly line, is inappropriate for bench-built, master-craftsman-assembled devices such as Disetronic produces. Roche, who bought Disetronic in April 2003, intends to "start a manufacturing plant in the U.S. to address this need." Roche expects this difficulty to be resolved within the next 12 months, and intends to launch a new generation of insulin pumps at that time.
In the meantime, they assure us: "no new pumpers may be started on Disetronic pumps, but current users will continue to receive full support from the company."
Diabetic Supplies Online
Pharmacist Bryan Luna, Rph, offers diabetes supplies, including glucose monitors, online at www.diabeticsupplies.com. This convenient Web site 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 Information
The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) held their annual convention on August 6 through 9, 2003, in Salt Lake City, Utah. A great many professional papers were delivered, covering all aspects of diabetes care. These presentations were recorded, by AVEN (the Audiovisual Education Network) and are available on CD ($13 each) or audiocassette ($11 each).Lists of individual topics are available on the AVEN Web site (www.aven.com -- and then choose the AADE 2003 list) or by contacting: AVEN, 10532 Greenwood Avenue, Seattle, WA 98113, telephone: (206) 440-7989; fax: (206) 440-7990.
Diabetic Exchange List
For more than a decade, the publication titled: The Exchange Lists for Meal Planning has been a critical tool for constructing a healthy diabetic diet. Assembled by the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association, first published in 1989, it was revised in 1995. It has just been revised again; the 2003 edition is now available, in standard print, from the American Diabetes Association.
Some proportions have been revised, and new categories, like "sports drinks" and "sports bars/breakfast bars" have been added. Making the publication more useful, carb counts have been included for all foods. Cost is $2.50 per copy; bulk discounts available. Contact: American Diabetes Association; telephone: 1-800-232-6733, or Web site: www.store.diabetes.org
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 Web site: www.diabetesstore.com
Fruit-Flavored Drinks
If you like no-calorie fruit-flavored drinks, check out new Fruit2O Plus, from Veryfine. Like their tasty, no-impact Fruit20, the new drinks have a snappy taste that makes the competition taste "diluted." The new "Plus" flavors also include herbs like Ginseng, Kava Kava, Echinacea, Lavender, and Chamomile. All drinks are sweetened with no-calorie Splenda sweetener, and available in a number of fruit flavors. For information, contact: Veryfine Products, 20 Littleton Road, P.O. Box 8005, Littleton, MA 01460; telephone: 1-800-VERYFINE (837-9346) or 1-978-486-3522.
Diabetic Foot Symposium
We have been asked to announce: The Diabetic Foot Center at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center announces the second Southern California Symposium, "The High Risk Diabetic Foot In The New Millennium," on November 14-15, 2003. During the symposium (highlighting innovative prevention and treatment strategies used by experts in care of the diabetic foot), Actor Edward James Olmos will present an award for "Advocacy in Amputation Prevention" to the clinician or scientist with the greatest worldwide impact on diabetic foot care."For more information, contact Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, 501 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91505; telephone: (818) 843-5111.
Stolen Insulin
If you use Novolog insulin, in 10 Ml vials, and you bought the insulin after July 26, 2003, Novo Nordisk asks you to check the "Control Number" printed on the side of the vial. A quantity of Novolog insulin, made in Denmark, was stolen from an airline storage facility in Newark, New Jersey, on this date. The stolen vials all bear the Control Number NW51283. This is a police matter.If you find your vial of Novolog bears this control number, Novo Nordisk asks you NOT TO USE IT, and instead to contact their Customer Support Department: 1-800-727-6500. They stress that Novolog insulins not bearing Control Number NW51283 are not involved in this bulletin.