Artwork: Hand pulling book off shelf.
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 three 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
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
NEW DIABETES RESOURCE LIST
The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the Blind will soon offer the 2001 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 July 12, 2001. 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 8am to 5:00pm Eastern time.
FRUIT-FLAVORED DRINKS
If you like no-calorie fruit-flavored drinks, check out new Fruit20 Plus, from VERYFINE. Like their 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 the "plus" drinks contain significant All drinks are sweetened with no-calorie Splenda sweetener,and available in a number of fruit flavors.
For information, contact: Veryfine Products, 210 Littleton Road, PO Box 670, Westford, MA 01886-0670; telephone: (978) 692-0030.
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.
UNIQUE GLUCOMETER
There are many fine, accurate glucose monitors out there, but the Bayer Glucometer Dex is unique. Other monitors require you to handle a new test strip each time, and many require a "hanging drop of blood." Some meters must even be held upright, and dead still. Not the Dex. Drop in a 10-test cartridge, and the compact, convenient Dex, a favorite of diabetic athletes, sets itself. Load it in the morning test all day without a pocketful of gear.
The Dex is widely available now, and probably on your pharmacy shelf. For information, telephone: 1-800-445-5901; or find it on the web at: www.glucometerdex.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, talking attachments (voice synthesizers) for your computer, Braille printers and much more. Whether you need software or hardware, check them out: Freedom Scientific; telephone: 1- 800-444-4443; website: www.freedomscientific.com
TREAT MALE IMPOTENCE
Diabetic impotence is one of the nastier side effects of diabetes. Although new oral medications work, for about 2/3 of diabetic men who are experiencing this complication, many need another alternative.
Timm Medical Technologies, successor to Osbon, offers the ErecAid Esteem External Vacuum Therapy System. It is safe, drug-free, easy to use, and has a proven 90% success rate.
For more information on the ErecAid, contact: Timm Medical Technologies, Inc.; telephone: 1-800-435-6780; website: www.timmmedical.com
HEALTHY SUPPLEMENT
Many people believe that "free radicals," chemicals produced by conditions such as diabetic high blood sugar, are dangerous. This line of thinking says that if such oxidants are controlled, health will be improved. Experimenters have isolated "antioxidants" such as alpha- lipoic acid, which they believe raises insulin sensitivity in persons with type 2 diabetes. Glucotize, by MRI, is a "timed release" formulation of alpha-lipoic acid, meant for oral use in association with your regular diabetes medications. NOTE: It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. For information, contact: Medical Research Institute, 1001 Bayhill Drive, Suite 204, San Bruno, CA; 94066; telephone: 1-888-448-4246; website: www.lipoic.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.
Full Service Diabetes Supplier
D & S 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: D & S Medical, 2105 Newport Place, Suite 600, Lawrenceville, GA 30043-5561; telephone: 1-800-722-2604; website: www.dsmedical.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.
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
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.
READING MACHINE
There are many ways to cope with the problems loss of vision brings to reading. There are optical reading machines, where you scan a printed page into computer memory, from where it is then read by a synthesized voice. Now there is another alternative: the L&H MagniReader.
This device combines CCTV magnification with an optical reader. The MagniReader magnifies text or graphics up to 36x on screen, and reads it aloud, in a clear voice. You can use either or both modes.
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; website: http://www.lhsl.com/educationad/votd
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 with 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.
DIABETES MOVIE
Diabetes is no comedy, but DIABETES FOR GUYS is. This video is a spoof of "action" pictures like JAWS, DIRTY HARRY, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, and more, but it focuses, through comic characterizations and situations, on the class of people most likely to believe diabetes complications can't possibly happen to them men.
Directed by Stephen Furst (of Animal House fame), the story portrays, through humor and slapstick, the tribulations of an overweight, out-of-control diabetic, and the lessons he learns about self-destructive behavior, and the need to achieve good control.
Priced at $17.95, DIABETES FOR GUYS (#1-58040-074-4) is available from amazon.com, or from the American Diabetes Association (telephone: 1-800-232-6733).
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
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.
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 other products, contact: HumanWare, 6246 King Road, Loomis, CA 95650; telephone: 1-800-722-3393; website: www.humanware.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.
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