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)
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.
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:
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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, Talking Prescription Systems,
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, Internet Resources, Distributors of
Diabetes Equipment and Supplies, and Medication Assistance.
By using alternative techniques and products,
blind diabetics 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.
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.,
P.O. Box 1820, Laurel Springs, NJ 08021; telephone: 1-800-962-8098.
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]
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
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:
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 Supplies On Line
Pharmacist Bryan Luna, Rph, offers diabetes supplies,
including glucose monitors, on line at www.diabeticsupplies.com. This convenient
website 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.
New 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 (English- or Spanish-speaking voice now available), 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 large print), and
instructions on audiocassette. The new meter (catalog #2030802 - English,
or #3040208 - Spanish) 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.
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