I took a little blogging break last week. It wasn’t intentional; I had other things cooking on the burners and gave them the time that was due to them. In the end, it all goes in the same pot, but it was strange to not write. (And that’s the extent of my chef metaphors.)
And now I sit with a large amount of caffeine, thinking about the good things that are happening in the diabetes world. In no particular order…
The Power of Community
According to an unofficial total (but from a source I trust), the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign raised…drumroll, please… $26,519. That’s a lot of insulin. That’s a lot of love. That’s a lot of lives that will be saved because the Diabetes Online Community raised their voices as one. I am in awe of the power of this community. For those who shared the message, thank you. For those who donated, thank you. (And it’s not too late to give a rose… )
StripSafely
Just because we’re not shaking the gates in person doesn’t mean that we aren’t working on ensuring blood glucose meter accuracy isn’t on our minds. Larry Ellingson has a guest blog post over at StripSafely.com, asking us all to join him in calling for congressional oversight of meter accuracy. I had the pleasure of meeting Larry at the DTS meeting in September, and I’m glad he believes as we do: whatever it takes to make sure we stay healthy and safe.
Think meter accuracy is not important? Larry gives another statistic that scares me (and it should scare you, too!):
A second survey confirmed that 27 percent of patients with type 1 diabetes had experienced health problems due to inaccurate blood glucose meter readings.
The FDA can only do so much at this point. It’s up to us to rally together to bring Congress the news: we need their help. Bennet and I will be putting together some points that you can use when talking with your representatives soon.
It’s an i-port Advance
Medtronic announced the i-port Advance, an “all-in-one” injection port. For those who take multiple daily injections, it basically takes the place of injecting into different places… and into the injection port. You insert the i-port Advance and for the next 72 hours, you inject into the port.
Injection ports aren’t new. I remember using an injection port years ago. (I don’t remember why. It was probably a sample or two to see if I liked it, but obviously I didn’t care for it, because I didn’t use it for long.) If you have needle phobia, it’s a great way to ease the fear of having to inject more than once a day. If you micro dose fast acting insulin for optimum control, this may be a great way to avoid seven or eight injections each day.
There was a study done in 2008 about the impact of insulin injections on daily life and the results didn’t surprise me much. The study showed that out of 500 subjects, 29% of them stated that injecting insulin was the hardest part of their diabetes care. Fourteen percent of the subjects said that insulin injections have a negative impact on their life. So… obviously there’s a need to help alleviates some of the negativity. The i-port Advance is one way to do so.
The Future of Glucagon
For anyone carrying around that red hard case in the bottom of a bag or a purse or next to your bed, you will nod your head when I say this: Glucagon is a pain in the ass. (Sometimes literally.)
The Glucagon Emergency Kit has been around for quite a while, but unless you’re with someone who knows how to use it, it’s useless. If you pass out, the last thing a stranger will do is rifle through your bag looking for something to help you. Even if you’ve shown a friend or a work colleague how to use it, when push comes to shove (or push comes to drop on the floor), it may be too complicated.
True story: I would give a little primer about my glucagon emergency kit to my staff. New team member = pull it out and go through the motions. I would end every discussion about glucagon with this: “Call 911 first. Then attempt to inject me.” Then the discussion would be who would draw the short straw to do this. I trusted my team, but knew that glucagon was a last resort.
These days, I’m hopeful that glucagon will be available in an easier delivery mechanism – and perhaps even not by injection! Mike Hoskins over at DiabetesMine has a great article about Next-Gen Emergency Glucagon, in which he discusses the big issue: stability of glucagon. (Currently, once mixed, it’s good for 24 hours. After that, pfftt.) But even more exciting? This:
Assessment of Intranasal Glucagon in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes – Yes. It’s a clinical trial that currently is recruiting kids for an intranasal dose… Could this be more awesome? Nope. I am hoping that this is what’s in store for all of us. I’d be much happier giving a primer about: Hold this up to my nose and squirt. Wouldn’t you?
By the way, there’s also a trial for adults: Effectiveness and Safety of Intranasal Glucagon for Treatment of Hypoglycemia in Adults. You can get a little more info here: Evaluate the Immunogenicity of a Novel Glucagon Formulation. The company behind this is AMG Medical, Inc. out of Canada. I’m eager to see the outcome of these trials!
So, as I sit here this morning, I’m buzzing with excitement (or is it caffeine) with hope for the future. What are you excited about?
