News Flash: Abbott Diabetes is apparently “talking tough” about how its new FreeStyle Navigator will quickly become the “device of choice” among us D-types struggling to better manage our disease using constant glucose monitoring.  (The Navigator’s expected to win FDA approval by the end of this year).  According to the sweeping Reuters story, at least one Morgan Stanley analyst agrees, saying the Navigator trumps the competition on accuracy and ease of use.  Hmmph.  Hard to say, since hardly anybody’s tried it yet.

Dear Readers,

Please humor me as I declare today official “Tell-Another-Person-About-DiabetesMine Day.”  Self-serving?  I guess so.  But I figure after winning that journalism award I can indulge just a bit.  Also, if Mr. “Insider” over at PharmaGossip can do it, so can I.  After all, I’m busting my chops for my online community, too.  So, with apologies to Jack, I echo:

Diabetes. That all-consuming pain in the @$$… But I like to remind myself that there are worse things.  No, really, there are.  Make a list.  Here’s mine:

1. Aging.  The front of my hair is getting thin.  And my face looks so drawn in photos these days. I miss that fresh-faced girl.

Here’s a novel — and utterly pragmatic American — idea:  What if you could rent your insulin pump instead of buying it?  So all you’d need to buy was the disposable supplies, and you’d be ready to trade up to new models in a minute?

You’d do well to skip the crystal meth.  We’ve established that.  So if you’re stressed out and just can’t take it anymore, here’s one “chill out” alternative that won’t wreck your life and is not addictive (at least not physiologically): StressEraser from Helicor. 

Last night my man and I watched an A&E Special Documentary on the “epidemic” of crystal meth use in rural America.  (Which we’d Tivo’ed; everything’s an “epidemic” these days, no?)  It was fascinating in the way that makes your skin crawl.  I mean, meth doesn’t seem to be the scariest of all drugs out there, but the sheer numbers of addicts (supposedly 1.4M in America) and the type of people getting into it are kind of mind-blowing.

Hello, and welcome again to the Diabetic Partner Follies, our “bold and beautiful” sharing forum for the people who spend their lives with the PWDs (people with diabetes).  It’s never boring, is it now?  Please consider sharing your experiences with us here by emailing me.  Come as you are

Two unrelated juicy tips today:

1) Did you know that the popular Arthur cartoon series recently aired an episode featuring a pediatric pump patient?  The girl, named Corinne, discusses her condition, displays her Animas insulin pump, and even demonstrates LifeScan UltraSmart blood glucose monitoring — a mucho PR win for LifeScan, of course. But thanks for making diabetes “a little hip,” ay?  The episode, called “Desert Island Dish,” also features a segment on choosing healthy food.  Parents: you can purchase a copy on Google Video for $1.99.

OK, so I received a journalism award from a major pharmaceutical company whose practices we may all question at times.  Does accepting this award mean that I am somehow “in” with the Big Pharma crowd, receiving perks left and right?  Hell no.

Yesterday I received the following email from a long-time reader:

We’ve been asking the question, “How soon will insurance providers start covering continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices?”  But it seems the more accurate inquiry would be, “Why won’t insurance providers ‘reimburse’ for CGM devices any time soon?”