Comments on: Holy @#$! Amazing Stories, Vol. 12: Being Me – Lessons from a PWD/PSR

By: Health Business Blog » Blog Archive » Tales of a PWD PSR, aka a diabetic drug rep

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:49:13 +0000

[...] Diabetes Mine for a first-person account of a Person with Diabetes (PwD) who is also a Pharmaceutical Sales [...]

By: June S.

June S. — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:25:00 +0000

Yes, Yes, Yes … Always check before you get behind the wheel of a car. While I myself have never had any accidents behind the wheel, I have heard of numerous cases where someone did lose consciousness behind the wheel. In fact, I keep thinking, when I hear that someone’s insurance company won’t pay for multiple blood glucose test strips -
why not get a supervisor from the insurance company on the phone and say “Well, if you’re against drunk driving because you care about your life and the lives of your loved ones, you should convince the higher-ups in your company that an insulin-dependent diabetic behind the wheel who becomes hypoglycemic is about as safe a driver as a drunk person is. Without a large enough supply of blood glucose test strips to allow a diabetic to test his blood glucose before he gets behind the wheel of a car, you are inviting a possible vehicular accident.”
My only hope, of course, is that the insurance agent would not then lobby to get all insulin-dependent diabetics off the road at all times!

By: camille johnson

camille johnson — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:50:43 +0000

While educating the doctors you visit, be sure to inform them that EACH strip costs almost ONE DOLLAR. Even those with insurance can’t afford that since insurance companies are so arrogant as to decide how often we need to test — they will only pay for 4 test strips per day! ! ! Since when do insurance companies decisions take presidence over doctors orders? AND remember, it is your responsibility to “teach” physicians about that too.

By: whimsy2

whimsy2 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:19:24 +0000

I had mild Raynaud for a year before my type 1 (LADA) diabetes diagnosis at age 60 ten years ago.

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:12:52 +0000

Amy – I just ran across your Newsweek article from my google alerts. I didn’t even notice your little nugget on the top left. How about a little post about it so nobody else misses it?!

By: Diane J Standiford

Diane J Standiford — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:59:55 +0000

Do people in your career work on commission? Do doctors ever turn you away? You do not walk in popular shoes these days–does that ever bother you? Why can’t samples be dropped off w/info? Why must reps go in person? I feel like I’m missing something.

By: jadesr

jadesr — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:17:32 +0000

Oh. My. God. Thank you for posting this. I demonstrated Reynaud’s since age 5, and Dr.s laughed at me and my mom!
My symptoms were so acute, I moved to Florida rather than deal with a northern climate-all the while Dr.s were telling me I was insane, and I just needed to wear gloves.
I subsequently develped adult-onset Type 1 … at the age of 32! I am now researching this further. Thank you so much for sharing this information!

By: Alice Gaffey

Alice Gaffey — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:44:00 +0000

I came across this site from the news week article. I like it very much. Being the parent of a 5 year old dx with type 1, 9 months ago, I am still learning about this disease. One thing mentioned that I had not heard anywhere else is the relationship between Reynaud’s and Type 1. I have noticed symptoms of Reynaud’s in my older daughter, who has not been dx with type 1, (she is 18, and away at college)I need to research this further. Thanks for the great site.

By: jadesr

jadesr — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:59:08 +0000

That above was supposed to read TEN times a day. I edited, badly.

By: jadesr

jadesr — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:57:13 +0000

Thank you for sharing your info., and I don’t mean to discourage you from doing so in the future, but I do have to say:
Only someone with access to unlimited free test strips would test themselves three times a day. If I did that, I would spend over $300 a month on test strips alone. Not something that everyone can afford. I can’t help but wonder how much cost is added to each strip I use by the fact that the manufacturer of the strips employs an army of very well-compensated individuals such as yourself to wine and dine doctors, ply them with swag (how many landfills do we have to fill with Humalog pens?) and convince them to push their products on their patients, resulting in higher sales and a higher stock price for their shareholders.
I am not saying you are responsible for the system, just that the system is not ideal.