I love dressing up in costumes, and the whole aura of Halloween festivities.  But I don’t need to remind you fellow PWDs why this holiday is really scary: it’s the #$%@ high-fructose-corn-syrup-laden store-bought candies, that’s what. They’re everywhere at this time of year, just begging to be eaten.

As author and advocate Laura Plunkett (mother of a Type 1 child) writes: “I drift through the supermarket aisles getting angry. Did they make up this holiday just to torture kids with diabetes? What happened to apples, popcorn, tricks, and homemade treats?”

Sadly, all I can think is: apples and popcorn?  That stuff messes with my blood sugar, too.

Here’s what’s also really scary: My 11-year-old daughter, with a poise and grace beyond her years, perked up as we passed a Starbuck’s the other day.  Of course, they were promoting super-sweet cocoa treats for Halloween.  “Mom, I want to invite you for a coffee today.  I got babysitting money, so I can finally treat you!”

The sparkle in her eye was too much for me to deny.  But damn it. Mid-day Starbucks just messes me up, no matter how carefully I try to dose.  I really didn’t need the extra liquid carbs. At all. I was having a great BG day until this heartfelt invitation came along.  Sure enough I was at 239 about an hour and a half after my decaf soy latte (my attempt to drink nothing much of substance at all).  It essentially took me until the next morning to get back on track.  How scary — or just plain sad — is it that I can’t enjoy a little afternoon libation with my daughter without stressing over my diabetes control and ending up regretting it?!

Sometimes I just wish the rest of the world had a clue how hard these things are for us. If Starbucks challenges me this much, how am I supposed to deal with the massive treat-fest known as Halloween?  And all that leftover temptation that lingers in our house for weeks afterwards?  #$%@

Therefore, although I missed my opportunity this year, I’m thinking of ordering this great get-up for next year’s “All Hallow’s Eve”:

I’m going as a big can of Whoop-Ass.

People touched by diabetes everywhere want Google’s help!  We’re working fastidiously to gather signatures for a grassroots campaign to get the web search magnate to display a special decorative “doodle” on its home page to mark World Diabetes Day, coming up Nov. 14.  But despite nearly 10,000 signatures gathered already — and the fact that diabetes plagues 250 million people worldwide — it’s not looking good.  And I’ll tell you why.

First, let me point out that this effort was launched by the TuDiabetes and DiabetesDaily communities, and is supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Diabetes Research Institute along with virtually all the active online diabetes resources including My Diabetes Central, dLife, Diabetes Talkfest, and of course, all us bloggers.  Here’s the latest word from organizers Manny and David, whose goal is to gather more than 20,000 signatures by Nov. 1:

Such a good and relevant cause, and so much support — so how can Google possibly say no?

I thought I’d take advantage of my connection with Google Health Product Manager Missy Krasner, so I approached her at last week’s Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco to broach the subject.  Surprisingly, she told me that she “sympathized,” but that Google chooses its doodle subjects by pure metrics: “diabetes” is searched for a good bit in America, but not enough worldwide to make the doodle short list.

What? Doesn’t Google feature doodles for some rather obscure causes, like the birthday of Louis Pasteur?

I pursued the conversation via email and soon found myself corresponding with a woman from Google’s Corporate Communications department, who replied:

“Generally, we choose doodles from a variety of categories, such as those that celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of artists and inventors. Is there a particular event related to diabetes that you were thinking of? While we know our list of doodles is not exhaustive, the doodle team tries to select doodles for events that show creativity and innovation in a fun, quirky way. Remember: this is Google, so doodles are often super nerdy like a celebration of the recent particle accelerator experiment in Europe. =) We also try to be sensitive that a doodle is not the most appropriate way to recognize certain events, especially those that are more somber in nature. I hope this helps explain.”

A particular diabetes event?! Why yes, Ma’am!  So I sent her all the details on WDD and information about the many, many signatures collected.  Unfortunately, this is what came back:

“It’s exciting to hear that many people are psyched about a diabetes doodle! Diabetes awareness is obviously a very worthy cause. Our doodles are planned months in advance, so unfortunately this year’s World Diabetes Day won’t be an option. We can, however, submit this internally for consideration for next year. I do think it’s important to note that there are many worthy causes–even just in the health space alone–and we simply can’t do a doodle for each of the thousands of requests we receive.  Also, as I mentioned, many events are selected for doodles because of their quirk factor and fit with our brand. I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, especially when this cause is so very personal to you, but I hope it helps explain why there are so many events and causes that are not ultimately made into doodles.”

So I’m not holding too much hope that we’ll get our doodle this year.  Still, 20,000 signatures is a lot of patient power.  Let’s not give up yet!  Not only that, but imagine mobilizing those 20,000 voices for some other cause(s) pertinent to diabetes.  I bet we could collectively start to change the world.

I met Alexis at the recent BDI luncheon for women with Type 1 diabetes. She seemed bubbly and smart, and I felt an instant connection.  When I discovered her job title was “Compliance Analyst,” I just had to hear more about that.  Turns out it’s not quite what you think, but fascinating nevertheless.

A Guest Post by Alexis Pollack —
Compliance Analyst, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Type 1 diabetes for 15 years

Compliance. It’s not a word people with diabetes are fond of. “He’s not compliant.” “She’s a non-compliant patient.” These phrases get thrown around pharmaceutical companies and doctors offices all the time. As if we should all be graciously agreeing to have diabetes and all the responsibilities that come with it. But since taking on the role of “Compliance Analyst” at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, the word now has a completely different meaning to me.

I have had type 1 diabetes for 15 years, and as I entered the confusing decade known as your 20s, I knew I wanted diabetes to be incorporated in my career. Through trial and error, I finally found my niche in the pharmaceutical industry at Amylin, the company that makes Symlin and Byetta. Both drugs are groundbreaking, first in class medications that have given people with diabetes new options that are truly changing the way people care for the disease. This company was a perfect fit for me: dynamic, challenging, up-and-coming, and on the cutting edge of diabetes treatment. However, if anyone had told me a year ago that taking any position with the word “Compliance” in the title would be dynamic, challenging, and even fun, I think I would have laughed in their face!

What I did know about the position initially was that the manager was one of the best in the company, the title was a step up from my current position, and it had “room for growth.” What I didn’t know is that it would open my eyes to the core of the healthcare struggle in America, in particular to people with diabetes. My job duty as a compliance analyst is to maintain knowledge of the various regulating laws and policies around pharmaceutical activities, and ensure that the company stays within those guidelines. Regulating bodies include the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Code. Most regulations center around training for sales and marketing teams, as well as keeping a close watch on the interactions that sales reps have with physicians.

Long gone are the days of extravagant vacations and golf trips paid for by pharma companies. Over the years there have been companies that have abused the system, attempting to influence the prescribing habits of physicians by bankrolling a luxurious lifestyle. Providing information about products, safety information, and appropriate patient profiles became secondary to who could spend the most money. Finally, in 2002, the pendulum began to swing the other direction. The Federal government, the PhRMA Code, and a new wave of regulations-individual state governments-began to intervene.

Meals with healthcare providers now have to take place in an environment conducive to education (e.g. no baseball games or golf tournaments), caps are placed on fees for doctors who speak on behalf of the company, and funding for educational programs is limited. All of these restrictions have been put in place to ensure that there is no influence (whether real or perceived) on the physicians prescribing habits. And quite frankly, I’m all for it.

Why should any physician be prescribing any product based on what vacation he or she gets out of it? No doctor should increase prescriptions according to the name of the company on the pen he writes them with. And most importantly perhaps, these new restrictions have leveled the playing field, so that small companies are no longer in the shadow of pharmaceutical juggernauts that try to wine and dine prescriptions out of physicians. It is important for all companies to have a voice, so that all information about all drugs is available, not just the drugs made by the five largest companies.

But just as the pendulum swung too far years ago towards reckless spending, the pendulum is in danger of swinging so far towards “compliance” such that the most important part of this equation is now at risk: the patient. Individual states and medical societies are now creating their own rules and regulations about interactions between pharma reps and doctors. At best, they require certifying that the company follows a code of ethics, at worst, they ban all pharmaceutical detailing. The Wisconsin Medical Society has established guidelines that ban all gifts to physicians. Though this sounds wise at first glance, we have to remember that “gifts” includes meals. It is common for pharmaceutical representatives to bring a modest lunch to a doctor’s office to discuss their products without taking time away from patients during their working hours.

With American healthcare set the way it is, physicians are seeing more patients every day than ever before, packing people in to 5 minute time slots to review their entire health status and make a best attempt to start them on medications to help their conditions. After seeing 40 patients in a day from 7am to 7pm with almost no break, how often do you think doctors go home and read 500 pages worth of medical journals about the latest medications and their indications? 30 seconds with a rep may be all he gets to hear about a new medication that could save or improve the lives of hundreds of his patients.

Just as any other industry in which interactions occur between the manufacturer and the customer, pharmaceutical representatives need time and attention from the physician, and it is reasonable to expect that we would offer something such as a small lunch in exchange for that doctor’s valuable time and attention.

In no way am I saying that prescriptions should ever be written in exchange for anything of value, but I am saying that for meaningful education to occur, taking away opportunities like discussions over a meal is not the answer. And at the end of the day, the person not getting the information about their drug options is the patient, and there is no benefit that can come from that. Making matters worse, the public opinion of pharmaceutical companies continues to dive as they are trashed in the media. Recently, the Vermont Attorney General published a report of the “annual expenses” of drug companies on physicians in the state of Vermont, with several companies topping out at millions.

Nowhere in the report is there a break-down of these costs, including the fact that hundreds of thousands of those dollars are spent on creating educational programs where physicians can further their education on specific disease states and drugs. Nowhere does the report indicate how much of that money was used for investigator initiated clinical trials, in which the doctors receive grants to explore medication indications. All of the information about those “payments” is reduced to a headline that indicates pharmaceutical companies are simply pouring millions into marketing tactics to increase prescriptions. It’s no wonder that public has such a poor perception of pharmaceutical companies! There is no explanation of where our money goes, or that the cost of creating a new drug averages around a billion dollars, or that pharmaceutical representatives are generating millions of dollars of revenue for local establishments when they utilize resources in the area for educational exchanges. None of that gets published. Just a headline claiming we pay for prescriptions.

If pharmaceutical selling had been outlawed in my state, my doctor may have not known about Symlin and how to effectively use it. I would have never been told about the drug and never experienced its post-prandial glucose lowering effects. And I am one of the lucky people with diabetes — I see an endocrinologist and have good insurance allowing me to pay for the barrage of medications that keep me alive every day.

What about the folks who are, at best, seeing a primary care physician who has only 30 seconds to assess their diabetes care and continues to put patients on the same medication even though they may have very different profiles? It’s terrifying to think about a world without pharmaceutical reps, because it would literally halt the flow of information in its tracks. And at the end of that flow of information is a patient, who is counting on that doctor to make the best and most informed decision about the medications he or she needs. Doctors, pharmaceutical companies, payer groups and all the regulating bodies surrounding medicine will need to strike a balance between safety and information, and ensure the most important people, the patients, do not get left in the dark.

Compliance Analyst. Diabetes. I never thought they had so much to do with each other. Being in this role has made me more concerned than ever about the state of healthcare in America. But it has also impassioned my fight for people with diabetes by giving me the opportunity to vocalize where all of this legislation leaves the patient. We folks with diabetes are used to fighting for our rights, and now more than ever, we are challenged to tease out the truth among so much fodder.

Hopefully, at the end of the day, the needs of the patient are what outweigh any other intent.

Interesting perspective, Alexis, considering pharma reps are the folks we love to hate. Anyone else out there have a different perspective on the world of pharma from the inside?

[Editor’s Note: Alexis is a pumper, on the OmniPod, who apparently was already on Symlin before she joined the company.]

In between the D-blogger meetup and all the other great sessions at the Diabetes Research Institute’s annual conference on Saturday, I popped into David Weingard’s session on Diabetes and Exercise.

David and his wife run Fit4D, a New-York based “personalized diabetes coaching” service that recently announced a partnership with Bayer. “Fit4D coaches provide you with continuous support in helping you achieve your health, fitness, weight loss, diabetes management and quality of life goals.”  This all sounded very formal and institutional somehow.

Up close, however, you discover that David’s a very approachable “crazy triathlete guy” who looks a little and sounds exactly like Jerry Seinfeld. He’s got a penchant for saying “I can’t stress this enough.”

After hearing the stories of the extreme races he’s been in (ouch and oucher), I was shifting in my seat in intimidation.  Swimming across the San Francisco Bay with nothing but a few glucose gels tucked into my swim cap?  No thank you. Mounting a glucose meter to my handlebars so I can prick my finger and test without getting off the bike during the 112-mile cycle portion of the IronMan competition?  I don’t think so!

But David assures us that his company is all about  helping “regular diabetics, not just the extreme athletes” to start getting fit and achieving their goals.

He provides a treasure trove of practical tips for dealing with those difficult diabetes sports situations, like where to stick all your stuff (meter, glucose, etc.) during a long run?  Try Race Ready Shorts, with multiple integrated pockets.  You can carry everything close to your body and it won’t even bounce around and annoy the heck out of you, he says.

A few more great tips from Fit4D (I’m not allowed to disclose the whole list, of course):

- to keep your sugar up, try Clif Shot Blocks from the makers of Clif Bars. They taste great and are just 8g carb per block, great for precise carb-ing

- need a place to carry your CGM controller or pump during a run or ride?  Try using one of those iPod holders that straps around your arm

- detailed record-keeping is key to success in realizing the benefits of regular exercise and minimizing blood sugar swings. I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but I think he has a point

- if you plan to exercise in the evening: “eat a huge lunch around 12:00 so you won’t be hungry in the afternoon.”  That way, you can skip your afternoon snack, and all the lunch insulin will have already worked through your body by 6pm, so your BG will be steady for an evening workout

Bonus tip from me: anybody heard of MapMyRun?  You can use it (online or as an iPhone app) to find a good recommended route, track your own routes, monitor exact distances, keep training logs, and even check the weather where you’re headed.  Works for walks as well.  And don’t forget MapMyRide.

Thank you, Jerry — I mean David, for energizing the exercise lust in all of us, even us “regular PWDs.”

My mom’s been complaining that my latest posts have been too long. So I’m attempting to keep this one brief — despite the humongously eventful week I have behind me.

Extremely Brief Notes on Health 2.0
The second annual Health 2.0 Conference here in San Francisco was huge, up to nearly a thousand attendees from just half as many last year.  This event brings together people from all walks of healthcare and Web 2.0 health technology innovation for networking and idea exchange.

Not only were the SugarStats guys in attendance, working the expo to find their next integration partners, but I finally got to meet face-to-face with Ethan Mullis and Joe Milam of LogforLife — the newest online logging tool that won this year’s DiabetesMine design challenge. Ethan and Joe are both Type 1s, so needless to say, we bonded.   One key idea we kicked around: we all have too many different online profiles already (Google, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., etc.), so wouldn’t it be nice to have a “diabetes dashboard,” i.e. on integrated place where you can access all your health/diabetes stuff in one place?  That means your BG logging program(s), personal health records, AND your social network IDs?  Just another idea to make all this “Health 2.0” stuff more manageable and useful.

Quote of the day, in my mind:
What do Social Networks really do for Patients?  “Make you feel like, ‘I’m not the only weirdo experiencing this.’”
— Thanks to Bill Allman of HealthCentral Network for that one.

The panel I moderated on Patient Social Networks (there were 9 this time), included three of “ours”:

•    dLife – which is about to launch a major upgrade to its website community area.  In addition to their “message boards,” they’ll be adding an area with a look and feel more like “real” social networks, where members can create a profile page and create a list of online friends, etc.

•    TuDiabetes – Manny previewed his touching video showing the children’s drawings, and talked a lot about reaching the Latino population.  He’s also been selected to author the new book “Ning for Dummies.”  Go, Amigo!

•    DiabeticConnect – the new community I’m involved in has over 10,000 members since June!  Lots of Type 2s on the site, many of whom are new to all this online stuff.  DC is also introducing a new area to invite caregivers to get involved.

Even Briefer Thoughts on Hoping for a Cure
Please read Lee Ann’s post “Hype or Hope? Neither, Thanks” in response to my call for questions for this weekend’s DRI Conference.  She talks about growing up “on the roller coaster” of believing in every possible cure that came along, and having her hopes dashed again and again.

I hear her loud and clear.  But my experience is fundamentally different, since I was already a cynical adult when I was diagnosed.  I can honestly and wholeheartedly report that I DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE A CURE IN MY LIFETIME.  That’s just what I believe.

It’s something that folks in the PR world call “setting expectations.”  I have no expectations, therefore I do not face disappointment.

Like Lee Ann, I’ve poured my energy into focusing on living the best we can now with this disease:

“Living well and being happy with diabetes is a delicate construct that is tested every day with fluctuating BGs, imposing tasks, and endless responsibility…  Better to appreciate the life I’m living than pine for the one I can’t have.”

That and, of course, supporting the efforts to discover a cure for future generations.

Finito.

This just in from Diabetic Investor David Kliff:

“Animas®, the insulin pump unit of Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), will be recalling the new OneTouch® Ping™ blood glucose monitor that works in conjunction with the Animas 2020 insulin pump. Apparently the problem resides with the Ping and not the insulin pump. When the two units are not synched, communicating with each other, the bolus calculator on the Ping does not work properly. The bolus calculator is used by patients to calculate the correct dose of insulin to deliver with their food intake. According to Animas the problem has been corrected and new units will be sent to replace the defective units.”

Hard to believe, since the Ping is their latest-generation meter that’s supposed to be top of the line. But according to Kliff, this is “not an overly serious issue as the Ping was just approved this past July and has only been on the market since mid-August. Based on everything Diabetic Investor has learned, the issue is software related and Animas is being proactive here not letting a minor issue turn into a major one.” Maybe so, but a bummer if you’re using the Ping.

UPDATE 10/27/08: A company spokesperson tells me the issue is limited to one feature, a bug in the “Easy Carb Calculator” that makes it less than 100% accurate when the meter is not paired with the pump.  When the two are paired, everything should work fine.  Nevertheless, all existing users will receive notification in the mail and a replacement system asap.

If you are effected, please call the Animas Hotline at (866) 423-4087.

This is kind of the flipside of yesterday’s post, if you will.  As much as I enjoyed hearing the personal stories of so many women living with Type 1 diabetes, I was amazed — a bit shocked, even — to hear so many of these strong, beautiful ladies talk about denial and depression.

A few of them even said they had a hard time getting out of bed that morning to make their way to Saturday’s motivational luncheon: “Depression had me flat on my ass this morning.”  That brought giggles, but there were also a lot of tears in the room.

One woman got up and said she’d been suffering from depression for nearly a decade, and had no idea it was even related to her diabetes, until she found the Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI).

Another lady explained how she was in “total denial that I had diabetes” for the first four years after diagnosis, until she became so depressed that she was suicidal, and landed in the hospital with an A1c of 21% and a BG level of 1200.

At least a dozen other women talked about living in “complete denial” for a number of years.  I had no idea how many people simply deal with their diabetes by rejecting it, until some major health event rears its ugly head.

These are all stellar examples of the quiet suffering that’s gone hidden and unaddressed for far too long.

You should have heard the outpouring of gratitude for Dr. Polonsky and Dr. Guzman for their work at the BDI! What seems to help a great deal is simply the recognition that depression and diabetes are a documented pair — that suffering from this doesn’t make you neurotic or “ungrateful.”  Recognizing that anti-depressant drugs don’t always work well for people with diabetes, the BDI focuses on “down-to-earth strategies for intervention.”

God knows we need to help expand or replicate a program like this around the rest of the country.  Because when people contact me here at DiabetesMine, or over at the DiabeticConnect community, crying out for help with their emotional stress and depression, I have nowhere else to send them. And right now, the BDI is San-Diego-based only, with very little reach outside that region.  There’s nothing else quite like it anywhere in the country, as far as I know.

They’re starting a wonderful mentorship program called DiaBuddies, which could be a terrific template for similar programs nationwide.

btw, if the exasperating things that other people say about your diabetes is getting you down, you’ll be glad to know that the BDI’s little pocket Diabetes Etiquette Card is now available for downloading online.

Five years ago, when I was lying in a hospital bed all dehydrated and depleted, I never could have imagined how my life with diabetes would turn out.  Certainly I never imagined myself boarding a plane to San Diego, flying down for the day to stand up in front of a group of 50 women living with Type 1 diabetes to talk about strength.  Strength?

But last Saturday, I did exactly that.  I flew down to a special luncheon hosted by the Diabetes Behavioral Institute in San Diego, about a 90-minute flight from my home in San Francisco.  I didn’t know quite what to expect, other than that we’d be lunching at a beautiful parkside restaurant, and that some of my blogger friends would probably be there. I wasn’t prepared for a palm-rimmed room full of attractive, brightly dressed, confident-looking ladies who looked like they might have been there for a conference on Women’s Leadership.  Yet every single one of them is living with the same struggles I face every day: carb-counting, insulin dosing, highs, lows, uncontrollable mood swings, the burden of schlepping our life-saving supplies all over creation — every bit of it!

I can honestly say that being in a room full of such supportive energy was one of the high points of my new, post-diagnosis life.

The theme of this special luncheon event, organized by Dr. Susan Guzman of the BDI, was “A Celebration of Strength.”  And I must admit, preparing a half-an-hour talk on the topic didn’t come easy.  I had to think really hard about the notion of strength.  It reminded me of how some strangers see me testing my own blood and tell me that I’m brave.  Does it really make us “brave” or “strong” just because we’re doing what we need to do in order to survive with this disease?

On the other hand, doing all we have to do for our diabetes over and over and over again does make us stronger.  Of that I am sure.

We’re working hard every day to manage our blood sugars, be “good diabetics” and eat the right foods, get the exercise, dose the insulin, take the lab tests, see the doctors, log the numbers — all of that while supporting families and careers and all the “regular” stresses life throws our way.

Michele, who works for Abbott Diabetes, was unabashedly wearing her OmniPod on her arm. I just had to snap a photo of that!

I’ve met so many amazing people through this disease in the last five years — in particular, truly inspirational women — who’ve managed to use their diabetes as a source to mine their own inner strength, reach beyond their everyday concerns, and start up things that are bigger than themselves.

The best part of Saturday was hearing the great variety of life stories in the room, as each woman was invited up to receive a little sterling silver “tree of life” medallion and say a few words:

* the hispanic woman who tearfully told us she’d had NO diabetes care for her first four years, and only checked her BG once a month. Now her mother is dying and she’s turned her own life around.

* the gorgeous 29-year-old whose diagnosis made it necessary for her to “let go” of her dream of becoming a professional dancer, but who is now still dancing and teaching dance, with her diabetes under good control

* the woman in her mid-50s, just a few months out from her heart transplant: “I did everything right, and I still got the complications!”

* the brave mom who attended with her third baby strapped on her in a sling (cutest little head I ever saw!) who now writes a blog over a DiabetesSisters.org about pregnancy and diabetes

* the thirty-something professional who was diagnosed as a teenager while her mom was in the hospital for something else; she was given syringes and vials and sent home with a pamphlet. Period.

* the handsome woman in her ’60s who was diagnosed with Type 1 in her ’50s, also given syringes, but who was told the doctor could see her in approximately 8 months

* the high school student diagnosed 9 months ago, who looked around nervously, but lit up when she announced that she just found out she made the national volleyball team (!)

I was delighted to meet fellow D-blogger Lee Ann Thill of The Butter Compartment, who flew in from New Jersey for this event - her dream is to teach art therapy to people with diabetes. You go, Girl!

I could go on and on.  I would have loved to camp out there and chat with these kindred spirits for DAYS. Fortunately, Dr. Guzman plans to make this an annual extravaganza.  In her words: “Diabetes goes beyond a full-time job in so many ways.  You have to be creative, and problem-solve constantly, just to survive. We all focus so much on what’s wrong with us… So let’s shift the emphasis.”

I love that. I aspire to live that.  And I really did come away buzzing with a new sense of accomplishment following this luncheon.  Because even though (goodness knows) we all have a lot of crappy diabetes days, now I’m feeling like we still have a reason to be proud of what we accomplish every single day.

God knows I’m excited about diabetes devices going wireless.  So I’ve been keeping my eye on the new OneTouch Ping system, a combination of the Animas 2020 insulin pump and a OneTouch glucose meter that talk to each other wirelessly.  This means you can actually control the pump right from the glucose meter — setting basal rates and bolus insulin doses — without ever having to “pull the pump off your hip.”

It’s not as completely untethered as the OmniPod, mind you, because you’re still wearing a traditional insulin pump with plastic tubing.  But the Ping still takes a big step forward in terms of convenience and a more “discreet” way to live with diabetes (i.e. you can hide your pump better).

Since I wasn’t about to change my pumping system just for a product review, I asked Animas to put me in touch with someone using the system, to hear how they feel about it in real life.  Naturally, the woman they referred me to was quite enthusiastic.  But she was no “plant,” either.  She’s a lifelong Type 1 who kind of put me to shame with her disciplined approach to her diabetes management (she downloads her data every week and keeps extra meters “all over the place” — good idea!)

So allow me to introduce you to Jeanette Szwelnis, 29, a supervisor of collections at the Central Blood Bank in North Huntington, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh.  (I can’t believe she works with blood!)  Jeanette is getting married this Saturday, Oct. 25, so special thanks for taking the time to talk with me, and CONGRATS, Jeanette!

In her own words:

“I’ve had diabetes for 26 years. I was diagnosed at age three and a half.  I’ve been on a pump for about 8 years now.  I started out with Minimed, and then upgraded to the Animas 1250.  It was upgrade time again, and I was looking at new pumps.

I was really hoping to get the Ping, because I’m getting married soon and I knew the wireless thing would make my life so much easier.  I’m not pulling the pump off my hip all the time – out of my pants, from underneath skirts and all. And when I get dressed up, I don’t have to go to the bathroom to check my levels and do my bolus.

With the wedding I was especially excited because I was going to have to train a bridesmaid to control my pump for me; I was sure I couldn’t do it myself.  With the old pump, I was going to have the seamstress sew an inside pocket into my wedding dress to hold the pump.  But the tubing line wouldn’t be long enough for me to pull it out of the dress far enough to control it myself. So I was planning to go into the bathroom and have my sister pull it out and push the buttons for me. Now I don’t have to worry about any of that. I can control everything from the glucometer, which I’ll have in my purse.

At work, I still wear the pump on the outside of my pocket, but it’s hidden underneath my scrubs all the time — and it’s so much easier to do everything right from my glucometer.

I think the Ping is great. I haven’t found any cons yet… but I have to admit, I’ve used the OneTouch glucometer forever, so I’m very comfortable with it.

The only thing was that I flew on a plane a few weeks ago, and had to turn off the radio frequency, because of FCC requirements; I figured better safe than sorry.  But shutting off the frequency doesn’t affect anything, because I can just go back to using my pump the regular way.

All of your data is stored on both the glucometer and the pump.  You can download everything using the EZmanager software.  Both devices hook into a USB port, and it takes maybe 5 minutes.  You get graphs, details on basal, bolus rates, averages, etc.  My doctor can’t access the program, so I have to print it out and fax it to him. But that’s fine with me. I download my stuff every couple of days, and every two weeks I send it in to my doctor. It’s so much easier than having to write everything down.

Has switching to the Ping changed my results?  It’s not a huge change. I’m more excited about the extra features. The physical pump and my infusion set are the same. But I love being able to program everything from my meter.  Also the new screen display on the pump is easier to read.  It’s color and backlit.  So if I want to look in the middle of the night, I’m not turning lights on.  I love that it has a little color to it.

Also, I can program it for sensitivity levels, and to alarm me in case of occlusion errors. I used to have problems depending on how long the infusion site was there: I wouldn’t get good absorption.  But this pump has the capability to sense when it’s not fully delivering.

And the customer service is great.  If something strange happens, I can call them and any time of day and they will call me back within 10 minutes.  It’s beautiful…”

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Editor’s Note: Jeanette is a happy camper indeed. Maybe it’s the wedding… She’s doing something very special, by the way: instead of wedding favors, they’re making a donation to JDRF. And they’ve set up their online gift registry at Macy’s so that a percentage of revenues goes to JDRF as well. Nice moves, Jeanette.

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UPDATE 10/25/08

DiabetesMine has just learned that the meter portion of the OneTouch Ping product is being recalled by the manufacturer.  See this link for details.

A call for YOUR pressing questions!

This coming Saturday, Oct. 25, is the Diabetes Research Institute’s annual conference in New York. One of the main topics is making sense of news coverage on diabetes — are the headlines all just a bunch of hype, or do they bring us real hope?

The DRI has asked me to publish a call for your questions here: if you were in a room with a panel of diabetes researchers, members of the media, psychologists, and other diabetes experts, what would want to ask them in regards to the things you read in the press about diabetes?

I’m excited to report that I will actually be traveling to New York to attend, and to moderate a lunchtime panel titled “Hype… or Hope?“  We’re planning for a lively discussion on how the media today cover so much about diabetes and research, and how can/should patients and their families distinguish the facts from the “non-facts.”  There’s also the psychological aspect: does the news just depress you?  So should you tune out?  Why are they always making great progress with mice, but not with people?  And of course there’s the issue that so many research studies reported on may be inherently biased by their pharmaceutical sponsors.  Many things to think about.

Have a look at the headlines here.  What year do you think these came out?  (see below)

Yup, circa 1974.  Could’ve been last week, no?  How does one NOT get frustrated?

On the DRI discussion panel, and ready to answer your questions, will be:

* Dr. Jay Skyler - DRI Director of Academic Programs

* Wendy Satin Rapaport- Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Psychology at the DRI

* Fran Carpentier - former Senior Editor of PARADE Magazine (who just launched her own diabetes blog to boot)

* Norma Kenyon - Co-Director of the Executive Research Council at the DRI

* Jeff Hitchcock - founder and director of ChildrenwithDiabetes.com

btw, if you’re able to make it to New York City next Saturday, there’s still a little time to register for the conference.  Make yourself known. Make yourself heard