All the most useful and intriguing things I learned about diabetes seem to come from other patients. No contest. Every time I correspond with folks in the community and read other PWDs blogs (as much as time permits), I am blown away by the stuff I hear about. I was fortunate enough to actually see Manny Hernandez and Anne Findlay live and in person in San Francisco last week. Here are three cool things they shared with me:
* Anne says that PureFit nutrition bars make for delicious, high-protein diabetic snacking. They are gluten-free, kosher-certified, and vegan-approved — which doesn’t necessarily make them sound delicious, but I’m taking Anne’s word for it. 
She should know, since she’s a triathlete who’s active on the Triabetes diabetic athletes team, of which PureFit is a sponsor. So presumably, she eats lots of these snacks. Each bar has 26 grams of carb, but also 18 grams of protein. They come in 4 flavors, and you can get a sample kit for $7 HERE.
* One company developing an amazingly FLAT glucose meter is Arkray out of Japan. Manny was lucky enough to get his hands on review unit of their Glucocard X-meter, which is just 12 millimeters thick. It seems this meter has been on the market in the US since June. But I do wonder how many of us can convince our insurance to cover it — assuming enough of us have even heard about it yet? What’s particularly cool is that the test strip container is also FLATSEY — like a miniature model of the famous Flat 
Iron building — so that the whole package (meter, lancing device, and test strip vial) can fit neatly into this clam-shaped carry case that truly could be carried in your back pocket. Very cool.
I’d like to get my hands my hands on one of these myself, save for the old problem of paying for supplies; my insurance surely won’t be open to covering yet another stream of test strips. Blah.
* For those of you who are active on Twitter, a tool to make it less cumbersome and time-consuming (Oh yay!) Manny suggests we all try TweetDeck, a new app that is currently in public beta that “takes an abundance of information i.e twitter feeds, and breaks it down into more manageable bite sized pieces.” 
What they mean by that is, it creates a three-part viewing panel with Friends/Replies/Direct Messages that makes it oh-so-much-easier for you to view updates and replies and conduct searches on Tweets-past. Definitely worth playing with if you like to Twitter but tend to get lost in the flow.
Thank you, my D-Friends, for all the great tips. I hope I can return the favor here at the ‘Mine on regular basis. That’s the idea, anyway.
Why don’t all of these manufacturers of testing strips license other companies to make meters? For instance, if the company mentioned above made a meter that used One-Touch strips, I would buy one in a minute. It seems that the business model is to give away the meters and make money on the strips, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I would be willing to actually pay for a meter like the one mentioned above. I am still waiting for a meter/strip/lancing device package that I can fit in my pants pocket comfortably…I am tired of having meters strewn around my world–home, office, 2 cars, etc. I want something that I can comfortably carry with me, like my pump.
Haha, Brett… that’s just what I said when I saw it!
The test strip case for the Glucocard meter does look space-age tre-cool, but the strips have a hard time sliding out: They all clump together and block the opening.
The best thing I’ve found in the past ten years when my neighbor, also a type 1, gave me one is the Extend Bar. It’s a protein bar designed to keep your blood sugar level for 7-9 hours. I eat a few bites before I go to sleep whenever my bs is at all low (because I drop overnight) and it keeps me level till the morning. It’s the slow, slow digesting carb (corn starch) in the bar that does it. And, yes, it tastes just fine. Chocolate/Peanut Butter being my, and almost everyone else’s favorite. Just google: Extend Bar.
riva
Regarding the small packed package: my Other Half routinely sticks his Freestyle Flash (the newer Freestyle Lite case has the same profile) in his front pants pocket. He’s a BBW, though, so his pants pockets are larger than the norm. The Wavesense Keynote and Presto monitors have very compact cases, and at my current size (borderline between misses and women’s) fits into a back jeans pocket — which means it should fit reasonably into a man’s pants pocket (front or back) or jacket pocket. The Wavesense case is pretty compact — no place for a logbook — but if you’re logging somewhere else (the unaffiliated pump, a PalmPilot, a phone-based app), it may not be an issue.
There are plenty of meters on the market. What we need is an ACCURATE meter. When I get a reading of 100, it could be anywhere from 85 to 115. That is a heck of a range! Who would put up with any other instrument with that much variability?
To Riva et al, on Extend Bars:
Just so you know, we have an offer running where you get a free sample back of the bars if you order our book. Just click on this long URL:
http://www.extendbar.com/know-your-numbers.asp?sc=lkyn&utm_source=diabetesmine&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=lkyn
Amy, just so you know, I have your book. And everyone else should have it too! And getting your book and an Extend Bar! Too good to beat!
riva
I believe that good food and excellent nutrition are the best diet for an effective, long I exceeded too much weight and I recommended a diet of this page http://dietas-efectivas.com which was very good for me because I have fallen considerably, and only fruit, vegetables and plenty of exercise …
I second the call for accuracy in meters. I wouldn’t care if it were the size of an iPhone if it were accurate.
[...] What they mean by that is, it creates a three-part viewing panel with Friends /Replies/Direct Messages that makes it oh-so-much-easier for you to view updates and replies and conduct searches on Tweets-past. Definitely worth playing with …Page 2 [...]
[...] » Tips From My D-Friends: Fit Snacks, Flatsey Glucose Meter …They are gluten-free, kosher-certified, and vegan-approved — which doesn’t necessarily make them sound delicious, but I’m taking Anne’s word for it. She should know, since she’s a triathlete who’s active on the Triabetes diabetic athletes team, … One company developing an amazingly FLAT glucose meter is Arkray out of Japan. Manny was lucky enough to get his hands on review unit of their Glucocard X-meter, which is just 12 millimeters thick. … [...]
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There are some wonderful diet guidelines and great recipes for diabetics at http://www.lowglycemicrecipes.net. They list carb amount, calories, fat, fiber content, etc. for all meals and snacks.
Small is nice, accuracy is a must.