Archive for the ‘Diabetes’ Category

Annual Diabetes Eye Clinic Appointment March 2013

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, Cellnovo, Diabetes, eyes, Glooko, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, macular, Medtronic, Menarini, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi, vitrectomy on March 7, 2013| 1 Comment »

Hi all,

Yet again it is time for my annual Eye Hospital Appointment in London at the Western Eye Hospital Nr Paddington, London on Thursday 7th March 9.10am.

I left home at 7.00am (Time to grab a coffee at the local shop mmmm) to catch the 7.30am train again to Paddington which takes about 1 hour so not too bad as it goes direct but also gets very busy, my appointment was 9.10am – yeah right (they always run late).

Firstly I was seen by the nurse straight away to check my vision as normal and this has remained unchanged since last year which is good news, I still have big problems with night vision due to all the laser I have had in the past to help my retinopathy, I have also had two Vitrectomy Operations at the Western Eye Hospital going back a few years. I also have damage to my central vision in my right eye but it’s amazing how you cope. I was also given the drops to dilate my pupils which sting like hell for a few seconds but help the doctors see the back of your eyes easier.

20 minutes passed which gives the drops time to work and I was called by the photographer who takes images of the back of your eyes to check for any anomalies and also another machine which checks your macular condition again by a photograph.

Another 45 minutes passed and I was called by the Eye Consultant (Yes panic setting in by now) but at least I was being seen really fast which was great. I sat down with the Consultant who looked at the images of my eyes and macular condition the n she had a good look at my eyes with a very bright light. There is quite a lot of scaring to the backs of my eyes where. I also have some sort of weird eyelid infection which has been there for ages so the consultant had a good push of that and decided I needed some SPECIAL cream but would probably need it cutting mmmm lovely.

So the outcome of this check up was all good news as my eye site was stable with no changes since last year and my macular was in good condition which is such a huge relief and hard to explain what a constant worry it is.

I know we already know this but it is so important to keep your regular Diabetes check ups just to make sure everything is in order, I am a prime example (I know show off) as it was Vision Express who originally spotted my eye issues going back probably 8 years in which they immediately contacted my local eye clinic – thanks to Vision Express and of course the Western Eye Hospital.

Take care

Andrew

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Elgringo’s Retina Screen – thanks for the info.

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged #Diabetes #Insulin #BG, Abbott, Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Glooko, Hba1c, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, my pump, Omnipod, retina, Sanofi, vitrectomy on February 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Elgringo’s Retina Screen from Mike at Diabetes In Spain

By Mike on January 22, 2013 in Ramblings

Thanks to Mike for this Blog – I wanted to share as I am due for my Annual Eye Check Up and Retina Screening in a few weeks.

730760 10151349075483518 944538258 n Elgringos Retina Screen

Yep, that’s mine!

Hey Guys!

Just checking to see how everyone is doing! Hope you are all doing fantastically well!

Moving on, I had my Annual Retina Screening at my local clinic. I’m sure we know how important having our eyes etc.. checked on a regular basis whilst trying to avert the dreaded Diabetes Retinopathy. So this quick, painless and non intrusive method is a brilliant way to make sure our eyes stay in great shape.

I took a pic of mine (scared the nurse to death when I asked to snap a pic) although I won’t have the results for up to 2 weeks. I am hopeful that all is ok this time!

Elgringos Retina Screen

Diabetic Eye Screening

For those who wonder what it all looks like, here is a image courtesy of the UK NHS Diabetic Eye Screening service. I would have taken self portrait but a) the room was dark b) I had a hand over one eye and c) I was being blinded by the flash going off millimeters away from the centre of my eye! icon smile Elgringos Retina Screen

Stay healthy!

Mike – Diabetes In Spain

PS: The picture was taken cause I’m a nosey bugger and it also forms part of my photo project over at www.elgringo365.com

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Diabetes – Whats been going on and whats due this year ?

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, Pregnancy, tagged #Diabetes #Insulin #BG, Abbott, Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Diabetes, Glooko, iBGStar, Input, Lifescan, Medtronic, Mendor, Omnipod, retinopathy, Roche on February 13, 2013| 2 Comments »

Hi,

So much for me and my family has happened over the last 3 years it is just incredible to look back on as in the past 3 years my wife and I have had two children – my son Jake who is 3 and my daughter Amy who has just reached her second birthday BLESS. we also had some more good news just before Christmas that my wife Gill is expecting yet another baby which will be due the end of June this year OH MY GOD !! We have already had the 20 week scan, well I say we but what I mean Gill has had her 20 week scan and everything was ok with our baby DAUGHTER so watch our Jake.

Since I have been Diabetic which is just over 40 years now so basically has been all my life the technology which has become available to us is absolutely incredible, I would never have thought when I was young that I would have a small electronic insulin pump attached to me which meant no more injections which is great. I am really looking forward to when I can actually get funding for a CGM to wear with my pump as I have tried both the Animas CGM and the Medtronic CGM of which both are very good but just not financially possible for me to buy the CGM sensors.

I currently wear an Animas Vibe pump and have found it great, as with all technology it has its ups and downs but on the whole it is very good especially as I make an effort to give it accurate information about my BG level and carb count, this is easier said than done.

I certainly do not look back deciding to take the plunge of going on to an insulin pump, I am also very excited to see what is going to be released in 2013 so if you have heard any whispers of new pumps or even new bg meters then please do tell ?

There is so many new products out there now to assist us living with Diabetes that I am sure we all tend to miss some products or services so if you have anything that could be of help to us then please drop me an email so I can add to my web site www.mypump.co.uk.

One last question, has anyone actually started to use the new smaller Omnipod and if so please can you share your thoughts – I have emailed the team at Omnipod but never had any response which certainly does put me off however I am interested in hearing from anyone that actually wears the device as it looks very interesting indeed ?

Thanks for listening and please drop me a message even if it is just to say hi ?

Andrew

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UK has world’s fifth-highest rate of children with type 1 diabetes

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Diabetes, eyes, Fitbit, Glooko, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi on January 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

UK has world’s fifth-highest rate of children with type 1 diabetes

Some 24.5 children in every 100,000 in Britain develop the condition, putting the UK behind Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway

People with type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin, so have to get daily doses of it via injections or an insulin pump. Photograph: Reed Saxon/AP
Denis Campbell – The Guardian

The UK has the fifth highest rate in the world of children with type 1 diabetes, which can lead to serious health problems such as blindness and strokes, new research shows.

Some 24.5 children in every 100,000 aged 14 and under develop the condition, according to figures produced by the International Diabetes Federation.

Finland tops an international league table of 88 countries, compiled by Diabetes UK from the data, with a rate of 57.6 per 100,000 children in 2011. Sweden is next with a rate of 43.1, then Saudi Arabia (31.4) and Norway (27.9), and then the UK (24.5).

The UK’s rate is about twice as high as that in Spain (13) and France (12.2), 50% higher than Ireland’s (16.3) and a third more than the Netherlands (18.6), Germany and New Zealand (both 18). The league table only covers the 88 countries where the rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes is available. Many others do not record the incidence of the condition.

Experts are puzzled by the findings and do not know why the rate is high in some places. “We do not fully understand why rates of type 1 diabetes vary so greatly and so it is a mystery why the rate is so high in the UK,” said Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK. “One of the main theories is that lack of Vitamin D may increase risk, while people with a family history are more likely to develop it and so genetics also seems to play a role.” But it was impossible to identify the exact causes of the condition until more research was done, Young added.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which, unlike the much more common type 2, is not related to diet or other lifestyle factors. About 90% of the 3.7 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes have type 2, which is closely associated with obesity, while the other 10% have type 1, according to Diabetes UK.

Type 1 tends to affect children and young adults, though some cases only become apparent in adults. Sufferers cannot produce insulin, so have to get daily doses of it via injections or an insulin pump, and must also control their condition through diet and exercise. Unless it is well managed it can lead to serious complications such as eyesight problems, kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes by as early as the age of 25.

“As incidence is growing by 4% year-on-year, with the greatest rise in under-fives, this problem is only going to get bigger,” said Sarah Johnson, director of policy and communications at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It estimates that about 400,000 people in the UK, including 29,000 children, have the condition. Incidence is expected to double by 2020, the charity says.

“The government’s investment in medical research to understand the causes of, and to help cure, type 1 diabetes is woefully inadequate to face the challenge of type 1 diabetes, and its impact on our children, now and in the future,” she added.

Dr Justin Warner, a spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the growing number of children with type 1 was “worrying”. He said it was also disappointing that about 25% of children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes have developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) – a complication which can be fatal if not treated – by the time they are identified, which has raised concern about late diagnosis. “This cannot be allowed to continue and the time has come for a concerted effort to improve quality of care,” Warner added, because of an “alarming” rise in children with DKA being admitted to hospital and “little improvement in outcomes of care and participation in care processes over the last eight years in England and Wales”.

An NHS-funded audit of the care of children with diabetes in 2010-11 found that just 6% of those with type 1 receive the eight health checks the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends that all have every year.

Anna Soubry, the public health minister, said new financial incentives in the NHS designed to encourage better care of children with diabetes, and the creation of 10 regional networks of experts in the disease, should help improve the situation.

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Happy New Year from MyPump.

Hi all,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has contributed, shared information or commented on my web sites www.mypump.co.uk and www.mypumpblog.com.

As always please let me know if you have any interesting blogs that you have discovered or even ones of your own which I can share with our ever growing Diabetes community, we are all certainly in a very exciting time and I still can’t believe how fast Diabetes technology is changing for the better. It is so important that we share as much information as possible as there are so many people out there with Diabetes who may not realise what is actually available to them to help make their lives a little easier.

I hope you have all had a very enjoyable Christmas and I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2013.

Kindest regards

Andrew Borrett

www.mypump.co.uk
www.mypumpblog.com
T @MyPump1

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LifeScan’s OneTouch Verio IQ : Review by Dlife wwww.dlife.com, thanks very much for sharing this info.

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, Uncategorized, tagged Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Diabetes, eyes, Fitbit, Glooko, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi on December 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

LifeScan’s OneTouch Verio IQ : Review by Dlife wwww.dlife.com, thanks very much for sharing this info.

Don’t forget to check out the Dlife web site which is superb.

Adam’s Favorites:

· Low and high blood glucose pattern recognition

· Bright color screen, simple menus, and interface

· New, accurate strips with a clearer sample window and better blood drawing action

LifeScan’s excellent OneTouch Verio IQ was approved in the US last fall. Its major highlight is its ability to recognize patterns of high and low blood glucose. After setting high and low limits (e.g., 80 mg/dl and 140 mg/dl or 4.4 to 7.8 mmol/l in my case), the meter will automatically search for high and low glucose patterns for every test. A “low pattern” means that in the last five days, the meter has measured at least two “low” test results at a similar time of day (within three hours). A “high pattern” is slightly different: the meter looks for three values over the high limit – although only results tagged “Before Meal” are included because the meter doesn’t want to include high numbers caused specifically from food (blood sugars usually rise right after eating).

When the meter discovers a pattern following a test result, it immediately flashes a message. For instance, I received one that said: “Low Pattern – March 16, 12:30 pm. Looks like your glucose has been running LOW around this time.” After I selected “Get details,” the meter displayed the past glucose results associated with the low pattern.
I found this pattern-recognition feature extremely useful for a number of reasons. First, it gave me the alert message right after my test, providing instant, real-time feedback right after a low or high occurred. Second, the meter searched automatically, requiring no manual calculations or logbook checking on my part. Finally, the feedback guided me on what actions to take – instead of something like an average blood sugar, I was able to see the times of the day when my glucose was out of range. The meter also has a “Pattern Log” that can be accessed from the home screen, allowing previous pattern messages to be viewed at any time. One downside to the pattern tool was that the “High Pattern” only uses results tagged as “Before Meal.” Although tagging only requires one button push following a test result, if you are in a rush and consistently forget to do this, you will not get “High Pattern alerts. “Low Pattern” results do not require any tagging.
Besides the pattern analysis, the Verio IQ also has a color screen that is easy to read in any light. I was also struck by the intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface. Besides the previously described “Pattern Log,” the meter only has two other menus: “My History” and “Settings.” Navigating around the user interface requires just four buttons, making it difficult to get confused or lost in the Verio IQ menus.

Many thanks to Dlife for the great product reviews.

www.mypump.co.uk & www.mypumpblog.com

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Desang Kit Bags : Abbott Freestyle Insulinx

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Abbott, Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Desang, Diabetes, eyes, Fitbit, Glooko, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi on December 16, 2012| 2 Comments »

Thanks to Sue at Desang Kit Bags for this update.

This is a brief email to alert you to the new accessibility to the FreeStyle InsuLinx meter from Abbott. When originally launched, you could only get one directly from your diabetes nurse as it needs to be programmed around your own personal treatment programme. An access code was required to put this information in which HCPs had access to. However, now the meters are available direct from Abbott.

The FreeStyle InsuLinx meter comes in a ‘pre-easy’ mode so you can use all the main tools. The code is only needed if and when you want to turn on the bolus Calculator tool, and the code can be given by your HCP at their discretion.

You can add your own image into the phone as well as add various other personalized settings. It’s PC and Mac-compatible and comes with FreeStyle Auto-Assist software. The meter’s touch screen is icon-driven, so you press the relevant icon to get into that part of the set-up. There’s only one button, which acts as the home button, just like a mobile phone.

To find out more, click on a pic, or go to
www.freestyle-insulinx.co.uk

Best wishes,

Sue

Sue Marshall,

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Diabetes stress & News,

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, Blood Sugar, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, CGM, Diabetes, eyes, Fitbit, Glooko, Hba1c, Hypo, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi, stress on October 22, 2012| 1 Comment »

I have recently been away on holiday with my family in the UK to the coast which was great and my 3 year old son & 18 month old daughter had a great time 🙂

One thing I have noticed is what a huge difference that stress makes to your blood sugar levels, I am not saying my children were naughty but certainly kept us busy :-).

I found my blood sugar levels were all over the place and first thought it was either the change of day to day activities or different food but I am certain it was stress. Since returning home and going back to work my levels have stabilised, not that I was happy to be back at work as it was great spending time with my little monkeys ha ha.

Has anyone heard from any Diabetes companies that have any new exciting products due for release soon? I am still waiting for a release date for the Cellnovo pump which seems to be taking forever.

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to reading your comments soon.

Andrew

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Glooko.

Glooko’s mission.

Glooko’s mission is to help people with diabetes live life while effortlessly managing their diabetes. It is quickly becoming a global epidemic with far-reaching social, health and economic implications. Furthermore, the unfortunate reality is that diabetes permeates every aspect of an individual’s life and affects them psychologically, physically, and financially. Living with the disease is incredibly burdensome and takes a tremendous amount of motivation, commitment and effort to manage successfully.
It has been proven that people can gain better control of their diabetes and become better self-managers when they understand and visualize the effects of their actions. When they use tools that are integrated into their daily lives, they can be encouraged to have more productive conversations with their care circle and modify their lifestyles. We believe that the most effective tools are simple to use and mobile – available anytime, anywhere.

Glooko’s Solution

Glooko’s breakthrough solution consists of the Glooko MeterSync Cable and the Glooko Logbook app. To use, simply plug the Glooko MeterSync Cable into most standard self-monitoring blood glucose meters and sync to a variety of iOS devices to create a digital logbook of readings. It’s easy to review daily blood sugar levels, annotate them and share the results with a physician.

Save time and eliminate errors. Quickly download blood glucose readings from one or more meters directly into one logbook. Get rid of the difficult pen-and-paper approach and avoid the urdens of manual entry with other apps. It’s easy to learn – you can get started in just seconds!

Add notes and context. Enter pre- and post-meal tags and notes about carb intake, activity or insulin doses as they happen, so you can see how the things you do affect your blood sugar levels. You also get access to a comprehensive food database with nutritional facts to help you count carbs and add additional information to your notes.

Track trends and share data. Review patterns in your blood sugar readings related to the time of day or in chronological order. Automatically create a logbook of your readings or a spreadsheet for you to generate charts and email or fax summaries to your healthcare team with just a touch.

Pricing and Compatibility

The Glooko Logbook app is free and available on the iTunes App Store.

The Glooko MeterSync Cable and Glooko IR Adapter can be purchased in Europe for £32.50 and £12.25, respectively.

The Glooko IR Adapter can be purchased in the U.S. through Amazon for $14.95 and in Canada through Well.ca for $18.99 (including shipping and handling), and in UK/Europe for £12.25. (If you have an ACCU-CHEK^®meter, you will need to purchase both the Glooko MeterSync Cable and the Glooko IR Adapter.)

Compatible meters: ACCU-CHEK^® Aviva, ACCU-CHEK^® Aviva Nano, ACCU-CHEK^® Compact Plus, ACCU-CHEK^® Nano, Bayer’s Breeze®2, Bayer’s Contour®, FreeStyle Freedom Lite®, FreeStyle Lite®, OneTouch® Ultra®2, OneTouch® UltraLink®, and OneTouch® UltraMini®

Compatible iOS devices: iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (3^rd & 4^th generation).

What Customers are Saying

Glooko Logbook debuted in November 2011, and has since been hailed by users and bloggers for its ease-of-use and ability to provide context to daily data collected by people with diabetes.

To read first-hand what customers are saying you can take a look at Amazon, Apple iTunes, Facebook and Twitter. Below is a sampling:

Amazon reviews – majority 5-star ratings

5.0 out of 5 stars: Super easy way to document and share critical information the glooko metersync cable is incredible! i have been trying to upload blood sugar data for years with no success (always some technical difficulty). within 5 minutes of receiving the Glooko cable I had over 500 blood sugar readings stored on my ipod and a printable/emailable log on my computer for myself and my health care providers. I cannot wait to share this with them so that they can share it with other diabetics. A must have for iPhone/iPod users with diabetes!!!

Apple iTunes – rated 4+
5 out of 5 stars: Glooko Cable and app are worth the price I received my cable in December and started seeing my blood levels in a different way. No writing, no paper logs. Sync your meter once a week or every time you test. The app works well with airprint or email the log as an attachment to yourself or caregivers.

Future Plans

Glooko plans to support more blood glucose meters and smartphones as well as create future products that allow charting and graphing as we pursue FDA clearance.

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Omnipod Insulin Patch Pump

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Accu-Chek, Animas, Bayer, C8Medisensors, Cellnovo, Diabetes, eyes, Fitbit, Glooko, iBGStar, insulin, Lifescan, Medtronic, Menarini, Mendor, Omnipod, retinopathy, Roche, Sanofi on September 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Hi,

Firstly yes it is the weekend and it has been a long week so I am very happy it is Friday night.

I have been using my Animas 202 & recently the Vibe for just over 4 years which I have been very happy with and had no issues whatsoever. I also enjoyed my trial with the Animas CGM and with the Medtronic Enlite sensor that have both performed very well but the main issue with CGM is the lack of PCT funding in the UK but I am sure this will change one day.

I have just had my annual Diabetes Check Up at my local hospital and of course had my HBA1C checked which ended up being 7.2 (sorry still getting used to the new measurements) so I was very pleased indeed as this has certainly reduced since I have been using an Insulin Pump.

Whilst I was having my check up I asked my consultant about patch pumps namely the Omnipod which I know very little about to be honest. My consultant actually had an Omnipod with him which I had a good look at and was pleasantly surprised as I didn’t realise the hand held device had a built in BG meter. The actual Omnipod did look fairly large though and I was a little concerned as to whether it would stay on your skin if bashed or brushed as it does look bulky, however I believe there is a new smaller pod and hand held in the pipeline but I have no idea of when these will be released.

Has or does anyone use the Omnipod and what do you think of it compared to a standard tubed insulin pump – also are there accessories for the hand held device as it looks fairly large to fit in your pocket ? I would imagine that the hand held part would need to go in a case that could clip on your belt or go in a hand bag ? How many lancets or test strips does the hand held hold – sorry I don’t know the technical term for the hand held part of the kit ?