Blog

  • ADA Scientific Sessions

    If you are interested in the ADA Scientific Sessions, this blog is doing an excellent and timely recap of the actual sessions.

    Richard’s San Diego Diary

    Follow the happenings at the 65th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego through the eyes of Dr. Richard Kahn, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the American Diabetes Association.

  • Extremely Disappointing

    I find it very disappointing that there is no progress being made on continous monitors. See snapshots of blood sugar readings is NOT helpful.

    Also that means we won’t be seeing a closed loop system anytime soon. A close loop system, for those who aren’t in the know, is an insulin pump that operates automatically. For that to happen we have to have a continous glucose monitor and it will have to have been out of the market long enough to be known to be reliable.

    Diabetes Mine: Product Roundup: Continuous Monitors (in the Holding Pen), Convenience Enhancers

    Product Roundup: Continuous Monitors (in the Holding Pen), Convenience Enhancers

  • DLife

    Yesterday’s DLife episode was a LOT better. Pulling the cohost off with the guest and letting the two focus on each other was a vast improvement on 4 people firing questions without listening to each other.

    I still think they are trying to give out too much information too fast. I think the segment on breakfast could have been a full show. They still hit and glance off the topic rather than go in depth. There was also much more to say about dealing with diabetes in the workplace. The ADA guide never said when it was okay to share with diabetes, just when you didn’t have to.

    All in all, MUCH better.

  • Heel spurs are back but fabulous dog agility weekend

    My heel spurs are back. I know it’s because I increased my treadmill time. I’m taking an off day today, and going to ice my food down most of the day and hoping it will go away.

    I know my dog agility runs didn’t help, though we were on grass. It was a fabulous dog agility weekend. I ran both dogs and the trial was scheduled for Friday and Saturday only.

    This was an USDAA trial, which has been extremely frustrating for me. Marcie either makes one mistake which wouldn’t count in AKC, or is over time, which is shorter than AKC time. (For the non-dog agility person, there are several dog agility venues with different rules and different ideas, for us AKC is the easiest).

    On Friday night, Marcie started out the evening with a 1st in Gamblers. USDAA has games, in Gamblers, you get as many points in the opening, a buzzer sounds (or a whistler), and you have a fixed amount of time to get a “gamble”. It’s basically a set of obstacles where you have to stay behind a line and the dog has to get it right by verbal commands. Marcie Qed, getting enough points in the opening AND getting the gamble.

    Marcie was also clean in Standard, but .6 seconds over time. ARGH! She took a second.

    Maggie got distracted, and went off course once, and came in second. That was Maggie’s best course at that point, she’s only competed about 4 trials.

    Saturday was even better. Marcie and I played Snooker. It works like the pool game, I think. There are 3 red jumps, and a small course. You take a red jump, take part of the course, red, another part, etc. Then when you finish that part, you take the course. Marcie took a 1st place in that compeition and Q’ed.

    Standard runs were both clean with both dogs, but both were over time. They both had trouble with the weaves and Marcie had trouble with the table.

    Marcie had a final jumpers run, which was real fun for both as there are no weaves or table to mess us up. She ran clean and in time, taking another 1st and Qing.

    So our total was:
    Marcie had 3 Q’s, and got 3 1st places, and 2 2nd places.
    Maggie had 2 second places.

    It definately means that I’m running better, even with the heel pain.

  • Heel spurs are back but fabulous dog agility weekend

    My heel spurs are back. I know it’s because I increased my treadmill time. I’m taking an off day today, and going to ice my food down most of the day and hoping it will go away.

    I know my dog agility runs didn’t help, though we were on grass. It was a fabulous dog agility weekend. I ran both dogs and the trial was scheduled for Friday and Saturday only.

    This was an USDAA trial, which has been extremely frustrating for me. Marcie either makes one mistake which wouldn’t count in AKC, or is over time, which is shorter than AKC time. (For the non-dog agility person, there are several dog agility venues with different rules and different ideas, for us AKC is the easiest).

    On Friday night, Marcie started out the evening with a 1st in Gamblers. USDAA has games, in Gamblers, you get as many points in the opening, a buzzer sounds (or a whistler), and you have a fixed amount of time to get a “gamble”. It’s basically a set of obstacles where you have to stay behind a line and the dog has to get it right by verbal commands. Marcie Qed, getting enough points in the opening AND getting the gamble.

    Marcie was also clean in Standard, but .6 seconds over time. ARGH! She took a second.

    Maggie got distracted, and went off course once, and came in second. That was Maggie’s best course at that point, she’s only competed about 4 trials.

    Saturday was even better. Marcie and I played Snooker. It works like the pool game, I think. There are 3 red jumps, and a small course. You take a red jump, take part of the course, red, another part, etc. Then when you finish that part, you take the course. Marcie took a 1st place in that compeition and Q’ed.

    Standard runs were both clean with both dogs, but both were over time. They both had trouble with the weaves and Marcie had trouble with the table.

    Marcie had a final jumpers run, which was real fun for both as there are no weaves or table to mess us up. She ran clean and in time, taking another 1st and Qing.

    So our total was:
    Marcie had 3 Q’s, and got 3 1st places, and 2 2nd places.
    Maggie had 2 second places.

    It definately means that I’m running better, even with the heel pain.

  • Some goo d news here

    Some of the news is good, but the misdiagnosis thing needs to be fixed.

    Diabetes Care Improved Over Last Decade – Yahoo! News

    The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the rate of people with diabetes who need hospitalization or develop kidney failure has dropped about a third since the mid-1990s.

  • Some goo d news here

    Some of the news is good, but the misdiagnosis thing needs to be fixed.

    Diabetes Care Improved Over Last Decade – Yahoo! News

    The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the rate of people with diabetes who need hospitalization or develop kidney failure has dropped about a third since the mid-1990s.

  • This study irks me

    You are not going to be able to get anywhere if the patient doesn’t know something about diabetes.

    However, too many doctors throw a pill at diabetes and don’t have much of a commitment. I know lots of diabetics, some even Type 1, who don’t take care of themselves sufficiently.

    However, I’m not sure why I’m different, except for the fact, I don’t like feeling sick all the time. And when my blood sugar is out of control, I feel sick.

    Patient Education Won’t Alter Diabetes Outcomes – Yahoo! News

    Simply educating diabetics about their condition doesn’t seem to improve their blood sugar control or reduce their likelihood for risk factors such as obesity, researchers report.

  • This study irks me

    You are not going to be able to get anywhere if the patient doesn’t know something about diabetes.

    However, too many doctors throw a pill at diabetes and don’t have much of a commitment. I know lots of diabetics, some even Type 1, who don’t take care of themselves sufficiently.

    However, I’m not sure why I’m different, except for the fact, I don’t like feeling sick all the time. And when my blood sugar is out of control, I feel sick.

    Patient Education Won’t Alter Diabetes Outcomes – Yahoo! News

    Simply educating diabetics about their condition doesn’t seem to improve their blood sugar control or reduce their likelihood for risk factors such as obesity, researchers report.

  • Nuclear Stress Test

    I’m “done”.

    The technician, who has apparently done these for a long time indicated that the test was within normal parameters, but that there was some shadowing that was consistent with breast tissue. I should hear from the doctor or the nurse practioner for the final okay.

    They finished up with another series of xrays. Then sent me to the nurse practioner who went over my medical history. She suggested I add Pepcid when I was having GERD symthoms (chest pains when exerting). I’m not really worried about it, but if the GERD doesn’t get better soon, I’m going to get more aggressive about it, because I think it is affecting my sleep.

    My part of the charge on this was a lot more expensive that I thought it would be. I think I’ve met my deductable though, I’ll check with the insurance once it gets processed.

    The other was the timing — though I understand now, that it wasn’t the first appointments of the day, but I should have it NEXT year.