[From the site]

Whether you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, healthetreatment can help people learn from the experiences of others.

Mission: Your story is our story. Contribute your experiences to our library of health information so others can learn from your expertise. Your story is our story. Contribute your experiences to our library of health information so others can learn from your expertise.

Our process is simple:

• Tell us about yourself. Let us know your age, where you live, and when you were diagnosed. Your information will be used in the aggregate to help others understand more about your condition.
• See the universe of people with similar conditions. You’re not alone. Our charts & graphs help to paint a picture of who is affected.
• Share your story. Causes and symptoms will vary by individual, but are infrequently unique. The more we know about you, the better we can compare you to others in a similar situation.
• Rate your experiences. Are you the first to trial a new procedure? Have you had disastrous side effects from a particular medication? Has there been a medical breakthrough that has led to dramatic improvement in your quality of life? Well, here’s your chance to tell everyone!
• Learn from the experiences of others. If condition-specific knowledge can lead to improvement in quality of life, what are you waiting for? Work with your doctor to take control of your wellness today!

[healthetreatment.com]

My first impression of this website was, what is the intention or purpose of it.  It wasn’t clear as to what I was supposed to do, if it’s a product site or a service like WebMD.  What I saw first was a line that said, “What is your condition?”.  So after I typed in Type 1, a few options popped up and I selected type 1 diabetes and hit “go”.   Then, nothing happened.  I tried it a few times and the search feature didn’t seem to be working (I tried it in Firefox and Safari).  It could have been my browser, but I’m not sure.  I simply clicked below the search where Diabetes Type 1 was listed as a common condition.  Before I click “begin now” to start the survey, I noticed there are a bunch of statistics and charts about diabetes that appear interesting.

There were six steps that they said would take about 5 minutes to complete.  My survey took more like 10 minutes probably because some of the questions were confusing.  The questions asked about my symptoms and how severe they were or are.  What was confusing is that I didn’t know if the survey was asking about when I was diagnosed with diabetes or as of right now.  That part was not very clear.  Also, there was the ability to enter in symptoms that weren’t listed, which was nice.  However, “thirst” was listed twice, so it makes me question the integrity of the data/survey.

The next step asked me about treatment options.  All of the typical ones were there, but again I was confused because here are two of the options I saw: “Insulin by pump” and “Insulin pump – Novolog”.  I actually use “Insulin pump – Humalog”, but that wasn’t an option so I choose Insulin by pump.  The next step actually showed what everyone else selected compared to me, similar to the step after the symptoms where it showed everyone’s symptoms and it pointed out where I was better or worse.

Next, it jumped from step 3 to step 5.  I clicked the back button just to double check I didn’t click too fast, but I hadn’t – it skipped step 4.   Step 5 asked about my birthday, gender and zip code.  Remember, everything here is anonymous though I did need to enter an email address.  There was also an option to enter a screen name that would be visible.

Finally, step 6 asked what my trigger was for type 1 diabetes.  Personally, I’d really like to know that answer myself.  Most people selected “Autoimmune Disease”, but I picked “Unknown” because I have no idea what caused my pancreas to be “challenged”.  Yes, it’s said that diabetes develops due to an autoimmune disorder, but that doesn’t seem like a true cause.  I wish it was more clear-cut like lung cancer and smoking.

At the end, the site provided graphs and tables that listed a summary of everyone’s responses.  I did find that the transition was a bit slow from step to step with the website.  Here are some samples of what it looks like.  You can see some references in the left sidebar.  In the middle you can see the results from the survey to date.   Being a complete data geek, I wish the graphs and charts had data labels or axis labels to see exactly what the results were.  Also, I would like to know how many people have taken the survey to understand the statistical significance of the data.  It makes a huge difference if 100,000 people have completed it compared to 200.

Here is another screen shot from the results.  I found it difficult to zoom into my exact location without having to do a lot of dragging and zooming in and out.  This is where I learned that most people who completed the survey selected “Autoimmune Disease” as the cause for type 1 diabetes.  I also saw that the vast majority of the people with type 1 diabetes were diagnosed before age 18.

Here is an example of something that makes me question the data.  I’m pretty sure there isn’t someone living under the river filling out the survey.  Granted this may be more of a Google Maps issues, but regardless it showed up on this site.  It was definitely kind of interesting to look and see how many people with diabetes who filled out the survey live near me.

Summary:

The site is definitely a bit thought-provoking and the idea of learning from each other sounds interesting.  Twitter is a prime example where real people with diabetes share insights and information all the time.  I caution about the accuracy of the data without getting more insights. With the people entering the data being anonymous, who knows the person, child or weirdo that might be filling out the survey 50 times just for fun. I don’t think there are any checks to ensure one ip address can fill out the survey only once.  I think a few more quality checks would be beneficial to ensure there aren’t any duplicates in the options.  Also, some up front clarification would have been helpful to ensure the person filling out the survey understands the point in time they should use to answer the questions.

Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you are interested in a review, please use the contact form or email me at: tony [at] bloggingdiabetes.com.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Healthetreatment [Review] is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

Below are a few highlights from the news release as to why the number is going to grow.

• People are living longer with diabetes (good thing)
• Hispanics and African Americans are more at risk for diabetes and are making up a bigger part of our population
• More overweight Americans

The SNL skit really made me laugh out loud even though it was shocking, but I had already heard the statistic in the news. The skit made light of the fact that type 2 diabetes is an issue for a society that uses fried chicken as bread (KFC). I couldn’t agree more.

Seth Meyers skit , you can skip to the 27 sec mark.

[Source]

I can see people in the diabetes community getting all up in arms about SNL poking fun at a huge epidemic like diabetes. But that’s not the point. The joke isn’t geared towards the chronic illness, it’s pointing out the fact that as a whole, Americans eat like shit.

Back to the news release – can you imaging one out of every three people in America having diabetes? That’s crazy talk.

Did you hear the news or see the SNL skit? What are your thoughts?

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

This Little Disease Called Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

2. Caffeine

3. The Diet

4. Progress

So far I have discussed what the plan and goal is, the amount of caffeine I was drinking and the new diet I have started.  This post will discuss the progress I’ve made in a very short time.  Just to recap, I started with a goal of getting my blood sugars more in control and consistent.  Just like in my golf game, I will take consistency [in range] over distance any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Running & Shins

I’m not a huge fan of running especially for distance.  I played a lot of soccer in my younger days and did a lot of running, but that was much different.  Since high school, a few years back [wink wink], I haven’t done much running.  I will do a little jogging on the treadmill, but nothing that would win races.  The first piece of cardio equipment I purchased and still use was an elliptical, which is much easier on the body than running.  Since writing this post last November, I have wanted to get back into running to be more fit and drop a little weight.  The problem is that I would start with shin splints soon after starting to run regardless of how much stretching I did.  I tried everything, wraps, creams, stretching, exercises, etc. all to no avail.  That is until now… Part of my diet has been no caffeine and at least 8 glasses of cran-water mix per day, which I have been doing with ease and then some.  Well, now that my body is hydrated, I haven’t even had an ache or slightest bit of pain in my shins – none, nada, zip, zero.  It’s such a relief to be able to run, I’ve gone up to 4 miles so far with absolutely no pain in my shins.

Caffeine

After a week of weaning off of caffeine, I went cold turkey on Monday July 27 [3 weeks ago].  I’ve had a few cans of Diet Mt. Dew just to use up the supply I have on hand, but absolutely nothing like before.  Do I have times that I really want some, hell yes.  Does it quickly pass, yes.  I use to never be able to go down the soda isle at the grocery store without buying either a 2 liter or cans of the Dew.  Now, I just walk right by and could care less.  I also miss the Lo-Carb Monster, but not enough to give up how great I feel without caffeine.  No longer do I crash in the evenings.  When my kids are here and want to play, I have so much more energy.  I’ll never go back. Never.  I think people in general underestimate the power that caffeine has on the body and is very addicting.  The last benefit is that even with drinking so much cran-water, I go to the bathroom about half as much.  The soda just goes right through you.

Diet Progress

Remember my goal was to lose a few pounds and start eating more healthy.  I started probably a little more then 200 pounds, but let’s just call it 200.  After two weeks on this diet I was down to 193.5 pounds, roughly 3 pounds a week.  So even at 194ish, I only have less than 10 pounds to go and we’re just 2 weeks into the diet.  I don’t have the stats, but most diets probably fail because people lapse back to their old [poor] eating habits when they reach their target weight.  Not here – I have committed to a lifestyle change.  It’s so refreshing to eat healthy.  I’m not going to lie and tell you that eating salads almost every day is as tasty as a bag of Doritos or a hearty cold cut sandwich, but it’s liberating.  This coming from someone who ate sandwiches every day for years.  I don’t see much difference in the mirror, but feel a lot better. I have also switched to mainly organic and whole foods.  I asked my wife if she thought I look like I lost weight [loaded question].  Her response was, “how are your clothes fitting4″?.  After thinking for a second, I said, “yeah, my shorts are a bit loose and I’m down a belt notch.”  Enough said.

Blood Sugars

For ten years I’ve been trying for consistent blood sugars in the acceptable range [70-140].  I am all over the place and my doctor just says that many of his type 1 patients are all over the board like me.  I do a good job and rarely test less than 5 times a day.  I try to do all the right things, but snacking always kills my blood sugar.  Maybe I tend to underestimate my carb intake, but I am playing the 140, 340, 45, 250 game.  I will say, not proudly, that I can correct the shit out of a 250+ blood sugar without going low.  Put my going to bed sugars at anywhere from 250-400 and I will wake up in the morning between 80 and 150.  Since starting this serious diet 3 weeks ago, my blood sugars have been phenomenal.  I haven’t seen one 300 or even close to it in 3 weeks.  Think about that… I couldn’t go a few days without correcting one of these highs in the past.  Now 3 weeks without one even close.  That’s TIGHT.  The difference is that I’m not eating chips, rice, potatoes, bread or other processed carbs.  I get a ton of fiber and really my only carbs from fruits and vegetables.  Try getting a 300+ blood sugar from eating lettuce, peppers, carrots and sugar snap peas.  You’d have to eat a truck full.   Plus, I get full from these foods because they have very little carbs/calories and I can eat a lot.  I am filling my pump reservoir with about half as much insulin as before and my basal rate is much lower.  Honestly, this has been the most refreshing accomplishment in 10 years with type 1 diabetes.  Now I feel like I can win.  No longer do I feel like I’m fighting with one leg and my arms tied behind my back.

Thank you for all of your support.  I’m truly grateful for my readers and the feedback I receive.  As I’ve noted before, always consult with your doctor before starting a diet or exercise.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Blogging Diabetes – Progress [Part 4 of Series] is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

In the last few weeks I have gotten back on the bandwagon with weight training and cardio at least 5 times a week, coupled with a tight diet of more greens, salads, and fewer carbs.  It’s no surprise that my blood sugars went from getting into the 200s on the daily, to having to tweak my basal rate because I’m going low a lot.  I am finding myself in the 80s, 90s, and low to mid 100s for the majority of my testing.

Seriously, this isn’t rocket science.  More exercise and a better diet can only mean good things for someone with diabetes.  For me, it’s such a wave of relief.  I was constantly asking myself why my sugar was going high so often.  Now I am correcting to keep from going too low.  Granted, I haven’t been going to bed until almost midnight because I’m working out after my kids go to bed.  But, it’s so amazing to see the 90s and 100s so often again.  Losing about 10 pounds and getting better control has me so motivated it’s scary.  I’m not giving in to complacency and my doctor saying I have “good” control.  I want excellent control.  I want to see my kids grow up and think of their dad as an inspiration instead of a statistic. 

The Holy Grail to winning the battle against diabetes is simply exercise.  No excuses, period.  If I can do it with a 3 year old, 8 week old and full-time job, you can too.

[source]

Disclaimer – always consult your physician before changing your routine or introducing exercising.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

The Holy Grail For Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

And yet…….

I still have to freakin’ code my meter every time I get a new bottle of test strips where the code is different than the one I’m using.  WHY?  Seriously?  I find it very hard to believe that this annoyance can’t be overcome very easily.  I also wonder if the code really matters.  For example, does putting in the wrong code and testing give a different result than the correct code?  This calls for a little experiment.

My Experiment

Below you will find the results of 10 consecutive blood glucose tests.  The first 5 were done using the correct test strip to meter code.  The second 5 tests were done where the code was not correct between the meter and test strips.  The results are interesting.

What immediately stands out is the variance between the average correct and average wrong test, which is 63 mg/dl.  That really blows my mind.  In essence, you could expect a 63 mg/dl swing down when the code is incorrect.  The second thing that jumps out is test 5 where the number went from being around 145 to 207.  A 61 mg/dl swing between two tests for no apparent reason is cause for concern.  Keep in mind the 5 tests were done within minutes of each other if not 30 seconds or so apart.  The results and variance is pretty scary because I would certainly treat a 207 differently than a 146.  I use the OneTouch UltraLink meter with LifeScan One Touch test strips.  I’m not trying to be critical of LifeScan or Medtronic; I’m simply trying to understand the accuracy and coding need.

[Image source]

What They Said

This was the first time I actually read the little folder paper in the test strip box.  LifeScan has a caution in the writing that says:

“Matching the code on the meter and the code on the test strip vial is essential to obtain accurate results.  Each time you test, check to make sure the code numbers match.”   …”a clinical test was done and showed that the variability from test strip to test strip in blood tests was 3.2% or less.” [LifeScan]

Here is a quote from a study done that warns about miscoding meters:

“In this study, for certain miscoded meters, the probability of insulin error of plus or minus 2 units of insulin was 50% as compared to 8% for correctly, manually coded meters.  The probability of insulin dose error of plus or minus 3 units of insulin was 23% for the miscoded meters but only 0.5% for the manually correctly coded meters.”

Summary

My test using a very small sample size yielded a 6% variance mainly due to the test #5 that threw off the average.  Besides #5, the results were very close when the code matched from the meter to vial.   On average, there was a 63 mg/dl variance between when the meter was coded correctly and when it was not.  Make sure you code your meter correctly when changing test strip vials.  Seriously, this could mean a severe life-threatening episode by simply having the wrong code entered into the meter.  Although I still don’t understand WHY I still need to code (after 10 years), I do understand the importance of accuracy and will take extra care to ensure correct coding.  Coding may seem like an annoyance, but it could also cause a high/low just for the code being wrong.  We have enough to deal with as insulin dependent diabetics – can’t we get rid of the code?

Question

Does anyone know really why we still need to code meters?  They say it’s to match the vial of strips to the meter for accuracy, but WHY?  I know there are some meters on the market that are codeless.  Are they less accurate?  I doubt it. 

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Blood Glucose Meter Test Strip Experiment is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

If you haven’t heard yet, Larry lost his battle and passed away on Friday.  My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.  By any standards, Larry seemed to be successful in life with five kids, an enormous empire in Salt Lake City, and multiple charities and community service.  But, passing away at 64… That’s entirely too early.  I have no details about Larry’s condition and don’t want to speculate.  However, it kind of scares me to think that someone who was so successful in life, had money at his disposal, and built an empire, couldn’t beat or tame his type 2 diabetes.

So, I now turn to how I opened this post.

• Are you too busy to test?
• Is there too much going on at work to test?
• Too busy to see an Endocrinologist a few times a year?
• Are you embarrassed or feel awkward to test when others are around and might see you?
• Did you forget your medicine?
• Is taking 30 minutes out of your day to exercise asking too much?
• Are you too busy to stop to take your injection before eating?
• If someone was going to bet on you would they take the over or under on age 64?

Sometimes, it’s about the little things that can add up to really big things that matter the most.  Don’t be too busy.

Stay tuned for an upcoming vlog about depression and diabetes.

Like what you see?  Subscribe to Blogging Diabetes to stay updated on what’s new with diabetes.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Too Busy For Your Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of diabetes. Although there is no cure for diabetes, there are many means like diet control and exercises, by which the blood sugar levels can be kept in check. If diabetes is not kept in control, it can lead to different complications. Most of these complications are a result of the effect of diabetes on the nerves and arteries. Here are some of the health problems that Type 2 diabetes can cause.

1. Cardiovascular disease and stroke. Type 2 diabetics have two to four times the risk of suffering a heart attack or a stroke. People with diabetes are more likely to have high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol. These together with the artery damage caused by diabetes can lead to heart diseases.
2. Kidney disease. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. Type 2 diabetes can take away the ability of the kidneys to filter waste products. Kidney failure is the last stage of chronic kidney disease and it may require dialysis, artificial blood-cleaning process or kidney transplantation from a healthy donor. 40 % of those who need dialysis have kidney failure from diabetes.
3. Foot Problems. The nerve damage caused by diabetes results in a loss of feeling in the feet. This is called neuropathy. The feet become numb and are not able to feel pain, heat or cold and you may not notice injury until the skin becomes infected. Diabetes also causes the skin at the feet to become very dry. Foot ulcers and calluses may form at the feet and if neglected, these could lead to infection. Poor blood circulation to the feet makes infections difficult to heal. In severe cases, this may lead to amputation.
4. Eye disorders. Diabetes causes many eye disorders by damaging the blood vessels in the retina. The major eye disorders are glaucoma, cataracts and retinopathy. Non-proliferative retinopathy is common and does not require much treatment but in proliferative retinopathy, the blood vessels are so damaged that there is leakage of blood. This condition may lead to blindness if not treated properly.
5. Gum Disease. Diabetics have a higher risk of gum problems. People get gum disease when plaque destroys the gums and bone around the teeth. People with diabetes can get gum disease from having high blood glucose levels for a long time.

Other health problems that Type 2 diabetics risk facing are stomach and bowel problems, where the nerves that trigger normal functioning can become less active causing constipation or diarrhea, and sexual function problems. The nerve and artery damage could lead to impotence. It is very important that diabetics be aware of the health issues that they face. There is nothing to worry, as taking steps to keep diabetes in control will take care of most of these health issues. If you are a Type 2 diabetic, make sure that you take those precautionary measures to keep these health problems at bay.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

5 Health Issues of Type 2 Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

As I get a little bit older and my family grows, I am thinking more about the long term.  I do think about what will probably happen if I don’t keep my A1c in check. Mostly, I think about these things for my wife and children’s sake.  So… to the point of this post – What money can’t buy?

If you are into sports or in tune with diabetes related news, you may have heard that the Utah Jazz owner, Larry Miller – age 64, just lost both legs six inches below the knee to complications from type 2 diabetes.  Again, what can’t money buy?  Money can’t turn back time and let you have a do-over.  Money can’t bring your legs back or reverse the negative effects from uncontrolled blood glucose over the years.  I have no idea about the details regarding Larry’s control or age when diagnosed.

But I do know that all the money in the world didn’t save his legs.  Yes, it can buy high-end prosthetic legs, but that’s not the same.  He is in my thoughts and prayers.

Larry Miller – Utah Jazz’s Story on ESPN

All that money would buy me a personal chef and trainer to help with my eating and exercising routine.  I’m sure you would agree that having a lot of money would help ease some stress, allow you to work fewer hours and not worry about that $70 CGM sensor that just wouldn’t stay attached.

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Something Money Can’t Buy is a post from: Blogging Diabetes