“Sticking” with Your Pump

When you sweat, do your infusion sets come loose? This used to be a common occurrence for me, but I have found some useful tips I can pass on. - Start with clean skin and stay away from soaps that contain skin softening agents because they will leave your skin oily and the sets won’t stick as well. - If you are a hairy guy, the infusion set sticks to the hair and not the skin, so trimming your hair down to stubble will help the set to stick better. -... (READ MORE)

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Echo Therapeutics

I wear an insulin pump and a CGMS device to constantly monitor my glucose levels. This means I have 2 gizmos stuck into my body all of the time. There is some new technology on the horizon that will make it possible to have a CGMS device without sticking a needle into your body. Woo hoo! It’s about time and I suspect this technology will work better and last longer than the infamous GlucoWatch. This new technology comes from Echo Therapeutics, so keep an eye on their... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: cheap insurance for your expensive insulin

By Wil Dubois Joel Grossman’s bad day didn’t start when he dropped his insulin vial. It didn’t start when it shattered on his kitchen floor. It didn’t start when he ended up in the Emergency Room with shards of glass embedded in his foot. Joel Grossman’s bad day started when he called his pharmacy for a replacement and was told his health insurance didn’t cover replacements. He had to pay out of pocket, $128. That bad day looked pretty good... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: The future is needles

By Wil Dubois In the olden days, a few years ago, there were pills and there was insulin. That was it. If the pills didn’t control your diabetes, you had to go on the dreaded needle. And even though insulin is a miracle drug, people hated it and would do almost anything to avoid starting it. Why? Well, there were lots of different theories, but it was long believed that it all boiled down to one simple fact: it’s un-natural to stick yourself with something... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: not your grandfather’s diabetic socks

By Wil Dubois Craig Arnold knows the statistics on diabetes amputations and post-amputation mortality all too well. His great-grandfather lost both his legs, and then his life, to diabetes. His grandfather had diabetes, too, as do his parents. Arnold doesn’t. But he’s walking in the footsteps of his ancestors. He also knows that “very little can be done” about diabetes foot care beyond a nightly inspection, which most people with diabetes neglect. “Did you know... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: Continuous Glucose Monitoring

By Wil Dubois By far the techiest of all d-Tech is Continuous Glucose Monitoring, known simply as CGM. It’s so frickin’ high tech, it borders on magic. It’s the CT scanner of blood glucose testing; letting you see what’s happening inside your body in a whole new way. Now, to be honest, CGM is an absolute lie because it’s not continuous at all. It only tests your blood sugar every five minutes. We should probably call them VCGMs, for Virtually... (READ MORE)

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iBGStar – Absolutely the smallest glucose meter I’ve ever used!

I have been playing with the iBGStar glucose meter from Sanofi Aventis for the past few days. Wow! This is a cool geek toy for diabetics! When I opened the box and saw how small the meter was, I was stunned. It is TINY! It is about 3 inches long and ¾-inch wide and can be used by itself or plugged into your iPhone. I used to think the CozMonitor glucose meter that road piggy-back on my Cozmo insulin pump was small, but it was twice as big as the iBGStar. This meter is not only small, and I... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: angels on the head of a pin

By Wil Dubois Amazing d-Tech isn’t limited to lights, bells, and computers. Amazing technology is tackling even the most humble of diabetes devices: the needle. And the charge into the future is being lead by one of the world’s oldest needle companies. Becton, Dickinson and Company, known fondly as BD, made the needle used for the world’s first insulin shot 90 years ago. Since then, BD has been a big player in all things sharp, and as the size of their market has... (READ MORE)

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Amazing d-Tech: the “patch-pump” landscape

By Wil Dubois I was asked to write about the “patch-pump landscape” today. Well, it’s not much of a landscape. Just one lone tree growing on an endless, flat savanna. What? You never heard of a patch-pump? Oh. I’m sorry, it’s a type of insulin pump... You know what? Maybe I’d better back up even further to make sure everyone is on board. An insulin pump is a small machine that delivers insulin into your body semi-automatically. It replaces your... (READ MORE)

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Artificial Pancreas: What’s On the Horizon

So last time we covered “what is an artificial pancreas” and now I will cover where we are today with developing it and when we might be able to get our hands on one. There are several groups working on these devices with varying approaches, but there are 2 fairly significant milestones that have occurred recently. Both of these happened in June 2012 and I will discuss them in this blog post. Medtronic filed the necessary paperwork with the FDA to gain Pre-Market Approval... (READ MORE)

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John Hughes
John Hughes Diagnosed in July 1988 with type 1 diabetes, John Hughes was already familiar with the regimen he needed to follow because his 3 1/2 year old son was also a type 1 diabetic.   (Read More)
Latest Posts: “Sticking” with Your Pump | Echo Therapeutics | iBGStar – Absolutely the smallest glucose meter I’ve ever used! | Artificial Pancreas: What’s On the Horizon |
Wil Dubois
Wil Dubois Wil Dubois works as a diabetes treatment specialist and has type 1 diabetes himself, and as such speaks both "doctor" and "patient."   (Read More)
Latest Posts: Amazing d-Tech: cheap insurance for your expensive insulin | Amazing d-Tech: The future is needles | Amazing d-Tech: not your grandfather’s diabetic socks | Amazing d-Tech: Continuous Glucose Monitoring |