Here are my latest additions to my never ending list of "Diabetes Needs."
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I need Test Strip & Insurance companies to consider the margin of error when it comes to said test strips and what those said errors cost the consumers.
And by "margin of error," I mean several things. Things like the skunky test strip factor and the "Error" message that shows up sometimes for a multitude of reasons including; lack of blood or the the drop of blood being applied to early.
There are also annoying messages like "NOT OK" that gives no reason at all and make me want to scream.
Then there's the whole "law of test strip averages" form of testing which requires the user to u use two or three test strips because there's no way in bloody hell that the first reading is right, so we must test again and bolus for the combined average blood sugar.
For example: Blood sugar 1 is 187, But you swear its lower, so you test again and blood sugar 2 is 159.
187 +159 = 346. 346 divided by 2= 173. Depending on your last meal, the correction bolus between 187 & 173 can be enough to make for an extreme low and or an extreme high later.
All of the above factors cause us to use more test strips, which is good for the supplier of the product, but not so fantastic for the end user of the product.
All of the above factors also causes major arguments with insurance companies who limit the number of test strips that they will cover.
Apparently the term: SHIT HAPPENS, doesn't cut it for most HMO's.
Bottom line, I need my diabetes GPS system to work consistently and be right on Target, my health depends on it!
I need (and would really appreciate) if the makers of Glucose tabs would icksnay on the uber hard to open childproof protective plastic wrap that their unopened products are ensconced in.
I know that the containers have to have some form of protective plastic wrap, but when my blood sugar is low and I need me some Tropical Fruit flavored glucose tabs, I need to actually be able to open them, ASAP. I fumble enough when my bloodsugars are low, I shouldn't have to fumble with the packaging for the product used to treat my low.
Now, whenever I purchase glucose tabs, I remove the protective plastic seal immediately, before a low occurs.
Sometimes I buy glucose tabs in bulk (especially when they're on sale) and go ahead and call me crazy, but I don't want to open every single container glucose bottles/10-pack tubes at once. According to a very reliable source named Scott Strumello, good news regarding said glucose tabs is on the way!
I need restaurant chains to list the carb content of their food dishes, not just the fat, calories and fiber content. Calories won't help me to bolus for your food properly, but a correct carb count will.
I need doctors and health care professionals to talk with and too me, not at me. I need them to be willing to work with me regarding my disease. And I need and would very much appreciate if they took the time to listen and consider what I have to say about my diabetes, becuase I'm the one who has to live with it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
I need the media to stop getting diabetes wrong - And like you, I'm working to make that happen.
I need a diabetes cure for so many reasons that it makes my head spin a la Linda Blair. But at this moment in time I need a diabetes cure because I'm just so tired of having diabetes.
But enough about me - What are your diabetes needs??
Diabetes and Statin Drugs?
BBC News is has often highlighted a massive increase in the incidence of diabetes (nearly 4m diabetics in the UK), and the unnecessary cost to the NHS coping with it. In April 2012 their news item appeared to stem from a report in the Journal of Diabetic Medicine, which said that the NHS spends nearly £10bn annually on treating the complications of diabetes, and that this is set to rise.
Diabetes appears to be of special interest to BBC News. In July 2010 it reported that Diabetes costs were 'out of control', taking up over 7% of the NHS budget. And they have published 3 other articles on Diabetes this year already.
So what is the cause of this massive increase in diabetes? The BBC clearly puts in down to diet, and in doing so, they are probably correct - but only in part. However, as usual, BBC News is not interested in investigating any further. The question is, has our diet really changed so drastically over the last few years to be causing the increased incidence of the disease?
But if they bothered to look deeper into other reasons for the epidemic levels of diabetes it would mean doing something that the BBC are not prepared to do - to examine critically the role of conventional medicine (ConMed), and the impact of Big Pharma drugs on our health.
Unknown, or a least unreported by BBC News, is the developing awareness that Statin drugs can cause Type 2 diabetes. As this article correctly states, during the last 10-20 years doctors have fallen over themselves to prescribe Statins to patients, supported by suggestions that they were so safe everyone should take them (to avoid heart attacks, et al) - and even that they should be added to our water supply! The article outlines two recent studies that have demonstrated a link with diabetes, one published in the Lancet.
It is not an exaggeration to say that as a nation, we have become addicted to Statins. It is now estimated that over 7 million people are now taking these drugs!
Does the FDA (and other drug regulators) know about the link between Statins and Diabetes?
This article, from the Reuters News Agency, suggests that they do. Yet it is probably much less likely that they will do anything about it - in an effort to protect patients. FDA has, for instance, recently insisted on new labelling for these drugs - but the label fails to mention all the known DIEs. So although the New York Times, for instance, can announce the new labelling, as it does in this article, the announcement is restricted to what has been revealed. And as usual, with mainstream media coverage, it comes with an assurance that patients should 'not be scared away from Statins', because of their 'proven worth'.
And as usual, the mainstream media seems to be quite happy for us to continue playing 'Russian Roulette' with our health!
So do doctors know about the link between Statins and diabetes? This article, published in the GP magazine, Pulse, suggests that they do. Yet whether they will bother to inform us, as patients, is quite another matter! I quote from another article, below, that gives some idea about why doctors might not bother to tell us.
"Unfortunately, over the past decade, conventional medical wisdom has come to equate type 2 diabetes with heart disease. So if you have heart disease, they put you on a statin. If you have type 2 diabetes, they put you on a statin.
So who is going to tell us about the dangers of Statin drugs? This article suggests that one of the DIEs, muscle weakness, can happen without the patient feeling any pain. So it may be that not even the patient knows when Statins are doing them harm.
Natural News reports here that the ConMed Establishment 'is now beginning to act'. But it also points out that Statin drugs have been prescribed now for over 20 years - and asks the very pertinent question - why has it taken so long for them to find out?
This article, from the Natural Health Institute, believes that the Statin - Diabetes connection might spell the end for the drug. I disagree. When Statins generate such huge profits for Big Pharma companies, who are already in trouble because of recent drug failures, it is unlikely that anyone within the ConMed Establishment is going to volunteer the information. And clearly, mainstream news organisations like the BBC, are not prepared to do so.
We will, eventually, be told about the DIEs of Statin drugs. But if the experience with other drugs is considered, this will only be when the situation becomes so extreme, when the diabetes-Statins link become undeniable, when the information cannot be hidden from us anymore. Of course, this will only be after it has done great harm to many millions more patients, and perhaps more importantly, after many more years of massive profits for the Pharmaceutical companies.
To read more about the dangers, and the ongoing failures of Conventional Medicine, click on this link.
Diabetes appears to be of special interest to BBC News. In July 2010 it reported that Diabetes costs were 'out of control', taking up over 7% of the NHS budget. And they have published 3 other articles on Diabetes this year already.
So what is the cause of this massive increase in diabetes? The BBC clearly puts in down to diet, and in doing so, they are probably correct - but only in part. However, as usual, BBC News is not interested in investigating any further. The question is, has our diet really changed so drastically over the last few years to be causing the increased incidence of the disease?
But if they bothered to look deeper into other reasons for the epidemic levels of diabetes it would mean doing something that the BBC are not prepared to do - to examine critically the role of conventional medicine (ConMed), and the impact of Big Pharma drugs on our health.
Unknown, or a least unreported by BBC News, is the developing awareness that Statin drugs can cause Type 2 diabetes. As this article correctly states, during the last 10-20 years doctors have fallen over themselves to prescribe Statins to patients, supported by suggestions that they were so safe everyone should take them (to avoid heart attacks, et al) - and even that they should be added to our water supply! The article outlines two recent studies that have demonstrated a link with diabetes, one published in the Lancet.
It is not an exaggeration to say that as a nation, we have become addicted to Statins. It is now estimated that over 7 million people are now taking these drugs!
Statin drugs have massive disease-inducing-effects (DIEs). These include liver disease, acute kidney failure, muscle weakness and cataracts (much more than 'side-effects' as they are so often described). But it is now known that they cause diabetes too.
Does the FDA (and other drug regulators) know about the link between Statins and Diabetes?
This article, from the Reuters News Agency, suggests that they do. Yet it is probably much less likely that they will do anything about it - in an effort to protect patients. FDA has, for instance, recently insisted on new labelling for these drugs - but the label fails to mention all the known DIEs. So although the New York Times, for instance, can announce the new labelling, as it does in this article, the announcement is restricted to what has been revealed. And as usual, with mainstream media coverage, it comes with an assurance that patients should 'not be scared away from Statins', because of their 'proven worth'.
And as usual, the mainstream media seems to be quite happy for us to continue playing 'Russian Roulette' with our health!
So do doctors know about the link between Statins and diabetes? This article, published in the GP magazine, Pulse, suggests that they do. Yet whether they will bother to inform us, as patients, is quite another matter! I quote from another article, below, that gives some idea about why doctors might not bother to tell us.
"Unfortunately, over the past decade, conventional medical wisdom has come to equate type 2 diabetes with heart disease. So if you have heart disease, they put you on a statin. If you have type 2 diabetes, they put you on a statin.
So who is going to tell us about the dangers of Statin drugs? This article suggests that one of the DIEs, muscle weakness, can happen without the patient feeling any pain. So it may be that not even the patient knows when Statins are doing them harm.
Natural News reports here that the ConMed Establishment 'is now beginning to act'. But it also points out that Statin drugs have been prescribed now for over 20 years - and asks the very pertinent question - why has it taken so long for them to find out?
This article, from the Natural Health Institute, believes that the Statin - Diabetes connection might spell the end for the drug. I disagree. When Statins generate such huge profits for Big Pharma companies, who are already in trouble because of recent drug failures, it is unlikely that anyone within the ConMed Establishment is going to volunteer the information. And clearly, mainstream news organisations like the BBC, are not prepared to do so.
We will, eventually, be told about the DIEs of Statin drugs. But if the experience with other drugs is considered, this will only be when the situation becomes so extreme, when the diabetes-Statins link become undeniable, when the information cannot be hidden from us anymore. Of course, this will only be after it has done great harm to many millions more patients, and perhaps more importantly, after many more years of massive profits for the Pharmaceutical companies.
We live in a world dominated by Big Corporate Businesses, who seem to stick together like glue, in support of each other, and in the interests of mutual profit. Even our health appears to be of little interest or concern.
