I just downloaded "Think Like a Pancreas" by Gary Scheiner on my Kindle. I used an Amazon gift card that I got for participating in a Diabetes and Driving Study to pay for it, but there is still plenty of money leftover. Does anyone else have a suggestions for other useful titles to download? Heck it's on the University of Virginia. Primarily I am interested in Type 1 books, not necessarily recipes or how to lose weight, more self management.
I just read a killer book called "Flood" by Stephen Baxter, not D related but really gripping and chilling yet there's a strange vein of survivalist optimism that I found really engaging and not totally different from diabetes, sort of gloomy and optimistic at the same time.
I've already started the Think Like a Pancreas book and am giggling to myself. It is immediately engaging and although he was diagnosed a lot later than I we have shared a lot of the same frustrations. But I will take Flood under advisement and see if I can download it on kindle.
I liked if you are looking for diabetes related books Diabetes 101. It's avaialbe on kindle.
I read the description of that book and thought it would be a bit too basic for me. I've been doing this for a very long time so I pretty much know the drill. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Yeah it is a bit basic, but a while back when I was getting back in "good" control lol after years of screw this Im going to do it my way, it was a good place to get refreshed, lol. Have you read Dr Bernstein's books on low carbing? I don't low carb to that extreme BUT I thought he had a lot of good points. Unfortunately they are not available on Kindle, but you can get them on Amazon relatively inexpensive.
Fellow member Ginger Vieira's book Your Diabetes Science Experiment appears to be available for Kindles? I like the title and concept but am not engaged with diabetes books right now so I haven't actually read it.
Using Insulin by John Walsh is the book that people mention frequently that is equivalent to Think Like a Pancreas. I use it to refer back to all the time. I also use Pumping Insulin by the same author.
Thanks Zoe, I'm still waiting for the new omnipod to come out so haven't started pumping yet, but Think Like a pancreas author has a pump and cgms and probably every other gadget available today. I actually learned about amylin today had never even heard of that before. I also did a bunch of other useful things for myself today. I switched endos, and suggested to the CDE at the clinic that it might be more useful to actually have lab work done a week before my next semi annual visit so that we can discuss what is happening currently as opposed to getting a note from the doctor 3 or 4 days after the appointment saying stay on the simvastatin and watch out for lows. She agreed completely but said most people aren't willing to go to the lab the week before their appointment ? I told her no one had ever given me the option, so next visit I am calling ahead and getting the lab work done before hand. I think it will be a much more productive visit, and heck when you only see the endo for about 30 minutes a year, you need to make the most of it.
The main reason I go to the appointment is to get my “score” on the tests!
I'm not in to low carbing either, heck I just got started carbing in the first place and I like carbs a lot.
yes me too and I am not a patient person so having to then wait 3-4 days for the results to appear in my mail box just pisses me off
Sounds like a good day, Clare! Yes, it makes sense to get the labs done before the visit! When I lived in Guatemala you could just walk into a lab, request a test and come back a couple days and get the results. Then you could take them to your doctor to discuss if you wanted.
Ah, so it sounds like Think Like a Pancreas kind of combines the general insulin info and pumping info. I've actually never read it because it sounds similar to Using Insulin. Seems like some people get attached to one book, some to the other. I do like the extra detail involved in a separate pumping book though.
Yes, amylin is an interesting concept,(that there is a hormone besides insulin we are lacking) though Symlin (brand name drug) is pretty complicated to take and works for some people not for others. I took it for a month, but my goal was weight loss not stabilizing blood sugar spikes and it did nothing at all for me.
They are both really good books but I like TLAP more as the tone seemed a bit more fun and conversational to me.
Well if I were to believe everything I read, symlin would be next on my list of things to discuss with the endo or cde, but I don't have a nagging need to lose weight and from your comments it sounds as though it is more worrk that it is worth. I know what you mean about the labs in Guatemala, my sister and brother in law live in Belize and besides being a great place to dive, it is also similar to Guatemala in lab procedures. Also you can pretty much walk in to any pharmacy and write your own prescriptions. My kind of medicine.
So far I like Think Like a Pancreas, he's a bit of a control freak, but it is entertaining reading.
I just started "Think Like a Pancreas" so far I like it, I like that he lives in my city, it makes me feel a connection, I am strange like that lol...I also love carbs! Random but true, diabetic carb lovers unite! :)
Actually the official use for Symlin is to reduce blood sugar spikes, and it did enable me to cut my insulin by a good 40%. But yes, it is enormously complex to dose and time and everyone is different. Plus once you go on your pump you really won't be dying to go back to 3 times a day shots!
Yep, any lab test and any medication without need for a prescription. They actually treat people like adults who are responsible for their own well-being! Also, since most people don't have insurance it's a way to save money without the need to go to the doctor just to get a lab slip or prescription written
Agreed about both the book and being a carb lover, I just had some thin crust Domino's hawaiian pineapple pizza for dinner. Granted I went on Calorie King to check the carb content and only had a small section, but it was really good and now I have leftovers for tomorrow.
Only problem is a lot of their medications come from batches that are expired or manufactured in some dubious locales. I don't think I would trust getting lantus or humalog in a third world pharmacy but I'll certainly trust them with ativan or something simple like that.
I actually used Lantus and Apidra there for 6 months with good results. Most countries have regulations that control these things to some extent - not as rigidly as the U.S., but I think we've become one of the most over regulated countries in the world in many different areas. Just my opinion.