I’ve seen pumpers “in the wild” plenty of times. Let’s see, there’s the librarian - who DOES NOT want to make friends over “hey, we’re all in this togehter” - at the library we go to most frequently. There was the girl at the beach wearing an Omnipod. There was a girl in my daughter’s summer camp with a matching green Ping.
When my daughter was first dx, the rector of our church hooked up us with another parishoner, an adult with T1, and he’s quite the friend to Clara now. But the funny part was a few weeks later, a woman’s phone started ringing during Sunday School, and she had to flee. Phone? No. Her pump! Up to that time, the rector did not know that this lady was T1, even though she’s been an active member of the church for years. Boy were we all surprised!
Yes you’re right…maybe you saw him on Larry King Live as I did in January before the Slip on the ice. He was indeed in good form.
I also know how and why a person can swell up in hospital due to intravenous bags. Since Dr Atkins body was unconscious, lying flat, the liquids do not drain out and intravenous bags of a saline base are bound to cause swelling.
I once entered a hospital unconscious, via ambulance, so my boyfriend, who had followed in his car, was there to witness said he saw them attasch 7 drip bags to me. Then three days later when I signed myself out after I came to and realized what had happened, I said they were doing me a lot of harm. I had gone in at 135 lbs and when I stepped on the scale at home I was 176 lbs in just 3 days when I got out.
Everybody has some level of heart disease. Anyone with high blood pressure has been having years of plaque build up…long explanation of why…My blood pressure is normal or low.
I am an avid fan of Dr Atkins, but I disagree with his implication that eating “all you want” works…because it doesn’t. I have never even tried pork rinds. I don’t eat a lot of fat. What comes in nuts is defintely good for you, but by having just the natural nuts, there is less chance of wanting more than a minimum.
Walnuts raise HDL and Almonds lower LDL and one year my LDL was 2.04, my HDL 2.13 and LDL-C+Chol/HDL-C Ratio was 2.08.
That’s when my endo was amazed. And it is due to low carb and low fat, but nuts and supplements.
So Knorris is right, and if you read his books, you will know more. My favorite book of Dr Atkins is his dictionary on supplements which I said is now on sale for $6 at amazon.com in the USA.
I think people are happy when many things are working out well in their life and when they are healthy which includes being slim and fit and energetic. You won’t believe anything until you see it works for you.
What you do with running Acidrock is very admirable…when I am being good and happy with myself, I choose walking, as that’s my name, but I’m not doing a lot recently.
I agree with a lot of your philosophies…and I am also a red wine maker and drinker in small quantities, but I was sorry that you said you would not try supplements and prefer to save and spend the money on alcohol. The reason I make wine is that it is cheaper that way.
But VitC has meant my GGT level is 14 IU/L, but it had been 20 in 2000 and 21 in 2005. I discovered Dr Klenner’s writings about VitC in the last year. However I have been having calcium Ascorbate the buffered VitC for 10 years already, but I just decided to increase it, so that is how the GGT went down to 14. I also only rarely open a bottle of my wine, as I strategically store it in a locker 1 mile away.
The fat that comes in nuts is definitely good for you, but by having just the natural nuts, there is less chance of wanting more than a minimum. Roasted nuts are too good. For breakfast I had peanuts in the shell with hot green tea because I’m out of espresso, temporarily.
Walnuts raise HDL and Almonds lower LDL and one year my LDL was 2.04, my HDL 2.13 and LDL-C+Chol/HDL-C Ratio was 2.08.
That’s when my endo was amazed. And it is due to low carb and low fat, but nuts and supplements.
I agree there are other things other than health. Music probably means a lot to you. I agree, but I seem to have put it aside, to concentrate on reading, and news programs. I used to play the piano 30 years ago.
I agree with your comment about people’s interpretation of Atkins…I say "yikes’ is a really cute way of putting it…what horrified me was the recommendation to coat things in sour cream.
I drive by Portillo’s every day and sit in the wafted Italian beef at a red light. It is really good stuff. I try to only eat one every couple of months but that is seriously worth running 10 miles for…
My coolest pump sighting was in 2008 when I traveled to Ireland with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews. The boys were competing in a martial arts tournament and the US teams were warming up. I turned around to try to get a shot of the older nephew when I spotted a pump (pretty sure it was an Animas) attached to a participant’s karategi! Totally cool. Best part, besides the fact that my nephews came home with bronze, silver, and gold medals, was the young lady who was wearing the pump won a gold medal! I watched her, and she was quite deserving of the honor.
I just blogged about my pump sighting - had forgotten about Karen’s thread. I saw a young girl today on the bus when I was in Ottawa. It wasn’t until she got off at a bus stop that I realised why the metallic pink device on her jean pocket caught my attention - another Animas insulin pump user. I almost wanted to shout after her - but she’d think I was a nut case old fruit loop lady The other thing is - she was sitting on my right across the isle - again - I just noticed this as she went out of the bus! So cool, since this is about my 2nd sighting of an insulin pump wearer in the past 3 years!
Nut case old fruit loop lady! ROFL! Good one, Anna!! Over the past three years, I’ve gotten to talk with 4 or 5 pump users and see each of the three “big brands” (MiniMed, Animas, and OmniPod) up close and personal. Ironically, only one of the people I met who were using the pumps worked for the company that made their pump. You’d think the pump manufacturers would want to hire sales people who actually use the product!
Everytime that I have met a pumper who worked for a pump company, they always had their companies pump on. Otherwise it would be like a Ford Salesman trying to sell Mustangs while driving a Camaro(Camaro the far better car!!!)
Well, it’s like the AADE (American Association of Diabetes Educators). They are ONLY interested in training professionals who may or may not be diabetic for roles in diabetes education (and very little in the way of emotional support). My pump trainer is married to a diabetic. But it’s NOT the same thing! They totally ignore the vast resources that could be offered by PWDs with lots of experience, education, knowledge and common sense.
It would be entirely possible to set up a Peer Mentor program, WITH training in all types of diabetes, and ethical behavior (there are some things that have to be left to CDEs and doctors), but which would provide the newly diagnosed as well as the burnt-out with a new lease on life. But they refuse to even consider it, although there are individual CDE’s who do understand the idea.
It’s why I like sites like this – kind of doing an end-run around the institutional barriers, and talking to our own. The only proviso being that you have to be intelligent enough to know what is realistic and what is not. Pomegranate cure, anyone?
I agree that message boards are very useful. The transparency of the forum acts as a check and any serious disagreement about scientific issues can be resolved, or at least debated, with citations to substantiate one’s position. I would like to see more effort by a large body, like the AMA, work more effectively yo develop strategies to integrate forums into treatment. I’ve mentioned them to doctors but it’s almost like they instantly recall the meeting where the lawyer told them their malpractice insurance will cost more if they mention the internet to a patient.
No, they were simply people I had met. The one person I met who had a pump and who worked for a pump company used and sold Animas pumps. Now, I did get a chance to meet a member of Team Type 1 (the cycling group that has won the Ride Across America 3 times) – Matt Brooks, one of the younger members of the team – at a Diabetes Expo in NYC. Team Type 1 and especially the type 1 RAAM are sponsored by Insulet/OmniPod, but being sponsored by a company and being employed by a company are two different things, as I’m sure you know.
How wonderful that he had no problem with it showing, as many of the TYPE I’s I know are embarassed to have the pump showing. Good for him. As for his being thin, we come in all sizes, shapes, forms and health problems. But do we know for sure that he didn’t have other things going on with his health, not really without talking to him. He may eat the food at OG…just be a little more careful, than I can be in there. Karen, we are all on our own road here, and it’s so neat that you and your husband can notice things like that and revel in the idea that it’s just a normal thing for some. Good luck with your journey.
LOL, Natalie! Pomegranate cure! Uh huh, with an orange juice kicker (since magnesium supposedly “cures” diabetes, too) ! You’re right in that the AADE is interested in training only health care professionals, such as nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, podiatrists, and doctors, and secondarily training mental health professionals such as clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, and certain social workers. Medical sales, though, doesn’t necessarily require you to be an RN or even a CDE. For instance, read the following description of a sales rep in Queens, NY for Lifescan:
This position requires a 4 year degree, as well as, a minimum of 2 years of outside sales experience preferred. 3-5 years of sales experience in a healthcare professional sales environment or experience in professional diabetes care or related healthcare fields strongly preferred. Candidates must have a valid driver's license issued in one of the 50 United States and a clean driving record. This position may require overnight and/or weekend travel. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Preference will be given to candidates living within 30 miles of the territory, with documented history of proven sales success in outside sales, pharmaceutical, or medical products industry.
Nothing in there that says the candidate needs to be a nurse or CDE. Why not have a diabetic sell the product? Why not have someone who actually uses the product visit the endos and demonstrate the product to them? Having a for-real person who is wearing the pump, who can describe the day-to-day ups and downs, the for-real problems, such as the “pizza problem” or the infamous cat-chewing-on-tubing problems, could help doctors have greater insight into which patients might benefit more from the pump and which ones might not.
Of course, none of this negates the need for a peer mentoring program! Trainers, CDEs, Endos, and the host of other professionals are perfectly appropriate for one level of learning. However, CDEs have known for years that, in order for behaviors to become more permenant, frequent contact needs to occur. While insurance companies have duped everyone into believing that the twice yearly endo meetings and annual meetings with dietitians and CDEs consititute “sufficient” contact, the truth is this contact insufficient, and that can be seen in the percentage of poor A1cs, the lack of understanding of bg readings, heck, the percentage of people who do not have meters. Also consider there are not enough CDEs or endos (and endos numbers are declining) to meet with all diabetics. Peer mentoring can fill a need that would otherwise remain unmet.
We are on the same wavelength, Angela! Just tonight I went to our bimonthly pump support group, and there was a new woman there, and all she had been told was to order her supplies, and they would show her how to insert the set. Well, WHAT supplies? No suggestion as to what set to order. She is very slim, and some of the horizontal sets are going to be too long for her, and result in a lot of problems. She finally settled on the Silhouette, but they didn’t teach her to insert it at a shallow angle, so she was hitting muscle anyway, and getting lots of no-delivery alarms, and seeing wildly fluctuating BGs. No one went over her basals with her, and she’s trying to figure out how much insulin to take for food and can’t figure out why it fluctuates so much. Well, if her basals are screwy, then her meal and PP BGs aren’t going to be manageable, either.
My heart went out to her – is medical care really getting that negligent? The best I could do, was to recommend her getting Pumping Insulin and Think Like a Pancreas, hoping that if she read them, she would begin to get a handle on how to at least start minimizing the fluctuations. The CDE there couldn’t help her all that much either, because so much depends on who the doctor chooses to manage diabetes education. And I started thinking about all the people who don’t even get to a support group.
I did tell her about TuDiabetes – I hope she gets on, and I hope she’s able to navigate the site, because it’s really very extensive, and might be overwhelming to a not-so-confident newbie. And I hope she comes to the next group – she was amazed that she wasn’t the only one who had fluctuations in BGs and trouble starting the pump. There is so much more for her to learn, and I hope she keeps at it.
