Halloween Help for Diabetes

Halloween can be a real nightmare for many parents of kids with diabetes. Remember to keep the focus on the fun tonight. dLife has the tricks and treats you need to make the day (and night) great.

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Condiment Confab

Proof that there is a lobbying group for virtually everything -- the Association of Dressings and Sauces makes a statement about the upcoming National Diabetes Month.

RELATED: Sauces, Spreads, and Dressings from the dLife Recipe Box

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FTC and FDA Target Healthcare Fraud

Last week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration announced a crackdown on internet health fraud intended to "stop deceptive...advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes." The web sweep resulted in the issuance of twenty-four FDA warning letters. The two agencies also launched a provocative website designed to educate consumers about the pitfalls of "too good to be true" online health elixirs.

RELATED: Learn the Red Flags of Health Care Fraud

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Rollback Redux

Wal-Mart expands its $4 generic prescription program today with its announcement that it will be launching the program in fourteen additional states - covering 1,264 stores located in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont. Wal-Mart debuted the program in Florida pharmacies in early October.

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Januvia: The New Kid On The Block

The DPP-IV inhibitors have arrived! Merck's Januvia (sitagliptin phosphate), the first in class of this new drug, received FDA approval yesterday. Januvia works by enhancing the body's ability to release insulin after blood sugar rises, such as after a meal. A second DPP-IV, Novartis's Galvus (vildagliptin), is expected to receive FDA approval later this year). Join the discussion about Januvia in the dLife Forum now, or post a comment below.

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Rethinking Lifestyle Change

If you have type 2 diabetes, chances are you've heard the mantra "diet and exercise" so many times that it's become background noise. You know you should do it, but how is the question. In this morning's New York Times, Gina Kolata asks "Should diabetes specialists even bother to advise patients to try helping themselves through diet and exercise first, before prescribing drugs?"

In August, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) issued a joint consensus statement that changed the way type 2 diabetes is treated right out of the starting gate. The oral drug metformin now joins diet and exercise as the front line treatment for those newly diagnosed with type 2. While acknowledging the power of even minor lifestyle changes in improving diabetes control, the authors of the consensus statement stated that " the limited long-term success of lifestyle programs to maintain glycemic goals in patients with type 2 diabetes suggests that a large majority of patients will require the addition of medications over the course of their diabetes."

Now, that question may be extended to prediabetes, as new studies confirm the preventative power of oral diabetes medications. Will the diet and exercise message be diffused even further with the promise of an easier solution? Behavior change is tough, and if you take away the motivation, it gets even tougher.

So are we being realists or defeatists in turning to medication as our first line of defense against diabetes? Will the new guidelines improve control or make diet and exercise an even lower priority? How do we harness the tremendous potential of diabetes medications while promoting healthy habits? We want to hear what you think....comment below!

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Counterfeit Test Strip Alert

The U.S. FDA has issued a nationwide warning alerting consumers to counterfeit blood glucose test strips being sold in the United States for use with various models of One Touch blood glucose monitors (LifeScan). Anyone with One Touch Basic/Profile and One Touch Ultra strips should check the packaging lot numbers. Consumers can also call LifeScan at 1-866-621-4855 for more details.

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Very Superstitious?

Very superstitious? Do you consider it an omen if you get three bad test strips in a row, or do you have…::shudder::… a lucky lancet? If, as the song says, “you believe in things that you don’t understand” when it comes to your diabetes, we want to here about them this Friday the 13th. Comment below!

RELATED: Diabetes Myths, Misperceptions, and Big Fat Lies

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Forgiveness is Divine

If you live with diabetes-related complications and believe that they happened because you ignored past advice, forgive yourself. Some of your issues will improve if you take better care of yourself and future complications can still be avoided or delayed. You have a great life ahead of you, so try to start each day with a positive attitude. dLife columnist Janis Roszler, LD/N, CDE has some suggestions to help you do just that.

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Your 15 Minutes of Fame

dLifeTV is recruiting people to appear in upcoming shows on pumping, type 2 diabetes medications, and dealing with diabetes in the workplace. Find out more about these and other dLifeTV topics here.

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Lilly for Life

Eli Lilly has announced the 2006 recipients of the company's annual LillyforLife Achievement Awards, which "honor the inspiring achievements of people who make lasting personal or professional contributions to the diabetes community." You may recall that dLifeTV won in the journalism category last year. This year, dLife columnist and blogger Amy Tenderich won journalism accolades for her work at diabetesmine.com.

The official press release from Eli Lilly:

Lilly Announces LillyforLife™ Achievement Award Winners
Program Honors Outstanding Personal and Professional Achievements in Diabetes

INDIANAPOLIS – Building on its longtime leadership and commitment to improving diabetes care, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) today announced five winners of the 2006 LillyforLife™ Achievement Awards. The winners include a teenage singer and actress with diabetes; a recently retired rehabilitation counselor who, though blinded by the disease, assists others with disabilities; an internationally recognized pioneer of pediatric diabetology; a devoted mother of a woman with type 1 diabetes; and a journalist with diabetes who started a successful web log (blog).

The LillyforLife Achievement Awards honor the inspiring achievements of people who make lasting personal or professional contributions to the diabetes community. Nominees were judged by a panel of diabetes care advocates in five categories: Young Champion with diabetes (age 17 and under); Adult Achiever with diabetes (age 18 and over); Professional Hero (health professional, educator, advocate); Friendly Face (caregiver, spouse, partner, friend); and Journalism.

Each winner receives a $1,500 cash prize (or an equivalent donation made in their name to the charity of their choice; the prize for the professional category is automatically donated) and an etched trophy. The winners were recognized at an awards banquet on Sept. 6 in Indianapolis.

The 2006 LillyforLife Achievement Award recipients:

Jessica Stone, Agua Dulce, Calif., was the winner in the Young Champion category. An 11th grade honor student, Stone has overcome several health challenges while managing her diabetes. She volunteers at diabetes camps, is an accomplished singer and actress and voices the Disney Channel character “Stanley” in the children’s animated series.

Patricia Ann La France-Wolf, Temple City, Calif., was named winner in the Adult Achiever category. Diagnosed with diabetes when she was 2, La France-Wolf pursued a career in nursing. When diabetic retinopathy took her vision, she became a rehabilitation counselor and has devoted her new career to assisting people with diabetes-related disabilities.

Dr. Arlan Rosenbloom, Gainesville, Fla., is the winner in the Professional Hero category. An innovator of programs for children with diabetes, Rosenbloom started the pediatric diabetes program at the University of Florida, pioneered the team approach to pediatric diabetes care, and founded Florida’s camps for children with diabetes. Dr. Rosenbloom is an Adjunct Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of Florida.

Julia Ziemieski, Plainfield, Conn., was named winner in the Friendly Face category. A devoted mother, Ziemieski has provided unwavering support to her daughter with type 1 diabetes. Her daughter credits Ziemieski with providing the strength, hope and ability to help her manage this disease.

Amy Tenderich, San Francisco, is the winner in the Journalism category. Tenderich, who has diabetes, founded the diabetes blog “DiabetesMine.com” in 2005. From product reviews to personal accounts and interviews to the most up-to-date diabetes news, Amy reaches people with diabetes and the general public with her accurate and timely reporting.

In addition, Lilly also presented two special awards at this year’s recognition banquet:

An honorary LillyforLife Award to an assistance dog who saved the life of her owner. By pressing “9” on the telephone, “Belle” summoned help for her owner Kevin Weaver, of Orlando, Fla., who has type 1 diabetes and fell unconscious due to a severe low blood sugar reaction. Both Belle and Weaver were present to accept this special recognition – a set of engraved LillyforLife dog tags for Belle.

The newly established “Jack McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award” was given to its namesake Jack McCarthy of Wichita, Kan. Beginning in 2007, the award will be given annually to acknowledge a person with diabetes who during his or her lifetime has made outstanding contributions to the diabetes community. McCarthy, 73, has type 1 diabetes and was singled out for this honor because of his passionate commitment to inspire and energize others with the condition. In 1996, he gained significant public attention for diabetes by walking from his Kansas home to Atlanta for the Summer Olympics, highlighted by walking a leg of the Olympic Torch relay. In the decades since, he has continued to encourage and educate people about diabetes, a commitment that Lilly is pleased to recognize with this new award.

“The LillyforLife Achievement Awards demonstrate Lilly’s long-standing commitment to the improvement of diabetes care and education, and provide an opportunity to recognize the good work of people in individual communities,” said Ron Hoven, Insulins Brand Director, Eli Lilly and Company. “Diabetes can be a difficult disease to manage, but with proper blood sugar control, people with diabetes can succeed and live full, active lives. The stories of these winners should serve as inspiration to us all as we strive to improve the care of people with diabetes.”

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