7 Adhesives to Keep Your Diabetes Devices Stuck This Summer is a great review of tapes, sticky stuff and other adhesives for diabetes devices by Kerri Sparling on ASweetLife.org, June 2018.
Summer is coming, and with the sunshine and hot days come sweat, sand, and other seasonal woes that compromise the stickiness of your diabetes devices. It can be a challenge to keep insulin pump sites, CGM sensors, and other diabetes gadgets stuck safely and firmly in the hot, hot heat. But it can be BEYOND frustrating when the edges of your device tape start to curl and unfurl … especially if it’s only been a day or two.
Nobody has time for that.
We have a few tapes, sticky overlays, and other adhesives for diabetes devices that can help your stuff stay stuck. Check out the list below for tapes that are sometimes fun, always sticky, and occasionally covered by insurance.
Read more: 7 Adhesives to Keep Your Diabetes Devices Stuck This Summer
Automated Insulin Delivery (Artificial Pancreas, Closed Loop) is an overview (diaTribe.org, 31 May 2018) of the automated insulin delivery field, focused on companies working to get products approved. Do-it-yourself automated insulin delivery systems like OpenAPS and Loop are not included here, though they are currently available and used by a growing number of motivated, curious users.
T
he development of automated insulin delivery has many names – artificial pancreas, hybrid closed loop, Bionic Pancreas, predictive low glucose suspend – but all share the same goal: using continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and smart algorithms that automatically adjust insulin delivery via pump. The goal of these products is to reduce/eliminate hypoglycemia, improve time-in-range, and reduce hyperglycemia – especially overnight.
See the chart of US products: Who is Closing the Loop and How Fast Are They Moving?
Two Pills for Type 1 Diabetes Under US and European Review was presented on diaTribe.org, 6 April 2018, in a discussion about Farxiga and Sotagliflozin.
For the first time, regulators are reviewing two pills as potential “adjunct” or add-on therapies for adults with type 1 diabetes to take in addition to insulin. The European Medicines Agency (EMA, European equivalent of FDA) is considering Farxiga, an SGLT-2 inhibitor taken as a once-daily pill, while both the EMA and the FDA are looking at sotagliflozin, an SGLT-1/SGLT-2 dual inhibitor that does not yet have a commercial name. Reviews generally take about a year, meaning that Farxiga and sotagliflozin could be approved in the first few months of 2019.
These medications can’t replace insulin in type 1 diabetes care. But they do usually lower insulin dose requirements while helping to reduce highs and lows and contributing to weight loss.
Read more: Two Pills for Type 1 Diabetes Under US and European Review
Is there a shortage of endocrinologists? Yup! Does it matter where you live? Yup! I saw these slides in a presentation by Dr. Ed Damiano of Beta Bionics … and I was horrified and saddened. Most diabetics in the US have very limited access to endocrinologists … and it’s even more scarce for pediatric T1s. I can’t even fathom the care (or lack of care) worldwide. It’s a bit hard to see these charts clearly … if you’d like the original document, please send me an email requesting the PDF to joanne@thesavvydiabetic.com.
Endocrinologist accessibility for adults aged 18–64 years by US county, 2012. (a) Percentage of adults aged 18–64 years who had access to
at least one endocrinologist with 20 miles. (b) Ratio of adults aged 18–64 years to endocrinologist for covered population within 20 miles
Pediatric endocrinologist accessibility for children aged 0–17 years by US county, 2012. (a) Percentage of children aged 0–17 years who
had access to at least one pediatric endocrinologist within 20 miles (b) Ratio of children aged 0–17 years to pediatric endocrinologist for covered
population within 20 miles
The issue of endocrinologists stems in large part from Medicare reimbursement for this specialty. I knwo not all PWD’s use Medicare, but almost all reimbursement rates in the US is based at least in part on what Medicare pays. With such low reimbursement rates we need to approach Medicare to help them understand that their policies are in part creating a shortage. While we are at, lets remind them we need more rheumatologists as well.