[Diabetes-talk] questions from a fairly new list subscriber

Thu Mar 5 04:09:42 UTC 2009

Chanelle:

Although I cannot speak for her, if you want to speak with a diabetes educator with plenty of experience with blind diabetics, may I recommend Ann Williams. She monitors this list; her email address is clevelandann at sbcglobal.net and she knows her stuff. Not only that but she's a very nice lady!

As for the Voice of the Diabetic, it has begun to cost us so much money that we (NFB) have decided to cease its publication. Diabetes-related articles will appear in the NFB's monthly magazine, "The Braille Monitor" beginning, I understand, with the April issue.

That said, however, you can peruse many past issues of the Voice by going to the site http://www.voiceofthediabetic.org.

Additionally, as you've discovered, there are many, many people anxious and willing to help you if needed. I'm very glad you are on this list and participating.

Mike Freeman 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chanelle Hill" <chanellemh at gmail.com>
To: "'Diabetes Talk for the Bl'" <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, Mar 4, 2009 10:06:46
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] questions from a fairly new list subscriber

>
>
> Dear Mike,
> Thanks for replying to my message. I will check out the Braille Monitor. I
> subscribed to Voice of the Diabetic about a month ago and haven't received
> an issue yet. I opted to receive the publication via email.
> The CD I received from Blind Inc., seems to be a few years old since some of
> the articles date back to 2004, 2001, and those reprinted from the 90's.
> I would like to get connected with diabetes educators who have had
> experience working with the blind.
> That would be great if Prodigy made a talking pump!
> Minimed pumps have software that allows one to make changes to basal rates,
> the increment for easy bolis, time and date, and other items that are set
> through the pump menus. It would be nice if one could also use the software
> to program a bolis that would be delivered as soon as the pump was
> disconnected from the computer. For example, I think that the pump has bolis
> wizzard-coma feature to calculate insulin needed for carbs eaten and high
> blood sugars. These calculations can easily be made manually, but I think
> the pump also keeps track of active insulin.
> I will figure out who I could speak to at Minimed about this or pump
> accessibility. I appreciate your efforts to advocate accessibility with the
> insulin pump companies.
> 
> Chanelle
> -----Original Message-----
> From: diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 9:58 PM
> To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] questions from a fairly new list subscriber
> 
> Chanelle:
> 
> With respect to BLIND, Inc., it's a great rehab center. I know some of 
> the personnel who teach there and they're great folks and know what 
> they're about. If you go to http://www.nfb.org, thence to the 
> "Publications" link and thence to "The Braile Monitor", you can read a 
> review and description of the BLIND, Inc. program in a recent issue. 
> Just do a search for "Blind, INC." and you'll find it or just peruse the 
> tables of contents for the past few issues.
> 
> BLIND, Inc. had someone who specialized in diabetes management but don't 
> think there's one there now. However, there are a number of persons 
> there who have diabetes and who can probably put you in touch with 
> blindness-savvy COULDEs. Additionally, there's a lot of practical expertise 
> on this list.
> 
> Insofar as pump accessibility is concerned, I and several others from 
> the Diabetes Action Network are working on the problem. However, the 
> situation isn't much different than that which you described from an 
> article several years ago. Although at first blush it would seem that it 
> would be easy to make an insulin pump talk, it isn't quite as simple as 
> one might suppose. One has to determine what must be spoken when and in 
> what form (for example, if one is using a pump with a CGMS system, often 
> the information is graphically displayed, not numerically displayed and 
> one must figure out how to convey this verbally). WE have had some 
> communication with one pump manufacturer which has showed a bit of 
> interest. However, if truth be told, despite what we might think, the 
> blind (and yes, I mean the visually impaired also) are a pretty small 
> segment of the market so pump manufacturers have to be shown a good 
> reason for making the investment in access technology. AS I say, we're 
> working on it. I doubt anything is in the immediate offing.
> 
> AS to the Clevercheck, I've not seen one but suspect that it is like the 
> Prodigy Autocode or the Advocate in that it would speak a bg reading --  
> once -- but that all other functions would be inaccessible. But I 
> emphasize that I'm going on a hunch, not on knowledge.
> 
> We'll keep working on the pump problem, though!
> 
> Mike Freeman, President
> Diabetes Action Network
> National Federation of the Blind
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Chanelle Hill" <chanellemh at gmail.com>
> To: <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 1:27 PM
> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] questions from a fairly new list subscriber
> 
> 
> Dear List Members,
> 
> I read an article about insulin pumps that someone from NFB wrote 
> several
> years ago, and so I thought I would join this list to see if anyone has 
> had
> improved accessibility with the pump and for other diabetes issues. I am 
> a
> Type I diabetic, and I have been using the Minimed Paradigm 512 insulin 
> pump
> and the Prodigy Voice meter. I know that NFB is heavily involved in
> advocacy, but what has been done to inform insulin pump companies of the
> need for more accessible pumps? Is there any way to become involved in
> advocating for better accessibility? It would be wonderful to use the 
> new
> Minimed Continuous Glucose Monitoring system, but the meter needed to
> calibrate the pump doesn't talk. It seems like that could easily be 
> fixed
> since there are already talking glucometers. I spoke with a rep from 
> Minimed
> about upgrading my pump and asked if Minimed was working on a pump that
> would be more accessible. She thought that the company was, but no one 
> has
> gotten back to me.
> 
> It sounds like someone is having problems with the Prodigy Voice meter 
> on
> this list? After calling and waiting a few weeks to get some more 
> strips, I
> found out that Homecare Solutions is no longer carrying the strips for
> Prodigy Voice and that they are carrying a new meter that is supposedly 
> like
> the Prodigy called the Clever Check. Have any of you heard of this new
> meter? Hopefully it has all of the audible features and more accessible
> software (that's almost too much to ask :com) (.
> 
> Finally my last question. I am checking out state rehabilitation centers 
> in
> Minnesota-one of which is Blind Inc. On the CD that SSB sent me 
> containing a
> BLIND cyber brochure, a class for diabetes management was mentioned. Do 
> you
> know if that is still taught? Apart from that, have any of you had
> experience with the training programs at Blind Inc.?
> 
> Thanks in advance for answering my questions.
> 
> 
> 
> Chanelle
> 
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