CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Over the past few decades,
technology has been striving to keep up with a growing number of diabetic
patients. Some new advances are taking the time and hassle out of managing
diabetes.
For Kristin Duquaine, managing her type 1 diabetes is full-time job. She wears
an insulin pump and has to check her blood sugar six to 10 times a day.
"Your day starts, and the first thing you really think of is what is the blood
sugar," Duquaine told Ivanhoe.
New technology that allows meters and pumps to communicate wirelessly with each
other may make the process easier. After patients prick their fingers and the
glucose meter reads blood sugar levels, it sends that reading wirelessly to the
pump. A calculator figures the correct dose, the patient OKs it, and the pump
delivers the right amount of insulin.
"The number already gets sent to the pump, so you don’t have to enter it in the
pump," Thomas O'Connell, M.D., an endocrinologist from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C., told Ivanhoe.
Some diabetics are now using glucose sensors that constantly monitor blood sugar
levels. Every few minutes, the sensor takes a blood sugar reading. If the
patient's sugars are too high or low, an alarm sounds.
Unfortunately, insulin pumps don't work for everyone.
"The insulin pump wouldn’t work for me," Debra Lofton, a diabetes patient, told
Ivanhoe.
What has worked for Lofton is an injection port which has taken away the need
for so many daily sticks.
The port stays in place for three days before it must be changed out. Lofton
takes all seven daily doses for those three days through her port -- 21 in all.
"Whereas I would dread taking my insulin, I now take it willingly," Lofton said.
Advances that are making life easier for people with diabetes
The wireless meter-pump system is now available for people with both type 1 and
type 2 diabetes. The plastic injection port is available through prescription
only.
Good candidates for insulin pumps are knowledgeable about their disease, are
willing to monitor glucose levels regularly and be able to learn how the
technology works.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
American Diabetes Association
http://www.ada.org
(800) DIABETES (800-342-2383)
