• Ups and Downs of the Pump
• Youth and the Pump
• Healthy Living
• Q & A
• Helpful Links
• Diabetes News

Welcome to the August 2007 edition of Access Digest. Insulin pumps have become a hot topic as more and more people with diabetes are beginning to use them. We thought this month might be a good time to see what's new in this leading edge technology, with articles about their use for both children and the elderly. We've also included a true story about one user, featured in a short video segment.

Our Lifestyle Tip for August is about the potential impact on our lives from pump therapy and our Recipe of the Month is a light summertime treat -- swordfish.

As always, when you see "Read More" at the end of an article, or something that is underlined, you can click on it to be linked to another Web site where you'll find more information. When you find a site that you may want to visit again in the future, you can bookmark it.

Each month we receive questions from our readers. We post some of the more frequent questions and answers for everyone to read. If you have questions or comments of your own, please e-mail them to us at the end of this issue.

We hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter. Thank you for choosing Access Diabetic Supply as your choice for diabetic supplies.

Before you make a decision as to whether or not an insulin pump is right for you or your child, it is a good idea to know the facts first.

Many people have chosen the insulin pump because they believe it enables them to enjoy a more flexible lifestyle. The basal-bolus coverage that a pump provides eliminates the need for long-lasting insulin. While those insulin injections have worked well for some, they forced people to eat a set amount of food at an exact time of the day in order to balance the insulin's most powerful point (called "peaks"). Since pumps use only short-acting insulin, the insulin isn't put into the body until it's needed. Which can mean fewer insulin reactions.

A pump puts the user in control. Many brands of pumps allow the wearer to set different basal rates for different times of day to match various levels of activity, sleep, or to help deal with the high glucose levels that can occur just before waking.

It may sound odd that a machine that's almost constantly connected to you would provide more freedom, but many pump users believe that's true. In many ways, a pump is self-contained. Injecting at mealtime is a simple matter of pushing a button and letting the pump do the work. That's especially welcome outside the home -- in the lunchroom, on dates, or sleepovers, for example.

Read More

How Effective is Insulin Pump Therapy?

In recent years, treatment with insulin pump therapy has become more and more common in young people with type 1 diabetes. Some studies have shown that insulin pump therapy is better in the short term than normal insulin therapy, which requires multiple shots of insulin each day. Yet, there aren't many studies that have looked at the long-term effects of insulin pump therapy and whether it's better than normal insulin therapy.

The researchers of this study wanted to compare insulin pump therapy with normal therapy, which consists of multiple shots of insulin each day, for 1 year in young people who have type 1 diabetes.

Read More

"The first step really was to get an insulin pump," she says. All those years I had rejected getting one because I didn't want a constant reminder that I had diabetes. I would tell friends, 'Sometimes when I go out I'd just like to be able to forget that I'm a diabetic.' Obviously, that really wasn't working for me."

Although Melissa has been on the pump for a mere three months, her life has changed significantly. The seizures have stopped, she rarely has a blood sugar level above 200 (a daily occurrence before the pump), and she finally has energy again. "Something had to change. I realized that my lack of control wasn't just hurting my body but was affecting everyone I loved, too. That's when I took control."

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August Lifestyle Tip: Insulin Pumps for the Elderly

A significant number of elderly people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes that was diagnosed in childhood or young adulthood. Their insulin injections often lead to microvascular complications of neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy, as well as macrovascular disease. Others have type 2 diabetes, which increases in incidence with age, physical inactivity and weight gain. These factors are known to increase insulin resistance and impair ß-cell function, thus contributing to progression of this disease.

Treatment methods for diabetes in the elderly include lifestyle changes, dietary manipulation, weight management, oral agents and insulin, which is commonly given in the form of one or more daily injections. Continuous insulin infusion by an insulin pump has gained increasing acceptance in recent years as an effective mode of insulin delivery.

The pump continuously delivers short-acting insulin at a predetermined basal rate, which is pre-programmed according to the individual's 24-hour glycemic profile. The greatest factor in convincing the increasing number of physicians and patients who embrace pump therapy has been its proven ability to improve glycemic control, reduce the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes and improve quality of life by allowing for more scheduling flexibility and variability.

Read More

This month our featured recipe is a light seafood treat called Summertime Swordfish.

Below are a few of the typical questions our customer care department has answered on this month's theme. Each question is linked to a Web site that gives an answer and provides more detail. We hope you find this section helpful.