My Insulin Pen I woke up this morning with slightly elevated BS levels. So I ate a little breakfast – a salad with some quinoa – and took 4 units of insulin (Apidra) and set off to do some errands. When I came home four hours later I was hungry again so I ate some more salad with a bit of quinoa and checked my BS again. I...

Where I Left Off In the last installment of my symlin saga, I had found that Symlin, Amlyn Pharmaceutical‘s synthetic amylin, helped slow gastric emptying and reduce post-prandial spikes. I also found that Symlin had to be injected subcutaneously, either with the Symlin Pen or from a second pump, and that allegedly, Symlin and insulin...

One of the biggest takeaways for me from the ADA Scientific Sessions was that I needed to learn about the magic drug everyone was talking about, Symlin. So, over the past week, I’ve been doing some reading, and this is what I’ve found: Symlin (also known by the generic name pramlintide acetate) is Amylin Pharmaceutical‘s...

I should have known. I should have known when I launched the Minimed Minilink Continuous Glucose Monitor’s javelin-sized sensor at my abdomen, and it stopped halfway in. I should have known when I tried to push it in that last half-inch, and I let out an involuntary whimper of pain as it refused. I should have known when I felt...

I just spent an exhausting day visiting the CERN laboratory in Switzerland — you know, the place where they’re trying to get protons to collide to try to figure out how the universe began, and other light subjects. (Many thanks to Karmel for pointing out that even particle accelerators are sensitive to carbs.) I was expecting...

I suppose it’s not the best idea to let a kitten eat the tube connecting you to your mechanical pancreas — but it was so funny, I couldn’t help it. swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.youtube.com/v/WewXATlHoNQ&rel=0&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=0", "vvq-8450-youtube-1", "425", "344", "10", vvqexpressinstall,...

It’s been about three months now with my new Continuous Glucose Monitor. I love it, and I refuse to go back to the old, pre-CGM days– maintaining glucose control is so much easier with constant tracking and visibility into rates of change, and as a result, it is so much easier to be less anxious about my blood sugar all the...

Crystal Bowersox, a type 1 diabetic and this year’s American Idol runner-up, recently said in an interview that there were times when she had to beg for insulin because she couldn’t afford it.  Anyone who depends on insulin injections for survival knows that having to beg for insulin is like having to beg for air.  No one should...

Yes. Yes. Yes. Finally a good race. Well sort of a good race. I ran the Tel Aviv half marathon this morning. I did things right this time.  Last night before the race, I had a light dinner of eggs, salad and a couple slices of whole wheat bread and got to bed at a decent hour. I took 19 units of Lantus insulin (1 less than usual) before...

Traveling with diabetes is hard; routines change, food is often different or intermittently available, supplies become worth their weight in gold, and since every little thing affects blood sugar under the best of circumstances, every little thing often sees fit to make lots of noise during trips away from home. Nonetheless, traveling...