Your Chance to Tell the FDA What It’s Like to Have Diabetes

It’s easy to criticize the FDA — people with diabetes do it all the time. Why are devices often approved/cleared in Europe several years before we get access to them in America? Why are there no officially approved ways to get CGM data on your smart phone? Why are there so few drugs approved for Type 1?

So I’m very happy to report on an upcoming event being organized by FDA that, from a patient’s perspective, is impossible not to praise: on November 3rd from 1-4 EST, the FDA is hosting a panel discussion between top FDA officials and representatives from the patient community, including people from JDRF, the American Diabetes Association, and diaTribe. The goal is to help open lines of communication between regulators and patient representatives, so that both sides can work together to make life with diabetes easier and safer for everyone. 

It’s a truly innovative event, and it comes on the heels of another first for the FDA: a live-chat about glucose monitors, which I wrote about back in March, between Bennet Dunlap (the man behind StripSafely.com), and the FDA’s Courtney Lias and Helene Clayton-Jeter. Registration for this latest webcast should be up soon, and you can follow the conversation in the meantime using the Twitter hashtag #DOCAsksFDA (DOC is short for diabetes online community).

But in the meantime, make yourself heard! Ten people in a room can’t possibly represent everyone with diabetes, no matter how hard they try — which is why the organizers have put together a quick survey to hear from as many people with diabetes as possible. The hope is that the responses they get will help shape both this particular event and the conversation going forward. So if you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes (or heck, any other form!), please take a minute and take this survey! It’s your chance to tell the FDA directly how diabetes affects your life, and what you hope the future might hold. (And do it now: the survey closes early next week.) 

Also, while I’m making suggestions, please get your Marjorie shirt already. All the cool kids have one. (Or at least the cool kids with diabetes.)

Thank you.

Catherine Price

Catherine Price (www.catherine-price.com) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism

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Catherine Price

Catherine Price was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism