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Arden's Day Blog

Arden's Day is a type I diabetes care giver blog written by author Scott Benner. Scott has been a stay-at-home dad since 2000, he is the author of the award winning parenting memoir, 'Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal'. Arden's Day is an honest and transparent look at life with diabetes - since 2007.

type I diabetes, parent of type I child, diabetes Blog, OmniPod, DexCom, insulin pump, CGM, continuous glucose monitor, Arden, Arden's Day, Scott Benner, JDRF, diabetes, juvenile diabetes, daddy blog, blog, stay at home parent, DOC, twitter, Facebook, @ardensday, 504 plan, Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal, Dexcom SHARE, 生命是短暂的,洗衣是永恒的, Shēngmìng shì duǎnzàn de, xǐyī shì yǒnghéng de

Filtering by Category: Daddy's Blog

Daylight Saving Time to Fall Back

Scott Benner

It's that time again and whether you are a fan of the practice of Daylight Saving Time (I thought Saving had an S at the end until today) or not, it's about to happen.

In 2017 most of our watches, clocks and appliances adjust themselves but there are still a few items in the world that aren't connected to the Internet and much of your diabetes technology falls into that category. 

Don't forget to adjust the time on your meter, continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump this weekend.

The person that came up with daylight saving must have had a child with type 1 diabetes, because who else considers two in the morning to be a viable time to accomplish something? 

Daylight saving officially ends this year at 2 a.m. on November 5th but you can adjust your D-tech anytime before you go to bed. Be cautious, some insulin pumps will suspend bolus calculation assistance for a period of time after your adjust it's clock - plan accordingly.

If you want to learn more about Daylight Saving there is a quick video and detailed blog post over on National Geographic that you may enjoy.


"No good. Diabetes." - Donald Trump 

Scott Benner

Have diabetes? Trump thinks that makes you unable to perform your job.

This blog post will be quoting a reporter from Jonathan Swan at Axios.com. Jonathan is citing sources who say that Donald Trump believes he'll be replacing four supreme court justices during his term. 

"Asked how he comes to that jaw-dropping number, Trump mentions the obvious: he's already replaced Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch, and there are rumors Anthony Kennedy will retire."

"Ok," one source told Trump, "so that's two. Who are the others?"

"Ginsburg," Trump replied. "What does she weigh? 60 pounds?"

"Who's the fourth?" the source asked.

"Sotomayor," Trump said, referring to the relatively recently-appointed Obama justice, whose name is rarely, if ever, mentioned in speculation about the next justice to be replaced. 

Trump explained...

"Her health, No good. Diabetes."

In ten years of writing about type 1 diabetes I've perhaps posted twice about something even remotely political. But today it is being reported that the President of the United States believes that type 1 diabetes is an impediment to acting as a Supreme Court Justice. I would like to know what further bias Trump holds against people living with chronic illness. If Justice Sotomayor can lose her job for having type 1, can you? Maybe she doesn't deserve healthcare? Why is it so easy for Trump to dismiss a human being because they happen to have type 1 diabetes? Why is the person making decisions about how the country receives healthcare so painfully unaware of what it means to live with type 1 diabetes. 

Please consider sharing this image on your social media channels and ask news agencies to look deeper into the Axios story. Use the hashtag #RespectUs


Novo Nordisk Receives FDA Approval for Fiasp®, a New Fast-Acting Mealtime Insulin

Scott Benner

Press release 

Plainsboro, N.J. (September 29, 2017) – Novo Nordisk today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Fiasp® (insulin aspart injection) 100 Units/mL, a fast-acting mealtime insulin indicated to improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Fiasp® Can be dosed at the beginning of a meal or within 20 minutes after starting a meal. Fiasp® is a new formulation of NovoLog, in which the addition of niacinamide (vitamin B3) helps to increase the speed of the initial insulin absorption, resulting in an onset of appearance in the blood in approximately 2.5 minutes.

Fiasp® will be available in a pre-filled delivery device FlexTouch pen and a 10 mL vial.

Many adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes struggle with blood sugar control after meals. The result of this has led to many people with diabetes not achieving their target A1C.

 “With Fiasp®, we’ve built on the insulin aspart molecule to create a new treatment option to help patients meet their post-meal blood sugar target,” said Bruce Bode, MD FACE, President of Atlanta Diabetes Associates and Associate Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. “The intention of rapid acting insulin therapy is to mimic, as much as possible, the natural physiological insulin response that occurs after meals, a process that is important for optimal A1C management.”

Fiasp® will launch at the same list price as NovoLog® and will be offered with a Savings Card program for eligible patients with commercial insurance to reduce co-pays. Fiasp® will also be available to eligible patients through the Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program. Patients and caregivers can obtain more information and access to the Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program by calling toll free at 866-310-7549.

The entire release is here.

 

New Apple Ad features Dexcom: Here is why that is important to you

Scott Benner

"my daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes"

People living with T1D are understandably excited to hear the words, "my daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes" in an Apple ad... but that is just the beginning of why this Apple Watch advertisement should get your heart pumping.

People reach out to Apple all the time to say how Apple Watch is helping them live healthier lives. Here, real customers read the actual stories they shared. Learn more: https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-3

The percentage of people with type 1 using continuous glucose monitoring technology is still relatively low. The barriers to adoption are multivariable. Cost, lack of insurance coverage, misunderstanding of what the technology brings to your life and plain just not knowing that it exists are but a few. The truth however is that even if you never find your way to a CGM this quick video, in my opinion, should still make you happy. Here's why.

We finally have a device manufacturer in the diabetes world who moved beyond the diabetes world. When Dexcom searched for others whose collaboration might improve their product, they didn't just form a relationship with a little start-up. They formed a relationship with Apple. The mention of Apple Watch integration with Dexcom in this ad, in my opinion, is not random. The mention didn't happen just because someone wrote a letter. It is there on purpose. This is Apple telling us what is important to them and a signal of where they are focusing their efforts when it comes to the health space. 

The company that put a smartphone into most every hand on the plant and the company that is hugely responsible for the technology that keeps my daughter healthy, they are dating. I think we are all going to like what their future children grow up to be. I'm even more excited when I think about the relationship that Dexcom has with Omnipod and the ways that the Apple connection could improve all aspects of the tech that helps to keep Arden's BGs where we want them. 

For the moment its great to hear diabetes in the mainstream in such a positive way, but I think that this is only the beginning of how Dexcom and Apple are going to make us smile. It is important to note that Dexcom advertises on the Juicebox Podcast but that I wrote this piece on my own. 


Medtronic deal with Aetna ties insulin pump payment to patient results

Scott Benner

This does not feel right...

My opinion.... Medtronic has way too much power in the insulin pump space. You may also want to check out Mike Hoskin's thoughts on the subject over at Diabetes Mine. 

By Bill Berkrot Reuters

Medtronic Plc said on Monday it signed an agreement with health insurer Aetna Inc under which payment for its insulin pump systems will be tied to how well diabetes patients fare after switching from multiple daily insulin injections.

The deal is the latest example of the move toward contracts for prescription drugs and medical devices that attempt to bring down soaring healthcare costs by tying reimbursements to whether the products achieve their intended results.

The deal with Aetna will measure health outcomes for patients who transition to one of three Medtronic pumps that self-adjust to keep blood sugar levels in proper range based on patients' individual needs for insulin.

"This agreement reinforces our shift towards value-based healthcare," Hooman Hakami, president of the Medtronic diabetes group, said in a statement. "We know technology alone isn't enough and ultimately improved outcomes are what matter."

Patients with type 1 diabetes and those with type 2 who have progressed to the need for insulin typically check blood sugar levels several times a day and inject insulin as needed. The pumps eliminate that chore.

Medtronic declined to discuss financial details of the Aetna agreement, but said such deals tie revenue to achievement of clinical improvement targets, as well as shared savings for delivering on or exceeding clinical outcomes and cost targets.

Suzanne Winter, vice president of the Medtronic diabetes group in the Americas, said the Aetna agreement will initially focus on whether patients on its pumps achieve their A1c targets, a commonly used measure of blood sugar levels. The American Diabetes Association recommends A1c levels below 7.

In the future it may look at other measures, such as hypoglycemia episodes, time in proper glycemic range, and patient satisfaction, Winter said.

Medtronic already has an agreement with UnitedHealth Group Inc that is moving toward including patient outcomes and other metrics, such as total cost of care, and the company is discussing similar deals with other insurers, Winter said.

Pharmaceutical companies are also beginning to embrace reimbursement options that take patient outcomes into consideration.

U.S. biotech Amgen Inc, in an effort to improve patient access to its expensive new cholesterol drug Repatha, has offered contract options that include refunding the cost of the drug if patients suffer a heart attack or stroke while on the medicine intended to prevent them.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by David Gregorio)