MWH Media

Insurance coverage is always an "interesting" topic for those of us living with diabetes. Or more to the point: the struggle to get what appears like logical coverage is always a tug of war that too often seems to leave one side face down in the mud pit. We have to fight the fight, pretty much every time we need some of the necessary medical supplies and life-sustaining medications in our D-Lives. So, just thinking about using a new D-device, especially one that's just recently-approved by the FDA and hot of the presses, can be a tad bit daunting and stress-inducing. That's what came to my mind when the recent topic of the mySentry came up at the Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum and everyone was talking about how insurers might want or not want to cover this new device given FDA-approval in January. Especially since it might not necessarily be seen as "medically necessary" at this early stage. Source . In many situations, it seems as though pe...

A theme discussed for the past couple years in the Diabetes Online Community has been how to take the "online" aspect of this offline, into our real life communities where we can reach those who aren't connected. But even more than that, it's about reaching those who aren't connected by things many of us take for granted: Internet access, health insurance, organizational and individual support, or medicine and health care accessibility that many of us take for granted. Many efforts have been happening on that front over time, yet it continues to be an area we must continue working on because so many people out there need to find what they don't have. We must do better, individually and collectively. At the recent Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum, this was a topic that came up a handful of times. One conversation focused on how the Diabetes Online Community, can reach out and connect with those people who don't have access to these support resources...

Without warning, the surprise came as the recent Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum was coming to a close. Our group of about 30 advocates was sitting in the conference room listening to Nancy Katz, VP of consumer marketing, give closing remarks when she made an announcement that caught us completely off guard. The news: We were being given the chance to use the newly-approved mySentry system and related products on a trial run for three months. We didn't ask for and honestly didn't expect this.... Incredible offer that would be open to us, if we choose to accept it. I'm pretty sure I heard a roomful of gasps and someone may have proclaimed "Holy shit" when hearing this. It might have been me. News about the FDA's approval of this gadget came in early January after something like four years of talk and waiting by many in the D-community, mostly parents. This is essentially like a CGM-connected alarm clock, which has a monitor that can sit on a nightst...

One of my key takeaways from the Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum 2012 was how this company is focused on patients and actually wants to know what we think about the products and bigger diabetes picture overall. Set at the company's California HQ in Northridge (outside LA), this forum and particularly a tour of where the CGM sensors are made was something I was really looking forward to. In large part, because I've been using Medtronic Minimed for most of the past decade as my one and only insulin pump and have used the company's Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), before switching over to Dexcom. So, to see the place where these sensors and D-supplies are made was personally very exciting for me. But it's also a privilege being able to be a part of a broader discussion with fellow advocates, diabetes colleagues and industry folks about where we are and how can get to the next level. For disclosure purposes : I'm sure most readers know that Med-T paid for airfa...

We're all trying to be better, whether we're talking about our own human or spiritual lives or the health components that come with Living With Diabetes. Insulin pump manufacturer Medtronic hosted its second Diabetes Advocates Forum March 29-30 at their headquarters in Northridge, California. While I wasn't at the inaugural event in 2011, I was honored to be invited to this sequel that brought about 30 diabetes advocates from the online community together to discuss how we can all work together in reaching people who need it. One of the topics on the agenda was hearing from a fellow Person With Diabetes, Chuck Eichten, who's been living with type 1 for many years. He led a discussion about the idea of Doing Better, and as we entered the meeting room that Friday morning we all were able to see a copy of his latest book, The Book Of Better , sitting at each of our seats. I'd read his smaller bite-sized version, Better Is Better , a while back after it was pub...

Somebody once made a movie about Snakes On a Plane . Nobody has decided that Diabetes on a Plane is script-worthy, but I'd like to put that invitation out there to any budding screenwriters who'd care to toss their ideas into the hat. It may not be the most suspenseful and dramatic movie, but I'm sure it would be appealing to some of us who are always finding something of an adventure when it comes to Traveling With Diabetes On a Plane. In my case, I'd offer a D-version of a substitute for those snakes: Skittles. On my recent travels to the Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum in Los Angeles, the travels to the D-conference started out early - to the tune of making a 6 a.m. flight out of Indy. Getting to the airport without any coffee in my veins because of the early hour, it's nothing short of a miracle that the TSA didn't give me any hassle. Decided to not bother with declaring my medical devices, so just took them off and stuffed them in my carry-on laptop ba...

We're just back from the 2nd annual Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum out in Los Angeles, and there's a lot to recap. But first, I need to process everything. And sleep. Not to mention maneuver my day job. So before getting to the actual accounts of the full schedule, here's a photo recap until I can find the time. Of course, there was plenty of coffee & Diet Coke. One of the first slides, about MedT's Enduring Mission. MedT's CGM unit has 400+ people working on tech for us.   Cherise listens intently to Dr. Francine Kaufman talking about taking D-Advocacy in Haiti. Me and Lenny!!! Photo taken by Sarah (Sugabetic). Some of the DOC, wearing blue inside MedT. Photo courtesy of Cherise. The Cool DSMA Live Crew - Scott J, George, Cherise. Charlie's D-Angels - Sarah (Sugabetic), Kelly Kunik, Cherise Shockley. David Edelman, Kelly Close, Manny Hernandez working hard post-dinner. Still ...

 So, off to the West Coast. I'm very excited to be a part of the 2nd annual Medtronic Diabetes Advocate Forum, being held March 29-30 at the insulin pump maker's HQ in Northridge, California. More than two dozen Diabetes Online Community members are heading out for this summit, which began in 2011 and had a great turnout and discussion (or so I've read , because I wasn't a part of that inaugural event). In the past two years, I've been fortunate to be asked by another D-company, Roche Diagnostics, to be a part of their annual summit and have tried to not only learn from those events and express my thoughts on how we can all work together, but to represent the rest of the diabetes community in some capacity.  I trust Medtronic's forum is aimed at the same purpose, and so that's what I will focus on - being an engaging attendee trying to represent and let the rest of our community know what's happening there, via Twitter and blogging and whatever ot...