Number 32; March 4, 2002

This newsletter keeps you up-to-date with new articles, columns, and Web pages that I have written. I list and link most of these on my Diabetes Directory at www.mendosa.com/diabetes.htm

From time to time Diabetes Update may also include links to other Web pages of special interest.

My most recent contribution is:

on March 4, 2002
The UKPDS
A chiropractor who had just been diagnosed with diabetes wrote to ask if he can prevent the complications of diabetes with exercise and weight loss to control his blood glucose. In fact, there's probably no more important question for us with diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes a research project called the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study provides the best answers we have. My current "About the Internet" column for the American Diabetes Association's Web site reviews the UKPDS. The URL is
http://www.diabetes.org/main/community/info_news/web/default.jsp

Update:

on March 1, 2002
Sof-Tact Meter
My article about the lag time for alternative site meters reported by two German scientists was disturbing for those of us who much prefer to test our blood glucose on our arm or leg. I much prefer the MediSense Sof-Tact meter. "Lag Time in AlternativeLand" on my site at http://www.mendosa.com/alternative_lags.htm has been widely reproduced at Children with Diabetes, Diabetes123, Diabetes Monitor, and The JDA Connection, the official publication of the Jewish Diabetes Association.

Now, a new study reported in Diabetes Care concludes that the Sof-Tact meter demonstrated "no significant glucose difference...between the capillary beds of the forearm and fingertip." The abstract of the study, "Whole-Blood Glucose Testing at Alternate Sites," by J. Paul Lock, M.D., of the Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts/Memorial Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts, et al., is on-line at http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/2/337

Announcement:

My correspondent, Frances Rickus, doesn't let her diabetes stop her from being a world-class traveler. Based in Scotland, she writes a monthly diary as "Helen Rose" about hill walking and traveling for Glasgow West End.

Anyone else who does adventure traveling should find her message to me useful and all will find it interesting:

"Following my letters on hill walking and diabetes in Trail, TGO and the Ramblers Magazine, you contacted me. I later sent you the summary of responses which I hope you found useful.

"My reason for writing to you is that I had a problem with a travel company as a result of being a diabetic. As the problem has been the subject of legal action, I could not discuss it until it was settled. The company concerned, Exodus, have now settled out of court a year after the trip.

"I am concerned that other diabetics could find themselves in my position when travelling and I have decided to tell you about the experience. I am a regular traveller to fairly exotic places, usually in mountainous areas but I always take adequate precautions as an insulin dependent diabetic. These are along the lines of the sections on diabetics travelling in the Dr Richard Dawood book on Travellers Health, How to Stay Healthy Abroad but other travellers health books give similar advice. As I travel mainly alone, I have to ensure that the leader or another member of the group, who will be a stranger initially, is aware of what to do for a hypo.

"After carefully studying the dossier and discussing the trip with the sales staff at Exodus, I booked a six week overland trip with Exodus to South America from Santiago to Rio by Patagonia. I was aware the truck would be travelling in remote areas and mostly camping but was prepared for this.

"I was in good health during the trip but on the sixth day in Chile, the leader called me aside and said he had to insist I leave the trip as he had responsibility for everyone on the truck and some other people in the group were concerned for me as a diabetic. (Nobody on the trip expressed any concerns to me personally.) This followed an accident on the Villarica Volcano where a member of the group had been injured in an accident.

"I finally left the trip at Puerto Montt and had to pay £1,100 by credit card to fly home. My booking form had clearly stated 'diabetic' but Exodus did not contact me to ask me about it and did not advise their leader I was diabetic. The leader advised me he had personally never had a diabetic on that trip in the past.

"Since that time, I have returned to Patagonia and successfully completed a different type of trip with another company.

"My advice to insulin dependent diabetics is to ensure you have a letter from your doctor before travelling to say that they know the details of your trip and agree to the trip. Give this letter to the trip leader and keep a copy. The Disability Discrimination Act specifically mentions diabetics, but does not apply to services provided outwith [outside] Britain by a British company. I had to take the case under consumer law, but fortunately my house contents insurance had a legal section and the insurers agreed to underwrite the legal costs of the case.

"It is my intention to write an article for Balance [the magazine of Diabetes U.K.] on this matter, so if you have had a problem relating to travel as a diabetic, please let me know."

Frances would appreciate hearing of any problems directly at rickus@ukonline.co.uk.

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Archives:

I send out Diabetes Update about once every two weeks. Previous issues are online:

• Diabetes Update Number 1 of December 10, 2000

• Diabetes Update Number 2 of December 18, 2000

• Diabetes Update Number 3 of January 3, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 4 of January 17, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 5 of January 31, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 6 of February 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 7 of March 1, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 8 of March 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 9 of March 30, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 10 of April 2, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 11 of April 16, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 12 of May 2, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 13 of May 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 14 of May 31, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 15 of June 21, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 16 of July 2, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 17 of July 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 18 of August 2, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 19 of August 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 20 of August 30, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 21 of September 14, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 22 of October 1, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 23 of October 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 24 of October 31, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 25 of November 15, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 26 of December 1, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 27 of December 14, 2001

• Diabetes Update Number 28 of January 4, 2002

• Diabetes Update Number 29 of January 14, 2002

• Diabetes Update Number 30 of January 31, 2002

• Diabetes Update Number 31 of February 19, 2002

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© Copyright 2002 David Mendosa. All Rights Reserved.

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