Artwork: Hand pulling a book from a shelf of books
Inclusion of materials in this publication is for information only and does not imply endorsement by the Diabetes Action Network of the NFB.
DIABETES SUPPLIES
American Diabetic Supply, Inc., will ship your diabetes supplies to your door. They handle all insurance claims and provide free delivery. Folks with Medicare and/or private insurance (no HMOs) may receive supplies with no further cost. For information, contact: American Diabetic Supply, Inc., 400 S. Atlantic Ave., Suite 108, Ormond Beach, FL 32176; telephone: 1-800-453-9033.
DIABETIC SPECIALTY PRODUCTS
If you have diabetes, you may need alternatives to some commonly used items, like cough medicine (most are full of sugar!), or a good moisturizing skin cream, for the dry skin so many of us have, especially on our feet. Health Care Products offers all of the above.
DiabetiDerm skin moisturizer, available in cream and lotion, uses many natural ingredients, and is made without a petroleum base.
Diabetic Tussin is a line of cough syrups, formulated for diabetics without sugar, sodium, alcohol, fructose, sorbitol, codeine, or dye.
These items are available in most major drug and discount stores. For information, contact: Health Care Products, telephone: 1-800-899-3116; or at their website: http://www.diabeticproducts.com
READING MACHINE
There are many ways to cope with the problems loss of vision brings to reading. There are optical reading machines, where you scan a printed page into computer memory, from where it is then read by a synthesized voice. Now there is another alternative: the L&H MagniReader.
This device combines CCTV magnification with an optical reader. The MagniReader magnifies text or graphics up to 36x on screen, and reads it aloud, in a clear voice. You can use either or both modes.
To find out more about this reading machine, contact: Lernout and Hauspie Speech Products USA, Inc., Kurzweil Educational Systems Group, 52 Third Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; telephone: 1-800-894-5374; website: http://www.lhsl.com/educationad/votd
DIABETES INFORMATION IN BRAILLE
Although diabetes is the biggest cause of new blindness in working-age Americans, and there may be as many as two million Americans coping with both diabetes and serious vision loss, diabetes information in alternative format has been in short supply. Now there is a source for diabetes articles in Braille.
The Braille Group of Buffalo's diabetes collection includes:
Note: They expect to add more titles to their Braille list, so contact them for a full catalog and availability, and spread the word to your Braille-using friends who have interest in diabetes. As these materials are offered at a fraction of real cost, the Braille Group asks for a doctor's certification that the recipient is a Braille-reader either with diabetes, or caring for someone with diabetes. Call them for more information.
Contact: the Braille Group of Buffalo, Jill Pariso and Sue Kahn, 4660 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo, NY 14221; telephone: 1-800-561-8253; fax (716)633-8952; e-mail: brlgrp@juno.com
DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
Homed Pharmacy Services will deliver your diabetic supplies to your door. If you have Medicare, and/or private insurance, your supplies may come at no cost to you. Homed handles all insurance claims, and delivery is free. For more information, call Homed Pharmacy Services; telephone: 1-800-226-7212; fax: 1-800-381-9929.
DIABETES SUPPLIES
Inverness Medical Corporation carries a full line of discount-priced diabetes supplies, including: Dex-4 glucose tablets, skin cream, and Excel test strips for the Glucometer Elite monitor. The company also markets the Monoject line of insulin syringes and lancets. Many Inverness (formerly Can-Am) products are also sold as "house brand" at major pharmacy chains. Their low price in no way compromises their high quality.
For information, contact: Inverness Medical Corporation, 200 Prospect Street, Waltham, MA 02453; telephone: 1-800-461-7448.
HUMALOG INSTRUCTION
Eli Lilly's Humalog insulin is powerful and efficient, but its responsiveness demands attention and understanding. GETTING STARTED WITH HUMALOG is an instructional audiotape that takes you step by step through issues like dose change, timing with meals, pregnancy, children and adolescents, intensive therapy, and how to achieve the most benefit. The 90-minute tape also contains several case studies. Written and delivered by Betty Brackenridge, MS, RD, CDE, and Kris Swenson, RN, CDE, it is priced at $14.99, plus $1.50 shipping, and is available from: Learning Prescriptions, 1520 W. Warner Road, Suite 236, Gilbert, AZ 85233; telephone: (602) 426-1965.
DIABETES SUPPLIES
Diabetic Supply Distributors, Inc., helps you save four ways with your diabetes supplies:
Contact: Diabetic Supply Distributors, Inc., PO Box 1820, Laurel Springs, NJ 08021; telephone: 1-800-962-8098.
NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT
Your insulin or oral diabetes medications are only part of your diabetes self-management. Although food supplements do not replace your medications, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated their efficacy to prevent or treat any disease, a healthy diet is important, and research is continuing on the role specific supplements may play in controlling diabetes. AlphaBetic Multi-Vitamin Supplement is a food supplement formulated for the special needs of diabetics. A blend of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, it is available in sugar-free caplets. Contact: Abkit, Inc. New York, NY 10128; telephone: 1-800-226-6227; website http://www.alphabetic.com
TREAT MALE IMPOTENCE
For men who've had diabetes many years, one possible ramification is impotence, the inability to sustain an erection. This can be treated in a number of ways, but the least invasive is vacuum therapy.
The Vet-Co Vacuum Therapy System for male impotence is FDA-approved, safe, non-invasive, and easy to use. For information, call: Coast To Coast Home Medical; telephone: 1-800-330-6316.
PRODUCTS FOR THE BLIND
Freedom Scientific is the new corporation created out of the union of Arkenstone, Blazie Engineering, and Henter- Joyce. Its products include adaptive computer programs such as JAWS (Job Access With Speech), the Blazie line of talking and Braille-display computers, the Arkenstone reading machines -- and more. For information, contact: Freedom Scientific; telephone: 1-800-444-4443; website: www.freedomscientific.com
INSULIN PUMPS AND SUPPLIES
MiniMed is one of the world's leading manufacturers of insulin pumps -- those precision microdevices that are the closest thing to an artificial pancreas we have. If you are an insulin-dependent diabetic, talk to your doctor about pump therapy -- you might find the MiniMed 508 pump right for you. If you need pump/infusion supplies, Minimed offers a complete line. Minimed also offers (for doctor's use) the Continuous Glucose Monitor -- which can precisely chart three days' sugars, as an aid to establishing better control. And Minimed has the (still investigational) 2007 Implantable Insulin Pump. For information contact: MiniMed, Inc., 18000 Devonshire Street, Northridge, CA 91325-1219; telephone: 1-800-646-4633; website: www.minimed.com
FULL SERVICE DIABETES SUPPLIER
D & S Medical Supply is a full-service supplier with a catalog of more than 55,000 items, dealing with diabetes, its complications, and many other medical supplies, delivered to your home. Diabetes products range from glucose monitors by Bayer and LifeScan, and the AccuChek VoiceMate talking glucose monitor, strips, lancets and other supplies, to diabetic orthotics/foot care items, and much more. They accept Medicare, private insurance, some HMOs, and, in most states, direct or crossover Medicaid. Contact: D & S Medical, 2105 Newport Place, Suite 600, Lawrenceville, GA 30043-5561; telephone: 1-800-722-2604, website: www.dsmedical.com
TALKING BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITOR
Based on the proven Accu-Chek Advantage meter, the Roche Diagnostics Accu-Chek Voicemate provides the following: Clear, high-quality speech synthesis, talking the user through preparations, test procedures, and results, without the need for sighted assistance; an "insulin vial identifier" which reads Eli Lilly insulin vials and speaks their type, as a safety aid in tactile insulin mixing; a new, improved, "touchable" test strip -- the Accu-Chek Comfort Curve (no more "hanging drop of blood" needed!); no meter cleaning required; and a tactile "code-key" system for programming test strip codes. The Voicemate is the most "blind-friendly" talking glucose monitor available today, and the only one whose regular operations require no sighted assistance at all.
The Voicemate comes with an adjustable over-the- shoulder carrying case, with meter, voice box, battery, adapter cord, 10 Comfort Curve strips, earphone, insulin check-vial, manual and quick-reference guide (in print), and instructions on audiocassette. The meter (catalog # 2030802) can now be ordered through any pharmacy (suggested retail price $495-525). To do so, have your pharmacist contact Roche Diagnostics, 9115 Hague Road, Indianapolis, IN 46250; telephone: 1-800-428-5074. For direct purchase, and a price below $500, contact any of the following retailers: BeyondSight, Inc. Littleton, CO: 303-795-6455 ($498); Independent Living Aids, Inc. Plainview, NY ($495): 1-800- 537-2118; or the National Federation of the Blind Materials Center Baltimore, MD ($475): 410 659-9314.
TALKING COMPUTER
The VoiceNote, from HumanWare, is a laptop note- taker/organizer for blind individuals and those losing vision. It combines the familiar MicroSoft WINDOWS CE operating system, and standard computer keyboard, with voice access. You can create MS Word documents, access your e- mail, transfer documents to and from a standard PC computer, use your VoiceNote as a speech synthesizer for another computer, and access a number of planning and scheduling tools. For more information, about the VoiceNote or other products, contact: HumanWare, 6246 King Road, Loomis, CA 95650; telephone: 1-800-722-3393; website: www.humanware.com
HEALTHY SUPPLEMENT
Many people believe that "free radicals," chemicals produced by conditions such as diabetic high blood sugar, are dangerous. This line of thinking says that if such oxidants are controlled, health will be improved. Experimenters have isolated "antioxidants" such as alpha- lipoic acid, which they believe raises insulin sensitivity in persons with type 2 diabetes. Glucotize, by MRI, is a "timed release" formulation of alpha-lipoic acid, meant for oral use in association with your regular diabetes medications. NOTE: It has not been approved by the Food and Drug administration. For information, contact: Medical Research Institute, 1001 Bayhill Drive, Suite 204, San Bruno, CA 94066; telephone: 1-888-448-4246; website: www.lipoic.com
DIABETES SUPPLIES
When you need it, you need it. When it's time to test, when it's time for medication, you need it already there. Diabetic Care Center will ship your diabetes supplies to your door, and they do the paperwork. No forms, no trips to the pharmacy. Medicare and most private insurance accepted. Call the Diabetic Care Center, telephone: 1-800-633-7167; website: http://www.diabeticare.com
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