New Updates at DiabeticSeniors.com!

Hello Everyone! Just in case some of you might have missed it, DiabeticSeniors.com has gone through some big updates. We have added several new sections to the website and have uploaded many new articles. The articles cover a wide range of topics ranging from food and diet to blood glucose testing. I hope you find all of the new articles informative, interesting, and helpful. Please see below for details regarding the update.

New Category Added: Diabetes News
The newly added Diabetes News section contains news updates related to diabetes. Read news about new scientific findings, medications, and research regarding diabetes.

New Category Added: Diabetic Lifestyle
The new Diabetic Lifestyle contains a wealth of information regarding managing diabetes through lifestyle choices. This new section contains many articles related to food, diet, and exercise. Learn how to adjust your lifestyle to better manage diabetes and improve your overall quality of life.

We have also added new subcategories related to the complications of diabetes. Find information regarding diabetes foot complications, foot care, neuropathy, and other diabetes complications.

Also, look for the new articles that are being uploaded to the website weekly!

Keep a lookout for more content and more updates from DiabeticSeniors.com!

8% Rise in Diabetes says CDC

We've been talking a bit around the office about a recent article by the CDC covered at your favorite diabetic site in our newly added diabetes news.

The number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. They also estimate another 57 Million people have blood sugar abnormalities called pre-diabetes, putting them at an increased risk of it developing into diabetes.

Diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people in the United States, an increase of more than 3 million in approximately two years, according to new 2007 prevalence data estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This means that nearly 8 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes.

In addition to the 24 million with diabetes, another 57 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition that puts people at increased risk for diabetes. Among people with diabetes, those who do not know they have the disease decreased from 30 percent to 25 percent over a two-year period.

I'm not sure about you but that makes me feel a bit sad and hopeless. How can our preventative efforts be that bad?

Time's Summary of Press Release | Digg comments and story

Diabetic Seniors Webmaster is Back!

Remember me? I'm the Diabetic Seniors webmaster and I'm back! Not that I was down or out, just away and busy working on various projects, some of which include the DiabeticSeniors.com site. Over the many months since my last post I've added a bunch of articles, too many to list here so check them out yourself. I hope to do more frequent posting here, but I don't want to post unless I truly have something to say. Here are a few of my favorite diabetic related articles that I've published on our favorite senior diabetes info Web site:

• Traveling with Diabetes
• Mobility Scooters
• The Scooter Store
• American Diabetes

I hope you enjoy these hand picked diabetic articles from the DS site!

Oh, I almost forgot, I am typing this post on Windows Live Writer blogging software. How does it look? I hope it turns out okay. See you next time!

--Your Diabetic Seniors Webmaster

Technorati Tags: diabetic,seniors,diabetes

New Diabetes Articles

Hi everyone! I wanted to tell you what I've been up to over the last month or two. Besides performing my routine webmaster tasks at DiabetiSeniors.com, I've been busy posting new articles for your reading pleasure. I hope you will find them informative. If you like them, feel free to bookmark them and read later as there are so many. In fact, I had to create no less than six new diabetes article subcategories to hold the articles:

• Diabetes Equipment
• Diabetic Free Stuff - This is one I am really excited about!
• Home Delivery
• Diabetes Management
• Treatment
• Diabetes Causes

There are too many articles to list here, so please review the topics and post your thoughts back here. Your feedback can really help us improve our senior diabetes site. Anyone is welcome to give their opinion, whatever age (yes we'd like to hear from the younger crowd as well) , or status--senior diabetic or caregiver or anyone. Thanks in advance to all.

Obese Pharaoh Suffered from Diabetes

Well it's about time I made a post this year! Yes, your faithful Diabetic Seniors webmaster is back and be assured that I have some good things in mind to share with you. I just had to post this today when it hit me that people were suffering from diabetes many centuries ago, just like many do today. The only difference is that today we have more scientific and medical knowledge that we can use to help us prevent the disease.

What am I talking about? The recent discovery of Hatshepsut's mummy indicates that the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt was obese and suffered from diabetes, and could have died from complications from her diabetes, or from the results of a tumor in her left leg.

One Digg.com user remarks that fat was beautiful in ancient Egypt and references another interesting story about the pharaoh. We still have a long way to go in preventing and curing diabetes, but we have made some progress in our attitudes about obesity.

The Joys of Technorati, Whatever it is

I have discovered Technorati over the last several months and am excited but don't know exactly how to categorize this web site that claims to be currently tracking 60 million blogs and whose goal is to "search, surface, and organize blogs and the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as 'citizen media.'" Is it a directory? Is it a social media site? Whatever it is, I like it!

Pink Floyd Co-founder Syd Barrett Dies of Diabetes

Somehow, I had missed this news about Syd Barrett, one of the original founders of the rock band, Pink Floyd, that he had died of Type 2 diabetes. Syd had suffered from substance abuse and mental illness early on, which led to his departure from Pink Floyd as singer, guitarist and songwriter. The news made me sad on several different levels. First, the fact that another life was lost to the Type 2 diabetes, the type of diabetes that can be managed and controlled in many cases. Secondly, it made me melancholy to think of a young and vibrant rock star who's band I thought was so cutting and and cool had now died as a senior. Paradigmn shift? I'll remember Syd for sure now. WikiPedia has a nice page history and pictures that give you an idea of Syd's life chronology with pics.

PolyMedica President Opens NASDAQ

Just wanted to note that some of our favorite people in the diabetes community are active today. Patrick Ryan of Polymedica (a la Liberty Medical diabetic supplies) and Wilford Brimley, the legendary actor and diabetes advocate/Liberty spokesman are performing the opening bell for NASDAQ today. Thanks to Ilse for sending the link to these pics. I must say that I have never seen Wilford looking so formal in a suit :)

President & CEO of PolyMedica Corporation Will Open NASDAQ Trading on November 14

Diabetes Advocate Wilford Brimley Will Join Ceremony in Celebration of World Diabetes Day

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2006--PolyMedica Corporation (NASDAQ: PLMD), a leading provider of mail order diabetes testing supplies and related services, announced today that Patrick Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, along with celebrity spokesperson, Wilford Brimley, will officially open trading on The NASDAQ Stock Market on November 14.

The Opening Bell Ceremony will be held in honor of World Diabetes Day to help raise awareness of diabetes and its complications. Mr. Ryan will address the importance of managing diabetes while Mr. Brimley will discuss how diabetes has impacted him personally.

"The diabetes epidemic has spread throughout the world, and its impact can be devastating on individuals and their families," said Ryan. "It is our goal to remind people that with proper education, lifestyle adjustments and regular testing, individuals can successfully manage their disease instead of diabetes dictating their lives."

PolyMedica is best known through its largest division, Liberty, which for 17 years has provided more than a million individuals with the diabetes testing supplies, medications and support they require to effectively manage their disease. Diabetes affects more than 21 million people in the United States alone, with another 41 million believed to be pre-diabetic.

About PolyMedica Corporation:

For more than a decade, PolyMedica Corporation has been the nation's largest provider of blood glucose testing supplies and related services to people with diabetes and today serves more than 913,000 active patients. The Company is expanding its portfolio of products and services, from patient education to prescription drugs, to help people better manage their conditions and maintain their health. Through proactive patient outreach, convenient home delivery and administrative support, PolyMedica makes it simple for patients to obtain the supplies and medications they need, while encouraging compliance with physicians' orders. More information about PolyMedica can be found on the Company's website at www.polymedica.com.

CONTACT: For PolyMedica Corporation:
Mullen PR
Michelle Marinelli, 212-885-3259
michelle.marinelli@mullen.com
or
Angela Giovanello, 978-468-8921
angela.giovanello@mullen.com

SOURCE: PolyMedica Corporation

National Diabetes Awareness Month: Time to Check the Risk Factors

Welcome to November, National Diabetes Awareness month. Since Type 2 diabetes usually develops later in life and is associated with risk factors, it may be a good time to give yourself a checkup against these Type 2 risk factors:

• Having a family member with diabetes
  


• Being of Alaska Native, American Indian,
  African American, Hispanic/Latino American,
  Asian American, or Pacific Islander descent
  


• Having had gestational diabetes, or given
  birth to at least one baby weighing more than 9
  pounds
  


• Having polycystic ovary syndrome, also known
  as PCOS
  


• Blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or higher, or
  a diagnosis of hypertension (high blood
  pressure)
  


• Having HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol)
  below 35 mg/dL, or triglyceride levels above 250
  mg/dL
  


• Sedentary lifestyle
  


• History of cardiovascular disease
  


• Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or impaired
  fasting glucose (IFG)

Sources:
"National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC)."

Am I At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes? January 2006.
National Institutes of Health. 31 Oct 2006

Diabetes.About.Com

Diabetic Crash Survivor Lived on Wheat Thins, Dew

Diabetic driver survives on crackers, dew after crash

An AP story out today describes how a diabetic driver survived for four days on Wheat Thins and dew after crashing his SUV into thick brush on his way home from work.

Raymond A. Vachon's wife reported the 59-year-old missing on October 3 when he didn't return from his overnight security job in Springfield. He spent four days in and out of consciousness before a dog-walker heard him yelling for help Saturday morning. More about the diabetic driver...