Poor quality sleep may hinder efforts to control glycemia of children with type 1 diabetes, according to new research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

By studying the sleep patterns of 50 children with type 1 diabetes for 10 to 16 years old, they found that less time they spent within a deeper sleep was associated with poorer school performance and higher levels glucose levels.

The researchers make it clear that despite following the recommendations for controlling their diabetes, many children and youths with type 1 diabetes have difficulty with glycemic control and this could be due to abnormalities in sleep patterns, daytime sleepiness and possibly sleep apnea.

All these conditions are treatable, and young people with diabetes would benefit from treatments designed to change and improve patterns and sleep quality, therefore in a better to place to better manage their diabetes.

Howdy folks

As some may know, I have tried to wrangle with my Endocrinologist here in Torrevieja, about moving over to #TeamPump.  If you didn’t, you do now.

I have an appointment with the Pump Clinic in Alicante this coming Thursday, where after a few years I finally have the chance to come face to face with someone that may be in a position to decide whether I get to pump or not!

I only found out about the appointment this morning leaving me with a day or so to perhaps try prepare for the visit.  I must admit that I feel extremely nervous and possibly overwhelmed by it all as I have pushed and kept pushing to get an appointment.

I’ve tried to play down the pump thing since the consultant agreed to get me the referral and to be honest I had expected to be waiting a while so to receive it so soon is great new.

But!  Ah, ha there is always a but!

Some questions I have thrown at myself lately include;  Am I suitable for a pump?  Will my lifestyle meet their criteria?  Do I have the right mindset?  Am I responsible and/or knowledgeable  enough to take my diabetes care to the next level?

I’m not sure what questions the clinic will ask precisely but would be shocked if they did not touch on subjects from above.

Habits?

Other things that I have thought about include;  How I bring my partner in to this?  Is she ready to support me.  It may sound silly, but I’ve never really had any kind of support network in place, partly due to age of diagnosis as I was 20, single and away from home. Partly due to perhaps my lack of openness upon being diagnosed, sure I talked about it with friends, family and colleagues but never did I have at any stage anyone that I felt I could talk too.

Fortunately things are better now, I now personally know other people who happen to have diabetes, heck I even know some of these droid/pumper people!!

For some reason I happen to have placed an enormous amount of pressure on me to do well on Thursday, like I am representing myself at court.  Everyone there to judge you, your lifestyle, your habits (well the bad one’s eh) and possibly your competence.

I’m also aware of the pressure placed upon our clinicians to offer a certain level/quality of care whilst ensuring that budgets are not demolished.  As with many other countries, Spanish healthcare reforms play a massive part of the so called “austerity measures” that have been ratified and as such I see that as the major hurdle I now face.

Alicante

I have a ton of questions that I would like to ask and hopefully I will have a real reason to ask them soon.  One question that I would like to ask those of you who have successfully made the transition from MDI to Pump is about how you approached the topic with wife’s, partner’s, mistresses, close family and friends?

Really though, I’m looking for any advice that you feel may be helpful?

Oh, one last thing!  I am asking everyone to send some “Pump Approval” Vibes to this Hospital!  Maybe we can get them to feel some DOC love!

Until next time

Saludos

Mike

Hi Folks

Firstly warmest greetings from DiS to 2012 to you all! Various reasons for lack of action on the DiS site. Rather personal so will cut to the boring stuff and hopefully bring you all up to speed.

For most 2011 was pretty crappy, although there were some bright and notable exceptions.  The year ended with an enormous amount of pressure not only economically but also physically with one’s own health.

Spain as we know it is in complete tatters and unfortunately it will only proceed to actually get worse in 2012.  The year ended with a Endo appt. in Mid December.  The a1c came back at 8% and although disappointed there were little surprises.

Again I mentioned a pump and spoke enthusiastically about such a device being of benefit to me and my health he agreed to hand me over to the pump team in Alicante to see if they are willing to let me go on a pump.  I do not hold much hope to get one as the current government need to trim 16 Billion Euros off the national budget so the pressure is on Medical teams to think about finance first and health second!  Quality of care will slide for sure.

As with many other countries they have guidelines to meet, to be selected for a pump.  This includes the A1c, lifestyle issues etc..  At times it seems that it can only serve to encourage people to let their health go wayward to get a pump.

Anyway as yet I have heard nothing, so your guess is as good as mine when I will get an opportunity to present my case to the Pump team.   So stay tuned!

Other than that this is a quick breakdown on my life – The key stressors:

• An Embargo has been slapped on us from the State, which now prevents us from paying our Mortgage each month.  I’m sure you can figure out what happens next??
• Employment opportunities are “non-existent” in Spain and now need to consider alternative locations and occupations.
• My other, and most would say better half had her work hours cut with a 25% reduction in salary! Oh, this discussed just 3 days before Christmas!  Thank you!
• I’m still consulting a Neurologist, following up on the Nerve pain in the left arm/hand.
• A surprising referral to the Respiratory Specialists to check for Sleep Apnea of all things.  This came as a shock suggestion at first but after discussing the relation between red blood cells, oxygen levels and nerve sensation/pain it became clear that this could progress soon.  It also gives me cause for concern regards to the crappy nights sleep I have had for years.
• Grandmother at the age of 83 was given the news that she has Breast Cancer.  At this stage we do not have the specifics but a malignant tumour has been confirmed by the Pathological lab. Bugger!

So that it’s from me at the moment, hopefully the above gets me of the hook with everyone.  I’ve done my utmost to stay focused and stay positive but there is very little left in this tank at the moment.  For those that I have been in contact with recently, thank you for your support!

Until next time, stay safe and bolus like crazy!!  :)

Un brazo

Mike

Informamos de un problema temporal del suministro de plumas precargadas para inyección de Apidra® 3 ml (insulina glulisina) [origen ADNr], que afecta a: Apidra® SoloStar™ 100 UI/ml, solución inyectable en pluma precargada y APIDRA OPTISET 100 UI/ml solución inyectable en pluma precargada.

Esta situación se debe a un incidente técnico en una línea de fabricación que ha llevado a una interrupción temporal de la producción. Estamos trabajando para restablecer el suministro antes de finales de 2011 y estar a plena capacidad a principios de 2012. Las plumas precargadas de Apidra actualmente en el mercado se pueden usar con toda seguridad. Ninguna de las otras insulinas de Sanofi comercializadas en España (Lantus) se han visto afectadas.

Para obtener más información acerca de Sanofi Apidra…

Problemas de suministro de Apidra 100 Unidades/ml solución inyectable en pluma precargada.

Para más información de la AEMPS en España.

Shortage of Apidra (insulin glulisine) cartridges: Este artículo en Inglés/This article in English

Hey Guy’s n Gal’s

So whilst trying to motivate ones self to write more on this site, it finally occurred to me that I may have open up more.

While it is relatively straightforward to write about diabetes, it not as simple when writing about yourself, for various reasons such as not wanting the bore the living daylights out of people and wishing to keep hold of those inner secrets forever and ever.

Over the last few weeks, there has been plenty of activity on the Diabetes scene with the recent congresses over in the USA, the EASD which was held in Lisbon just a couple of weeks ago.  We have a couple of new products in the pipeline that have now been introduced to all the Diabetic Minions which is the “Daily Dose” from Insulution and Timesulin‘s “Smart Cap”.

For me things are going along, health is a challenge and for once it has nothing to do with Diabetes.  For a little under a year I’ve been various with pain/discomfort/numbness in my left arm, tingling sensation in both my cheeks.  In turn I have also developed a small arrhythmia (at mo, it is an extra heartbeat) which after investigation been noted as non-harmful and that I should make sure it is followed up every year.

So this does not look brilliant on paper and it certainly adds to the stress levels , none more so than when you are “unemployed” and about to face imminent financial disaster.    Not an ideal situation to be in at all and one that I’m desperate to climb out of.

A complication is that I have had surgery on the problematic arm so getting to the cause is somewhat challenging.  So why I am telling you this, well it is easy to forget about the rest of your body.

We all impart so much time and effort trying to be a “Super-pancreas” (Can I trademark that Tim?) that we sometimes neglect our bodies.  Not every pain is diabetic neuropathy, not cut foot is an amputation, not every kidney infection is a fast track to dialysis.

So for no, I am no longer taking any pain medication.  I’m going au-natural for the time being with the support of the Neurologist.  Tests are to be performed to see what is blocked, clogged, broken, trapped or not quite working in the arm/neck and will be revised when that is completed.  More electric shocks, oh joy!

As for the Diabetes, I am still MDI(ing) along with an A1c hovering around 7.6/7.9% over the last year, I am currently irritating my consultant via email to see if we can sort out a referral to the Pump Clinic before we meet up in December and to see if he can grab me a BGstar from our friends at Sanofi.  Here in Spain it is illegal for Pharma to dish out freebies to patients so everything has to go through the clinics.

In the mean time I am trying very hard to stay cool, focus on keeping all the body parts greased, whilst playing “Super-Pancreas”!

So everyone please look after yourselves!

Until next time, Saludos

Mike

A partir del 01 de septiembre, Victoza® estará disponible al público. De hecho me han dicho que ya está siendo utilizado por algunas clínicas de los hospitales incluyendo el Hospital de Torrevieja que es mi hospital local.

Victoza® 6mg/ml solución inyectable en pluma precargada.

Envase con 2 plumas precargadas de 3ml. Medicamento sujeto a prescripción médica, cupón precinto diferenciado y aportación reducida. PVP €138,16 – con SS €2,64.

¿QUÉ ES VICTOZA®?

Victoza® es un medicamento no insulínico que se administra una vez al día y que puede mejorar rápidamente los niveles de azúcar en la sangre de adultos con diabetes tipo 2.

Se usa junto con una alimentación saludable y un estilo de vida activo para ayudar a controlar su nivel de azúcar en sangre.

Su médico o el Equipo de Cuidado de la Diabetes pueden sugerir el uso de Victoza® solo o con uno o más medicamentos para la diabetes.

Pueden ser:

• Medicamentos (llamados biguanidas), como la metformina, que reducen la cantidad de azúcar producida por el hígado. Estos también pueden ayudar a mejorar la habilidad del organismo para utilizar la insulina.
• Medicamentos (llamados sulfonilureas o SU) que ayudan al organismo a liberar más insulina.
• Medicamentos (llamados tiazolidinedionas o TZD) que ayudan a la insulina a actuar mejor en músculos y grasa

Si usted tiene diabetes tipo 2, Victoza ® puede ayudar a las células importantes en el páncreas que ayuda a controlar el azúcar sanguíneo llamado células beta-la labor de la manera que deberían. Victoza ® ayuda a reducir el azúcar en la sangre, y aunque no es un producto para bajar de peso, puede ayudar a perder peso.

Para más información, Novo Nordisk tiene una Servicio gratuito de información telefónica sobre Diabetes, Hormona de Crecimiento y otros productos de Novo Nordisk.

Si está usando Victoza®, por favor háganoslo saber cómo estás!!

In Torrevieja, nurses at the towns Hospital de Torrevieja, have created a education program aimed at newly diagnosed children and their families that is delivered prior to the patients release from hospital.

The program is designed to educate patients and their families about not only the importance the condition will play in their lives, but also how to manage with the complexities that the condition brings.

These include: How to treat hypoglycemia, how to deal with hyperglycemia and how to deal with everyday issues from exercising through to the diet not to mention testing blood sugars everyday and administering medication via multiple daily injections or via a pump.

Fingers crossed it will be a huge success!

Más del 60% de todos los pacientes con diabetes tipo 2 manifiesta algún tipo de daño renal clínico:

A menudo, los pacientes con diabetes no son lo suficiente conscientes de la importancia y la relación entre su enfermedad y el riñón. Sin embargo, la mayoría de ellos corren el riesgo de desarrollar problemas renales.1 Más del 60% de los pacientes con diabetes tipo 2 manifiesta algún daño renal clínico que los sitúa en riesgo de sufrir nefropatía crónica progresiva.1 Para subrayar la importancia de este órgano en el manejo de la diabetes, Boehringer Ingelheim y Eli Lilly han patrocinado el taller “Nefropatías y Diabetes”, que se desarrolló en el marco del 53 Congreso de SEEN.

Mas información – http://www.esdiari.com/19924-mas-60-todos-pacientes-diabetes-tipo-2-manifiesta-algun-tipo-dano-renal-clinico.html

La diabetes abre la puerta a la diálisis:
La mayoría de pacientes que inician diálisis lo hacen por una diabetes que ha afectado al funcionamiento normal de su riñón, causa que incide en el 22 por ciento de nuevos pacientes en España por enfermedad renal.

Mas Información – http://salud.ideal.es/actualidad/893-la-diabetes-abre-la-puerta-a-la-dialisis.html

AXA crea el primer seguro de vida en España para diabéticos:
AXA ha lanzado un seguro de vida exclusivo para diabéticos, con el que pretende dar servicio a los más de 4,6 millones de españoles mayores de 18 años (el 12% de la población) que sufren esta enfermedad.

Mas Información – http://www.europapress.es/salud/farmacia-00668/noticia-empresas-axa-crea-primer-seguro-vida-espana-diabeticos-20110523162815.html

75 niños de Castellón recibirán el kit con material educativo y sanitario para tratar la diabetes:
Un total de 75 niños diabéticos dependientes de insulina de la provincia de Castellón recibirán el kit con material educativo y sanitario para tratar su enfermedad, según ha informado este miércoles el Consell.

Mas Información – http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/05/18/castellon/1305729588.html

Confirmation that Victoza is available in Spain was announced this week.

Hi, just a quick update to let folks know that as yet Victoza has not been given approval by the relevant governmental agencies here in Spain. Off course as soon as we have further details they will be published here.

Victoza en España! Ya está disponible! Actualización 30/08/2011

Subscribe!!

If you have not done so already, why subscribe to the Diabetes in Spain website by clicking on the orange button, directly underneath my image which will allow you to stay up to date.

Low and behold the Bayer ContourUSB Blood Glucose Meter is now finally available in Spain.  I am lucky enough to have one of these and combined with a small stash of contour link strips, I will be using this new meter over the coming months.

The main drive for me is that their software is compatible with both Mac/PC computers.
Why not take a trip to you diabetes clinic, maybe ask to see if you doctor can get hold on a meter for you or you can stump up the €40 at pretty any major chemist.

Further info on the Bayer USB;
http://www.diabetes.bayer.es/index.php – (Español)
http://www.bayerglucofacts.com/ – Software (Español)

In English;
http://www.bayerdiabetes.com/

You will also find a most entertaining review of the Bayer ContourUSB meter via my esteemed blogging acquaintances Shoot Up or Put Up…