Guest guest Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hello Mel, Welcome to our group. People here are very supportive and knowledgeable. Connie introduction Hello all, My name is Melvin and I live in Ohio. I am 34 and have been a diabetic since I was five. I am a type 1 and use an insulin pump. I lost my sight five years ago this August to diabetic retinopathy. I have a guide dog named Max. I have just started a relationship with a man from North Carolina. He is very accepting of my blindness and is supportive in my treatment of my diabetes. I am a full time student going for an associates degree in hospitality management. I will graduate in the fall of 2009. I live alone and manage my diabetes on my own following my doctor's advice. If any one has any questions please feel free to ask. Mel Teddy Nature delights in diversity, why don't humans? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.1/1346 - Release Date: 03/27/2008 10:03 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hello Melvin, and welcome to the list. I've had type 1 diabetes since I was nine (I'm now 26) and also use an insulin pump. I've been legally blind my entire life due to retinopathy of prematurity. Which insulin pump do you use, and how do you find its accessibility? Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hi Melvin, Welcome to the group! I am a type 1 diabetic of 34 years. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Melvin, Welcome to the blind-diabetics list. There are a number of type 1 diabetics on the list using a pump, and Jen is one who has been talking up the inaccessibility issue for a while. Many type 1 diabetics who became diabetic before adolescence (me included) end up with problems after 20 or so years. I lost my sight when I was 33 (I am now 52) and I have come to observe that many diabetics who lose their sight or have eye problems do so in their 30s. Dave introduction Hello all, My name is Melvin and I live in Ohio. I am 34 and have been a diabetic since I was five. I am a type 1 and use an insulin pump. I lost my sight five years ago this August to diabetic retinopathy. I have a guide dog named Max. I have just started a relationship with a man from North Carolina. He is very accepting of my blindness and is supportive in my treatment of my diabetes. I am a full time student going for an associates degree in hospitality management. I will graduate in the fall of 2009. I live alone and manage my diabetes on my own following my doctor's advice. If any one has any questions please feel free to ask. Mel Teddy Nature delights in diversity, why don't humans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Not surprising, though it is horrible! I use a Cozmo and think that it's one of the more accessible pumps out there, although it is still not speech-enabled obviously. I am lucky that I have enough vision to be able to see the screen with a strong magnifier if I have to, although I mainly rely on memorization of the menus to navigate the pump. I recently took part in an insulin pump study and made a strong issue of the fact that pumps are not accessible. I do not know which company was sponsoring that study, but hopefully my feedback will get to someone who cares. I think the ability to make pumps talk is not a technical one but rather one of interest. I am working on a project to try and get one of the pumps made to talk, we shall see if it gets any results. Jen RE: introduction Hello Jen, I use the MiniMed 515. I have found that the excess ability of the pump is very bad. I know I never put in the right numbers. I am always lower that what should have been put in. In my opinion if they can make cell phones that talk they could make a pump talk too. I contacted MiniMed and asked for the manual to the pump in Braille and they told me that under no circumstances should a blind person be on a pump. A good friend of mine told me that I should take them court over the issue and make them pay. There are times that I have to have my sister, who lives next door, figure out what I have done to my pump. Once I locked the key pad and couldn't figure out what I had done. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.1/1347 - Release Date: 3/27/2008 7:15 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Welcome to you Maggie. My name is and my husband is Joe, we are totally blind. We live in Florida. You will learn alot there are alot of people on list that are quite up to date on everything. Take care and good luck. and Joe Introduction Hello everyone. My name is Maggie. I live in New Zealand. I'm totally blind as is my husband Trevor, and our son Neil, aged 12 is partially sighted. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week, and have been placed on two metformin pills a day, not sure of the dosage of each one. At this stage they tell me I only need to have my blood sugars done every three months, but I am in the process of hopefully getting a talking glucometer through our foundation of the blind sometime soon, so I can keep tabs on what is going on with my sugars myself. I look forward to reading emails from the group and learning by other's experiences, I can't think of any questions right now, but I'm sure I will have plenty as time goes on. Hugs, Maggie. There's music in a horseshoe, there's music in a nail,There's music in a tomcat, when you stand upon his tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Welcome Maggie. FYI, you may want to consider a meter many of us use called the Prodigy Voice. It's totally accessible because it is designed for the blind and visually impaired. I'm not sure how you would order it in New Zealand, and perhaps Ruth, our resident Prodigy expert, will chime in and tell us. Dave Introduction Hello everyone. My name is Maggie. I live in New Zealand. I'm totally blind as is my husband Trevor, and our son Neil, aged 12 is partially sighted. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week, and have been placed on two metformin pills a day, not sure of the dosage of each one. At this stage they tell me I only need to have my blood sugars done every three months, but I am in the process of hopefully getting a talking glucometer through our foundation of the blind sometime soon, so I can keep tabs on what is going on with my sugars myself. I look forward to reading emails from the group and learning by other's experiences, I can't think of any questions right now, but I'm sure I will have plenty as time goes on. Hugs, Maggie. There's music in a horseshoe, there's music in a nail,There's music in a tomcat, when you stand upon his tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Hi Maggie, welcome, if you cannot get the Prodogy meter in NZ, (we cannot get it in Australia), you might want to see if the Sensocard Plus has been approved there. It does speak all it's functions and is very small. Hope this helps, Brett. Introduction Hello everyone. My name is Maggie. I live in New Zealand. I'm totally blind as is my husband Trevor, and our son Neil, aged 12 is partially sighted. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week, and have been placed on two metformin pills a day, not sure of the dosage of each one. At this stage they tell me I only need to have my blood sugars done every three months, but I am in the process of hopefully getting a talking glucometer through our foundation of the blind sometime soon, so I can keep tabs on what is going on with my sugars myself. I look forward to reading emails from the group and learning by other's experiences, I can't think of any questions right now, but I'm sure I will have plenty as time goes on. Hugs, Maggie. There's music in a horseshoe, there's music in a nail,There's music in a tomcat, when you stand upon his tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Welcome Maggie, I live in California and am probably the longest lived person with diabetes in this grop-63 and ½ years! I am a type 1, but I teach diabetic education at the Braille Institute in L.A. Do you know what your A1C is. That is an important number to know to start with. You are smart getting a talking meter and wanting to keep better track of you rblood sugars-that is the only way you will learn what is good for you to eat without raiing the BG to high levels. Do you know what meter you are goiong to get? Introduction Hello everyone. My name is Maggie. I live in New Zealand. I'm totally blind as is my husband Trevor, and our son Neil, aged 12 is partially sighted. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week, and have been placed on two metformin pills a day, not sure of the dosage of each one. At this stage they tell me I only need to have my blood sugars done every three months, but I am in the process of hopefully getting a talking glucometer through our foundation of the blind sometime soon, so I can keep tabs on what is going on with my sugars myself. I look forward to reading emails from the group and learning by other's experiences, I can't think of any questions right now, but I'm sure I will have plenty as time goes on. Hugs, Maggie. There's music in a horseshoe, there's music in a nail,There's music in a tomcat, when you stand upon his tail. __________ NOD32 3230 (20080701) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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