Hi ! friends:

   I am a graduate student of USU department of computer science.
I am doing my thesis on the topic: "Parallel Grading of Venous
Beading". I need the images (on disk) of diabetic retinopathy for
diabetic patients with doctor’s grading. Anybody know where and
how can I get some of such images ?

many thanks.

Hello.  

I am writing to get some information on women’s experiences with
contraception because it’s so important for diabetic women  not to
have unplanned pregnancies.

I have been on oral contraceptives (triphasic type) but recently
switched to Depo Provera, the 3 month injection, on the advice
of my diabetologist.  Every GYN I went to was hesitant to prescribe
to a diabetic, both for cardiovascular risk reasons, and because
oral contraceptives can affect blood sugars.

I finally agreed to switch when I charted my BGs and notices that
in the week before my period my BGs were chronically high and
very difficult to bring down. (could take twice as much Reg without
lowering my bg).

Has anyone else tried Depo PRovera or been encouraged to use it
by their MD?  I was told it was better because 1) no estrogen and
2) the very slow release of progestin so there are no peaks in
hormone levels (or rapid changes).

Anybody with any experience here?
Thanks.
Betsy (IDDM, 20 years, age 27)

Hi.  

Does anybody have a condition on their shins and ankles called
necrobiosis lipidicum diabeticorum?

It is a condition related to diabetes, and is actually how I was
diagnosed – brownish reddish spots about the size of a silver
dollar that are very smooth and shiny.

The one I was diagnosed with 20 years ago has faded quite a bit,
but I have several others – big brown spots all over my shins
that people mistake for burns.

I haven’t had any problems with them for a long time, but
wondered if anybody knew if they are a sign of complications or
ways to get rid of them?

I have a few article from medical journals, but they are fairly
old, and there seems to be little info about the condition.
– Betsy.

Just wondering if anyone in the Kingston, Ontario area is reading this
newsgroup. Drop me a message to

        c…@cmc.ca

Take care

Y.H. Cho

I was told there is a medicine called ACARBOSE which could substitute
insulin injections .
Can someone tell me something about it? It is not sold in Italy.

Thanks

Luisanna

Cindy and I met here on the net a few months back and in the
process of conversation and correspondence we came to the realization
that both our lives were touched very deeply by the tragedy of
serious / life threatening illnesses….she for her mother and I
for my young daughter. In retrospect, we found the lack of medical
information that the average person could understand, for these
diseases very frustrating.

Cindy and I have formed a company called Med Help International
which provides to the community medical information written in
lay (easy-to-understand) terminology. We also set up a Bulletin
Board System , BBS, so that people with modems and a PC can dial in
for information or to meet other people in similar situations. If you
would like to follow up or want to help out you can contact us via
e-mail… our bbs is in New York…516-423-0472 if you want to drop in…
it’s free of course…

Best regards to all,
Phil G.
ph…@world.std.com

Hi

My wife had been a borderline diabetic and was taking pills for about
10 years.  She is 52.  Five months ago, she became ill with colitis
and was put on prednazone <–sp.  A month later, her blood sugar count
went up to 400-500.  She was then put on insulin Type N.  Her
count went down a little (avg. 350).  The doctor changed the insulin to
type 70/30.  At that point the average blood sugar count went down to
around 200.  She went to the hospital to try to figure out why her
blood sugar will not go below that.  She is taking 66 units of insulin
in the moring and 24 units in the evening.  The doctor told her that
she is genetically 97% diabetic (I have know idea what that means).
He told her to lose 10 lbs and to exercise 1/2 a day while continuing
to take the same dosage.  Her own personal physician would like to see
her blood sugar count around 150.

My question after all that is, Is there any danger of heart, kidney, etc..
disease taking this amount of insulin while her blood sugar remains high.
If you could mail me some comments I would really appreciate it.

                                Thank you,
                                Tony Soares
                                email: soa…@vdd.vlsi.ll.mit.edu

The Vancouver branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association will be
offering a new information service accessible through the
internet. We are currently in the process of depositing the
information on our freenet here in Vancouver, we expect to be up
and running within the month. This type of service is new to us
and we would welcome and appreciate any suggestions you might
have. Here is a list of some of the features we will be offering
in the near future :

     - Our list of books, videos and kits (approx 400 titles)
     - A list of our diabetes and health periodicals and journals
       (approx 60 publications)
     - On line diabetic recipes
     - Current Research
     - General information about diabetes
     - Questions and answers
     - Information on our organization
     - Meal planning and nutrition information
     - A question and answer forum ( in the near future )
     - Support groups

If there is anything you think we missed or something you would
like to see please e-mail me at —————.

As soon as  everything is up and running I will post our internet
address. Thanks.

     CANADIAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION

In article <1994May28.143…@wrl.dec.com> far…@wrl.dec.com (Keith Farkas) writes:

   I believe that it is ALSO very important to ensure that your blood pressure
   is very close to normal for high blood pressure can greatly increase the
   likelihood of developing abnormal blood vessel growth on the retina.

Agreed. My retinopathy was reduced when I went on blood pressure medication.

                                Nico Garcia
                                ra…@athena.mit.edu

I’m doing reading and research into the possibility of going on an
insulin pump. All of the reading I’ve done has shown pumps only in
the *most* favorable light.

Here’s my questions:

1)  Are there any pumpers out there who have had unpleasant
experiences with their pumps? I’m interested to have a firm grip on
the negative aspects of a pump before making any decisions.

2)  I’m a 26 yr old who has had type 1 for 16 years.  So far I’ve had
no sign of complications.  My regimin is a ultralente/regular mix,
taking 4-5 injections / day with lot’s of BG monitoring and I feel as
though I’m in reasonably good control of my diabetes.  Is the pump
worth the effort for someone in my situation?  The literature seems
to be focused more towards people who have lots of trouble managing
their diabetes, people who are pregnant, or other specialities.
While none of these directly applies to me, I am very interested and
motivated towards obtaing the best possible control – and I don’t
view the "machine" as an obstacle.

I’ve been reading this group for about 4 weeks and found it very
educational. This is my maiden post to the Internet!!

Thanks,
neil