Now, I am sure this will show my ignorance but as a significant other
I can’t help but notice how ravenous my husband gets at certain times.
Even eating properly, right immediately after dinner he will hit the
"left overs" and wipe them out.  His appetite is rarely satisfied with
the portions recommended by the dietitian.  Has anyone had any
experience at all with medications that can counterbalance the food
cravings?  It is almost like a cycle.  The more you eat, the large you
become, the more insulin your body needs, the hungrier you get…the
more you eat!  Any success stories or suggestions…

Hi. What ever happened to cyclamates ? this product was terrific
allaround-baking etc. It was banned because ti caused cancer in rats (
supposedly ) Some think it was the saccharine !!! In any event I think
Abbott Labs tried to get it back on the market but it seems to be a
political/business thing and the FDA hasn’t done anuthing about re-
testing that I know of. What has to be done to get these people to move
on something so imprtant????

Is anyone aware of a correlation between the use of Corderone, a
relatively new anti-arrythmic medication from Wyeth, and a decrease of
symptoms of Type 2?

Corderone has some major and quite undesireable side effects but after
about 90 days of use, after which it was discontinued for unrelated
reasons, symptoms of my diabetes have reduced, despite reducing and
finally discontinuing Micronase.  Fasting glucose levels remain mostly in
the range of 85 to 95.

I have written to Wyeth but have not received a response yet.

Comments or thoughts?  anyone have related experiences?

Ron Chapelle

I have been a diabetic for 13 years.  I recently found out that I have kidney failure.

Some advice for all diabetics.  Stay away from salt and sodium.  Try to eat fresh
vegitables and fresh meats.  When eating foods with sodium in them, look at the
nutritional information on the package.  Make sure that they say they have 250mg
of sodium or less on the package and eat as little of that food as possible.

This will at least prolong any kidney damage that may occur due to your diabetes.

I wish I was told this long ago.  That way i wouldn’t be doing the dialysis now.

Thanks, and happy eating!

James Pack

I am looking for a good Dr. in my area who will help me gain tight
control. My problem is that my Beta receptors resist insulin absorption. I
am hoping to try a combination therapy using a newer oral medication to
increase absorption along with multiple insulin injections and BG testing
to tightly control Bg levels.

Please forward your recomendation for a good doctor by Email . Thanks:

(Steve Richardson) RichSt…@aol.com

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Judging by the responses to this subject over the past few days, it looks
like we get back to the same two issues: 1) the *type* of public place
and 2) the personality of the individual diabetic.  As to the first: My
work takes me to different places, seldom the same place twice, whether
offices, auditoriums, laboratories, private homes, whatever.  I don’t
think you can make a rule about what kind of public place is suitable for
a "public display" of diabetes self-management; some are, some aren’t,
and you’ve got to play it by ear.  I will say that in a dozen years of
sticking myself and testing myself in myriad public places, I have NEVER
ONCE been challenged or even looked at askance by ANYONE.  As to
personality type, I personally am fairly self-assertive about such
matters.  But I have diabetic acquaintances who would sooner die than
"reveal" that they have a "weakness."  I think they are wrong to feel
that way — but hey, it’s their life, and they can live it any way they like.

–
David Cohler, South Pasadena

In South West Los Angeles County (the South Bay Area) the Pump Connection
Support Group schedule for the rest of 1995 is:

Oct 17 Open Forum
Nov 21 Holiday Dining Food Tips
Dec 19 Open Forum/Holiday Party

Open Forums are for discussing topics of interest for patients and their
families utilizing pump therapy.  Newcomers are Welcome.

Each meeting starts for newcomers at 6:30 for an introduction.  Programs
are from  7 to 9 PM

Location: in Torrance at Little Company of Mary Hospital Center for Health
Education

Call 310 543-6777 Norie Martin, RN, CDE for more information.

The article "Ultrasound-Mediated Transdermal Protein Delivery" was
published in SCIENCE, vol. 269, August 11, 1995, pp. 850-853.  There
was also an article summarizing the procedure (obviously much
simplified from the SCIENCE publication) in the New York Times Science
section on Tues., Aug. 15, 1995.  Here are exerpts:

        In a step that may one day free diabetics from painful needles,
researchers at M.I.T. have shown that pulses of ultrasound can inject
drugs like insulin through the skin.
        The skin…is highly impermeable, so only a few small molecule
drugs…can now be administered through the skin with skin patches.
        Dr.’s Langer and  Blankschtein and doctoral student Mitragotri, of the
school’s chemical engineering department, found that pulses of
low-frequency ultrasound significantly increased the skin’s
permeability, allowing insulin…to be delivered from a skin patch.
        "You always have dissolved gases in any tissue," (Dr. Langer) "and
when you apply the ultrasound you could view it as removing the cork
from a champagne bottle: these dissolved gases start to move."
        This phenomenon ("cavitation") causes pathways to develop in the
outermost skin layer…these pathways allow the drugs to pass into the
body.  When the ultra-sound is removed, the lipids quickly reorder
themselves and restore the skin’s impermeability.  
        Dr. Paul Coates, a diabetes program director with the NIDDK, said the
work showed the promise of efforts now under way to develop "A
closed-loop system where you can have glucose-sensing associated with
an insulin delivery system.  …this is a potentially very valuable
method for insulin delivery in diabetes…"
        The tests [were] conducted on human cadavers and live laboratory
mice…Transdermal drug delivery could have several advantages…For
example, patches could reduce needle-transmitted infections.  The
method might more effectively deliver therapeutic proteins that might
be broken down by the digestive system if taken orally….
        Many questions remain to be answered before ultrasound-aided drug
therapies are made available for human use…
        In vivo studies on the long-term effects of ultrasound on the skin’s
barrier properties…as well as tests to determine the optimum pulse
length, frequency and intensity of ultrasound, have yet to be done.
        Dr. Langer said he believed that clinical trials of ultrasound drug
delivery systems could begin within a year.  But he said wearable
devices that would moniter blood chemistry and deliver drugs when
needed were probably many years away.

CHROMIUM and CHINESE HAMSTERS (Cont)                         (2 of 4)

FAILURE TO OVERCOME YOUR EDUCATION  Causes this type of error. Note
that:

        1. Chromic Chloride can produce chromosome damage in cultured
cells – including human lymphocytes –  in the concentration range of
0.5 – 1.0 mM. [5 - 7]

        2. Purified DNA studies show that sufficient concentrations of
trivalent chromium can impair DNA reproduction fidelity. [8] Thus, it
must be the Cr(III), not the picolinate salt, which is the cause?????
However, you have to THINK to see this!

        3. Some BASIC research would have told these validated idiots
that unphysiologically high concentrations of iron, copper, manganese,
selenium and nickel are potentially mutagenic, also. [9 - 17]  Each of
these has a higher concentration in the body than Cr. [18]

        4. In the presence of COPPER, VITAMIN C can cause DNA damage!
Sooo? [19] We obviously shouldn’t take Vitamin C since we have copper
in our bodies — at least we’d BETTER have some!

        5. Fully HALF of the natural food and herb compounds tested have
shown mutagenic activity in one or more assays. [20] The answer? I
guess it’s to eat only the other half!

        6. Anti-carcinogenic protective compounds in cruciferous
vegetables are in fact mutagenic in cell cultures AS WELL AS in intact
animals. [21]

        7. This ain’t new information. [Paracelsus wisely observed (16th
Century} that "The dose makes the poison"] Clearly a bit more of the
liberal arts would have better prepared these "researchers".

        8. Do you love the FDA? In a document entitled "Toxicity of the
Essential Minerals — Information pertinent to Establishing Appropriate
Levels of Single-Mineral Supplements" they state "No adverse effects
were observed in either mice or rats given an inorganic salt which
supplied 5 ppm chromium(III) in drinking water THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES.
[22] Just to draw a comparison, that’s equivalent to a human ingesting
about 10,000mcg DAILY FOR LIFE!

My snide comments and anger are expressed because this is a poorly
written study, grasping for a sensational conclusion and its cost me a
lot of time to investigate. When I found that the researchers had
obviously done little or no background research, I got p——ed! I’m
not a bioscientist, but I AM an engineer who’s written protocols and
conducted scientific studies. This one’s conclusion insults me!  It
also has both user acceptance and commercial ramifications. If a user
who would have benefitted, such as a type II diabetic, is scared off,
he/she is deprived unnecessarily of a personal benefit. If the
commercial manufacturer is driven out of business by spurious
conclusions such as this research group offers, we all lose. Only when
the results are real and adverse is an attack such as this justified.
Until then, the normal caveats would have to suffice. Unfortunately,
this study’s conclusions look to be a shabby attempt to damage the
marketability of CrPic by a commercially motivated sponsor group. Can I
prove it? No. But,  I suspect . . . . . . . . . . .

                                             Ralph Burr,
                                             Director
                                             The Zeda Association