The Corner Booth

In the coming years, Tandem Diabetes Care has ambitious plans to introduce the next version of its tubed t:slim insulin pump, a series of three smaller devices to reduce and eventually eliminate tubes completely, and features allowing users to fully control their insulin pump and even deliver bolus insulin with their smartphones. The San Diego, California-based company revealed all of this at its first-ever R&D Day on Dec. 6, 2021, mapping out its 5-year pipeline plan for new technology. While medtech timelines often slip, given corporate priorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review process, Tandem expects that it will be able to develop and launch most — if not all — of these new products on a rolling scale between 2022 and 2027. "As a diabetes care company, we realize there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing this complex condition," Tandem CEO John Sheridan said. "'Positively different' is a sum total of our brand.....

It wasn't until a quarter century after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) that Lori Salsbury in Arkansas realized the condition she'd been living with since she was 15 years old might not be what she thought it was. Though her mom and sister were both initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and later correctly dubbed T1Ds, Lori didn't have a reason at first to be suspicious of her own T1D diagnosis. Not until 2015, when she began seeing more people with diabetes sharing their stories online and realized something was off for her. Sure, there is a mantra in our community that "Your Diabetes May Vary." But for Salsbury, the particulars of her T1D just "didn't match" what she saw others in the D-Community sharing or what doctors and nurses described as the symptoms most newly diagnosed T1D experience. At the time of her diagnosis, Salsbury was in her mid-20s and seemed quite healthy. She didn't get nauseous or sick, e...

As Labor Day offrs a break from our usual work routines, let's take a moment to recognize all those who devote their lives to making a difference for the Diabetes Community -- everyone from researchers and medical professionals to all of us PWDs (people with diabetes) who work tirelessly just to  live  every moment of each day. And of course, we PWDs know there's  never  really a day off from diabetes. An Ode To All Diabetes Workers To those who make the "magic elixirs" Mixing the fast-acting or long-acting mixtures Storing these live-saving meds in bottles, pens or vials To help us endure our daily blood sugar trials We thank you for the work you do.   To the meter-makers and the pump assemblers Whose work rarely a patient remembers Building the systems and evaluating, testing We raise our calloused fingertips in thanks — no resting! We test our blood many times a day On any meter brand, in many a way Waiting for the countdown to see our #bgnow Hoping for littl...

 Most of us with diabetes live in fear of the dreaded diabetes complications that could someday strike — especially those of us diagnosed as kids or teens who've had many years for possible complications to develop. I personally was diagnosed with type 1 more than three decades ago in 1984 as a young child, and for as long as I can remember, I've been hearing about the stats telling us that we PWDs are at high risk of developing eye disease. According to the  National Eye Institute , almost 8 million PWDs are living with some version of diabetes-related retinopathy or  macular edema . Those stats hit home recently when my eye specialist told me that my own long-diagnosed retinopathy had progressed to the point of requiring laser treatment and possible injections into the eye.  Yep, the time had come for my first-ever official eye treatment for retinopathy. Facing my worst diabetes fears Of course, hearing that I needed laser treatment a...

The American Diabetes Association's annual conference, known as the ADA Scientific Sessions , is always the biggest diabetes event of the year, and 2021 marked the second time this 5-day congress was held completely online because of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. When held in person, the conference normally convenes roughly 16,000 physicians, researchers, and diabetes industry experts from across the globe. This 81st annual event drew 11,600 people from 119 countries between June 25 and 29 — slightly lower than the 12,527 registered attendees for the 2020 virtual event. For both, the event organizers expected more people to tune in afterward, thanks to the recorded online sessions being made available for up to 3 months following the conference. Despite its virtual nature, this year's conference included nearly 200 presentations with more than 900 presenters on any range of topics. And to top it off, there were roughly 1,100 research posters delving into the latest ...

You may have seen diabetes weaved in to the storyline of a favorite TV show or new movie every so often. The condition is frequently used as a quick punchline or one-liner, or some kind of a foil that trips up the characters. These portrayals matter because movies and media have the power to shape the public's view regarding people with diabetes (PWDs). Movies and media can shape how people react in certain emergencies, kids' experiences at school and adults' experiences in workplaces, and how people make healthcare policy decisions. Popular shows like "The Blacklist," "Law and Order: SVU" and "Person of Interest" have all briefly incorporated insulin pumps and device-hacking into their storylines — but they didn't always handle it well. "Nobody likes seeing any part of diabetes portrayed incorrectly, but certainly, I think it's a lot better in today's media than it was years ago. We've made huge strides and we...