Strip Safely

I have not posted in quite a while, just a few things going on in my life that have gotten in the way! But this recent campaign encouraged me to send letters to my congressman and the FDA.
Please check out this link and if so inclined please write a letter yourself.  Strip Safely 

 

The is the intro to my letter, a true story that happened just a couple of days ago. 

Jeffrey Shuren, MD JD

jeff.shuren@fda.hhs.gov

Director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health

Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Avenue, WO66-5442,

Silver Spring, MD 20993

July 7, 2013

Dear Dr. Shuren.

I am a certified diabetes educator and also a friend of many people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2. I am also a researcher conducting a study in individuals with type 2 diabetes focusing on blood glucose monitoring.  I cannot tell you how many messages I receive from patients confused and upset that their blood glucose values vary dramatically between tests and between meters. These people are working so hard to improve their glucose control and are diligently testing and confirming their values, just to learn that the range can be so incredibly different.  This past week a patient had a blood glucose value of 548, she called frantic trying to decide what she should do.  She then tested on a second meter she had at home and the value was 323. When I told her that I was not at all surprised by the drastically different value she was in shock.  A variance of 20% could indicate that the real value may be between 440-656, or 259-387.  How do you make an informed, educated decision knowing the real value is somewhere between 259 and 656?  No one should live with a chronic disease and have to face daily challenging decisions that may impact life or death based on their actions.  We can fix this problem and we need your help!  It is not asking too much to be able to reassure a worried person that at least their glucose value is accurate while they face the other multitude of issues required to live and be healthy with diabetes. I urge you to please address this issue soon.

Deborah Greenwood, PhDc, RN, MEd, CNS, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE