31 Days of Divabetic Podcasts, Day Seventeen

Divabetic (Divabetic.org) presents a month-long showcase celebrating 10 years of diabetes podcasting. Each of the featured podcasts spotlights our favorite guests, topics, poems, games and/or musical inspiration. Enjoy!

On Day 17, we’re spotlighting Diabetes Late Inspired by Sara Bareilles from January 2014. “I came out as a gay man on this episode of Diabetes Late Nite,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. “A few months before this podcast, I  was the target of homophobic remarks after I presented a diabetes outreach program at a prominent African American Methodist Church in Philadelphia. I was crushed by those words. I’ve never wanted my sexuality to be the reason for someone to turn away from our diva brand of diabetes outreach but I felt that I had to come out to the Divabetic community for my own personal wellness. I am not ashamed of who I am nor will I be shamed because of my sexuality.  I have never regretted my decision.”

Singer, Songwriter Sara Bareilles achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit song, Love Song, which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over one million records and over four million singles in the Untied States alone and has been nominated for a Grammy Award five times. Sara Braeilles‘s latest album, The Blessed Unrest is nominated for Album of the Year Grammy Award. Her song, Brave is nominated for Best Solo Performance Grammy Award. Throughout the podcast, we will be playing clips of Sara Bareilles songs courtesy of SONY MUSIC.

The podcast also includes a Diabetes Hot Topics discussion, a Diabetes Numerology Puzzle, Prize Giveaways and a Mother Your Diabetes commentary.

Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Neva White MSN, CRNP, CDE, Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE, Poet Lorraine Brooks, SONY Music Executive Jeff James, Mama Rose Marie and Mike Lawson from San Francisco, CA

Our monthly podcasts are dedicated to Music Lovers living with, at risk and/or affected by diabetes. We aim to be the epicenter of the circle of care, a link between patients and their health care providers, a translator of clinical speak and a bridge between denial and acceptance, fear and confidence

Divabetic was inspired by the late music legend, Luther Vandross and created in 2005 by Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, who, as Vandross’ assistant of 14 years, witnessed his boss, mentor, and friend struggle in silence and solitude with the diabetes and its related complications. Since its inception, Divabetic has presented outreach programs in 15 major U.S. cities, reaching hundreds of thousands of women, their families and health care professionals.

Experience more of our GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS philosophy at divabetic.org

Diabetes Late Nite Inspired by Indigo Girls

We’re talking about opening up about your diagnosis with musical inspiration from Indigo Girls on Diabetes Late Nite scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 2020, 8 6 – 7:30 PM, EST.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been making music as the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls for over 25 years. Three of their 16 albums have gone gold, four have gone platinum, and they’ve been nominated for seven Grammys.

They’re known for their social activism on and off-stage. They see music as a continuum of human existence, intertwined with spiritual life in a way that can’t be pinned down.

Guests include Dr. Andrea Chisholm (OBGYN), The Floor Girls and The Small Crimes of Tiffany Templeton Author Richard Fifield, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Mike Lawson, and Poet Lorraine Brooks.

Throughout the podcast we will be playing music from the Indigo Girls’ album. Indigo Girls, courtesy of SONY Music.

Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a  lot.

Divabetic was inspired by the late music legend, Luther Vandross and created in 2005 by Max Szadek, who, as Vandross’ assistant of 14 years, witnessed his boss, mentor, and friend struggle in silence and solitude with the diabetes and its related complications. President Barak Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter have acknowledged Divabetic for its dedication and determination on behalf of the diabetes community. Visit Divabetic on the web: www.divabetic.org.

TUNE IN

High Costs of Insulin Kills US Man with Type 1 Diabetes

Recently I came across a disturbing Facebook post on diabetes advocate, Mike Lawson‘s page about a man desperate for insulin who created a Go-Fund-Me page to be able to afford it.

Shane Patrick Boyle who was living with type 1 diabetes was a gifted writer and graphic artist who created a Go-Fund-Me campaign to pay for insulin

Unfortunately Shane passed on March 18th, and according to his Go-Fund-Me Page, “Shane died because he was trying to stretch out his life saving insulin to make it last longer.”

Shane moved back home to help take care of his sick mom, Judith (she died on March 11th,) and his healthcare was put on the line because of the move.

Shane lost his Rx benefits, was between doctors and needed insulin for his type 1 diabetes. Shane was waiting for his ACA status to be approved and was stretching out his insulin until he had enough money to pay for his insulin, and see a doctor to prescribe prescriptions.

Around the world people with diabetes are dying because they don’t have access to life saving insulin.

According to the New York Times, a lawsuit was filed in January accusing three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills.

The  article states that the price of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years, with the three manufacturers — Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly — raising the list prices of their products in near lock step, prompting outcry from patient groups and doctors who have pointed out that the rising prices appear to have little to do with increased production costs.

The lawsuit cites several examples of patients with diabetes who, unable to afford their insulin treatments, which can cost up to $900 a month, have resorted to injecting themselves with expired insulin or starving themselves to control their blood sugar. Some patients, the lawsuit said, intentionally allowed themselves to slip into diabetic ketoacidosis — a blood syndrome that can be fatal — to get insulin from hospital emergency rooms.

A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that the price of insulin nearly tripled from 2002 to 2013.

Given insulin’s history, and the fact that more than one company makes it, it might seem odd that prices have been going up so dramatically.

Researchers first figured out how to manufacture insulin in animal pancreases back in the 1920s so that it could be injected into people. The doctor who developed it, Dr. Frederick Banting, won a Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1923.

Since then, there have been some big changes. In the 1970s, scientists figured out how to use recombinant DNA to manufacture real human insulin, so that it no longer had to come from animals. But in drug years, that is old, and those insulins are still in use.

The most prescribed types of insulin are called analogues, which are slight variations of human insulin that aim to help diabetics’ bodies function more closely to how they would if they were able to produce the insulin themselves.

Drug companies have a history of marginally improving drugs and then charging higher prices for the new versions even if the extra benefit is small.

Join The American Diabetes Association and sign the petition to make insulin affordable. Advocate and call your lawmakers – your voice matters, so make use it and make noise!

LISTEN NOW: Tips for Managing Your Diabetes at Night on Diabetes Late Nite inspired by Gladys Knight & The Pips. Guests include Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’, Mary Ann Hodorowicz, RD, LDN, MBA, CDE, CEC,  the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, SleepyHead Central founder Tamara Sellman RPSGT, CCSH, Poet Lorraine Brooks and Mama Rose Marie.