Diabetes.Blog.com

After the recent "blogquake" at this blog, which now seems a thing of the past, I decided to set up this Discussion Forum for any suggestions for improvements at Diabetes.Blog.com that readers might have. Some of them would be easy to implement (e.g., a new Discussion Forum on some topic or other) and some impossible, but if you have a brainstorm, please share it with others and me and if it can be implemented, will do.

Also, if you have comments about the mechanics of the blog (like how to post comments!), here's your chance to vent.

Your thoughts, please...

As of June 1, 2008, the ability to post new comments at the Discussion Forums at Diabetes.Blog.com has been disabled. The old comments will remain available for you to read.

Please go to Diabetes Discussions to see new comments and to add your thoughts!

Instructions for posting comments may be found at Getting Started.

Thanks.

Bill the diabetesdoc
mailto:info@diabetesmonitor.com

Diabetes.Blog.Com is a blogcompanion to our main website, the Diabetes Monitor, which you can find at http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/

As of October 23, this discussion forum for Byetta is closed. Please see Byetta 21: October 23 -, which is the follow-up Discussion Forum for Byetta.

It was the 20th in a series of Byetta Discussion Forums, and 47th Discussion Forum at Diabetes.Blog.com. There is a listing of other Byetta Discussion Forums at a separate webpage: List of Byetta Forums. By the way, you'll also find some information about Byetta at other Discussion Forums, including Traveling with diabetes, odds'n'ends and research about meds.

Also, you can still read the earlier comments (at the earlier weekly and monthly Byetta forums), and search for information throughout those forums, by using your webbrowser's FIND or SEARCH feature while at the earlier forums, or by searching at the advanced search feature that is at the Diabetes Monitor.

Please review and follow our ground rules (at http://diabetes.blog.com/690512/). To share your thoughts, use the "Comments" link immediately below.

I've had several e-mails recently from folks who are uncertain as to how to enter comments at Diabetes.Blog.com. Here's a summary of my advice.

Please note! There's a new way to enter comments (as of June 6, 2007):

1) Find the Comment box at the bottom of any page.
2) Write your comment in the box, then
3) click on the "Send" button.

4) You'll be transferred to a webpage at Blog.com (that doesn't look anything like Diabetes.Blog.com!) You'll have a choice of what to do:

4a) Where it says "Post as", you can click on "Other" and follow steps (5) through (7) below,

or

4b) you can start a Blog.com account (which makes it much easier to post future comments!) by clicking on "Sign up here". If you do this, you'll be directed to a page where you are walked through the steps to "Create User" — simply follow the steps there!

5) You'll have to enter your name and e-mail address (skip the entry about web page), then enter the information in the colored picture into the box below the colored picture (correct capitalization isn't needed; for example, if it shows a "A", then typing "a" will also work).
6) Finally, click on the "Publish" button.
7) You'll be advised to re-enter everything if you goofed on reading the picture.

If you have questions about this, please send me an e-mail -- Thanks!

Bill the diabetesdoc
wwq@diabetesmonitor.com

(Originally posted December 13, 2005; updated April 23, 2006, June 7, 2007 and June 17, 2007.)

Diabetes.Blog.Com is a blogcompanion to our main website, the Diabetes Monitor, which you can find at www.DiabetesMonitor.com

Steph and Bill

Abstracts– Diabetes Mellitus, Endocr Pract. 2006;12(Suppl 2)
http://www.aace.com/meetings/ams/2006/pdfs/2006AM-Abstracts.pdf

Abstract #103
Use of a Moderated Discussion Forum on the Internet for Patients to Share Experiences With New Diabetes Medications

William W. Quick, MD, FACP, FACE, and Stephanie Schwartz, RN, MPH, CDE

Objective: Several methods of using the Internet for patient education and support have been proposed. The accidental finding that patients can use the comments section of a commercial weblog program (blog) to interact with each other provided the impetus to assess if patient-patient interaction (moderated by an endocrinologist) could improve compliance with 2 new injectable diabetes drugs that have potential gastrointestinal (GI) side effects.

Methods: Beginning July 2, 2005, a discussion forum was established at Diabetes.Blog.com to allow patients to discuss Byetta (exenatide), a new medication for type 2 diabetes. This forum proved so successful (316 comments by August 1) that monthly forums on the same medication were developed; 599 comments were posted in August and 245 between September 1 and 16. Subsequently, discussion forums for Symlin (pramlintide), Lantus (insulin glargine), and other topics were developed.

Discussion: Most of the comments were from users of the medications; some were from people considering using them. Patients shared information on medications that can be used to avoid the GI side effects, products to maintain the refrigerated condition that exenatide requires, traveling with the product, meal planning, and injection technique. They also provided occasional emotional support (e.g., for patients affected by Hurricane Katrina). All comments generated an e-mail to the endocrinologist who was moderating the forum, allowing for rapid deletion of off-topic comments (and the rare malicious posting of inappropriate comments). Occasionally, when a person posting a comment appeared to require professional intervention, the moderator recommended seeking medical advice. Many patients shared their experiences with drug-induced nausea and vomiting and what medications worked best, and they encouraged new users to continue using the drug. Additionally, a survey was undertaken to determine how people had found the blog. Results as of September 16 were as follows (N = 102): 48% from a search at Google or another search engine, 45% from another website or blog, 7% from other sources, less than 1% from a physician who is not a diabetes specialist, less than 1% from a diabetes nurse, less than 1% couldn’t recall, none from a friend or relative, and none from a physician who is a diabetes specialist.

Conclusions: Use of the comments capability of a commercial blogging program allows patient information to be shared with other patients, much as a support group does. It has the added advantages of allowing patients to search earlier comments, not be constricted by time constraints, and interact with a wider group of people than a physical support group would permit.

PS: We ask that you visit the Diabetes Monitor regularly.

Bill the diabetesdoc.

• You must include a valid e-mail address in the posting form. This e-mail address is not displayed as part of your comments. If you do not provide your e-mail address, your comment will not be posted (effective 25June2006).
• Optional: You can also add your e-mail address in the text of your comments if you are willing to have readers contact you. Remember, if you put your e-mail address in the text of your comment, you may receive spam! Therefore it is strongly recommended that you identify your e-mail address using [at] instead of @. Example: myemailname[at]myemaildomainname.com
• Optional: Please identify yourself by name and also add either city/state/country, as there are now several folks with the same first name writing comments. You might also want to add your type of diabetes (e.g., T1 for Type 1, or T2 for Type 2), and a brief listing of your medications.
• Stay on the topic! There are numerous Discussion Forums at this blog, and using the appropriate one will increase the ease for all readers to seek the information they want to find.
  

  If you want to continue a discussion about something at another Discussion Forum, it is perfectly okay to mention in one Discussion Forum that further comments are located at another Discussion Forum.

• Political statements (e.g., "write your congressman") are not appropriate at Diabetes.Blog.com. We're here to help people, not to advance any political agenda (added 22May2006).
  
• All posts are monitored automatically, and any off-topic posts will be mercilessly removed.
• No advertising is permitted. Anyone wishing to post an announcement, please contact me.
• If it appears to me or others that all you are doing is writing propaganda about a product, I'll delete your comment without warning. Especially if you have the gall to add a hyperlink to your product. (added 16Jan2007).

To share your thoughts, use the "Comments" link immediately below.

This is the 10th in a series of weekly Byetta Discussion Forums, and 44th Discussion Forum at Diabetes.Blog.com. It is now closed to new comments. There is a listing of other Byetta Discussion Forums at a separate webpage: List of Byetta Forums.

By the way, you'll also find some information about Byetta at other Discussion Forums, including traveling with diabetes, odds'n'ends and research about meds.

Also, you can still read the earlier comments (at the earlier weekly and monthly Byetta forums), and search for information throughout those forums, by using your webbrowser's FIND or SEARCH feature while at the earlier forums, or by searching at the advanced search feature that is at the Diabetes Monitor.