Scarborough Research, the leading local market research firm for identifying consumer and retail behaviors in the United States, took the liberty of compiling a list of the top local markets selling diabetic medications in the last 12 months. A dubious distinction it may be, these locations burn like a flame for the moths of diabetes product resellers.

Knoxville, TN, Memphis, TN, and Columbus, OH round out the top 3 local markets for diabetes medication purchasers. The Scarborough analysis also finds that Walgreens is the number one national drug store brand among diabetes medication purchasers. More than 3.1 million, or 18%, of these consumers purchased prescription drugs at Walgreens during the past year. CVS (17%), Wal-Mart (16%), Rite Aid (8%), and Eckerd Drug (4%) complete the top national drug store brands among diabetes medication purchasers.

In Charleston, Wal-Mart is the top store among diabetes medication purchasers, as over one-quarter (27%) of these consumers purchased prescription drugs there during the past year. Rite-Aid (20%), CVS (14%), Fruth Pharmacy (8%), and Kroger (5%) are other leading stores among diabetes medication purchasers.

Wow! Miss a week in the diabetic social parade and you miss a whole lot. It turns out, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), announced that it will be bowing-out of the blood glucose monitoring (BGM) market.

BD entered the blood glucose monitoring market in early 2003 with the introduction of the BD Logic® Blood Glucose Monitor. Distribution of BD Logic monitors will be discontinued immediately. BD is working with suppliers of other blood glucose systems that use BD™ Test Strips to continue to supply compatible meters for a limited period. To ensure that customers have sufficient time to consult with their healthcare teams and transition to new blood glucose monitoring systems, BD Test Strips will be distributed until December 2007.

The BGM industry is dominated by a handful of competitors. BD remains solidly committed to its diabetes care business. To ensure that no diabetic is left empty-handed, the remaining contenders of the BGM market are vying for your business. This is a huge opportunity for all of us to start test-driving new meters. I'm devising my list of dark horses. My top picks, so far are: LifeScans OneTouch Ultra Mini, Bayers Ascencia® Breeze (with the incorporated test strip disk), FreeStyle Flash® (ridiculously little gadget), and the AgaMatrix Wave 1 Meter. The Wave 3 looks totally exciting-but we still have a ways to go for its arrival. I'd like to know what everybody else is using these days. I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

One in five Americans online feel that the Internet has greatly improved the way they get their information about health care. Now there is a site for those who want to become more proactive in managing the disease. It's easier than ever to get the latest news and comprehensive information about the factors that play a key role in proper diabetes management. Looking for tips on healthier eating and diabetic recipes? Check. How about diabetic fitness and exercise? It's in there! Need some guidance on coping skills? You bet. Want to fine tune your understanding of diabetic care and blood sugar monitoring? Grab a chair and make yourself comfortable. There's plenty for everybody. Furthermore, there are perks like coupons and free goodies. The site is particularly relevant today, due to the fact two-thirds of type 2 diabetics have blood sugar averages that are out of control. Ouch.

OneTouchGold.com offers a comprehensive lineup of features. Registration is free and takes just a few minutes. That is the only requisite for free reign of the site. The OneTouch® Gold program provides members with an online magazine of the latest diabetes information covering a range of categories including food, fitness, coping, complications, medicines, and blood glucose monitoring. In addition, the site offers health-related coupons, product samples, and a monthly sweepstakes. The site also features monthly articles written by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and other experts in the field. In addition, members can elect to receive a monthly e-newsletter highlighting the latest diabetes news and health tips.

The OneTouch® Gold program is made possible by LifeScan, Inc. Kudos to the master minds behind OneTouchGold.com. They've opened a virtual schoolhouse for those in search of a diabetic higher learning.

Blood sugar testing is part of the daily grind when it comes to diabetes management. Albeit important, it is also the main frustration of my diabetic control. Yes, it only takes all of thirty seconds, start to finish. But I tend to think, each and every time, that's thirty seconds I'll never get back. And then I do the mental math for recreational torture: 4 tests a day, 30 seconds each, 365 days a year, 20 years...you get the idea. I'd like to review two options that might offer some remedy from the inconvenience of glucose testing: the glucowatch, and the artificial pancreas.

The glucowatch is intended for detecting trends and tracking patterns in glucose levels in adults and children with diabetes. It's available by prescription, only. The site disclaims, The G2 Biographer is intended to supplement, not replace, conventional blood glucose monitoring. Several years ago I journeyed west into NYC to guinea pig myself in the clinical testing of the watch. Does anybody use this thing?

The artificial pancreas is a man-made organ that has three parts, all of which have to work perfectly in synch: a sensor that continually monitors blood or tissue sugar levels, an insulin infusion pump, and a computer algorithm that controls the delivery of insulin minute by minute based on measured blood sugar. The brilliance of artificial intelligence might be our remedy while we patiently await the cure.

If anybody knows of other options to mitigate the annoyance of blood glucose testing-blog it back!