I’m 20 years old, I’ve had type 1 diabetes for four years, and here it is very hard to have good treatment. There is here is no special food for people with diabetes, and we have very big problems with insulin because people have no money to buy it (Here the median salary is $15, and insulin cost $20). Most of people with diabetes are trying to drink a special native-grass to lower sugar in blood, and me — the same. That would be one way to kill myself.

Is there any foundation or program in the USA which could help me to go to America and have a treatment and consultation?

The best thing that you can do is to get information about diabetes. Use the Internet — such as this website — and ask lots of questions, read about new information and treatment possibilities including why insulin is absolutely needed for those with type�1 diabetes. You should also visit the American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation sites. In addition, the Russian Diabetes Federation may also have a web site that might provide some information.

Get together with some others who have diabetes and figure out ways to get insulin, get blood glucose testing supplies from the health ministers. Work with the doctors and nurses in your diabetes clinic to figure out what you need and what others in your area need. Working together can be very helpful, very powerful and make you feel better about having to live with such terrible conditions. Any monitoring that you can do, urine testing or blood glucose testing, will give you more information so that you do not have to be so desperate even with hard economic conditions and a chronic illness.

SB