About
Why I Created Diabetes News Hound
By Chris Frankie
Diabetes News Hound was born out of two converging factors in my life: being diagnosed with diabetes and the evolution of the news industry and my small role in it.
My story begins in the year 2000 as I was preparing to graduate from college. I was having trouble sleeping and began losing weight. At first I attributed my symptoms to the stresses of final exams and the impending end of a five-year relationship with my high school sweetheart. However, it quickly became apparent something was seriously wrong. In the span of five months, my weight dropped from 235 pounds to 168 pounds, leaving me looking like a skeleton in my 6’ 4” frame. As my symptoms grew worse I became scared that I might be dying.
I sought treatment from my doctor, who told me that I have diabetes. However, she misdiagnosed me as a Type 2 diabetic. In the ensuing months, I followed classic recommendations for Type 2 diabetics, such as taking my medication, altering my diet and continuing to stay physically active. However, my blood sugar remained out of control. Tired of feeling constantly fatigued, and frustrated with the lack of improvement in my condition, I turned to a highly recommended endocrinologist. She told me I have a rare but growing form of diabetes that doctors have dubbed Type 1.5.
People with Type 1.5 exhibit traits of both Type 1, also known as Juvenile Diabetes, and Type 2, known as adult onset diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes are considered “insulin deficient,” while people with Type 2 are “insulin resistant. I began taking insulin shots and my blood sugar control greatly improved.
Today, I check my blood sugar levels eight times a day and rely on numerous daily injections with two types of insulin to maintain blood sugar control. In addition to having Type 1.5 diabetes, both of my parents have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, making this subject matter deeply personal to me.
LACK OF QUALITY INFORMATION
Following my diagnosis I was struck by what appeared to be a lack of useful news about diabetes and I was overwhelmed by the pure volume of generic information about diabetes diets, products, medications and lifestyle available from non-news websites and periodicals. This scenario left me with a very unattractive proposition: either stay uninformed or dedicate a significant amount of time weeding through tons of websites for news and info that lacked context or held little application to my life.
Then, in 2005 I became the editor of Ignites, a subscription-based e-newsletter for mutual fund industry professionals. Ignites, which is now owned by The Financial Times, quickly became the essential morning read for more than 50,000 mutual fund executives by mixing original reporting with summaries of mutual fund articles published elsewhere. It placed that info in the proper context for its audience and provided everything readers needed to know to look smart in front of their bosses at their 10 a.m. meetings. And, it only took 2 to 3 minutes to scan each day.
For years I wanted to apply this concept to diabetes news, but the timing wasn’t right until July 2009, when I launched Diabetes News Hound. Unlike Ignites, I wanted the newsletter to be free so that it could break down that barrier to quality information that I experienced after my diagnosis.
