Diabetes technology helps former Disney Channel actress manage her type 1 diabetes

(BPT) - Jennifer Stone Shares How the Medtronic InPen™ System Helps Her Balance Demands of Dual Career

Jennifer Stone, best known for her role as Selena Gomez's best friend Harper Finkle on the Disney Channel's 'Wizards of Waverly Place,' grew up in the limelight. She explains her high school experience taking place on set and having to grow up at a very young age. Just months after the show ended, Jennifer's life changed, and she was forced to grow up even faster by focusing on her health.

At the age of 19, Jennifer was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes - a 24/7 condition that requires constant self-management. Her diagnosis was not straightforward or easy. There was a lot of trial and error before she found a solution that worked for her. Through that experience Jennifer made the decision to start a career in nursing and now she works as an emergency room nurse in Los Angeles. Jennifer shares that while not every day is perfect, she has found balance in her life between nursing, acting, and managing her diabetes.

'It can be daunting to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes because it's something you have to live with for the rest of your life and manage every single day,' Jennifer said. 'I remember feeling like no one truly understood what I was going through.'

Approximately 1.6 million Americans are living with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body can't make insulin, the hormone needed for glucose (sugar) to enter cells and produce energy. When it can't enter the cells, sugar stays in the bloodstream and builds up which can cause serious illness if not treated.[1]

To manage type 1 diabetes, insulin is taken throughout the day manually from an insulin pen, or through an insulin pump, and glucose levels need to be monitored on a constant basis to see how the body is reacting to the balance of carbohydrates and insulin.¹ This can involve a lot of 'work' and many individuals turn to advanced medical technologies to help reduce some of the burden of the disease.

Jennifer has been using the Medtronic InPen smart insulin pen for a few years to help simplify her diabetes management routine and decrease many of the daily decisions and calculations that were previously required before using this technology.

'I struggled for a while to learn what solutions worked best for my diabetes management. I didn't want to give up the things I loved or dramatically change my routine. I'm thrilled I found the Medtronic InPen system - it fits seamlessly into my life and makes living with diabetes easier.'

The InPen is the only smart insulin pen cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that pairs with Bluetooth^® technology* through an easy-to-use smartphone app. The InPen makes the lives of people with diabetes easier by helping individuals calculate and administer meal-time and correction insulin doses. The InPen also provides reports to help users visualize how insulin and meals affect glucose so that they can make informed adjustments when discussing their insulin therapy with healthcare providers.

'There is a lot of math required with diabetes. For example, every time I would sit down for a meal, I needed to try to think through how many carbs I was eating, and then how many units of insulin that translated into. It was exhausting, and I hated doing all that math,' Jennifer shares. 'The InPen helps remove the guesswork of dosing insulin, so I can focus on the things I truly enjoy.'

If you use manual daily injections to manage your diabetes, talk to your doctor to learn more about the InPen™ smart insulin pen. Product details are available at www.TheInPen.com.

Jennifer has been compensated by Medtronic for her time. Thoughts and opinions are her own. Individual results may vary.

Important Safety Information: InPen™

The InPen™ is a home-use reusable pen injector for single-patient use by people with diabetes under the supervision of an adult caregiver, or by a patient age 7 and older for the self-injection of a desired dose of insulin and for calculating an insulin dose or carbohydrate intake based on user-entered data. A healthcare professional must assist in dosage programming of the device prior to use, based on various patient-specific criteria and targets. The InPen™ requires a prescription. For additional product and safety information, please consult the Instructions for Use and bit.ly/InPenRisks.