The Good:
The Bad:
I guess there really isn't any ugly, I just figured I should finish the phrase...hehe.
The Good:
Posted by Bill at 3:43 PM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, diabetes, diabetic blog, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
So I made this realization yesterday that I will no longer have to carry needles with me. One of the first thing I did to get ready to be on the pump was to transfer to my new tester. I really liked my old tester but the new one sends my sugars automatically to the pump so it just makes since to go to it. Luckily it uses the same test strips, not only that the test strips that came with the tester are the same code as the ones I have now! So after I mixed the two containers into one, I started moving over my lancets and needles. Then it dawned on me, why am I moving over my needles? It was a happy moment. A little later that day I was standing next to Alyssa and put my hand in my pocket and found a cover to a needle. I looked at her and said "Hey! You are going to be soooo happy you wont find these in the washer anymore!" I thought she would really like this idea, but she just rolled her eyes and said you are such a dork. I can't argue with her there, but I know deep down inside she was happy as can be! HAHA!!
Now I can't say I don't have to carry some kind of needle, because it is good to have a syringe near by just in case something goes wrong with the pump I can still get insulin. Let that be the tip of the day, hehe.
Posted by Bill at 11:16 AM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
Its been 24hrs since being on the pump and............I think I really like it!! First thing in the morning was my training with Cathy and it was fantastic! She told Alyssa and I everything we needed to know to get me going and I think doing the pump training helped out a ton! It made all the things she was telling me review for the most part, except for some good stuff that wasn't in the book or training. Thanks Cathy! I really have to thank everyone at Medtronic because they have been wonderful! During the training I learned that Cathy and my sister have actually worked together on JDRF functions so it was good to have a personal connection with her too.
I think the thing that surprised me the most was how long the needle is to insert the silhouette (the place the insulin comes out of). I have to say that the insertion process is very painless, so that was nice. I got all hooked up and was off to work. When I got in I showed it off to a couple of people then went on with my day. Had a normal lunch with 70g of carbs and a BG of 187. So the pump said I want to give you 9.1u of insulin. I thought that was a little off so I looked to see the explanation and it said, 8.7u for food, 2.2u for the correction to get me to my goal of 110 then since i have 1.8u of active insulin still working I'm not going to give you that...so the math works out like this. 8.7+2.2-1.8=9.1u. So I said Ok, do it! It took about a min or so then I heard the beep-beep-beep...telling me it was done.
About 2hrs after lunch I checked my sugars and they were 158 an hour after that 38!!!! This kind of freaked me out b/c I haven't been that low in, well ever! So I drank my juice and rechecked in 15min and was back up to 93 so I felt better. Maybe it was a fluke or something. Then around 2hrs later dropped again! This time to 53, but really doesn't matter? This really scared me a bit because I didn't want this to keep hapening through out the night. So I called Cathy real quick and she told me to eat something with protein to help keep them up. So I made myself a PBJ and sure enough that helped a lot. By dinner I was 127 and feeling great! At bedtime I was 113 and no lows in between. Wheww!!
Posted by Bill at 10:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
So today is the day before my pump start and I am very excited!! Over the weekend I have had to change my Lantus schedule from taking it at dinner to lunch for 2 days then breakfast for 3 days, then I would be off of it totally! I took my last shot of Lantus at 7am this morning, now I don't know what I am going to do with the extra two pens I have! I guess I'll just save them for a rainy day :)
I am sitting here and watching my crazy cat jumping off the walls and it got me thinking I sure hope she doesn't think the tube to my pump isn't a new toy for her! I think she will be ok. Anyways, not only am I done with taking Lantus shots but I am technically done with my Novolog shots too! I know it is possible I could and will probably have to take a shot from a syringe but the day of 3-5 shots a day are over! Tomorrow is a new day and I get to basically start fresh, just like I did 6 years ago.
Posted by Bill at 10:03 PM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
So the last thing I go to do was stick the infusion set on top of my skin and connect it to the pum as if I was actually on it and see how the whole thing looked and felt. I was very happy on how it really looked just like a pager!! But I knew that his was going to change my life not be nusance like a real pager is.
At that point I was ready to go! I got all my insurance settled and put my pump on order. I was surpprised when I got it just two days later!! The bad thing was I couldn't do anything but look at it for 2 weeks. My doctor makes all his new pump patients go through a beginner class of carb counting and pump management. It is a 3hr class but well worth it, especially if you don't know how to carb count. Luckily I do so I was able to help others around me if they needed it. We even used my carb to insulin ratio as an example. I would recomend you going to this even if it isn't mandatory, plus you get to play with a pump while you are there. It ISN'T a high pressure sales meeting so don't think of it like that. Lisa, the trainer who lead my meeting, was terrific. She really is there to help, even if you aren't on a pump. I also completed an online pump school, which you can find here https://pumpschool.minimed.com/, and it really showed me a lot of the things the pump can do and teaches you basic carb counting too. Now I have done all mandatory pre-requisits and have to wait one week for my pump start!Posted by Bill at 9:19 PM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
Posted by Bill at 2:23 PM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, insulin pump, medtronic, minimed, pump, pump blog
Posted by Bill at 11:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: cost of an insulin pump, diabetes, diabetic blog, insulin pump, pump, pump blog