It should not cost this much to live a healthy life

Not to get into too much name calling, but  Edgepark, the company that is supposed to work as an interim between Dexcom and my insurance company, is crap. I know I've complained a bit about my current CGM, but my biggest issue with it- even more than the fact that I constantly lose it because it falls out of my pocket every single day- is that my insurance will not cover it because the Dexcom company is out of their network. Fine. I get it. But I don't get it either. And I don't get more than I do get.

Also, why is one of my neighbors using a jackhammer at 9:45 am on a Sunday? Jerk.

I don't get why a three month supply of disposable sensors costs $1400. I get that my insurance company doesn't want to pay that because I don't either. I use one sensor a week, sometimes I can make them last two, usually it's more like ten days. And each one costs about $120, give or take. On a good day my insurance would cover half of it, so every three months we were paying about $700 so I could keep using this thing.

As I've mentioned before I am in the process of getting a new pump that has CGM built in, partly because I don't want to keep walking about like I'm the freakin' Batman with multiple medical devices hanging on my belt, but mostly because I am sick of paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket for supplies. Did I say hundreds? I meant thousands.

 

Because, and this is why I think Edgepark is crap, I was told that my Dex supplies were now going to be $50 instead of $700 dollars. They found a work around and were going to submit my supplies via prescription and everything was going to be hunky-dory. Then I look in my bank account and see that Edgepark has taken the equivalent of a MORTGAGE PAYMENT out of my checking for supplies without even thinking about calling me. This is why they are crap. The customer service at that company is nonexistent. I've called them twice, sent the supplies that I CANCELLED back to them, and still my money is gone. I was told I would be called back by the person in charge of my account, but he appears to have fallen off of the Bifrost Bridge, never to be heard from again unlike some people who just keep coming back.

 

Best god of mischief ever.



 

Needless to say, I am pissed off. The people I have managed to get in touch with at that company explained it thusly: "Oh, your insurance wouldn't process this as a prescription." This is the explanation I've been given for why they took more money out of my account than I would have spent if I'd just bought the stupid supplies from Dexcom myself. It never occurred to anyone at this company to call me and say hey, this is what's going on? How would you like us to proceed?  Now I've got to make more phone calls, and haggle, and yell at people who are just doing their jobs because the company they work for stole money from me.

 

"Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view," said Obi-wan Kenobi. Well this is my point of view.

 

It really begs the question, though....why is this stuff so expensive in the first place? With CGM I am in better control of my diabetes than I have been in years. I am now at a lower risk for complications- things that would likely hospitalize me and cost oodles more than $120 a week for a stupid sensor. So why won't my insurance cover it? I'm talking about a little bit of plastic and a two inch wire about the thickness of a couple human hairs held together with some medical tape. This is what's costing $120 a week. I've been assured by the pump company that I am completely covered for pump supplies and CGM with my insurance since they are in the all important network.

 

I'm not holding my breath.

 

5/28 update: Ashley at Edgepark is a great person. She took one look at my account today and immediately started to refund the money that came out. She took accountability and dealt with the problem and I feel a whole lot better about everything now.

Upgrading Myself

Enough about my foot.  :P

I have been looking into upgrading my bionic pancreas, a.k.a. my pump, lately. As I may or may not have grumbled, I have a love-hate relationship with my current CGM (continuous glucose monitoring). I love that it continuously tests my blood glucose, but I hate that it's a second device, I keep losing it, it likes to fall out of my pocket, it can be wildly inaccurate, it doesn't work with my regular old glucometer or with my pump...and it's a second device that I have to carry around with me, sometimes in my purse where it doesn't read and often on my belt like I'm Batgirl or something.

It's like this, only not cool.

 



 

The company that makes my insulin pump called me about a month ago to "see how I was doing" and "let me know that I may be eligible for an upgrade." I interpret that as, Hey, we want more of your money, but whatever. They asked how my HbA1c was and if I was familiar with "continuous blood glucose testing," to which I replied that I'd been using it for almost two years and my HbA1c was fine, thank you. Then I am told that their new pump is all in one and does both the pump stuff and the CGM stuff. This isn't exactly news to me since my doctor told me it was coming years ago, but I let them send me some info on it. Basically, it's my current pump with more bells and whistles. Yay.

But my doctor has a love-love affair with the Dexcom company and its products. He thinks it's more accurate. He isn't a big fan of my current pump. And for the past few years I've let him lead and influence me in this, because frankly he knows more than I do about them and has researched them, and he's, y'know, my doctor.

Well, I'm gonna put my foot down this time. I want one of these and have already started working with my pump rep to get it.

And I even like the color.

Is it as accurate? Maybe, maybe not. I still have to finger stick. It doesn't continuously monitor my blood sugar as often as my current CGM does. But it's one less thing I have to carry through airport security when I go to Chicago in June, it's something that I am familiar with, it can predict up to thirty minutes in advance a high or low blood sugar...and the biggest thing of all, it's likely covered by my insurance whereas Dexcom is NOT.

We'll see if it's worth it.

She's a super freak...

I am a control freak. I hate not being in control of things. It doesn't matter what the thing is that we're talking about, either. Diabetes, check. Other people being stupid, check. My foot, double check.

Honestly, I thought it would be better by now. I long ago reconciled myself to the fact that I will be a diabetic for the rest of my life. I have diabetes, and I am okay with that. I don't like it, but I can deal with it, and I get better at dealing with it everyday. But this thing with my foot?

Pardon me a second here, Mom.

IT FUCKING SUCKS.

I'm in pain, which is something that I haven't really been experiencing with this foot thing. Discomfort, yes. Frustration, yes. But it hurts now more than it has since I actually injured it. I've been back in real shoes for a couple of weeks, and I've been walking tentatively but getting around pretty well. The last few days have not been so good. I iced it a couple days ago and it felt SO much worse. And I've been wearing the plastic molded arch supports in my shoes but those seem to be hurting both of my feet. How much do they hurt? So much I pulled this out of the closet:

Expletive, expletive, redacted, expletive.

 

It's not really helping, either. Both of my feet hurt, my knees hurt...I mean, I'm falling apart. I've been following my doctor's orders and I am not better. I want it to be better NOW. However, I am afraid that this is out of my control, too, like most things. Yes, I admit most things are actually out of my control and I just need to let go of them. Believe it or not, I'm trying to do that.

 

I know, you're amazed.

 

I have an appointment with the podiatrist on Monday, where I hope I will hear some good news. I miss exercising like I used to. I miss walking without people asking me how I'm doing or if I'm getting better. I miss being able to take a real step without fear. I have control over how I take care of myself and my attitude, and that's what I need to focus on. I know what I can and can't control, and I need to spend my time working on what I can control- like my blood sugar most of the time, exercising when I can and how I am able, and keeping a positive attitude. I need to ignore what I cannot control because otherwise...

This is my brain trying to control everything.