Didn't See That Coming

You know what's really interesting? When you make a choice and then before you get to act on it another option is presented to you to choose from which completely changes the direction you're going in. For example, today I decided I was DONE with CGM. I can't go back to using the Dexcom because I don't have thousands of dollars lying around looking for something to be spent on and I can't stand the thought of having to stick myself with the (insert several expletives here) sensors my insurance will cover. I've been sensor free all day, and for the most part my blood sugar has been relatively good. (Not great, but good.) I've also done more finger sticks today than I have in a long, long time.

I can almost hear the little bastards laughing at me.

 

But then I got to work and I had more choices than "use what the insurance will pay for even though it's kinda crap" and "go without." For behold! Medtronic has been calling me to upgrade me (for free) to their new and improved pump! I guess when I got this one in June they opted me in for a free upgrade once the new system was ready for go time. And it's go time.

 

I hesitate to be excited about this "new and improved" pump. For one thing, it's not FDA approved for use with pregnant women. I am not pregnant, but hearing that sort of thing makes me cock my head to the side like my dog and stare at the phone in confusion when the person on the other end of the call informs me of it. (Apparently the FDA requires extensive testing even if one little thing- such as a human being growing inside of you- is different than status quo, so it is likely that eventually it will be approved...I guess. I'm just going to defer to my husband, who has a lot of medical industry knowledge, and nod my head in pretend understanding.)

 

We have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Anyway, after a little research and waiting on hold for almost half an hour before talking to someone at Metronic, I decide, what the hell? It's free, it's new, and if the Medtronic website is to be believed, it's got some features that I do not currently have that I would like (#4) and some things about it seem to have been improved upon (#1-3):

 

1) the sensors are smaller (shorter and not as wide), which means I won't have to jab a giant, thick needle into my stomach every three days,

 

2) the sensors last up to six days instead of three, which is already an improvement even if the sensor itself wasn't smaller,

 

3) the new sensors are apparently 31% more accurate, which is a hallelujah moment right there,

 

4) with this higher accuracy level, it also comes with an automatic shut-off ("thresh suspend") in case I ignore a hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) alert...which I admit I do when it's the middle of the night and my pump is beeping at me. For it to shut off insulin delivery on its own and monitor when it should come back on is like...I don't know. Jesus like. Miraculous. Like it's a pancreas or something.

 

and 5) with the exception of the new and improved sensors it still uses all of the supplies I've got stored away.

 

So there are plenty of good reasons to take a chance on this new device. Hell, it looks exactly like the one I have now and the two I had before this one. It's not like you'll be able to tell by looking at me that I've got a new pump (though I am seriously considering going with blue instead of black this time. I don't know why. Maybe I just don't care if it matches my work clothing anymore.)

 

I'm thinkin' of somethin' blu-uuuuuue...

 



I've been burned in the past by this CGM stuff before, though. I admit the Dex meter did produce results, but it made me mental. And while I appreciate the price point of the Revel, I hate those sensors. I mean, I hate them. I hate them the way a Steeler fan hates the Browns or the Ravens, the way a Dodger fan hates the Giants, the way a Red Sox fan hates the Yankees and vice versa. We're taking epic sports rivalry hatred here, folks. Just looking at those sensors fills me with trepidation and revulsion...and this is after I figured out how to put the damn things in properly.

 

It's midnight-thirty as I write this so there will be no spell checking tonight, folks. I'll just schedule this to post in the morning and leave you with this thought...

 

Do we really need a sequel to Beetlejuice? Only if they bring back the cartoon...

 

 

Which came on right before these guys every Saturday morning...one of whom is wearing Beetlejuice inspired attire about 15 seconds in...

 

 

 

And they were on right before an hour of this:

 

 

Clearly I remember my Saturday mornings in 1990 very fondly. 

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

I've been a little depressed lately, I will admit. A look at my last few blog posts is evidence enough of that. And when I get depressed I tend to focus on the negative more than usual (which is saying something). But for once I have good news...and some embarrassing news.

First, the good. We got an email at work yesterday that said my endocrinologist was going to be covered as an in-network doctor even though Aetna itself isn't covering him (yet). Yay!

Happy Dance!

 

This is such a relief to me that I can't adequately put it into words....well, maybe one.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. (Which, I am pleased to see, my spellcheck tells me I spelled correctly on the first try.)
 

And now the embarrassing thing. I've been complaining about how miserable it is to put the new CGM sensor in for weeks. It often doesn't go all the way in and I have to stick myself more than once, twice, three times...My last blog post, I think, really went off on the device. I have since inserted two sensors without any problems whatsoever. Why? Because I realized I was doing it wrong. If you put the sensor into the inserter correctly it works really well. At some point I got cocky and forgot to be careful with what I was doing.

 

When the fail is so strong, one Facepalm is not enough indeed.

 

Which just goes to prove that even after having diabetes for decades I can still learn a thing or two about taking care of it. Namely, don't cut corners you idiot.

 

I'm still not out of the depression woods yet, but I've been feeling a lot more up than down the past week or so, and I'm not really sure why that is but I'm not about to over-analyze it. There are still big things that will set me off and make me cry, but I'm better able to handle the little things. I think it's because I vented and a lot of people reached out to me, which made me feel less lonely than I have been. Also, I've been trying to laugh more. 

 

"Laughter is the best medicine; you can't OD and the refills are free." So says Rob Paulsen, who has been entertaining you and your kids for quite a few years with his voice (seriously, his IMDb page is a mile long. He's Yakko on Animaniacs, Pinky on Pinky and the Brain, Carl on Jimmy Neutron, has been two Ninja Turtles...the man's incredible). "Everything you can imagine is real." That one's attributed to Pablo Picasso. "You cannot reason with the heart; it thumps about things which the intellect scorns." Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I've actually been researching "motivation" for a presentation I'm giving on Saturday (no, I didn't pick the topic), and I've been relying heavily on quotes to fill time. Twain didn't make it in because I can't figure out how to relate it to motivation, but Pablo and Rob did, among others.

 

I actually have a list of quotes by my desk, along with various other things that make me smile- pictures of my family, lots of Obi-Wan Kenobis, a giant map of Disneyland and a less giant map of Boston I picked up on my lone visit there. Honestly, I should never be depressed in my office. It's way too cool in there.

 

 

Don't you wish your office was cool like me?



I think the only thing that isn't obvious about me just from looking at my office is that I'm a diabetic, which is fine with me, since no one wants to be defined by their disability. I'd much rather be defined by the fact that I have a life-sized, working Muppet taking dictation for me or a blaster wielding space pirate guarding my filing cabinet. Or the fact that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to taking care of my diabetes. :)

I guess my lesson for the last couple months is that you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both...and then you have George Clooney before ER made him ridiculously famous.

Incidentally, Mindy Cohn is also an amazing voice actor these days. :)