Time Off . . . .

I love my d-technology.  I love that it helps me better manage my diabetes and makes my life easier.

Except when I don't.   Because to be honest, there are also times when my d-tech gets on my last damn nerve.  And it’s not really the fault of my devices.  But I guess it also isn’t really my fault either.  Being with anything 24/7 is bound to get annoying after a while.  (And I’m not just saying that because my husband has been home sick all week.  *wink wink*)  The beeping.  The constant stream of information.  They are helpful and important, but they can be a bit much sometimes too.  And then add in the skin irritations that can pop up.  The care that must be taken not to yank out sites and sensors when changing clothes or using the bathroom.  The fact than my cat always seems to sit on the exact spot where my transmitter is attached to me.  It all gets to be a bit much at times.

And so, when my CGM reached the end of its six day life last night, I decided to take some time off.  I think a week should do just fine.  Yes, I’ll need to test more often and be more aware of any high or low symptoms.  But it feels oddly freeing to be CGM-less right now.  Don’t get me wrong, I know how very fortunate I am to have access to a CGM and I know this is totally a first world (diabetes) problem.  And maybe I’m just a big old whiner.  But since I can’t take time off from diabetes, this feels like the next best thing.

What I Don’t Know CAN Hurt Me . . . .

"Ignorance is bliss." "What you don't know can't hurt you."  I suppose in some instances these statements may be true, but mostly I don't agree with them. And I especially don't agree with them when it comes to my life with diabetes.

Over the past decade or so, I’ve become increasingly hypoglycemic unaware.  Not every single time, but more often than not.  As a rule, by the time I feel any low symptoms I am pretty damn low, like in the 50’s or below.  And that’s why I depend on my Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM).

It’s scary to think about living without a CGM.  I’ve heard that if you run your blood sugars higher for a while, you can get back some of the sensitivity to lows.  But that’s not  a great trade off because high blood sugars can come with terrible consequences as well.  So I depend on my CGM to let me know that I’m heading into a potentially dangerous blood sugar situation.  It often helps me correct the plunge before things get scary.  And it not only helps the dangerous lows, but it alerts me to highs as well.  My CGM helps me correct out of range blood sugars, when without it they might stay too high or too low for far too long, causing damage to my body.

I am 47 years old and I’m lucky that my insurance covers my CGM.  Those who have aged into Medicare aren’t as lucky.  I find this ridiculous and scary, because I know just how vital a CGM is to my diabetes management ( and I’d guess the diabetes management of many others as well). 



Why doesn’t Medicare cover CGMs??  Honestly, I have no idea.  It doesn’t make sense.  And I’ve been part of the JDRF movement to try and change that.  At Government Day last spring, I joined my fellow Advocacy Team Chair volunteers from around the country and we spoke to leaders and staff on Capital Hill about this issue.  I believe it was discussed again at Children’s Congress in July.  Action alerts continue to go out about the bills aiming to facilitate Medicare coverage of this vital technology.




We’re getting there, but we have a long way to go.  Please, if your Representative hasn’t signed on to HR1427 yet, email them and urge them to do so.  Even if you’ve sent an email in the past, now is a great time to send another!




And the same goes for the Senate and S804.  If your state isn’t colored dark greenish (teal??) on the map above, click here and email your Senator.

People on Medicare need access to CGMs.  Because what we don’t know can hurt us.  #MedicareCoverCGM

**  I hope that by the time you read this post and click the graphics above, the sponsorship numbers will be higher than shown here.  Because I hope new cosponsors are signing on every day! **

Another Thing to Carry Around . . .

It’s been about a month since MiniMed Connect began shipping.  I was fortunate to be part of a pilot group testing MiniMed Connect before it’s official launch, so I’ve actually been using it for about two months now.  (Disclosure: As part of the pilot group, I received my Minimed Connect free of charge, in return for providing feedback about my experiences with the system.)  I’ve done a post for The Loop about my first impressions, which you can find here.

One of the most frequent concerns I hear about MiniMed Connect is that the uploader is just one more thing to carry around.  And I’ll admit, that was a concern of mine too.  Not just for the hassle, but for the fear of losing it.  The first time I put it in my jeans pocket I could see this wouldn’t be a secure place to store it.  My DKNY jeans have ridiculously shallow pockets and it seemed like it would be way too easy for the uploader to fall out.  So I came up with another way to carry my uploader that feels both secure and hassle free.  I use a cell phone charm strap!



First, I perused Amazon and found 100(!!) straps for about $5.  I’ve actually broken one so far, but I’ve got 98 more on hand should the one I’m currently using break.  Anyway, I threaded the strap through hole in my phone case for the mute switch thingie (official technical term - not!!).



And then I attached an old key chain loop to the top of the uploader and clipped that to the charm holder.
 

And it’s been working perfectly.  The uploader just needs to be within about 6 feet of my pump, which is fine because my phone is usually just a few feet away.  The only problem I’ve had is when my laptop is between my phone and my pump.  Some electronic devices can disturb the frequency, but solving it is as easy as moving the phone next to my pump instead of next to my laptop.

There you go, my solution to the “I don't want to carry around one more thing” dilemma of the uploader.  It’s now part of my phone, which I’m carrying around anyway!

I’m hoping that between this post and the Loop post, I’ve answered any questions you might have about MiniMed Connect.  But if I’ve missed anything, leave your question in the comments and I’d be happy to share my experience!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

3rd Time’s a Charm?

As I sit down to write this post, I realize I haven’t really done a very good job at blogging about my Enlite sensor experience.  I guess the reason is that I seem to only blog about problems.  I just don’t feel inclined to write a post saying “Hey, everything is good and I have nothing to say”.  And, of course, I always feel like the minute I blog about how perfect something is going, it all immediately goes to crap.  Stupid blog jinx.

But, for the most part, my experience with the Enlite sensors has been fantastic.  I think my only complaint is that the sensor wire kinks up quite easily.  (Is it still called a cannula on a sensor?  Or is sensor wire the right term?)  I don’t remember ever having a kinking problem with the Sof-Sensors, so my guess is that the trade-off for the much thinner needle and wire is that it’s more prone to kinking.  If that is the case, I think I would be willing to have some sort of middle-ground - a thickness somewhere between Sof-Sensor and Enlite, so there is more comfort than Sof-Sensor but less kinking than Enlite.  (And with both systems I still wish warm-up time took less than 2 hours and range was better.  And that my CGM data went to the cloud.)  But overall, I’m really happy.  The accuracy, for me, is terrific right from the start and the new tapes hold everything in place perfectly.

Yesterday, however, I had a lot of trouble.  It was sensor change day, so I inserted a new sensor while my morning coffee was brewing.  I like to eat breakfast late, and my coffee bolus is spot on and keeps my blood sugar flat, so that’s the best time for me to start up a new sensor.  Two hours later it was ready to go and I entered my first blood sugar.  Six hours later it was time to calibrate.  The sensor said I was 83.  My fingerstick said I was 93.  A few minutes later?  Beep beep beep, CAL ERROR.  I was surprised to get a CAL ERROR when the sensor and fingerstick values were so close, so  I tried calibrating again.  Beep beep beep, BAD SENSOR.

I thought about turning everything off and restarting it as a new sensor in a few hours, but decided it wasn’t worth it.  I pulled the sensor out and got everything ready to put in a new one.  Loaded up the serter, pressed the button, waited 45 seconds to be sure the adhesive stuck, and began to draw off the serter . . . . when I could see that the sensor needle was only halfway in my skin.  Great.  I carefully pulled everything off and decided to try to load the sensor back into the serter and try again.  But the same thing happened.  SO I pulled that second sensor and got out a third.  It inserted fine, but as I removed the serter the needle came off with it.  The sensor was properly in me, but the needle was stuck in the serter and wouldn’t come out.  That was when I realized I was long overdue for a call to the Medtronic HelpLine.

Two dead sensors & a serter with a needle stuck in it.

I’ve always had great experiences with the HelpLine and yesterday was no exception.  Here are the tips I learned.  1)  When I got that first CAL ERROR, I should have cleared it but then waited 45 minutes to an hour before trying to calibrate again.  The error comes up when the interstitial signal doesn’t jive with what the meter says your blood sugar is.  Waiting an hour gives it time for the signal to hopefully recover and for some of the sensor data to clear out.  2)  When the second sensor didn’t go in on the first try, I shouldn’t have tried it again.  Once the serter tries to insert it and fails, it’s pretty much a given that the sensor wire has been damaged and the sensor won’t work.  3)  When the needle is jammed in the serter, hold down the green button and shake the serter in the same motion as if you are ringing a bell.  But in my case, this didn’t actually make the needle come out.

Old serter with stuck needle on the left, new serter on the right.

Bottom line, by 9:30 this morning a new serter and two replacement sensors were on my doorstep, along with canisters to send the bad serter and sensors back for analysis.  And that third sensor that I put in yesterday is working just fine.  I don’t know what exactly made so many things go wrong for me yesterday, but I guess I was just having one of those day.

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Talk to Each Other . . . .

I like when my “toys” talk to each other.  (And now my head is filled with images from Toy Story.)  My new Fitbit wirelessly syncs to both my iPhone and my laptop.  When I log food into LoseIt, I can see it on the LoseIt site or the LoseIt app, and it’s magically reflected in Fitbit too.  When exercise has earned me a few more calories worth of snacks, Fitbit tells LoseIt that I can eat some more.  Life is easier when everything communicates seamlessly.

Now imagine a world where diabetes devices had the same seamless communication.  My stuff probably communicates better than most because the devices I use are designed to work with each other.  My Bayer Contour Next Link sends my blood glucose numbers directly to my 530G insulin pump.  My 530G works hand in hand with my Enlite CGM, showing all of that data too.  Good, yes?  Yes.  But it could be better.  What if, like Fitbit, my meter and CGM could also sync up to an app on my iPhone?  What if I could use that app to send a bolus to my 530G?  Oh my goodness, that would be awesome.  It would mean I could wear a dress without worrying about flashing too much leg or some boob every time I need to access a pump that is tucked into some unmentionables when I have no pockets.  In the winter, when my pump is buried under layer upon layer of wool, I could still see my CGM graph.  And it would mean I could put an app on Pete’s phone so that when I’m travelling and sleeping alone in a hotel room, he can take a peek from home and know I’m okay.

My world would work so much better if all of my diabetes stuff would not only talk to each other, but to the other electronic devices which have become a staple in my life.

******************************************************************************
More about the #WeAreNotWaiting campaign.

This post is my May entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetescaf.org/2014/05/may-dsma-blog-carnival-4/

(Not Very) Wordless Wednesday - Crumpled

After inserting a new sensor yesterday I began getting “Sensor Error” messages during the warm-up period.  I called the HelpLine, who went over insertion techniques and did a bit more trouble-shooting, and we decided to give the sensor some more time to see if it worked itself out.  I was later able to start and calibrate it and it worked fine . . . . . for a few hours, until the Sensor Errors started up again.  I decided to pull it this morning and saw the problem immediately.  The sensor cannula was crumpled up under my skin (left picture) and even after stretching it out you can see it was completely kinked (right picture).  But I’m glad to say the new sensor I put in this morning is faring much better!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Low Glucose Suspend . . . .

It’s been just over a week since I’ve been using the MiniMed® 530G with Enlite® system. I’ll admit that at first the Low Glucose Suspend feature kind of scared me.  In my mind, this feature is for emergency use only.  Unless I’m passed out cold I’m going to treat my low as usual and take my pump out of suspend mode.  (When the CGM reaches a pre-set Threshold Suspend setting, between 60 and 90, the pump alarms, blaringly loudly as it suspends.  The screen displays the option to continue suspend mode or resume your basal.  If you choose to continue suspend mode, the pump does not deliver basal insulin for two hours.  Once the two hours are up, it resumes normal operation.)

But I started to get curious about how my blood sugars would react if I let the pump suspend itself instead of treating a low.  And hey, it might make for a good blog post, right?  So when my pump began alarming at 3:45 a.m. Saturday I decided it was the perfect time to give the Low Glucose Suspend a whirl.  (Also I just wanted to go back to sleep instead of dealing with the low.)  I did a finger-stick to verify that my blood sugar was really 60, which is where I have my Threshold set.  I was actually 68 but trending down, so I decided to let the Suspend do its thing.

I woke again at 6:30 to use the bathroom.  My pump was back to delivering insulin and a quick check clocked me in at 72.  That’s a little low, but I figured the 2 hours of missed basal was still working to bring me up so I just went back to bed.  I woke up at 8:30 and did my fasting check, which revealed . . . .



I couldn’t have asked for better.  I posted to Facebook and InstaGram and got a couple of interesting questions.  Was I nervous to let my pump suspend overnight?  I wasn’t, because I have a bad habit of ignoring low alarms in favor of sleep anyway.  So for me, knowing my pump was suspended was better than knowing I was just ignoring a low.  Also, the CGM will still send out high and low alarms if my blood sugar isn’t rising or is rising too much. Did it feel uncomfortable waiting out a low to go higher by the insulin suspend rather than the quick fix of juice?  If I had run this experiment during the day, yes, I’m sure it could have felt very uncomfortable.  But in the middle of the night, I just went back to sleep so I didn’t feel any low symptoms.  (And often I don’t feel them anyway, because I’m fairly hypo-unaware.)

All in all, I’m thrilled with how well this worked for me.  As the  morning wore on my blood sugar stayed pretty level - 115 at 10:10 and 107 at 12:45.  In the future  I don’t plan on using it as a regular low treatment - I do think I’d rather treat lows myself but know it’s there in case of emergency.  At least during the day.  I have a feeling I will be pretty tempted to let the pump suspend when I’m low during the night, so that’s something I should probably run by my health care team for a little more guidance.

If you have any questions I didn’t address here, feel free to leave them in the comments!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Prepping . . . .

Today is World Diabetes Day, and in my own little diabetes world there is some excitement.  Because I’m prepping for training first thing tomorrow on this  . . . .


It’s taken every bit of willpower I have not to just tear open the boxes and wing it.  But I know it’s important to be properly trained . . . . so I will.  Tomorrow.  Yay!!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

A Little Bit Low . . . .

Every so often I take a short CGM break.  Sometimes it’s because they’re leaving behind welts and I need some time to heal.  Once in a while I mess up my supply order timing and run out of sensors.  Occasionally I just need a break from the beeping and arrows and information overload.  None of these things happen very often and usually I pull an old sensor and insert a new one right away.  But the nice thing about these breaks is that they remind me just how grateful I am to have a CGM in my life.  Because it’s on these breaks that this happens . . . . .



Pete and I were at Barnes & Noble buying a book for a course I’m taking when that familiar fuzzy feeling started.  “Sweetheart, I think I might be a little bit low.”  We found a chair and I tested, and sure enough I was more than “a little bit low”  It’s scary how low my blood sugar has to drop before I feel a hint of a symptom.  It’s a not at all subtle reminder that CGM breaks aren’t the best idea for me.

Confessions of a Data Nerd . . . .

My latest Loop post is up, and this time I’m talking about my nerdiness.  I wish I was an adorable, cool nerd like Sheldon or Leonard or even Amy Farrah Fowler.  Instead I’m just the kind of dork that loves to pour over my CareLink graphs and charts on a weekly basis.  I sometimes plug the data into formulas to try to predict my A1C or to decided just how well (or not) I’m doing.  Crazy, huh?

If my  nerdy confessions haven’t scared you off, click on over to read all about my data addiction on the Medtronic blog.  And please, if I’m not the only one with nerdy diabetes tendencies, I’d love to know!!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

An Easy Decision . . . .

My latest post is up over at Medtronic’s blog The Loop.  This time I’m talking about why I decided to add a Continuous Glucose Monitor to my diabetes routine.  It’s funny, because my decision to start pumping was a very slow and gradual one.  But my decision to use a CGM hinged on one moment I always remember, which I’ve shared in my post.

Were your d-tech decisions gradual, like my pump experience?  Or did you make up your mind in an instant, like my CGM decision?  Or like me, have you had a mix of both?

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Pretty Purple . . . .

I’ve been really loving purple lately.  My pump is purple, my iPad cover is purple, and many of my newest pieces of clothing are purple.  I’m even sporting a big purple bruise where my last CGM sensor was.


I wasn’t surprised that the sensor left a bruise, because upon insertion it bled.  It bled a lot.  But it finally stopped and I hooked up the transmitter, and for the entire life of the sensor my readings were SPOT ON.  The accuracy of that sensor made me smile, much like the smiley face I see where the sensor used to be.  (You see it too, right?)

Purple bruises may not be all that pretty.  But if they give my CGM super accuracy?  They are pretty darn gorgeous in my eyes!

Hello, Old Friend . . . .

** I’m not calling today’s post a “Wordless Wednesday” or even an “Almost Wordless Wednesday” because I blabber too much! **

I know, I woke up low.  No worries, my coffee will boost me right back up!

Yesterday I inserted a fresh CGM sensor and started it up . . . . . and it felt like such a relief!  You see, I had been without my CGM for over a week.  Somehow I had lost track of how many sensors I had left until I inserted my last one right before I left for Friends for Life.  I could’ve ordered a new box right away, to be delivered while I was away, but that seemed like a really bad idea.  It was blazing hot out, and I knew the box of sensors could easily sit on my porch in 90+ temps and beating sun for hours until my parents came in the evening to collect the mail and feed the cat.  So I decided to wait until I got home to order a new box of sensors.

I lived with diabetes for 30 years before starting on a CGM.   So I was unprepared for how odd it would feel to go just one week without it.  It wasn’t all bad - I tested a lot more often and I learned to listen to my body more.  But it’s still a relief to have my blood sugar graph on my hip and hear the alarms blaring to alert me to lows I don’t feel.

Hello, old friend, good to have you back.  How did I manage all those years without you?  I sure will keep better track of your supplies from now on!

Just Suck it Up . . . . .

I spent the first half of this week in D.C. for JDRF Advocacy’s Government Day.  I have so much about Gov. Day to share and I’ll be splitting it up into three posts next week about the people I was with, the information that was shared, and our time advocating on Capital Hill.  But today I have a diabetes tale to tell.

Although I’ve been taking some breaks from wearing my Continuous Glucose Monitor now and then, I consider it non-negotiable when I'm traveling.  I often don’t feel my lows until my blood sugar is well into the 40s, so I need that safety net when I’m traveling and sleeping alone.  I strategically waited to insert a sensor until the very last minute before I left, hoping to make it last during the entire trip.  I hate changing out the CGM when I’m away, but I believe in being prepared so I packed everything I’d need if I had to do a new CGM in D.C.  Or so I thought.

I wear my sensor completely taped over with Tegaderm, and there are two reasons why I do this.  First, if I don’t I tend to accidentally rip the sensor out in record time.  And second, if any water gets under my sensor I end up with big, red welts.  Unfortunately, I must not have done a good job with the Tegaderm this time, because it started to peel up.  I awoke on Sunday with a red welt and I knew I’d have to pull the sensor and find a fresh spot to put a new one.  No problem, right?  Wrong!  As I pulled out my supplies I realized I’d forgotten to pack one thing.  The inserter.

Cue the panic!!  Quite honestly, I still find the sensor’s needle to be a scary big-ass harpoon!  When putting it on with the inserter it ranges from kinda-hurts to not-bad-at-all, with an occasional holy-shit-that-hurt thrown in there.  I’ve heard of people inserting them manually, but it wasn’t something I ever wanted to try.



Of course, diabetes can throw a wrench into the best laid plans, and over the years I've just learned to adjust.  I didn’t have my inserter but I knew I needed a functioning CGM, so the only thing to do was to suck it up.  I took a few deep breaths.  I told myself it wouldn’t be that bad.  And I manually plunged the needle into me.  Did it hurt?  Yup.  Did I wonder if I got it in properly?  Yup.  Did it give me accurate readings for the rest of my trip?  Sure did - in fact the following morning the number on my CGM and the number on my meter were exactly the same.

Even after 33 years with diabetes, some situations and devices can seem scary.  But the important thing is being safe and healthy, so sometimes I just have to suck it up.  And when I do, I can't help feeling a little bit proud of myself.


** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Wordless Wednesday - Taking a Break

I love my CGM and wear it 24/7 . . . . . . except when I don’t.  A couple days ago I decided to take a rare CGM break.  I did enjoy having a break from the alarms and the constant bg-info-overload I sometimes feel.  But all in all, I was extremely happy to start a brand new sensor yesterday.  And I was thankful for the alarm alerting me to a low while I was grocery shopping. 

Thar She Blows . . .

Usually putting in my CGM sensor isn’t that big of a deal.  Okay, I’ll admit it did take me about a year before I didn’t need to stop and psyche myself up before insertion because the needles is like a freaking whale harpoon and apparently even after 30+ years of diabetes jabs I’m still a baby.  But by now, I’m over the harpoon fear and I don’t think anything of launching said harpoon directly into my . . . .  blubber seems to be the correct word to carry out my whale harpoon metaphor.  *sigh*

Last week I inserted a new CGM sensor right before leaving for Friends for Life.  It was no big deal, until I pulled out the needle.  Holy Thar She Blows . . . . blood squirted out like water from a blowhole!!  I debated pulling the sensor, but the bleeding stopped so I attached the transmitter, taped the whole thing down with Tegaderm as usual, and that was that.

But that wasn’t actually that.  Because somewhere along the way the bleeding started again.  I got out of the shower one morning and saw a lot of blood beneath the Tegaderm.  I debated pulling the sensor completely, but I didn’t pack a spare with me and Pete was nervous about me going sans CGM for the rest of our trip.  I was a bit nervous too, considering I’d been having some pretty low lows without symptoms.  Besides, the ugly bloody mess gave me the perfect excuse to opt out of a trip to the pool with Pete in the muggy unbearable Orlando heat . . . . . I was quite happy to nap in the air-conditioned room so my gruesome CGM didn’t scare any innocent children.

When we got home, the first thing I did was remove the icky sensor.  No, wait, the first thing I did was snuggle my little cat for about an eon . . . . . but next was the yanking of the sensor.  I was not prepared for a repeat Thar She Blows, but that’s what I got.  I have never had a gusher like this one.  I can usually tolerate the sight of my own blood, but this time I got a little dizzy as I watched the puddle form on the floor despite clapping my hand firmly over the spot where the sensor had been.  Pete had to come help me because it was quite a while before I could take pressure off . . . . eerrrr . . .  my blowhole(??).  And I’m still sporting the ugly bruise on my leg.


Things I’ve learned from this experience?  If a sensor gushes like a whale’s spout upon insertion, it’s probably best to take it out and try again.  And when you blog about it, you  might not want to pick an analogy that casts you in the part of the whale . . . . .

One Thing to Improve - DBlog Week Day 3

Welcome to Day Three of Diabetes Blog Week. If you are participating, don’t forget to link your One Thing to Improve post on this list.  (Please enter your Blog Name and the URL for your One Thing To Improve post.)


Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at.  Today let’s look at the flip-side.  We probably all have one thing we could try to do better.  Why not make today the day we start working on it.  No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!

Damn, is it just me, or is this topic hard??  I feel like there are so many things I could chose from.  You’d think after over 32 years with Type 1 I’d have it all down and be perfect by now.  But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Something tells me I’ll always have some diabetes related task that I could improve on.  And that was really what I had in mind when I wrote today’s topic.  The aim IS NOT to beat ourselves up and make a huge list of things we need to fix.  Instead, the aim is to head in the right direction by picking just one small thing to start working on TODAY.  And with that in mind, here is just one thing I can (and will) improve:


I’ve developed a bad habit of procrastinating when it comes to my CGM low alarms.  It might send up a “Low Predicted” flair and I’ll promptly clear it and go back to whatever I’m doing.  If I’m especially engrossed in something, I tend to ignore the actual low alarms also.  My CGM can tell me that my blood sugar is 48, and I might ignore it because I don’t feel low.  The fact is, I have the CGM because I usually don’t feel my lows so telling myself that the CGM must be wrong because I don’t feel low is nothing short of idiotic.

So starting today, I will test each time a “Low Predicted” or “Low” alarm sounds.  I rarely ignore the high alarms, but I’ll make sure I don’t backslide on those either.

What diabetes task do you feel you could improve?
 

Good News to Share - A Disclosure

I’m pleased to be able to share some news today, some news that I’m very excited about!  You might remember that I wrote a guest post for the Medtronic blog, The Loop, back in February.  At the time, we were finalizing a contract, and now that it’s set I’m thrilled to share a disclosure with you!

I have signed a six month contract to contribute some guest posts for Medtronic, to be shared on The Loop or other Medtronic materials.  I will also be placing a Medtronic ad on my blog.  In exchange, Medtronic will provide me with the supplies I use for my pump and my continuous glucose monitor.  (I already have a Revel pump with the CGM transmitter - I will be receiving the disposable goods associated with their use.)

I’ve been using the Medtronic pump and CGM for almost four years now, and I’ve always been extremely happy with the performance and also with customer service.  For these reasons, I feel my contract with Medtronic is a good fit, because I’m already using the products I’ll be writing about.  Of course, my opinions (as well as this blog) are my own and I will always be honest with you when I share my opinions, both good and bad.  This agreement won’t bring about any changes on Bitter-Sweet, aside from the ad I’ll be placing and the fact that I will (hopefully remember to) mention this disclosure agreement in any posts I write about my pump and CGM.

Obviously, with both Pete and I still job hunting, it is a big relief not to worry about supplies for the CGM and pump for now.  But beyond that, I’m so excited and thankful to have the opportunity to share my perspective with the Medtronic audience.  I’m proud to add this new chapter to my diabetes advocacy.

As long as I’m in Disclosure Mode, I should mention that I’ll be leaving tomorrow for the second Medtronic Diabetes Advocate Forum.  I was invited to this event last year as well, and once again Medtronic will be covering my flight to and from L.A. and my hotel and meals tomorrow and Friday.  I have not been asked to blog or tweet about the forum - but I most likely will as I predict I’ll come back with lots of interesting things to share.  And now, even though I despise packing, I suppose I should go get that done!

Taking Breaks - D Blessings Week Day 1

This week marks the annual D Blessings Week, a wonderful event created by Mike of My Diabetic Heart.  The idea is to post about diabetes blessings, either in a single post or in a weeks worth of posts.  I’m shooting for blessings all week long because I think it’s a very good idea to take a step back and really appreciate all that I have.


 Last week Pete was on vacation from work.  We didn’t really go anywhere, although we did sneak in a trip to the casino on Wednesday (where those mean little slot machines sucked down all our gambling money).  Instead we did some much needed work around the house - painting, updating, organizing.  As far as I’m concerned being on vacation means you certainly don’t cook, so we went out to dinner or ordered take-out every night.

I made a vacation decision about diabetes too . . . . I decided to give my CGM the week off.  Lately I’d been feeling a bit of CGM info overload - where I just got annoyed by all the alerts and found myself ignoring them.  So a CGM break seemed just the ticket.   And it was wonderful.  No alarms trilling about highs and lows.  No beeping waking me up in the middle of the night.  No worries about making sure my pump is clipped near the sensor so it stays in range.  I felt a little more free.

Friday meant vacation was drawing to a close, so I popped a new sensor in.   And as much as I loved taking a break from the CGM last week, it’s really nice to have it back on again.  It's nice to know with one glace what my blood sugars are doing.  It’s nice to catch a high before it hits 200.  Although an alarm may wake me during the night, I still sleep a little more soundly knowing the CGM is doing its best to keep me safe.  I’m back in love with my CGM.

Our diabetes technologies are blessings for sure.  But sometimes having the option to take a break from one of my d-tech devices is an even bigger blessing.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Something went really wrong with my CGM sensor insertion yesterday.  I’m not sure exactly what made it kink up inside me like that, but I knew something was wrong when I saw the scrunched up filament sticking out at a weird angle.