Customer Service

BG[CGM]: 77
BG[meter]: 148, Don't F with me, customer service representative!!!! I KNOW when my sensor is OFF--and by OFF, I do mean NOT SENSING CORRECTLY.

Okay, I feel a little like swearing right now. Grrr. I just spent 20 minutes on the phone with a telemarketing bimbo. Seriously, she was THE WORST employee of Minimed I have ever had the displeasure of encountering. I wanted to jump through the phone and kick her ass all the way to Taiwan. It was alot like talking to the ATT representative we occasionally need to call and ream a knew one because they have overcharged our bill...again. That's how irritated I was.

I told her my sensor wasn't following with my sugars. That it had been reading in the 70's since 3am. I told her I calibrated at 6am. I told her that when my sugar rose after breakfast, the sensor stayed in the 70's. Do you want to know what she said?

"The sensor is meant to trend with your sugars."

You're kidding me, right? That's the F what I'm saying!! But it's NOT DOING THAT! This was after a very long drawn out conversation about all that had happened that morning... how my calibration at 11:30 was a BAD calibration because it was a low sugar.

So what? My problem started LONG before 11am. You can't blame an 11am calibration--one made in utter frustration--for all the problems that happened prior to it. Besides which.... a 48 isn't necessarily a BAD calibration. She ASSUMED that because the sugar was 48, it was unstable. That's what the book says, on a stable meter reading. It doesn't say, a meter reading between 70-120. IF my suagar had been in the fifties for more than an hour that would be pretty darn stable. NOT ideal, but stable.

I finally told her I was going to fly to California so I could kick her ass....

Actually no. I told her I was going to hang up the phone now, that I was getting too angry to keep talking to her. That I would track my sensor and meter readings through the afternoon and call again later. AND NOT TALK TO HER!

The technology isn't perfect, but I know it can work well. I'm smart enough to realize when something is not quite right.

On a brighter note, did I tell you my April A1c was 5.8! :D

End of Day Report

BG: 92

Well, today was interesting... sugars were closer to where I like them, but on the other side of the fence. A little lower than is good. An hour ago my sugar was 41... now, me? I'm functioning at 41. I ate something, and expect to even out through the night, since it seems that's my most stable time... If all works out well [meaning no lows through the night], I may end up doing that basal test again through the morning.

I didn't make it through today. By 10am I was under 70 [and at the library, I might add!! LOL] and I ate a breakfast bar, 26 grams of carbohydrates. I stayed on the lower end, dipping again after lunch. I'm hoping this is a bolus issue...and I'm hoping if I do another basal test, I'll be able to prove that. I ate a bagel this morning with cream cheese, 53g carbs. Maybe I'll have to go back to 1unit for 15 grams? I don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow.

I'm off to St. Louis, MO for my son's appointment on Monday and am hoping that I might be able to meet up with the Dexcom rep that day. Wouldn't that be awesome? It's seems destined. I'd love to see the product, talk to the guy, get a feel for the logistics... etc. My fingers are crossed... I wish I had his email address, but I don't so I'll have to call his cell tomorrow. Hate doing that on the weekend, especially a Sunday. :( Oh well.

That's all for now.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
~Bethanne

The Big Debate

BG: 146

It feels almost cliche to blog about this now...but I think I will anyway, for my own sake.

I spent the last three days attached to the iPro, the professional grade [though I don't think it's different from the regular CGM from minimed] Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. I'm interested in talking to the MM rep so I can ask her about how the patient version works with my pump, how it differs from the iPro, do I really have to wear all that tape????

If you haven't guessed it, I was NOT overly impressed with the hardware. It was big and clunky...and a LOT Tapey. [I'm feaking out about posting a picture, because... of my belly, but this is sorta a medical journey... *shiver* Be brave Bethanne!]

So, there it is... is that usual? Does the sensor pod need to be taped down like that? The tape square is like what's used for IVs and it goes lower by another inch and a half. :P I don't know. I'm wondering if it would be worth it at this point.

On the other hand, I started looking at other companies and their products for diabetes management. Like Animas...and their One Touch Ping Pump, which is going to eventually be [somehow] linked with the Dexcom CGM--another sensor that LOOKS like a better deal all around than the Minimed option--size being a key component. [let's face it, size matters!] Time to start thinking...and start comparing...and deliberating.

I'm on the MM paradigm--a good pump, with good representation. I haven't been dissatisfied. But I'd like to see the paradigm do what the Ping is doing. Why isn't it? Why doesn't the paradigm pump have a remote/meter? Why doesn't the paradigm have smaller increments of delivery? I'm going to start asking lots of questions...

i'm in a sticky situation in regards to finances and insurances--getting laid off is a real bitch--so, part of me wants to jump right in and upgrade. The other part says, hold on... give it some time, see how the market goes. Maybe MM has something better in the works?

In case you're curious, the 3 day continuous monitoring results were eh. After seeing the MMrep last friday and getting on the Bolus Wizard my sugars have been rotten--if you ask me. But I'm sticking to it in hopes that with the logging and accuracy, I can actually get my basals figured out. The CGMS would be a great thing for this effort. For now, I'll just keep testing away. I'm up to about 8 times a day.

Starting Numbers--Keeping Track

Lipid Panel
Cholesterol: 189
Triglyceride: 80
LDL (bad): 107
HDL (good): 66.4

Chemistries
Glucose: 129
BUN: 14
Creatinine: 1.0
Sodium: 140 -- a little on the high side but not out of the normal range
Potassium: 4.7
Calcium: 8.8
Alk Phos: 72
SGOT (AST): 33 -- wanna tell me wth this is? apparently mine is high...
SGPT (ALT): 12

Other
A1C: 6.5
TSH: .901

This is as good as it gets today. I have no idea what to blog about. My diabetes has always been a very private thing, well maintained yet never in the forefront. Will I change that now? I don't know. i sat down to blog about how this whole thing came about, and I didn't know what to say...

Go figure.