This one might explain my fathers problems -- and mine.
Younger Adults With Type 2 Diabetes 14 Times More Likely to Suffer Heart Attacks
Stroke Risk Increased Up to 30 Times
And my grandfather's....
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Younger Adults With Type 2 Diabetes 14 Times More Likely to Suffer Heart Attacks
Stroke Risk Increased Up to 30 Times
And my grandfather's....
As I said in my "Minimed" post, pump users are passionate about their pumps.
I looked at all the pumps, and narrowed down to Minimed, Distronic and Animas fairly quickly.
Customer service was what finally helped me make the decision. I looked at over 3 months of insulin pumpers digest, and Minimed was complained about weekly. From supplies service to customer support, there were complaints. And this was about a month before the water debacle too...
I also looked up the pump manufactures on the FDA Maude Database. This database lists all equipment failures. It's pretty interesting if you are a data voyeur.
I believe one of the reasons that Cigna is denying my pump, is because I selected the Animas -- but that's okay. The education I'm getting from the pump trainer is almost worth it.
FYI: Pump Wars are very similar in nature to Mac vs. PC wars. Remember that we are connected to our pumps 24/7, and that we become passonate about our pumps and their manufactures.
Medtronic MiniMed Press Releases - Corporate Information
I looked at the Minimed pumps and rejected them based on reservior size right away. I use 70-100 units of insulin a day, and their smaller size wasn't an option.
More on another post.
From Diabetes in Control Newsletter:
FACT:
IRS reconsiders blood glucose meters:
Because only 6 percent of taxpayers claim medical expenses on their tax returns, probably due to the fact you can only claim medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income. But on May 15th the Internal Revenue Service made it a bit easier for those with diabetes to reach the cutoff mark of 7.5%. On a May 15, 2003 ruling, IrRS determined that this limitation will no longer apply to other nonprescription medical care items such as bandages, crutches, and blood sugar checking kits and equipment. This means that blood glucose meters and strips are now an allowable medical expense. So if you claim medical expenses on your taxes, don't forget to include the money spent on your supplies come next April 15th.
Cholesterol Drugs Work Best in Evening
I guess I will give it a try.
CNN.com - Daily aspirin use linked with pancreatic cancer - Oct. 27, 2003
Hmm, well, since mine already isn't working, I guess I'll vote for Aspirin.
I was a bit worried about changing the battery on my pump. Okay, the first time doing everything along has been a bit scary.
The whole -- pump has to have a battery thing bothers me. I'm a bit anal about batteries anyway, every since I went to a AP grading to Clemson state and arrived without Palm Pilot batteries and NO place to get them. Had to live without it for 2 days. Major withdrawal.
So anyway, this pump (Animas) does make a hideous sound when it is out of battery. I've heard it once, when I first got the pump. But the good news, is that the battery lasted 9 weeks and a day.
9 weeks of pumping 60-90 units of insulin a day, site changes, and downloading data. Not bad!
The batteries aren't cheap, but I did find a source of inexpensive on Ebay -- go to Ebay and do a search on insulin pump and it will come up. I've put a set of those in, and I'll let you guys know how well they lasted.
The silver is a bit much -- I would have stayed with the powder blue.
But it's cute. I love the back light, I love size -- the case is about 3x5 -- maybe 4x5 and very thin -- though that depends on how much you put in the case (lancelet's, logbook etc.)
I love it.
$40.00 rebate
$4.99 for both the cable and software.
Since I got my insulin pump (which Cigna STILL refuses to pay for), I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Our A/C stopped working and dumped massive amounts of water on the floor, destroying it. It was lovely parquet. This happened over two weekends, one of which was Labor Day.
Then we discovered that our roof had major hail damage.
Then the husband broke his hip.
Well, today, the final paperwork on the roof has gotten done, and we're getting a check for part of the work from the insurance company.
The floor is coming in today or tomorrow and will be laid on Monday.
Husband goes to the doctor on Monday and we'll find out how that is doing.
And the really good news, the new insurance will cover the pump supplies -- they claim they have no rules on what Type you are (Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO). And they tell me I can put the pump payments on pre-Tax dollars. (Flexible Spending Account).
We're getting somewhere. Now if my husband's insurance will just get it together and pay their part of his hip.
Implantable Gastric Stimulator May Be Effective Against Morbid Obesity
This I might do. Has anyone heard anything about it?
New Blood Sugar meter! I have been looking forward to this for a while. So far, you can't order it.
It's smaller and has alarms. Though I would like to have one set up to alarm me two hours after the last check.
Drug Comparisons - Compare Drugs - DrugDigest
Interesting website -- you put in a drug, and it compares it with others.
I picked up a At Home HbA1c test kit today -- note these aren't cheap yet.
Reserve about 8 minutes of time. Nice little kit, works well, though it's lancelet is a bit big and dull.
Anyway, an A1c of 6.2 isn't bad!
One of the issues I've been having recently is sites. I've had several pull out for dumb reasons. I've put a couple in that just flat didn't work, just a complete set of weird circumstances designed to add to the stress.
The good news is that I've had 4 successful changes now in a row, and have had two sites last for 3 days each. Life is much cheaper that way, since the infusion sets run about $10.00 a piece.
I'm still under a lot of stress.
The good news, is that the roof is up, paid for, and we're waiting for insurance reimbursement.
The floor is ordered, but on back order, and they are pulling up the old floor on Friday -- school is out for fair day. We'll put down the new floor when it comes.
For those new to the blog, as soon as I ordered and got the pump, the A/C went out, to the tune of $500 and floored the dining room running the parquet floor which stretches about 3/4 of the house.
We then discovered that the roof was damaged.
And THEN the husband broke his hip.
I'm still worried to death over him and his exploits. He is becoming more mobile which makes me worry more, but at least I don't have to expend as much energy in his direction. Of course, that means I have no help in getting ready for the floor.
As a result of all this stress, I'm not sleeping well, but am slowly getting back to normal. Eating more as a result of being tired all the time, so using more insulin.
MSN Digestive Health and Wellness
Good article on gastric reflux.
Here's how the pump is making my life better.
This weekend I competed in dog agility. Dog agility is a sport for people who like animals with too much time on their hands and not a lot of money -- if you have money you do steeplechase or something similar.
It's an obstacle course for handlers and dogs. They both have to run and the handler tells the dog which direction to go. Each course is different.
This weekend, we ran 4 courses. Marcie and I took 1st place each time we ran. Part of the reason we took so many firsts, is that we were only competing with one other dog, but we did make a perfect score on one run, ran two runs clean but slow, and she only made one mistake on one run.
The key to dog agility is to be fast enough as a handler that you are in place to show the dog where to turn, where to jump, or what type of obstacle you take.
We train every Thursday night that we can -- we try hard not to miss.
Being on the pump is letting me lose weight, letting me exercise, and letting me get faster so I can be where my dog needs me.
She's ALSO a very good dog -- which means I'm a pretty good trainer.
DallasNews.com | Dallas-Fort Worth | Business
This is interesting -- I already pay more for the "brand name" drugs. For example, if I go with Humalog insulin (which makes me itch by the way), I have a $20.00 copay (for a month's supply). If I go with Novolog, it's a $30.00 copay.
Same thing goes with test strips -- if I go with their choice of meter, it's $40.00 copay for 3 months or $60.00 copay for the brand I like.
I do wish, however, that the doctor's office would cooperate with me, rather than them. I was recently switched to a cheaper statin -- Pravachol.
Now, my doctor hasn't bothered to tell me -- I guess I'll email him and ask -- why he agreed with the pharmacy and switched me.
How Sleep Affects Cancer-Trustworthy, Physician-Reviewed Information from WebMD
Since I have so many sleep related problems, this is something I keep an eye on.
It's pretty interesting.
I still love my pump, so much better than injections. However, keeping things normal is quite a bit of work.
I forget to test once in a while, but I've got a couple of students trained to remind me (they volunteered for the job, actually).
I think maybe they just want to see their teacher poke herself with a pin
But I did some dog agility tonight, and I was MUCH faster. It was a bit while, because I was ending up ahead of my dog, even though she was running faster too, and couldn't figure out where to go.
For those who don't know dog agility, it's a obstacle course for dogs and handlers. It's what you do when you have too much time on your hands and not much money. If you have money, you get a horse and do steeplechase or something.
Anyway, it's been a good six weeks. I have had lots of things go wrong but have had a good support system to fix them and to learn from.
Animas Corp remains super!
First, I will be the first to tell you that the Insulin Pump is NOT a no brainer.
Also a quick reminder -- the pump does NOT measure blood sugar. One of my students thought it did, and he's been around me for a year. I think many lay people think it does.
Nope, you still have to do the most distasteful part of managing Diabetes, sticking PINS in your body.
But the real reason for the post. From Thursday to Monday, my blood sugar was messed up again. We got it back, and it was a combination of bad sites, probably bad insulin, and just flat out stress.
Eating was out of control. I was constantly hungry, constantly thinking of food. HORRIBLE!
Now that the blood sugar has been normal for the past few days, eating is getting back to normal.
Thank goodness.
Very cute cartoon. I kind of feel that way -- I had 3 days of problems with controlling blood sugars, between husband's hip and some other issues. I also had some insertation site issues, and a bad partial bottle of insulin.
Several pounds came back.
Type 2 Diabetes Randomized, Parallel-Group, 24-Week Study
I think this is a free but registration required site. I signed up for it years ago, and often find things of interest.
Basically they found that intensive therapy was acceptable to Type 2's. That they had equal results with MDI (injections) and CSII (pump). Frankly, I think the pump is easier, but your milage may vary.
Of course, this is a small sample.