Living with Diabetes and Lapband

Not getting email after I send them to Animas. Seriously. Over the past year, I have sent several emails without a reply, both from the website, and directly from my email account.

Not being able to order from the online website. Nothing like going through the whole process and then the order never arriving.

Not being able to get automatic ordering.

Not getting my phone calls answered when I've tried to order. Has happened three times in the past year.

No upgrades. I have to keep a Windows XP computer around to download the pump. Well, there is Diasend. But they gave us software to modify and backup the pump and then don't upgrade it in like 5 years.

Doctor doesn't like the fact that the reports and software haven't been upgraded either.

However, I will miss the remote, though I won't miss the size of the meter and I won't miss the screen. It's getting increasing harder to read as my eyes get older. The screen is white on black with some other colors, why not the meter?

Also the meter database hasn't been updated in years.

And why did I get notified that the pump warranty was out in August?

But not in the way people usually mean, and Medtronic didn't help.

First, you have to understand I have been pumping for 8 years, and I have worn 3 different models of pump (well, 4 now).

Medtronic sent me an email late Friday night telling me that I would be getting my new insulin pump on November 20. Now that wasn't very nice as everyone involved knew that my pump warranty wasn't out until January.

Now here's some of the bad parts:

• I have 30 days to decide if I don't want the pump and return it.
• I also have a limited number of days to return the Animas pump for the $500 credit (not sure what that is).
• The pump trainer didn't have any free time under December 6.
• I was told to go through the pump training. After I did it, I knew that the only thing I didn't know exactly how to do was the fill the reservoir.

So I decided to see how difficult that was. Oh, by the way, it's easier than the Animas way. Or maybe not. Just different.

Yeah, I'm using the new pump. The Animas site is still in, and the Animas pump is currently sitting in my purse making very sad sounds. About like one of my beagles do when I ignore them.

The Animas pump is much more vocal than the Medtronic.

Anybody need Animas supplies? Especially in the Dallas area?

And for the tech friends who are not diabetes – suppose Microsoft sent you a nice shiny new computer (maybe the Surface Pro) – and they told you that you shipped it to you but you couldn't use it until someone smarter than you told you how to use it. Oh, and the new computer was supposed to make you magically healthier.

Are you going to leave in the box from November 20 to December 6.

No way.

In fact, everyone is probably surprised it stayed in the box for one day.

My pump and supplies arrived safely at school at a reasonable time – just before lunch. I got them hidden away and safe all day and home. <whew> It's nice that we no longer have the custodian that steals.

I've got plans now – Animas is taking back the last shipment of supplies. I've got a shipping label for them coming. I've got more supplies that those, and I'm still trying to decide what to do with them. Options include sending them back with the other supplies and just seeing what happens. Disappointed as I sent them an email this weekend and they haven't responded, but that's one of the many reasons I'm leaving Animas.

I need to go through my emergency stashes and clean them out and find out just what I do have.

I won't see the pump trainer before December 6. That's a real bummer, but I can live with that. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get more Bayer Contour Next strips before February – insurance won't cover until then. Anyone want to trade for One Touch Ultra Blue's?

Right now, literally, I'm going through their training materials, and am just learning the different user interface.

I got an email from UPS late Friday night that my new Medtronic pump was coming. I have been against the Medtronic pump for a while because it was by Medtronic, but Animas has been completely ruined by Johnson & Johnson. My pump warranty runs out in January, I had an appointment at the beginning of the month, and that was the last time I would see my doctor before then.

He said I could have Omnipod or Medtronic, and could talk to two people only, and both ended up coming to my classroom on the same day. I had to reject the Omnipod because I have a hot tub, ended in up for about an hour Saturday and want back in it bad now.

I've been stressing out quite a bit because I received 3 months of supplies right after the doctor's appointment from Animas that I haven't even opened the box on. Plus another box is sitting at the house unopened … not sure how I got 3 months ahead, but then I've been pumping 8 years. Animas says they will send me a shipping label so I can send the supplies back.

I think that the Inset insertion sets may be compatible with the new Revel, but will find out for sure tomorrow. My thought right now, is just to ship back everything to Animas I can't use and let them decide what to give me credit for.

I am still stressing out as to when the pump will actually arrive; I really don't want to sit around until 7:00 pm tomorrow evening here at school waiting for it.

I did my first agility trial running a non-assistance dog yesterday and I had to work out a whole new set of logistics.

Checking in and hangout out with the assistance dog wasn't a problem. Had to ask a few people not to pet her, they didn't bother to read her vest as a lot of agility dogs are wearing harnesses that look a lot like her vest (this is not good).

I tried going without her during the first run and when I got back to her, both of us were upset. My blood sugar was running a bit high, and we weren't cool with that. Basically we decided that Macy was too self-centered and I couldn't be trusted to be out and about with just her <sigh>. So the second run, we took in her tiny crate and Dulce hung out there when I was walking the course or running Macy. The judges said I would have Dulce on the course, but since I had her entered later in the day, I didn't think that was fair and after the August incidents didn't want to cause people to think.

That worked really well, both of us were okay with that, and she saved me from going low later in the day (over corrected, these things happen.)

Was visiting with some friends and were telling them how much help Dulce was and got the comment "you're diabetes must be bad". That one always makes me wonder, but I don't think of it as a degree of bad, just that I need to manage it differently.

Yesterday after we got home from agility was worse, and that's why I am disappointed in my weight loss, I'm not physically better.

I am going to drastically cut down on the number of trials I enter and the number of classes I enter. I am going to just do what we can do well, get in and get out and probably just do one day for a while.

So we are at the gym and Dulce alerted - this time to a high, which I am in the process of fixing...

Such a good dog, and so nice to have with me, especially with such life being so crummy lately.

Sent from my Windows Phone

Its world diabetes day, and diabetes awareness month, and my thought is, lately it is also some type of pulmonary month and premie month.

In other words, we are bombarded with illness awareness.

There are several solutions to that problem:

Find a cure.

Cure the other diseases and conditions.

Find a better time when there aren't other diseases being made aware of.

I like the first one best but doubt it is practical since diabetes is a symptom of several different diseases.

We're doing well. Just realized her 3 three month trial was almost up and hadn't heard from the ADA committee since the chair resigned. Contacted the new person who indicated she had been extended and would meet on her in December. She also indicated that they would probably extend another six months.

I honestly haven't been thinking about it or working on it. Didn't even notice yesterday, but I've lost another two pounds. The least significant digit on the scale looks very similar to the old one if I don't have prescription eyewear on. If you are looking at this post on the actual site, you'll see I'm a pound away from my next goal – I have been setting goals to be 5 pounds apart, as that is more doable and less frightening then a total weight loss.

Besides, I don't know what my goal is – just that I want to be less heavy than I am now and more healthy. Definitely more than 5 pounds less than I am now, but I don't know how many more.

I've got three weekends of dog shows coming up so being lighter will definitely be a plus for the girls. Wish Macy would get used to it. She tends to be a bit lazy.