September 2nd, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Health Tips
No Comments »
I wrote a quick status update on Facebook, after receiving the Solo demo in the mail and then meeting with the local Animas rep for lunch to discuss pump options. My brain was buzzing with questions.
And the flood gates were opened. Lots of comments, lots of perspectives, and lots of people who had great information to share. Turns out I’m not the only one who has been thinking about this. 🙂
I’ve been a Minimed pumper for almost six years now, and have never had an issue with Minimed customer service or the pump itself. When my pump broke two years ago, their customer service department took my call at a few minutes before midnight and a new pump was overnighted to me. I have no problems with the color, the size, or the functionality of my Minimed 522.
But two things happened that made me think about switching. One was the CGM upgrade, which I tried for ten weeks and still didn’t have any semblance of success and/or comfort with. (Thankfully, the Minimed CGM works fine for some diabetics, so it’s not just me. Appears to be personal preference.) And the second was that I haven’t seen many changes at all in the six years I’ve been pumping with Minimed (starting with a 512 and now a 522). The CGM component was a big one, but for people who aren’t using that feature, there isn’t much going on as far as upgrades that mattered to me.
So even though Minimed has been good to me, I’m on the prowl.
With Cozmo off the market, my options are limited. I’ve given a lot of thought to Omnipod, and while I love the idea of no tubing, I don’t like the idea of a larger device stuck to me for the duration. I also don’t like the idea that if I lose the PDM, I’m screwed as far as dosing my insulin. It’s important to note that I’ve never worn an Omnipod, so I’m purely speculating. And Omnipod works great for lots of diabetics that I know, and even some cute kiddo ones. But it’s not about the product – more about my personal preferences.
The Solo pump demo arrived in the mail yesterday and that thing appears to have both the tubeless delivery that I’d prefer and also the ability to disconnect the bulk of the pump, but it’s not a working model and with pregnancy goals on the horizon, I’d like to make a change sooner rather than later, if possible. Still, Solo has a lot of promise and coulda been a contenda. Could still be one, depending on their timeframe.
I’ve looked at Animas, too. The Ping seems to be my top contender for several reasons, but the main one is the meter doubling as a remote control for the pump. I’ve written countless times about my desires to have the pump reasonably concealed, and when my 522 is stashed in my bra at a dressy event, reaching for it to access the buttons turns me into a female, diabetic version of Mr. Bean. I like that the Calorie King info is stored in there. (The Dexcom/Animas integration, whenever that happens, is also a nice future-state.) I also like the option to take a hundredth of a unit. Precision is a nice option. I’m not sure how I feel about the infusion sets they use (sampling some this week) or what it might be like to use their user interface, but I want to see for myself. Thankfully, pump reps are all about hooking us up with samples so we can see if we want to make a full transition.
But then there’s the whole money thing. And the insurance thing. And the “closet full of supplies” thing that will be rendered sort of useless if I switch. And the “do I want to wrangle with a new device” thing. There’s also the “you can always go back” thing. And the “pumping isn’t permanent” thing. And the “if you continue to put weird phrases in quotes, people will get annoyed” thing.
There’s a lot to consider. And I’m excited to see what options are available to me. But there’s only so much information I can get from “official company representatives” and websites. If you’re a pumper, what are you using and why? If you’re thinking about going on a pump, what factors are playing into your decision? And if you’re like me – currently pumping but thinking about changing pump providers – what would you do?
Your feedback is, without fail, among the top resources I’ll be using to make my decision. So thanks in advance, and power to the pumpers!!
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
August 9th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
No Comments »
I stood there with my best friend as she rubbed her pregnant belly. The whole waiting room was filled with these lovely women and their round beachball bellies of varying sizes.
And I felt oddly self-conscious with my lack of roundness.
Last Friday was my first official appointment at the Joslin pregnancy clinic. It’s located at Beth Israel in Boston and is a beautiful hospital, different from the Joslin Clinic across the street that feels like home at this point. I’m not pregnant, and we aren’t trying to become pregnant YET, but this appointment puts things into full swing to bring me to a safe level of pre-pregnancy health.
Sigh. This all sounds redundant, even to me. I’ve talked the Big Talk before. “Oooh, look at me! I’m going to really wrangle in my numbers and have an A1C you can bounce a quarter off!” And I’m all gung-ho for a week or two, armed with my little log book and my good intentions, but within a few days, Other Things start to creep in. Like work. And stress. And getting to the gym. And social stuff, like hanging out with my friends and going to RI on weekends. Eventually my good intentions end up in the spin cycle, and my log book starts to gather dust. My workload piles up. And my stress levels skyrocket.
I’m so frustrated because I want to have a career. And I want to have a baby. (I’d also love some tight control of my diabetes, too.) These things would be excellent, but it feels like tightly managing type 1 diabetes is a full time job unto itself. Slacking off is easy, and frustrating, and not healthy for me or any baby I’d like to have.
But I also realize this is one of my biggest hurdles when it comes to pregnancy planning – the whole “sticking with the pre-program.” This becomes more and more obvious to me when I go back and re-read old blog posts where I’m so excited to get back into better control, only to be derailed by those Other Things. So during the course of my appointments on Friday with the endocrinologist, the registered dietician, and the certified diabetes educator, I admitted my faults freely.
“I need help being held accountable.”
They didn’t quite hear me at first. “We can do some tweaking, and in a month or two, we can revisit your A1C and see if it’s lower and then we can give you the green light for pregnancy.”
I knew I needed more than that. I had to be completely honest.
“Guys, I really need to be held accountable. I know this sounds crazy and I seem very compliant, but I have trouble following through. I’m great out of the gate, but I lose steam after a few weeks and I’m at the point where it isn’t good enough anymore. I’m out of excuses. And I’d really like to join the ranks of those pretty pregnant ladies out there. Please help me?”
And they listened. We spent the rest of the day working out a plan for me. One that will actually make a difference. One that will get me there.
I’ll be in Boston every three weeks until I’m pregnant. This is a huge commitment but I need to make diabetes a priority without fail. I want this. I want to succeed at this more than anything else. I’ll have my blood sugars logged for those three weeks and we (my husband and my diabetes team and I) will all review them together. Chris is in charge of my meals, in that he’ll be helping me plan my day, food-wise, and he’ll be counting carbs and measuring things for me. I’ll be eating relatively similar items every day so I can manage the trends and control them. I’ll continue to test all the live long day and wear the pump and the CGM, but I’ll actually use these devices to their fullest potential, instead of just going through the motions.
With these appointments spaced just a few weeks from one another, I hope I can stay tuned in to intense diabetes management for three week stints. Being sent out for three or four months is too much for me. Obviously, because I burn out well before my follow-up appointments. I just plain can’t pay rapt attention for that long. But three weeks? Can I do that?
I have to do that.
I will do that.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 26th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
1 Comment »
Earlier this week, I had a bit of a medical issue. Painful urination, high blood sugars, and the constant need to pee. (Ladies, I know you already know what’s up.) Urinary tract infection looming large. I was livid, because it was the day before I was scheduled to travel for this week’s business.
I haven’t got time for the pain, so I called my primary care physician, Dr. CT. “Hi Nurse of Dr. CT! It’s Kerri Sparling. Listen, I’m pretty sure I either have a kidney stone or a urinary tract infection, and I need to rule it out before I leave for a week-long business trip.”
Dr. CT was on jury duty. Damnit. So I had to call a local walk-in clinic, instead.
The clinic was a hole in the wall. Part of a strip mall structure. My confidence wasn’t high, but my blood sugars were and my whole body was screaming for attention, so I knew I had to follow through.
The receptionist was very nice. The nurse was even nicer. They took my blood pressure (110/74), my temperature (98.8) and a urine sample (ew). 
I should have known from the moment the sample cup was given to me that it wasn’t going to be a fun visit. The very kind nurse handed me this —>
That is not a urine sample cup. That’s like a party cup that you use for lemonade on a hot summer day. Not for pee. Oh God.
And then the doctor came in. For the sake of anonymity, we’ll call him Dr. Idiot.
“Hi. I’m Dr. Idiot.”
“Hi, I’m Kerri.”
“Kerri, I see you are here for pain when urinating. Are you urinating frequently? You see, you are spilling a significant amount of urine. I believe we may have found the source of your troubles.”
He closed his file, proud of himself.
“Dr. Idiot? On my chart there I wrote that I have type 1 diabetes. I know my blood sugar is elevated right now, which sucks but at least it’s not a surprise. But that’s not why I’m here. I actually suspect that …”
He cut me off.
“I think we need to address this first problem. You are aware of your diabetes, you say? How many times a month do you check your sugar? You know, with the glucose machine and the finger pricker?”
If I wore bifocals, it’s at this point that I would have slid them down my nose and given him a hard, Sam Eagle-type stare.
“I test about 12 – 15 times a day. But the real reason …”
“You mean a month,” he corrected me.
“No, I mean a day. I have type 1 diabetes. I wear a continuous glucose sensor. And also an insulin pump. I’m very aware of my condition, and I’m also very aware that it’s slipping out of control today because of this other issue, the pain issue. Can we talk about that?”
He looked at my chart again. “So you don’t use a meter?”
“Sir, I use a meter. And a machine that reads the glucose levels of my interstitial fluid. This is in addition to my insulin pump. I don’t mean to be rude but …”
Now he gave me a hard look. “Why the interstitial fluid? Why not the blood directly? I mean, you could have more precise readings with the blood.” He picked up my Dexcom from the chair next to me and pressed a few buttons to light up the screen. (Mind you, he did not have permission to touch it, but I’m again not saying anything.)
“You mean like a pick line? I don’t know. I’m sorry. Ask them?”
“Yes, but it would make much more sense and …”
I just about lost it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to talk about that. I want to talk about the issue I’m here for. Which is not diabetes. Or your ambitions to know more about CGMs. Please can we address what I’m here for?”
“The sugar in your urine.” With finality, he says this.
“NO. The fact that I think I have a UTI or a kidney stone. Please. Help. Me?”
I kid you not – we went ’round and ’round about this for another ten minutes. He didn’t believe me that I was at least sort of familiar with diabetes. His ignorance included, but wasn’t limited to, the following statements:
- “High sugar causes frequent urination. Maybe that’s why you are peeing often?” (Not because I was drinking a liter of water per hour to flush my system? Nooo, couldn’t be that.)
- “Did you have weight loss surgery?”
- “Grape juice also causes high blood sugar.”
- “That thing should really be pulling blood samples. Pointless otherwise.” (Meaning my Dexcom.)
- “The urinalysis won’t be back until Friday, and in the meantime you should start on a regimen of insulin immediately.”
- And also: “I didn’t peg you for a pink girl.” (Are. You. Serious??)
The end result, after an escalating argument that involved me yelling, “Stop. Talking about my diabetes and PLEASE focus why I’m here!” was a prescription for Macrobid that I could elect to take if my symptoms didn’t alleviate, and the instructions to call back on Friday for official lab results.
“Thank you. Really. Can I go now?”
He at least had the decency to look ashamed.
I’ve had some wonderful doctors over the last 30 years, and my health is better for it. But this guy? Complete disappointment.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 25th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Patient Interviews
No Comments »
“Friends for Life … this conference is delicious. It’s like the Woodstock of diabetes,” he said, pacing around the room and smiling warmly.
Meet Joe Solowiejczyk.
According to his bio on the CWD website, “He [Solowiejczyk] currently works for LifeScan, as Manager of Diabetes Counseling & Training and is a faculty member of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute. Joe is healthcare professional who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 47 years, Mr. Solowiejczyk has been able to translate his personal experience into patient care.”
To my untrained eye, Joe is the “guy who gets it.” He’s a diabetes nurse educator, and a person with diabetes himself. If he was a member of my personal medical team, he’d be the one I take most seriously because when I say, “It sucks,” he could respond, truthfully, with “I know.”
Joe hosted a session at Children With Diabetes called “It’s Not Just a Numbers Game.” This grabbed my attention because I write constantly about how an A1C is only one part of diabetes management. There’s all this emotional and mental stuff that comes into play.
“Ask me if I like it,” Joe said to the group of us. He paused for a second. “I hate it.”
I was sitting at a table with a bunch of CWD parents (including Bennet and Michelle) and I heard them all chuckle, but I just nodded in agreement. Empowerment is being able to say that diabetes is hard and that it sucks sometimes, but still forging ahead and working towards better health. I was glad to hear Joe telling this group of parents (and adults diabetics) that diabetes doesn’t have to be something we like. We can hate it, openly, and still remain positive.
“I schedule my diabetes depression days,” he said. “I plan them and then I tell everyone I know to call me every hour and tell me how courageous I am.” He laughed. “After about an hour, I’m sick of it and I just want to move on with my day.”
I like Joe. I like listening to him talk and I respect him for managing diabetes for over 47 years. I respect him for saying, “It took years for me to be able to say, ‘I’m having a hard time with diabetes,’ without it being a chip on my integrity.” This statement resonated for me because I think people want to read blogs about diabetes and find a lot of upbeat moments and happiness. But the truth of life is that there is an emotional gamut to be run and we have the right to run it, diabetes or no diabetes.
“You can not like it and still do it. Hating it [diabetes] and doing it are not mutually exclusive states.”
He talked about the daily duties of a person with diabetes, from waking up in the morning and testing to all of the bits and pieces of precision management that are required along the way. The possibility of a cure was mentioned. And while many diabetics say “I’ll eat the contents of an entire Crumb’s Bakery,” or “I’ll drink orange juice FOR FUN,” Joe smiled gently.
“If there’s a cure? What will I do? I’ll sit on a park bench for three weeks and stare at the sky and do nothing.”
It’ll be 23 years for me this September.
I’d love to sit on a park bench and count clouds for a while.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 15th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network
No Comments »
The idea of creating a game about diabetes both intrigues me and creeps me out a little bit. Diabetes is a game? I guess after an evening of “WHY 200? WHY?!!” I’m not feeling so light and fluffy about diabetes. But I see the potential for kids to learn about diabetes and its management through the use of games, so I’m all so for whatever gets good information out there. And over the last few days, I’ve come across two particularly interesting games, thanks to reader alerts, aimed at kids who either have diabetes or have friends with diabetes.
The first game is on the Nobel Prize educational games site and it’s cleverly called The Diabetic Dog game. (Wee bit short on imagination once they got to the naming part, I suppose.) I will admit – I played this game for at least 15 minutes and I appreciated the cuteness of the doggy.
As a “caretaker,” I was instructed to keep my diabetic doggy (named, in my profile, “DoggyPants”) happy (by petting him), well-fed (by purchasing food for him), getting him to exercise (by walking him), and keeping his blood sugar in check by giving him insulin injections. Keeping an eye on the bar at the bottom left of my screen let me know what DoggyPants’s blood sugar was, and I could feed and dose him accordingly.
(Sidenote: Having that bar gauge with his blood sugar in it sure helped me figure out what I was doing, and I wondered if the developers of this Diabetic Dog Game realized how they’re helping further the case for continuous glucose monitors.)
Overall, I liked how this game showed the importance of insulin, food choices, and exercise as the cornerstones for good diabetes management, and it didn’t tout insulin as “a cure.” Basically, all you do is chase this little puppy around and feed him or dose him or walk him. Constant cycle of redundancy, only the results aren’t predictable. Kind of like real life. 🙂
The other game I have been receiving reader alerts on is the Didget from Bayer. I haven’t seen this game in person, but according to the word on the street (read: their website), “The Didget blood glucose meter from Bayer is the only meter that plugs into a Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite gaming system to reward children for consistent testing.”
So it’s an actual meter that snaps into the Nintendo system. (It appears to be, or be completely identical to, the former “GlucoBoy” from a bit ago.) Honestly, that is pretty darn cool, and I wish that kind of “fun” was available when I was testing my blood sugar as a kid. Hell, I’d like to have that kind of positive reinforcement NOW, thank you very much.
“This unique meter helps encourage consistent testing with reward points that children can use to buy items within the game and unlock new game levels. And, since the DIDGET meter is based on Bayer’s trusted CONTOUR™ system, you know you’re getting a meter that’s reliable.” They are also building a community for kids to “hang out in” virtually, comparing notes. Of course, since it’s Bayer, they need to slide in their personal product endorsement, but they have the right idea. Test often, get rewarded for keeping tabs on your numbers, and maybe Nick Jonas will show up at your house and give you a hug.
That last part? A lie. But Bayer is working its way into the hearts of kids with diabetes, and as a former kid with diabetes myself, I would have appreciated that kind of innovation as part of my childhood with this disease. From what I can tell so far, this meter is being marketed towards diabetics in the UK, but hopefully there will be a United States counterpart. With mg/dl readings. Because doing conversions when low? Not so easy.
So there you have it. We’ve come a long way from that game with the elephants or the other one about the Escape from Diab, and hopefully more efforts will be made to engage kids – and adults! – with diabetes. Positive reinforcement is hard to come by in this whole diabetes mess, so every little bit helps.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
