Update on the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)

So here's what went down-in a nutshell-

Around Thanksgiving, I told Dr. H. I would be willing to try the Continuous Glucose Monitor. I emailed the necessary person, whom I will refer to as 'B'., called me the next day to discuss the details. During our conversation, the shoe dropped. 
"What's your insurance?" 
I told him, and B. didn't think it will be covered. Neither did I.
"How much does a CGM cost?"
"About $10,000."

Fast forward to the day before Thanksgiving. I was up in New Jersey with my parents. 
B. calls as we are in the car driving to dinner. He says no, my insurance will not cover it. I don't think he was surprised, nor was I. What did surprise me how upset I was. 

The Day After

Yesterday I went for my 3 month check up. I usually try to get my blood work done a few days in advance. According to the lab, my A1C was 7.9. Not quite to the ADA's standards, but it could be a lot worse.  Dr. H was happy with me overall. No eye disease, no kidney disease-its been eight years so far.  I can be proud of myself and give my self major kudos for that!!!!!!!!! 

Seriously, living and dealing with Type 1 day in, day out, 24/7, 365 days a year, its not easy constantly monitoring what I eat, activity, etc, etc, etc, etc..........


Some days I just want to scream and throw away all these damn supplies.  Unless you are living with this, you can't fully understand the frustration that comes along with it. (So no judging!) I hate to sound preachy, but I can't tell you how many times I voice frustration, only to be told by someone who doesn't have T1 that it could be worse, at least you can control it, I could go on......


However, most days I just check my sugar, give my shots, and go on with my life.  Its become a part of me. ( I still don't like saying that....) Its not always convenient and its definitely  not pretty. I have become a stronger person for it. Yup, that's right you islet cell killer! 

Sugar's Siren Call

"Christiiiinnnaaaaa, come and eeeaat meeeee!!" That would be the evil call of Sugar. She calls me several times a day. "I can make you feeeel better. I can make your problems go awwwaaayy." Not really. Sugar, your so called promises of happiness and making things better are not true! Perhaps briefly you might make things better, but in reality, you do nothing good for me. You're sweet on the outside, but evil on the inside.

Note: This post is being published after I originally began writing it....


Yesterday, one of my roommates from college and I spent the day together. We had lunch at her house, then went to the mall. After the mall, we went to a Blue Rocks game. We got seats right near the dugout! We shared a funnel cake-yes, lots of carbs! I went to take a shot to cover the evil carbs and realized I had three (3!) units of Novolog left! Not cool. Needless to say, when I got home, my bs was over 300.

Pondering A Big Question

One of the biggest questions since T1D came into my life is: how do I deal with telling people who don't know me? Do I wait, get to know them, and vice versa? Or, should I just be upfront right off the bat? A big part of me wants to wait and get to know him/her. A smaller part of me says "just go for it. If they can't deal, that's their problem." You know those people who are naturally curious; they must know everything or think they know it all? I don't want T1D or any other health issue to be a focus of the relationship. Whether it is a friendship or dating, its hard to know if I am making the right choice. Many people like to jump to conclusions very quickly. He/she might begin the whole "my grandma or grandpa has diabetes. Or, I get the shakes sometimes."
There is a separate condition that causes low blood sugar, but that is NOT diabetes, one OR two.  I don't know what is so hard to understand about this. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking to myself, "why does this bother me so much?"
I know just because I don't like to immediately tell people my health issues doesn't mean they don't want to tell me. For whatever reason that might be. Pity, sympathy, or whatever.  Personally, I'm not into pity parties.  I can throw my own if I feel like it, lol. An empathy party is better.

Any thoughts or insight would be welcomed. Thanks for reading!

Christina Lynn <3

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

No, I am not a fan of The Sound of Music, but instead of talking about T1D and immune systems gone awry, I will tell you more about me.  There is more to me than having diabetes. And there is more to me than designer clothing.  Don't judge!! Sorry, but I had to say it! Sometimes you have to read between the lines..............

Likes (in no particular order)


Leopard prints
Purple
Apple products (Macbook Pro, Iphone)
Designer handbags (Coach, Juicy Couture)
Uggs
Fictional novels
Biographies on Marie Antoinette
Comedies on DVD (I <3 Lucy, Two and a Half Men)
Driving

                   
                         Being goofy with my friends, like Ethel and Lucy!



Dislikes (in no particular order)


Math
Science
T1D
Celiac Sprue
JRA
Boredom

Sorting Out Emotions

When you are first diagnosed with ANY type of chronic condition, some of the first feelings you experience are anger, denial, sadness, fear, etc. Its a process of grieving. You are grieving for the person you were before the diagnosis.  You want life to go back to the way it was before. The likelihood of that happening is probably zilch. So now you must figure out how you're going to deal with the newest card Life has dealt. You might have seen it coming. I didn't. Well, I knew something was wrong. I didn't want to think it was majorly life threatening.  My bad! After I had the colonoscopy in January of 2004, my symptoms of thirst, hunger and fatigue left me.......I thought.........for good.  I know now I was in the Honeymoon stage. Some honeymoon. Usually, at this point, people have already been diagnosed, and they are prepared to deal with this temporary break. Mine lasted two weeks. After that, it was all downhill from there. 

In The Absence of Testing Strips

Since this past Monday, I have been without testing strips for my Freestyle Lite meter. Not good. I don't like it when I can't use my meter. One time, when I was in college, the battery on my meter went dead. Again, not good. The reason why my prescription ran out early was I checked my sugar more than 4 times a day.  Sometimes I check it randomly, or before I begin driving, but the main reason I test more than I should is because I am no longer able to tell when my sugar goes too low. Aka. hypoglycemia-low blood sugar. This could be from 51, 60, 45. My lowest--at least that I know of--is 27. Holy cats!! The medical term for this is hypoglycemia unawareness. This is one of the scary parts of T1D.

http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html
Scroll down towards the bottom of the page for more info.

Everyone should learn this info, especially if you know me personally, or someone else with T1. You never know when it might save our life!

**Saturday I should be able to get this thing filled and this crisis will be over!
** I have been able to check my sugar at least once a day with another meter. I wouldn't recommend it though. But these things happen-unfortunately. I wish they didn't.