Sharing my email from Tandem---Holiday discounts on pump accessories! Most coupons expire 12/31/15

Treat yourself and your Tandem Insulin Pump to something special for the holidays! Our partners are offering discounts just for you this season. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Chic Buds creates sleek and portable power solutions that fit many different style and functional needs. Visit the website to view merchandise: http://www.chicbuds.com/

Myabetic creates innovative accessories for people living with diabetes. Their products are made specifically to transport daily supplies. Visit the website to view merchandise: www.myabetic.com

Great tasting, fast dissolving, all-natural glucose tabs, redesigned by someone who actually has to use them. Visit the website to view merchandise: www.buyglucolift.com

Take a SPIbelt™ on your run, hike, bike, or travels without distraction, bulk, or bouncing.  Visit the website to view merchandise: www.spibelt.com/community/diabetes

PumpPockets will hold your pump securely and allow you easy access. It's not a cure for diabetes, but it helps. Visit the website to view merchandise: www.pocketinnerwear.com/

FRIO - the reusable evaporative insulin cooler. Keeps insulin cool two days. Re-soak for two more days. No icepacks, ever again! Visit the website to view merchandise: www.FRIOCase.com

Pump Wear offers over 800 different accessories to help you wear your pump comfortably. Visit the website to view merchandise: www.pumpwearinc.com

Peelz are eco-friendly, non-pvc, personalized decals designed to fit over your insulin pump and other medical devices. Visit the website to view merchandise: http://pumppeelz.com

JoeyBra - the sexy comfortable bra with pockets – gives you the freedom to go anywhere, do anything, and carry valuables without lugging around a purse. Visit the website to view merchandise: www.joeybra.com

Ok Dexcom you kind of REALLY dropping the ball here and I am very frustrated! Updated.

Three weeks.  That is how long I have been trying to get a box of glucose sensors for the month of November and 3 boxes for December and a new receiver pre-authorized with my insurance before the end of the year. BEFORE the end of the year!

I have been in contact with 2 different reps at Dexcom.  Neither of them seem to be able to email or call be back.  I was on hold for 45 minutes this morning and I finally hung up.  I got my Doctor to fax chart notes and I emailed my BG dexcom logs last week because my terrible insurance Land of Lincoln is trying hard to not let me get my supplies and still no movement. It is now the end of November so I might as well forget about getting that box for this month. 

I am incredibly disappointed and shocked that I have gotten no where in THREE weeks time to get this done.  I called my insurance and Dexcom hasnt even submitted a prior authorization yet.  Jeesh its like pulling teeth I swear.

Update: So I contact my Dexcom rep, Joe, who is great and solves all my problems.  I should have just started with him apparently.   Dexcom faxed my prior auth in to my insurance today, which should have been done last week.  So I am out of luck for getting sensors for the the month of November.  Wonderful.  Now to wait for my lame insurance to approve my prior auth, if it takes 2 weeks again I might lost my mind!

Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Yet another curve ball from Land of Lincoln Health Insurance

First off let me start by saying that I really really dislike Land of Lincoln Health Insurance and have had numerous battles with them.

They do not have enough customer service reps so your hold time is always more than 15 minutes.

Today I had the joy of sitting on hold and trying to work out a claim for my Smith and Nephew IV3000 tape I use to keep my insulin pump infusion sets on with for over 45 minutes.

Apparantly insurance companies can have the luxury of deciding what they will and will not cover based on what Medicare will cover even though I pay for my health insurance.

They stated that since Medicare wont cover this item that they also do  not cover it and consider it an otc (over the counter) item.  Awesome.  So I am sending my box of 30 pieces of tape back that they wanted me to pay $108.00, one HUNDRED eight dollars. Say what?  I can get 100 pieces of the same tape with no precut hole from Homelink for 60.00 and one box should last 300 days. That same tape is still 108.00 from Edgepark. FYI if Edgepark is your medical supplier you might want to shop around for a cheaper in network company.

They will however cover Dexcom Glucose Sensors, hmm, thats odd since Medicare does not cover cgm sensors.

How in the hell does that work? Can anyone explain to me how that is legal?

I got my Dexcom sensors covered in July when I ordered but now this month I have this giant ordeal of getting them to cover my sensors. I had to send in bg logs (seriously?) and get chart notes from my endo. Dexcom did kind of drop the ball on this. Its been 14 days, no one called to tell me they needed all this paperwork and they had not yet submitted a pre authorization for me to get my sensors. I also need a new receiver in December. Its all just a bunch of garbage.

I am so fed up. LAND OF LINCOLN HEALTH INSURANCE IS TERRIBLE. DO. NOT. buy a policy from them! Unless you are healthy and do not have Diabetes. If you dont have type 1 diabetes consider yourself very lucky and much more wealthy than some of us with it because my type 1 diabetes costs me a damn fortune.

Today I kicked Diabetes' butt! Check out this Dexcom graph!

Yeah today has rocked!  I have been below 120 ALLLL DAAAAAY LOOONG! (ok almost all day)

This morning I had my eggs with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, heavy whipping cream and season salt.  Plus my coffee with heavy whipping cream and my sugar free torani syrup of course.  I cant function without coffee.

Lunch was terrible, I had those sugar free vanilla cookies that I posted about BUT no blood sugar spike and I have had 2 bai5 drinks. It wasn't terrible, just not all that nutritious I suppose but it tasted good. 

Yeah I just don't feel like eating much today but it has resulted in a really freaking fantastic Dexcom graph!  I just love my Dexcom, I don't think I could survive without it!

Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Did you know Diasend has a mobile app now?

 So I guess I missed the news. Diasend has a mobile app now!  That is awesome!

I upload my tslim insulin pump and my Dexcom CGM to the Diasend website and my doctor can log in and look at my data.  I was uploading my Verio meter but I recently switched to the In Touch Livongo program and I dont believe it is compatible just yet.  Maybe now I will upload my data more regularly if I can just look at the data on my phone instead of logging in. 

You can download the app for Android and Apple.

Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.diasend.diasend

Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/diasend/id961929984?l=en&mt=8



Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Happiness is a choice with Type 1 Diabetes

Lately it seems I keep running across a lot of unhappy people. Some are unhappy for reasons I don't know but others I hear, sound just like I use to, mad at their Diabetes and their inability to control their blood sugars and sometimes mad that their weight has spiraled out of control.

If you are unhappy with how your life with Diabetes is, only you can change it and the path you are on.  Only you can decide to get out of the delusional cloud of the ADA saying we type 1s can eat whatever we want, just take insulin. We CAN eat whatever we want and take a boat load of insulin, BUT your blood sugar is going to spike and when you take huge amounts of insulin it becomes unpredictable. It can cause you to crash later on, it can cause you to sit with a high blood sugar for much too long and it can cause you to gain weight.

Sugar free grain free vanilla wafers are next on my to do list

So the typeonegrit group members say these are great and they look great too. I just have to get some vanilla liquid stevia and I will make them. I need a good crispy cookie. I need to stock up on things to bring with me to Thanksgiving because I will not allow myself to suffer through the day with high blood sugar and feeling like syrup is pumping through my veins. I hate that feeling more than anything. 

http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/sugar-free-grain-free-vanilla-wafers/

Update:  I made the yesterday 11-19-15 and they are GREAT!!!  

The best low carb bread recipe ever.

Best low carb bread recipe ever. Period. 

This recipe is great I will be making this regularly and will attempt to make it into a bread loaf soon!

 

http://www.lowcarbreviews.com/swedish-breakfast-buns/

I don't know you Sean Parker, but I would love to give you a GIANT hug!

Read the article here:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/17/sean-parker-grants-10-million-to-aid-radical-autoimmune-research-for-type-1-diabetes

Did you read today's news?  Sean Parker donated 10 million dollars to research for type 1 Diabetes!  TEN MILLION DOLLARS!

This is incredible!  This guy donated 10 million dollars out of his pocket to help find a cure for the Disease that I live with every single day of every single moment of my life!

“This is literally a life or death situation with a diabetes 1 patient and in that sense there’s a real need to get down to the mechanistic level and understand how to repair the immune system so that it no longer produces these self-reactive T cells and in the event that it does those T cells are sufficiently suppressed by immunosuppressive elements like regulatory T cells,” Parker said.

Sean Parker, thank you, thank you from every inch of my being.   I really REALLY hope and pray and wish to be cured from Type 1 Diabetes in my lifetime!

Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Early Bird sale ID's only $15.00 7 days left

Go to:

http://www.roadid.com/

Livongo Early Access Program states applications for the program are now closed on their website

I hope those of you who wanted to sign up for the Livongo for Diabetes Early Access Program got signed up because I noticed today is says:  

Applications for the program are now closed.

 
https://go.livongo.com/START?d=1


Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!

Have you tried Bai5 drinks yet?

When you are pancreatically challenged finding a drink other than water or unsweetened ice tea can be difficult at times.  I drink a ton of water every day and I swear that is makes me feel better than the times when I do not or I forget.  I get bored with water sometimes and I do love ice tea but I can't really drink that all day long either.

I was told about the Bai5 drinks.  I finally found them in my local Hyvee and my local small grocery store has them too.  I was like, eh what the heck I'll try them.

My experience with the In Touch Livongo glucose meter so far.

I got my Welcome kit 2 days ago, which includes the meter, charging cable, lancing device, lancets, and however many strips you wanted.  I got 300, which I probably won't use but that is what my prescription was for so I just kept it the same.  You know how it
goes, some times you use a ton in a month and other times not so much.

The meter is rather large, but it was free and it has a ton of cool features so I don't mind it. It has a built in T-Mobile internet connection so it uploads your data to your account online and you can choose who you want to share that data with.  You can share it with your doctors, a family member, your cell phone and even a CDE that Livongo provides for you to call for free. If your blood sugar is below 50 or above 400 the CDE will try to contact you to be sure you are ok.

I don't have connection to the T-Mobile network at my home but I do at my work so when I go to work and check my blood sugar it updates all the missed data and retrieves any messages.

You can also use any Micro USB charger to charge this meter, this is HUGE for me because my Verio meter has a lame proprietary charging cable.  Drives me NUTS.

I am not using the lancing device because I have a One Touch Delica that I use and I love it, I will never go back to any other lancer, that thing is almost painless.

The test strips are also rather large, but there are many benefits:  I don't have to do the b.s. fight with my health insurance to get the number of strips I feel I need, I don't have to get a prescription renewed every year, I don't have to visit a doctor every 6 months so they will continue to write my test strip prescription and I don't have to wait in line at the pharmacy to get my refills.  Those are so many more pluses for me that I wont let the size of these huge strips bother me.

So far I am really happy with this program. I am a tad bit concerned what they will raise the price to after the locked in 2 year price of only $25.00 per month.  I do NOT want to go back to the battles of getting my test strips.

It's crazy to even talk about how hard it is for us Diabetics to get the test strips that we BASE our whole control of this disease on.

THANK YOU LIVONGO for this program, please continue to keep the price at $25.00/month, there has got to be tens of thousands of people who will benefit from this. 


Please leave me your comments, it helps keep me motivated!