Conquering life living with Type 1 Diabetes

Monday, May 16, 2016

Pump sites and healing them faster

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Recently in a support group I am in the topic of insulin pump sites and healing came up.  A few ideas were shared and I just wanted to share what I use, for a non-medicated approach.

After my friend told me about Bio Oil and finally trying it, I was sold. I really like it, it absorbs quickly with no oily residue. For me it helps heal my site faster with less scaring. As far as scaring goes, I know all about it. Everything leaves a scar on my skin, including every single pump site. I have a map on my skin of previous sites. The bio oil helps them heal much faster and the scars fade quicker.

Keri Nourishing Shea Butter & Vitamin E Lotion, 15 fl ozI also use shea butter. I just use the Keri brand mostly but Bath and Body Works has or had great scents in their body butter lines which has shea butter in it. The keri brand is a bit greasy so I only wear it at night but the Bath and Body Works one could be worn anytime for me anyway, maybe not hot summer days though. Itll make you sweat and then your slimy. Yuck.

I try not to use steroid creams or antibiotic creams, as long term use of any of those isnt good. Steroid creams will thin your skin and antibiotic creams can give you dermatits and set you up for antibiotic resistant infections.

I hope this helps someone else out there.




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Diabetes Blog Week - Message Monday

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#DBlogWeek




Diabetes Blog Week Day 1 topic: Message Monday:  Lets kick off the week by talking about why we are here, in the diabetes blog space. What is the most important diabetes awareness message to you? Why is that message important for you, and what are you trying to accomplish by sharing it on your blog?

Want to join Blog Week?  Check it out here: http://www.bittersweetdiabetes.com/2016/05/diabetes-blog-week_9.html


I started my blog in 2013 for the most part, I posted just a few things in 2012, but its not worth talking about.  Most of my Diabetic life I had not known anyone with type 1 Diabetes, other than my 2 brothers and some family members, and wasn't in any support groups and I wasn't comfortable asking the people I knew some of the personal questions I had.  I felt alone and misguided.  Most of my Diabetic Career before I met the medical team I have now was full of bad information and almost no guidance.  After I found my awesome CDE (Calli) and how completely fabulous she was, I felt inspired to help others, as she helped me so much. 

I joined some facebook support groups, saw how many other people we also getting bad medical advice and then I found other Diabetic Bloggers.  I knew and saw how many people were also lost and felt alone in their daily life with Diabetes.  Many people I know in my area or live in my area, I actually insisted that they too go see Calli, because of her great understanding of Diabetes.

Then one day the idea of starting a blog came to my mind and overnight I thought of the name I am a type 1 Diabetic Warrior, differentiating my type because of all the misinformation about Diabetes and the fact that there are two types.

I blog to share my life and trials and tribulations with type 1 Diabetes because so many of us out there feel so very alone because it is basically a hidden disease until issues or complications arise. 

There typically isn't much if any support from fellow family members and friends as with any disease that is not visible to the outside world.  You have to seek support from the community of people who are also living with the same disease as you are.  You have to learn how to cope with the general public's misguided comments and information, which can be very hard at times and can hurt quite a lot. 

I also blog to share the low carb lifestyle I decided to begin in April 2015.  It has changed my life and the ease of managing my disease and how much healthier I feel.  It is also a very hard pill for most people in your life to swallow and you get a lot of push back, which in turns makes it even harder to stay on track.  It can be done, it just takes more time and being on the receiving end of more insensitive comments.  The longer I stay on the low carb track, sharing really good recipes and people saying how much they like the food keeps me motivated and I have actually helped to inspire a few people I know to try low carb or do more low carb food, which makes me so incredibly happy. 

All I want to do is help people live with Diabetes and live as healthy as they can.  It brings me great joy to have someone come up to me and tell me they tried this or that recipe or they went to see Calli or Teresa and they loved her and/or they decided to go on an insulin pump or CGM.  It makes my heart so happy to know I helped put them in the right direction.  So to all you who have told me I helped you, I am forever grateful that I could help you, just by being another person with Diabetes and sharing my story and my experiences over and over and over again.



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Medicare Told to Cover CGMs in Ruling

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Medicare Told to Cover CGMs in Ruling


 This could be a huge decision for Medicare coverage of CGM technology. We NEED Medicare to cover CGM's for people with Diabetes!


http://insulinnation.com/treatment/medicare-told-to-cover-cgms-in-ruling/



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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

diaTribe's reaction to the UHC/Medtronic pump deal

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 #MyPumpMyChoice #accessmatters

diaTribe also released their reaction/letter about the UHC Medtronic deal.

http://diatribe.org/unitedhealthcare-chooses-medtronic-preferred-insulin-pump-provider-starting-july-1?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=devices&utm_campaign=news




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American Diabetes Association reaction to UHC/Medtronic deal

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#MyPumpMyChoice #accessmatters @myUHC

Keep them coming Diabetes Community!  We have got to get UHC to change their mind and not take this one track approach to such complex complicated Diabetes management tools like Insulin Pumps!


http://www.diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/2016/statement-pump-access-limitations.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Share&utm_content=051016-Pump-Access&utm_campaign=PR




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Friday, May 6, 2016

JDRF release letter about the UHC/Medtronic agreement

1 comment:
 #MyPumpMyChoice, #AccessMatters

 JDRF came out with a letter about the United Health Care / Medtronic deal that was announced this week and as it should caused a big uproar in the the Diabetes Community. 

http://jdrf.org/press-releases/jdrf-fighting-for-access/

We need access to all the pumps available to use the one that fits us best and to keep insulin pump competition and innovation alive.  You kill off all your competition by negotiating contracts with huge health insurance companies and then they have no reason to be on the cutting edge of innovation. 

For example in the CGM field.  There use to only be Medtronic CGM's and they were terrible, almost every single person who wore one hated it and a lot of people still hate the new Enlite sensors.  Then Dexcom came along and knocked all our socks off, it is a much better sensor.  It is so much better than most of the research going on in the closed loop artificial pancreas projects USE a Dexcom CGM.  So what happens when you cut out pump competition, you force out innovation and competition to come out with better pumps!
 
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United Health Care is not 100% all bad.

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#MyPumpMyChoice  #accessmatters #Diabetes @Dexcom


A midst the chaos and uproar that United Health Care has caused this week, by announcing that for a lot of their plans you can only use Medtronic as the preferred pump brand unless you go through the appeals process to get a different one, they are not a 100% bad company so far in my experience.

I have had to call about 10 times in the last two weeks to work on getting a lab test pre-auth done and figuring out what was wrong with my Dexcom pre-auth. Granted, it is a HUGE HUGE pain in the butt to stay on top of these things and call constantly, but at least they answer the phone.  Land of Lincoln, who I use to have, never and I mean never answered the phone. The people I have spoken with at United Health Care are very intelligent and know what they are talking about, which is also VERY hard to find sometimes.

Today I finally got word my Dexcom transmitter pre-auth was finally approved and get this, I get my Dexcom through pharmacy benefits!  This is a TREMENDOUS savings for me.  My Walgreens that I use has been a huge help and I applaud their pharmacist for all the leg work she had to do for me.  I only had sensors pre-authorized, not a transmitter, go figure.  Last year I paid $525.00 for a transmitter. This year or this month anyway I am paying $80.00, that's it, nothing more.  C-R-A-Z-Y.   Now I wait until the pharmacy gets it in and hope the one I am wearing keeps going.  It keeps losing signal but is still working, it is out of warranty.

I got another G4 transmitter because I am still not impressed with the G5 and I also learned that Dexcom lied and has not yet applied for FDA approval for the Android App to use the G5 without carrying the receiver.

So even though I am very upset at the move UHC has made for pump coverage I do appreciate the coverage I have.  I will just have to fight for my tslim pump next August I suppose.  Hopefully by then UHC  has taken a different approach to how they cover the things us with Diabetes, type 1 and 2, need to survive.

 My lifeline.


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Thursday, May 5, 2016

Sign the Petition to get United Health Care to cover all insulin pumps!

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#MyPumpMyChoice #patientsoverprofit @myUHC

Petition to get UHC to cover all insulin pumps has been created! Please sign and share this with everyone everywhere! We cannot allow health insurance companies to start this trend in Diabetes care!

https://www.change.org/p/united-healthcare-get-united-health-care-to-cover-all-insulin-pumps


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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

I just called UHC again in regards to their preffered DME pump provider policy change

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#PatientsOverProfits, #MyPumpMyChoice @myUHC


Ok I just talked to someone at UHC again, a very knowledgeable customer service rep, as the newsletter states (https://www.unitedhealthcareonline.com/ccmcontent/ProviderII/UHC/en-US/Assets/ProviderStaticFiles/ProviderStaticFilesPdf/News/May-Network-Bulletin_PCA-1-001514-04052016_R5.pdf

PAGE 7 "UnitedHealthcare has reached an agreement with Medtronic to become the
preferred, in-network durable medical equipment (DME) provider of insulin pumps for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Commercial members, effective July 1, 2016. "


I was told the Community Plans are Medicaid plans and the commercial plans are big corp plans, like AT&T or something of that nature.   The rep I talked to talked to her manager and she said they have not been made aware of this change for my policy/plan.

SO we each need to call our plan's hotline and see if it is affected by this change. I found out today that mine is not affected, but they also told me to call again next month to be sure nothing has changed.  PLEASE call UHC and see if your plan is affected or not.

UHC needs to clarify this announcement to the public, as we are all incredibly outraged by this and by this mid term policy change in where we are all stuck with our current insurance policy until enrollment for next year.

We can all speculate till our eyes pop out but until there is clarification from UHC and we all call our plans directly there isn't a way to know if your policy is affected by this or not.  There are literally hundreds of different plans within UHC. 

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Tuesday, May 3, 2016

UHC blocks us from using Tandem as of July 1st.

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@myuhc  @askUHC
  How can you force those of us using an insulin pump to survive to only be able to use one company? How can you force us to use Medtronic and only Metronic? There are people who have to use one pump vs another and some pumps just dont work for some people. I use a Tandem Diabetes Care Insulin pump and it is what works best for me. How can you say that sorry you are no longer able to use it after it malfunctions or goes out of warranty! What will be next? Force us to give up Dexcom CGM also? Force us to use one type of insulin vs another? I am allergic to Novolog, will you ban Humalog next? Will you ban Dexcom CGM next? Medtronic CGM is horrid just in case you didnt know. Also what about the closed loop trials? MOST of them use Tandem Diabetes Care pumps and Dexcom CGM? How can you BAN something that will change our lives and make us live longer healthier lives? How can you do that to us?

Here is the article I am referring to: 

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1438133/000156459016017385/tndm-ex991_6.htm

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Did you see this OUTRAGEOUS news from United Health Care?

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 #patientsoverprofit #mypumpchoice @myuhc

Did you see this OUTRAGEOUS news from United Health Care?

"Tandem Diabetes Care®, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM), a medical device company and manufacturer of the t:slim®, t:slim G4™ and t:flex® Insulin Pumps, stated that it has learned that UnitedHealthcare yesterday announced that effective July 1, 2016, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Commercial members will no longer have an in-network choice among insulin pump providers.  This unexpected decision by UnitedHealthcare designates Medtronic as their preferred, in-network durable medical equipment provider of insulin pumps.  The Company anticipates that this decision will prevent a majority of UnitedHealthcare members from purchasing an insulin pump on an in-network basis from Tandem Diabetes Care and several other durable medical equipment providers."


https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1438133/000156459016017385/tndm-ex991_6.htm

and here:
http://seekingalpha.com/news/3178653-tandem-diabetes-gets-outmaneuvered-unitedhealthcare-shares-slump-15-percent


and here: 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160503005767/en/Tandem-Diabetes-Care-Announces-Upcoming-Change-UnitedHealthcare

I called Tandem and they said:  Tandem says that UHC will not provide coverage for Tandem pumps or supplies if your pump malfunctions. As long as it is functioning they will cover supplies. After that they will not cover TANDEM pumps AT ALL. They said they are working with UHC to get that decision turned around. In the mean time ALL OF US CALL UHC to let them know that this is unacceptable and call your doctors and ask them to call UHC as well.  GIVE them backlash upon backlash to turn this around!!!  What about closed loop pumps??  Most of them involve TANDEM AND DEXCOM!  What will be next NO DEXCOM COVERAGE??

Here is their facebook page. LEAVE A COMMENT!!! https://www.facebook.com/UnitedHealthcare/ 

Tweet to them  @myuhc

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Awesome low carb pancake/waffle recipe!

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So far my favorite pancake/belgian waffle recipe, easy and quick to make. http://satisfyingeats.com/breakfast/fluffy-blueberry-buttermilk-pancakes-grain-free-low-carb/ I doubled the recipe and got 2 big belgian waffles, 1 will fill you up!




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