Conquering life living with Type 1 Diabetes

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Dexcom has submitted to FDA for G6!!

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FINALLY @Dexcom is going to have predictive alerts!! Xdrip+ has had them for a while, so Im glad theyre finally catching up!
https://diatribe.org/dexcom-submits-g6-sensor-fda

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

My t:slim X2 review after wearing it for a month now and why I still choose Dexcom

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My pump warranty went out and so I began the battle with insurance to get a new insulin pump.  The insurance approval mumbo jumbo took a month once again, but Tandem, being the awesome company they are offered me a loaner if mine decided to croak in the mean time.  I did not have any issues while waiting thankfully. 

So I got my X2 and of course I started it up right away and had the tedious job of transferring all my settings over to the new pump.  I am a woman so I have the joy of needing different profiles for different times of the month.  Men be very thankful your hormones don't shift around during the month.

I got it up and running and it kept losing the Dexcom signal.  I asked questions in the Tandem Facebook group and tried a few suggestions like, make sure the screen is face out, put it on the same side of your body as the sensor.  Nothing worked.  I finally called Tandem.

The power of prayer is amazing but it will not cure those of us with Type 1 Diabetes.

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November is Diabetes Awareness Month.  My friend Sarah posted this today and it struck a nerve with me because I too have heard and been told this.  People have actually let their child die by stopping insulin. 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Today is World Diabetes Day

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Today is World Diabetes Day. A day to help spread awareness of Diabetes. A day to spread awareness of how unaffordable this disease is to live with in many countries. Here in the USA many people go days with no insulin because of the cost and have no affordable health insurance.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Trying so hard to expand my insulin pump site rotation sites.

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Those of you who use outer thigh/saddlebag area for pump sites and use angled sets, do you have them going up and down or side to side inside your leg? I keep trying to branch out and use my legs but everytime I do it the darn thing hurts all the time.  Im thin and dont have much fat on my legs.  This is the only place on my leg I can put a pump site. I can't use my stomach at all because the infusion set burns the whole time, and it is not bearable pain, kind of like my leg but a little bit less. I can't use 90 degree sets because they stab me internally and get bent nonstop. I also can't stand metal cannulas at all, they also stab me. I get so tired of this disease when it comes to pump sites and all the issues I have with them and the literal pain they cause me.  I don't know if I have particularly sensitive tissue or what the deal is.  I just know that while sitting here with a set in my leg it is hurting and it really pisses me off. As I get closer to my goal body fat percentage I worry more about where will I put my pump without any pain and how in the world do the people with almost zero bodyfat even wear a stupid insulin pump?....  Today I am really sick and tired of living with t1d and all these freaking medical devices attached to me nonstop. 

Monday, November 6, 2017

Tandem tslim X2 was replaced....MUCH better results!

1 comment:
Tandem replaced my X2 pump because it would not keep the Dexcom signal.  The replacement works much much better, it still loses signal every once in a while but not like before.  Im so very thankful Tandem has such good customer service and are always so helpful.  I was about darn near telling them to take the pump back and switch to Medtronic even though I hate them and how they are forcing their brand on United Health Care insured people.

I also got my phone repaired so I have the back up receiver as my phone.  The phone hardly ever loses signal and I use Share so I have to have a phone that is compatible with Share. --In case you didnt know there is a hacked version of Share on Reditt that you can put on any phone.  Use at your own risk for reliability though.--

Thursday, November 2, 2017

When technology fails, my new Tandem X2 Pump, and then makes you go crazy!

2 comments:

It has been one heck of a crazy week.  I got the Tandem tslim X2 pump and was crazy stoked!  The thing will not keep Dexcom signal, drops it nonstop.  I asked the Tandem FB group for help, they said try to make sure the screen is out if you are wearing it on your body, did that, said to make sure theyre on the same side of your body, did that, nothing worked. I have really no idea how this pump can have such a hard time keeping signal, I hope its just this fluke pump.  I read in the group of many many people having the same issue.  So why did Tandem not fix this issue before releasing this pump and how is this pump in the closed loop patient trials? I finally called Tandem, they sent me a new transmitter to try to fix the issue and Im really glad they tried that.  That did not fix my issue though. It worked great all day long and I thought it was fixed.

So stupidly, I went to bed relying on it. I think because of all the walking we did for trick or treating I had a delayed bg drop.  At 243 a.m. I woke up in a puddle of sweat, heart pounding, the typical I feel like I am going to die low, but not REALLY die of course, I have not had a low this bad in YEARS because of my Dexcom. I take my pump out of the band of my underwear (because for 8 years I have worn my pump in a like bralette type thing in a baby sock so I can HEAR alarms, but this pump the BRAND NEW X2 will not keep a damn signal there)...screen out so the signal will work, so I thought and it had the no signal icon! Then it comes up and says 41! Great 41! I felt 41 for sure.  The kicker was that I just had also broke my Samsung Note 5 so I did not have the back up reliability of my phone, it NEVER loses signal.  It would have been screaming at me for going under 55 and my followers phones would have also been screaming. I was super low for over 30 freaking minutes...obviously my glycogen stores had been working. I was super duper mad my damn pump wasnt alarming me. Also the fixed low alarm on the pump is WAY TOO QUIET, please DO NOT RELY ON IT! It of course alarmed after I got up and went downstairs to proceed to eat half my kitchen.

So now I have gone back in tech and Im using the Dexcom reciever. Unreal. My replacement pump will be here today.  My fingers are crossed that it actually does what they say it is suppose to.

Tandem gave me all sorts of excuses for their crappy tech. The case is all metal, make sure its on the same side as your transmitter (which I in turn replied the whole reason I stayed with Tandem and Dexcom was the 20 foot range and not needing to be like Medtronic and have to have my pump on the same side practically on top of the transmitter) these are both lame reason Tandem. Fix these issues. Make your case out of something that will allow a signal to pass through, make your antenna stronger, I mean come on...Medtronic is going to bury you otherwise...they have already buried how many pump companies?!

This new pump had better work. How in the hell is this the pump in closed loop, you cant have a closed loop with a cgm signal drop issue!  Also why are the alarms so stinking quiet...cant hear them under covers and with a fan on in your room...so again need the pump up by your head but it wont work that far away and through sheets. Sooooo lets hope the new one actually works.