Dexcom has submitted to FDA for G6!!

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

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

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.

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. 

Today is World Diabetes Day

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.

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

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. 

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

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.--

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

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.

Tandem x2 with g5 pump, so far this signal loss thing is making me crazy!

How many of you using the tslim x2 with g5 integration are having signal loss issues nonstop? I know I am.  My phone has ZERO issues keeping the signal.  ZERO.  The pump, on the other hand, cant keep the damn signal at all. Especially at night while Im covered up. I have for EIGHT YEARS worn my pump in a sports type bra thing in a baby sock so I can hear alarms. Well the only damn alarm I get is SIGNAL LOSS! WTF TANDEM?  If it werent for my phone my dexcom would be worthless. I am calling Tandem tomorrow and hopefully all the other people having this issue call also. How will this setup be the artificial pancreas loop pump? I sure dont know. 

Hope for our future

My friend Molly McElwee Malloy's hard work on this team gives me hope. http://illimitable.virginia.edu/askmore/diabetes/  This is the artificial pancreas that uses a tslim x2 pump and G5 Dexcom sensor, the setup I personally am currently wearing. We are hoping and praying for 2018 FDA approval!

Want to participate in patient trials?
https://med.virginia.edu/diabetes-technology/participate/

The best low carb cookie I have tried ever!

These are THE BEST low carb cookies I have EVER made! I followed the recipe exactly as listed, I even had to order the peanut flour she uses and had to order vanilla whey protein, I used Integrated Supplements vanilla whey because we love the chocolate flavor so much. I am going to make more today because I accidentally burned half of mine and my dough was too soft. DO NOT TRY THEM WARM, they taste like total crap. I almost threw all mine away, tried them one more time before I tossed them and they were really good! https://lowcarbyum.com/low-carb-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/

My new tslim X2 Insulin Pump came today!

Today was day 1 of another 4 year journey with an insulin pump. This is my third pump/4yr relationship with a pump. Lol!

My original tslim went out of warranty 2 months ago. Talk about sweating it. I had to wait for new insurance to kick in a month ago and it took the new insurance a month to approve it.

I got the new tslim x2 with integrated Dexcom G5 data!

I am excited and thankful to have this technology in my hands. I am even more excited for the upcoming closed loop pump that takes the Dexcom data and self regulates my blood sugar. I have friends on Facebook in the final patient trials, this is such an exciting time in my lifes journey living with type 1 Diabetes.

I am hopeful that it will be in 2018 sometime. I am thankful to have the pump that will just have to be plugged into the computer, updated and will use the latest closed loop technology.

Here's to four more years attached to a medical device that hopefully in one year be doing me a whole lot more good!

Sadly I share another t1d has passed too soon.

Crys Allen, 31, passed away on Sunday. She was the mother of 5 children under the age of 7 and has a loving husband. I was in the typeonegrit group with her, though I do not know her personally. I am sharing the gofundme page for her husband and kids. They do not know the cause but she is a type 1 Diabetic. Donate if you can, as the page says her husbands last paycheck was stolen and they have no money.

https://www.gofundme.com/5cjezz-allen-family

Is it possible to have a tape reaction on one spot and not the other?

It is no secret, I love my opsite flexifix tape for my pump sites and dexcom sensors, if a person CAN actually say they LOVE being attached to two medical devices held on by tape every single moment of every day.

Lately when I wear my dexcom on my outer thigh, where the "saddlebag" area is the tape starts to really bother me around the edges. Its super wierd, if I just loosen the tape on the edges it usually stops feeling like its burning. The tape doesnt feel like it's burning anywhere else, its so strange.  Anyone else have a tape reaction in one spot and not another?

Times when I really wish I didnt have t1d the most.

Family gatherings and good food that I want to eat and usually do eat and then the guilt and stupid stubborn ass high blood sugar that follows.

I enjoy living low carb, but damn it, sometimes I want to feel like a regular person. It never works, I dont know why I give in, but I do.

Today sucked royally and so did last weekend.

Why are people such cry babies today?

When and why did society become so thin skinned? Why are people such big cry babies these days?  You cannot say anything to anyone without someone "being offended"! Get over yourselves, don't take everything so personally, unless it is a personal attack, no one is out to attack you or intentionally hurt your feelings at the same time dont make fun of a persons personal battles on purpose, that is not ok or acceptable.

So I fell off the face of the earth, but Im back now.

Life has been busy and crazy but in good ways.  I have not had much free time to dedicate to blogging with 2 kids and a husband and a small farm and dogs and cats.

Tonight I am inspired to blog because of these persistant letters that Hines and Associates keeps mailing to me, for their so called "disease management". Yeah, just saying that makes me want to vomit.  These letters are nothing more than more of the fear mongering pamphlets that we get from our doctors offices and hear about from all of our family and friends. This most recent pamphlet is about teeth, gums and eye care. Yeah, GEE AFTER 17 YEARS I had NO IDEA. Come on.  

Dont eat the carbs!

This right here is why Americans with Diabetes with both types are in such bad shape. People pushing grains are behind the terrible dietary guidelines in this country. We dont need corn, oats, beans, or wheat to survive. No one does! Im not sorry grain industry, Im only sorry that we have been lied to for so many years, making so many people over weight and killing those of us with Type 1 from complications and giving so many more Type 2.

Diabetes=carb intolerance

Peanut Allergy=dont eat the freaking peanuts!

So why WHY do we keep telling people with Diabetes to eat so many damn carbs per meal?!

https://robbwolf.com/2017/01/05/why-wont-we-tell-diabetics-the-truth/

I really wish it was easier to buy real food in American grocery stores instead of all the crap ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin (more corn) sugar and preservatives up the wazoo. Almost every single item in the grocery store has corn and sugar in it in some form. We dont need CORN AND SUGAR in all the food we eat.

Have you ever looked at your insulin pump site up close?

Have you ever looked at your insulin pump site up close like with your cell phone zoomed in? Well do not do it. It is actually kind of gross! I had to do that today because I thought my new leg site was leaking blood.

It is not leaking thankfully since it was my second attempt. My first resulting in me hitting a blood vessel or vein, never a pleasant experience.

This is why leg sites suck for me.

Gotta love it when you bend an infusion set after its been in your leg for 3 days.   This is why leg sites are so hard for me.  They get bent.  Being thin is not always the greatest thing in the world when you rely on body fat for insulin pump sites and you cant use your abdomen at all because it hurts like hell there.

Trying some new real estate for my insulin pump.

Trying my insulin pump site on my leg again for the first time in over 4 years. My last attempts resulted in a terrific stabbing feeling on my thigh causing me to whip my pants down in a parking lot to rip it out in front of my male cousins! Haha!  It felt like a knife in my thigh muscle.

I am trying outside thigh aka saddlebag area. Lol! I dont have much fat there but more than the front of my thigh where I use to try. I figured if I can wear my dexcom sensor there without any pain, I might as well try it.  I have got to find some new real estate for my pump.  I am sick and tired of using the sides of my hip/butt area and my lovehandle area. Im hoping and praying this works.

Might attempt my calf where I have been wearing my dexcom without "much" pain. The calf/right below my knee dex site will hurt a little for a day or two but then its good. I almost give up every time I use my calf because it is a bit painful but the pain does subside.  I think its just that its a whole new area and my tissue is not at all use to being stabbed there.  The lovehandle spots use to hurt like hell at first too, but those spots adjusted somehow.

The anxiety of trying a new spot is very real. I have to psych myself up every time only because of previous attempts going badly.  So what I have been doing is squeezing the area up kind of hard to feel the pain of squeezing vs. the pain of a needle going into my skin. I have tough skin so I have to push rather hard to get my comfort short angled set into my body fat.

The joys of type 1 Diabetes....they just never stop giving! 

Please contact your Senators!!! We have got to get this health care bill stopped!!!

Now more important than EVER every person with a pre existing condition or if you know or love someone with a pre existing condition, please contact your Senators! Repealing the ACA in some ways could be ok but this bill allows states to opt out of pre existing coverage. They can charge us such high premiums once again that is it out of financial reach for millions of Americans. This is just not ok! States can also choose to not cover maternity and mental health to name a few!  I find it funny that the House voted to exclude themselves from this new healthcare law, how is that fair or legal?  Its complete crap! Lets get this terrible bill stopped in the Senate!! People we need to act, dont stand by and not speak your voice, PLEASE!!!

Imagine you have something like Cancer, Diabetes, a mental health issue or some other life long chronic disease and the premium for health insurance is completely unaffordable so you have to go without!

How does a Cancer patient survive, how does a Type 1 Diabetic survive? They dont, plain and simple. No one can afford Cancer treatment or insulin without health insurance coverage.

My insulin is $1000/mo before insurance, test strips $600/mo, insulin pump supplies around $500, my Dexcom continuous glucose monitor sensors that keeps me safe are $90 each without insurance. One sensor is FDA approved to wear for ONE WEEK.

We have to get this bill stopped, I cannot believe in America we will revert back to allowing insurance companies to over charge the sick, the people who need health care the most!! Thousands of people  are going to die if this is allowed to pass!

The links are below!


I just took action on an issue that I consider important. I urge you to take action yourself and spread the word! To take action on this issue, click on the link below: http://www2.jdrf.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=ORIXb6jlcPDhq8IFFI7dMA&id=458 If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.


Or if you prefer to not use JDRFs form go here: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Please contact Congress to not allow states to decide about pre existing coverage.

Please dont pass by this, please go to this link and fill in your information telling congress to not allow states to choose if they cover pre existing health conditions for health insurance coverage.  If our "government" allows this to happen millions of people will lose the ability to pay for health insurance at all. People like me with type 1 diabetes will see huge premiums once again. Before the ACA I paid $10,000/yr for just myself to have health insurance. Half of my income went to health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles.   This cannot happen again. You think health ins costs a lot now, just wait until everyone goes to the E.R. for care instead because they cannot turn them away and then they cant afford the bill so they dont pay it. The cost of health care will just skyrocket if this is allowed to happen. Thousands of people will die because they cannot afford health care. Is this America?  Why do we not care for the   ill, instead turn our backs and say "not my problem"?

https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=472&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpJMk5URTJNV1F4TmpKaiIsInQiOiJIMzhtVzVcL2swVkRXdE1QT2Z4K2FGZ21kNVwvSWJ0MHg3a040a2pTN2t1dWwyZWtYVkxTTnV6T1REXC9NUVpGc0FwcEZaOTJnb2xVcnZFakxwUGU2UDJmVUN1eFJLRFwvXC9QdzcyeGVpeWd2MEFlT05KK0cxeWZraGNaNVwvWk1aS3Z2TyJ9

More wonderful stories and a video about Mandy.

Some articles about Mandy and all the amazing things she did.

http://www.indystar.com/story/life/2017/04/24/mandy-harris-saved-700-riley-babies-now-her-colleagues-crochet-700-jellyfish-preemies-her-memory/100611626/

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156450073394852&id=9812439851

I hate you Diabetes

Right now I am mad, I am so damn mad, why is there still no cure for type 1 Diabetes? How many more people have to die?  The treatment is still the same as 100 years ago, insulin injections, unpredictable stupid ass freaking insulin injections/pump/whatever.  I hate this stupid DAMNED disease.  I hate how it gets under my skin and makes me so scared at times, I hate how I have to worry about going low alone having a seizure and possibly dying.  I hate worrying Ill go low and my child will find me dead.  I hate worrying about my brothers with t1d, my friends, my family members all living with this stupid damned disease. I hate the terribly mean comments I am subjected to because I have Type 1 Diabetes, I hate the shitty things people say about food giving people Diabetes, I hate that it played a major role in ripping my grandpa away at a young age, I was 7, he was my father figure for the first 4 years of my life, it ripped Mandy away, it takes childrens lives and what do we have to treat it?  Still just insulin, crappy ass unpredictable insulin.  Im mad, Im just really freaking mad.  I know there are worse things out there, I get that, but I live with this stupid ass disease so I have the right to be mad and to vent my feelings.  Can we get a freaking cure yet? Or at least a better treatment? I know things are coming but damn it all to hell its just too damn late.  

How to NOT become an identity theft victim--OFF Topic Blog post

This blog post is completely off topic, as you can tell by the heading.  Life has thrown some major curve balls at me lately and the Diabetes Online Community has been shaken to the core with Mandy's passing.  I don't really feel like even talking about Diabetes much right now.  Diabetes has stolen Mandy's life and changed the course of her family's lives forever. I am so mad about Diabetes and mad that we are STILL waiting for a freaking (trying not to swear hear because I am so mad) cure.  So I don't want to talk about it anymore for a while.

During all this stupid curve ball crap my identity was stolen.  YEAH its not fun and I have learned a LOT and I want to share this all with you so that you do not become an identity theft victim yourself.  Don't be as oblivious as I was, thinking that living in cornfieldville Illinois was safe!  So hello whoever you are identity thief,  there is a special place in Hell for you when you die! 

I will list the things you all need to do right now, DO NOT DELAY!

1. Run your own credit report EVERY SINGLE YEAR for free on annualcreditreport.com otherwise these identity thieves will run it and then have all of your credit history in their hands.  They can then answer all challenge questions properly and get credit in your name, use your current credit cards and even increase your credit limit on any cards you have.  They typically won't spend the money to run your report if you have already done it. 
2. CANCEL ALL DEPARTMENT STORE CREDIT CARDS or set up a password for each card!!  All these people need is a fake ID card and your social security number and they can spend on your card.  
3. LOWER your credit limit on the ONE credit card you want to keep and also set up a password, DO NOT let them use your mothers maiden name, that info is available all over the internet, just search for yourself, you will be blown away at what is available.
4. Sign up for all the free credit monitoring websites before the identity thieves do.  This includes: www.creditkarma.com www.creditsesame.com www.quizzle.com www.credit.com www.nerdwallet.com  After these people sign up in your name they can monitor all your credit cards, loans, mortgage, etc and if you cancel a card and get a new on they will also see that information
5. Go to every single website you can find your name and information on and follow their steps to remove your name from their website
6. Do all these things for your spouse or significant other as well
7. If you have a debit card with a large daily limit get it lowered as low as you can handle
8. Take all these things I have told you very seriously as this is what has happened to me and it is a disaster.
9. Pay for some sort of credit monitoring service for you and your whole family.
10. If you are no longer using a credit card, cancel it because if you aren't watching it they will use it.
11. If your identity has been used IMMEDIATELY put a fraud alert on your credit file.  You can do that by calling the credit bureaus and using their automated system to put an alert on your file.
12. If it has been stolen, call your local or county police to file a report.   After you have your report you can freeze your credit for FREE, because after they have gotten your ENTIRE CREDIT HISTORY off the internet they can forever get credit in your name, because they KNOW all the challenge questions based off your credit history.  
13. Call the Drivers License Facility and make sure no one has come in claiming to be you to get a duplicate license, MOST of these people just fake them and of course use their own picture.  
14. Call the Social Security Office to make sure no one has requested a duplicate card
15. Any fraudulent inquiries or new credit in your name, call that company immediately to tell them it was not you and to freeze that account and to start working on getting it removed from your credit file and removing the inquiry on your credit report.  
16. OPEN ALL YOUR MAIL!  I got 2 credit cards in the mail that I didn't apply for, if I had not opened that mail I would have never known my identity was stolen. I called them immediately, found out what happened and put the fraud alert on my credit files.
17. When my brain starts functioning again I will let you know what else I have had to do!

Memorial letter about my dear friend Mandy.

My name is Megan Druien, I am also a Type 1 Diabetic Warrior.  I met Mandy many years ago around 2008 or 2009 over email when I first went on my insulin pump and was having a lot of trouble adjusting to wearing it all the time.  Mandy’s Aunt Debbie suggested that I email her niece to see if she could offer me some advice.  Debbie told me what she did for a living and I was like, wow, I am not sure I can email someone with such an impressive title!  She was incredibly generous and helpful to me and did not really know me at all.  We kept in touch and emailed each other back and forth after that.  She was another person with type 1 Diabetes that I could talk to about the daily struggles it comes along with.
Fast forward a few years and we were both on facebook and I sent her a friend request right away!  I was part of this wonderful Diabetic support group for Moms, I told her about it and of course she wanted to be added to the group.  We are a tight nit group of women who lean on each other for support and advice.  We all love each other like family.  All of them would be here today if they didn’t live so far away. They have asked me to send their love and to let you know they wish they could be here today.  Mandy was a great addition to the group and even helped several of the ladies with their children when they started having seizures or other neurological problems.  She was always so generous with her time and more than willing to share her knowledge.  She made friends with all of the members in that group and the other groups we were in together right off the bat.  She even went out of her way to help transition other people with Type 1 into a different diet to manage their Diabetes.
Mandy was a Warrior, she fought Diabetes better than most while managing a very demanding career, two children and a husband who she loves dearly.  She would help everyone and anyone in the support groups she was in.  She was so very humble and did not want any extra praise, even though in her career she saved many babies, she never asked for attention for the amazing things she accomplished. 
I want you to know how much Mandy means to the online Diabetic community because it is so very important for you all to know how deeply she will be missed by them and me.  She was a great friend to all of us and has changed many of us with type 1 forever for the better. 
She has touched so many lives as the Pray4Mandy page and its 6000 plus followers have proven. I will continue to be an advocate for Type 1 and I will fight even harder for Mandy.
Mandy is an amazing woman, wife, mother and Doctor. She has changed the world for better and I wish she was here to see the difference her life has made and to know just how many people really love and care for her even if they never really met her.

Finally picked up two new glucagon emergency kits.

Finally picked up my 2 glucagon kits and 57.00 later I feel much better having unexpired glucagon. Glucagon, for those who don't know, is something anyone who takes insulin should have on hand. It is used in the event I should pass out from low blood sugar and/or start seizing. If you know me or are my friend or know someone else who uses insulin, please do us both a favor and learn how its used.  I carry a glucagon kit in my purse. Someone you love just might need you to save their life some day. Its up to you to learn how to use it in advance.

http://www.lillyglucagon.com/#tools

Android app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lilly.ignitehealth.glucagon

Apple app

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glucagon/id553314007?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I also wear a medic alert bracelet every single day from www.roadid.com with the medic alert symbol add on band on the side.

Are you on insulin and if you are do you have a glucagon kit? 

Where do you store your Glucagon Emergency Kit?

Have you gotten your Glucagon prescription yet?  Do you know where your glucagon is?  Tell me where do you store your Glucagon and have you told everyone where it is at?

I realized mine were all expired, so I got a new prescription.  I keep all my old kits though, just in case.

I keep one on my husband's bedside table, one in my purse and one in my kitchen cabinet with our vitamins, my in use pump supply boxes, pain meds etc etc.

Where do you keep yours?
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Some benefits of wearing a CGM on your body 365/24/7

I wear a Dexcom CGM or continuous glucose monitor.  I chose Dexcom because their accuracy is the best for me and the range/distance of the sensor transmission is the best available. I am asked this question quite often so I will list some pros and cons for me.


Pros:

1. I know what my blood sugar is or is near at all times of the day and night
2. I can drive my vehicle without as much worry about going low suddenly
3. I can sleep much better knowing that my Dexcom should catch my lows
4. I can react to a high or low much sooner and take corrective actions
5. I know what the food I eat does to my blood sugar and how quickly it affects me
6. Dexcom makes me much more responsible for the blood sugar readings and helps me to say  no to foods I know I just cannot conquer
7. I can wear it for longer than 7 days and just keep restarting it 
8. It gives me much more confidence living with t1d because I can look at my Dexcom and see where my blood sugar is trending.

Dexcom’s G6 Sensor Shines in Early Accuracy Study

"Earlier this month, Dexcom shared compelling new details on its longer-wear, less calibration G6 sensor and its partnership with Verily to develop a bandage-like continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. The G6 sensor is expected to launch in 2018, while the first-gen Verily sensor will launch in late 2018, with a second-gen version coming as early as 2020. Read on for the new details!"

Read the whole article  here from 11/25/16:

https://diatribe.org/dexcom-g6-sensor-shines-early-accuracy-study?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic

Glucagon tutorials online and smartphone apps for you to download

Glucagon emergency kits are something every person taking insulin should have. Glucagon is what is used to save someone who is having a seizure from an extreme low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. If you are taking insulin and do not have a kit please call your doctor and get some. Ask them to write you a prescription for at least 2 or 3. One for your bedside, one to carry with you all the time and one on your main floor of your home.

Glucagon Tutorial by Danica!

https://youtu.be/E9dsdx0ceCo

What the public needs to be informed on about TYPE ONE DIABETES

Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia can happen to anyone with type 1 Diabetes taking insulin. Too much insulin, incorrectly guessing a dose, insulin absorbs faster than usual, exercise, physical activity are all things that can cause a low blood sugar. 

What happened to my friend and doctor Mandy could be any of us and we all know that but we all thought it would never happen. 

Never in a million years did I think this would happen to Mandy with her amazing control she gained following lchf. 

I got brave and put my Dexcom sensor on my calf.

I keep reading how people are using their calf for their Dexcom sensor placement. I look at these pictures and cringe. It looks like it would be horribly painful.

Today I decided what the heck, I wont know until I try it.

I warned my 4 yr old watching me that I might scream, hahaha!  

No screaming involved! I did it and it didn't hurt. I found the fattiest part of my calf and I have seriously got chicken legs. Like they could pass for a 10 year olds legs.  I put it on right below the knee on the inside of my leg.

Im waiting for my 2 hour start up so I dont yet know if it will work or not.  I will keep you posted!  I'll also post a picture when I get out of my pjs.  Lol!

Warning graphic image of my chicken leg below:

Another child needs your prayers as he went undiagnosed with t1d.

Another family that needs prayers. This boy went undiagnosed, ended up in dka and now has suffered brain damage. 

http://www.bcdemocrat.com/2017/02/16/eganstrong-fundraiser-set-up-for-sixth-grader-in-critical-condition/  

He is at the same hopsital Mandy works at. 

Stay updated on Mandys progress.

Keep up to date on Mandys progress and post your comments and prayers to her family.

https://www.facebook.com/pray4mandy/

A gofundme page for Mandy. -Now closed.

For those of you following Mandys progress and have asked her family what we can do to help.

Her family has set up a gofundme page.


https://www.gofundme.com/pray4mandy

Thank you to all who donated, the family appreciates it so much.  Losing Mandy was a major tragedy...we need a cure..we need it now. 

Keep praying!

Today they are taking Mandy off all sedation!! Please pray extra hard that she wakes up and is ok!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pray4mandy/

Come on Mandy you can do it, we are all pulling and praying for you!!

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

Do you have your Diabetes emergency plan in place and have you rehearsed it?

No one is exempt from having a Diabetic emergency. No one is so "good" at Diabetes that they should not have an emergency plan in place.

Do you have a glucagon emergency kit in your home and everyone knows where it is and how to use it?

I know this will not save everyone especially if you are alone but I cannot tell you how many people tell me they dont have any or know what it is.  Do you have someone you can call when you have low blood sugar if you are alone?

A few years ago I didnt own any glucagon kits. Then I got married and had kids.  I have one on my husbands bedside table, one in my purse at all times and one in kitchen cabinet.

Please keep in mind glucagon may not work if you have drank too much alcohol or have been through a lot of lows lately.

Life with Type 1 Diabetes isnt always as black and white as we lead ourselves to believe. Please pray!

A few days ago a fellow type 1 friend and person Im related to by marriage experienced something we all fear the most. She was found unresponsive and not breathing by her beloved husband. He performed cpr on her until the ambulance arrived, he did everything he could to help her. She also has two young children that she loves so very dearly and sisters and parents. She is currently on life support and heavily sedated to help let her brain activity calm down, they are hoping to remove the ventilator today and slowly reduce sedation to see if she wakes up. Please pray she wakes up.

She had been fighting a cold or virus and was needing a lot more insulin than normal. She also wore a Dexcom, so dont ever rely on your cgm to save you, follow your instincts. Do not ignore your instincts they are very powerful.

Dexcom G4 vs G5

So I got another G4 in December because in my experience they last over a year.   My current one is from December 2015.  I am on the fence as to what to do the next time around G4 or G5?  I dont have any Apple products so I am still holding out hope the Android App will get FDA approval this year.  I am also up for a new cell phone in August and a new pump.  UGH this year will be expensive to say the least.

Those of you who have made the switch are you happy?  Anyone make the switch and not use an Apple phone?

I am not sure how much it is worth it to go to G5 and be forced to order new transmitters every 6 months.....

Anyone know if or when Tslim X2 will be a receiver for Dexcom G5? I am planning on getting another pump from Tandem this year.  I just dont like any of the other options, Animas might go under and the delivery speed is too fast.  I dont like Medtronic pumps and how they feel like they can force others out of insurance coverage (UHC).  Plus I HATE Medtronic's CGM.  I will always and FOREVER be a loyal Dexcom user unless something better comes out.

I cannot live without my Dexcom, at all, period.

Let me hear your thoughts and opinions, please! 


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