I am a Type 1 Diabetic Warrior: About Me

My name is Megan, I am a type 1 Diabetic Warrior.
I am a warrior because every single day of my life there is a battle going on. A battle that I must win to keep my Diabetes on track to try to live a normal life with the least complications from having Diabetes.

I'm here to share my life with Type 1 Diabetes while using a t:slim insulin pump (former Medtronic wearer and I am never looking back) and Dexcom glucose sensor.

Being on my pump and Dexcom has not only made my life easier in general but it has made my job as a mom to 2 kids easier. I dont feel like I worry about my blood sugar dropping without me knowing and then worrying about the safety of my kids. So my Dexcom has become my lifeline, I need to know when my blood glucose starts to drop because I drop FAST and sometimes so fast I don't notice until I am at 40. I am extremely sensitive to physical activity, but it has gotten much much less of an issue since going to a low carb lifestyle. My Dexcom and pump have also made becoming a parent 1 million times easier. I could not have gone through pregnancy twice without my pump and Dexcom. My Dexcom helps me take better care of my daughters, because I need to be there for them and I need to know if my blood sugar is crashing. Now, not when I am so low that I can't function. I cannot imagine my life without my pump and Dexcom.

I am a self proclaimed Diabetes Advocate, I have made one of my goals in life to help other people with Diabetes. I like to try to help people find a better medical team, share resources online, share discount programs, or whatever it may be. Nothing bothers more than to hear that someone is struggling to control their diabetes and their doctor doesn't seem to have any ideas of how to help them.

If you are a Diabetic or have a loved one who is, please join the Diabetic Warrior Facebook group that I started. The group is also geared towards helping people restart their Dexcom G6 sensors.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/diabeticwarriors/

Like my Diabetic Warrior Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/diabeticwarrior

A good Endocrinologist and a good Certified Diabetes Educator will make your life so much easier, better and more educated! My former CDE, Calli, is the most amazing person I know in the Diabetes field along with my amazing Endo Dr. Ronald Iverson out of Dubuque, IA! I love my Endocrinologist! Calli has since left the field for a bit to raise her children.

Calli helped me in a huge way in 2008 by putting me on the pump, she pretty much held my hand thru the whole process and taold me how much better and easier t1d is on a pump. She is a former medtronic rep and knew the minimed pump inside and out and had my settings nailed down in a very short time period. My brother was on the pump before me so he helped clear the path. My control was day and night on the pump and I will NEVER look back to injections. I also tried the original medtronic cgm sensor from 2008 a few times and it was terrible. The pain was more than I could bear on a day to day basis. The taping down process was horrible and it just grossed me out.

I called Dexcom to send a rep out so I could try it and a rep met me at my cde's office and he put one on me, the first one failed. I felt defeated, I actually cried. He came back out and put a new one on me and if was 100% success and I said ok lets go to war with my insurance to get it covered.

I had my endo and cde write letters and I wrote an 8 page letter to my case manager with my former health ins company. They reviewed it and she called me to tell me I was approved. She said it was the most paperwork she had ever seen. It took me 5 months to get it approved and the day they called me to tell me I was approved I cried!

The deciding point to get a cgm was the week I had two lows in the 20s at night. It was two too many close calls, I didn't want to have a seizure or pass away in my sleep. Dexcom helped me to actually sleep at night without fear or worry. I have been on Dexcom since December 2011.

Read about the Dexcom and t:slim here: What is my t:slim and Dexcom

It's just the little things that some people just don't know about, if we all gather more information and share it with each other, hopefully we can help some Diabetic somewhere.

You can contact my friend Molly McElwee Malloy CDE, on twitter at @mollymacT1D and she can help you find a CDE in your area! Molly is being very generous by offering to help everyone with Diabetes to find good quality care! Molly works for Tandem Diabetes and has worked in the T1Diabetes field for many years.

I am on Twitter: https://twitter.com/T1DWarrior
I am on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diabeticwarrior

I was on Dexcom's Website but my page no longer exists: