Off-ish-ially Confused

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I have written about being back on my Ping pump.. and I do feel at “home” on it. Honestly, other than for envy’s sake, I don’t know why I switched. It wasn’t needed.

One thing though is that I knew the Verio meter read higher, but I forced myself to use it and just let my body become accustom to the “new” levels. Now that I’m back on the Ping, I want to use the system as a whole, and that means using the Ping meter remote. What bothers me now is the difference in readings. They aren’t really off, just off-ish.  I trust both meters, but I honestly don’t know which one to trust more. I’m confused. And I know you are not supposed to compare meters, but I can’t help it. And knowing that the Ping meter-remote is consistently lower… on average of 20mg/dl (which is like, a difference of 0.3 in A1c terms)… just irritates me to no end. I want them to read the same so that I’ll use the Ping meter and not wonder if I’m really higher than what it says.

I know I need to do what I’m comfortable with, but I ask you…. what would/did you do? I want to do the best for my health and with so much emphasis placed on A1c’s and BG averages (duh… it’s Diabetes!), I don’t want to use equipment that will cause a huge difference in A1c. Yeah.. I’m probably really over thinking this and need to quit.. but I can’t make my mind stop the questions.

Springing Along

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So, to make a very very long story short, I contacted a diabetes supply company back in January to see if I could obtain samples of different infusion sets and a couple of weeks ago, they came in. (Yep… if you did the math… that’s FIVE months. But they were given to me at no cost, so I won’t complain.)

I asked specifically about the Orbit set and the Spring Universal set. I’ve since tried the Orbit, and aside from not having an inserter, they are okay. Honestly, I don’t see why a set needs to rotate unless you have it in an area where you’re going to be moving the pump around  a lot, or say, on your arm. I personally found them difficult to disconnect as well, so I probably won’t go back to that set.

The next set was the Spring Universal. This little thing looks intriguing to say the least. The set is similar to the Animas Inset in that it’s an all-in-one site (but the tubing is not attached, which I honestly prefer) that you just place, press a button, and it’s in. Now going forward, I think it’s fair to say that I am very partial to my Insets. They’re simple, compact, and no-fuss sets and come in colors too. The Spring? Comes in the color option of white… as all the rest do.

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The insertion was fine and didn’t give me a problem at all. But attaching the tubing connector to the site was a bit of a hassle, not to mention taking it off. It just didn’t want to sit right at all when connecting it, and one side or the other seemed to stay “caught” when I tried to remove it.

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Sorry, these images were from a video I tried to do… and failed. 

After a few tries, I was getting to just how to grab the set connector to remove it. Apparently there’s a technique to it. But what was getting worse was the tape. The more I moved, the loser it got…. and I USED IV PREP! I rarely use anything but alcohol to clean the area and IV prep is for the sites that are hard to stick. Well, this thing was as if I just placed a piece of paper there. It was NOT sticky at all. I managed to keep it in long enough to soak some cement SkinTac around the edge and secure it more with Infusion Set IV3000.

I will have to say though, since all of that mess, I have been able to use with no problem (attaching/reattaching) and moving it around (you can position the tubing any way you need it to at any time) is easy to do. I am debating on maybe getting a box of these to try out though… with the pre-knowledge that SkinTac is a must. Reason being is that these are cheaper for me insurance wise, and I wouldn’t have to lose my insertion device that I’ve come to love. (HOW I manually inserted these things for so many years is shocking to me. *read: I’ve become a wuss*)

So how about you? Have you used the Spring Universal set? What were your thoughts on it? If you’re still using it, do you have any tips you could share? Thanks!

Back Home

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If you take a look in your address bar, you’ll see that my blog is back at Sugabetic.me. There has been a lot of work getting things back over here and redesigning the blog, but hopefully you’ll like it. There’s a few more things I want to try to change up (like how the HECK to get the social icons to the right and NOT the left!), but for the most part, I’m done hopping domains. So (once again… and if you’ve been with me for the long haul, I do sincerely appreciate your sticking with me!), please update your blogrolls, RSS feeders, and whatever else you may use to receive and read my posts.

So, welcome (back) home. Where you don’t have diabetes, you just got a little ‘suga’. ;-)

He’s My Heart

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My kid is becoming a half kid / half toddler in that he’s not a “kid” like a 4-10 year old, but he’s not a baby/toddler in that he’s becoming so much more independent than ever… and we’re 2 months away from his 2nd birthday. He’ll be 2 going on 20.

His personality is starting to show through so much, and I’m starting to see a little boy instead of a baby. He loves his music and dances to the beat. He’s picky about what he wants to eat and lets you know it too. He’s full-on melt-down mode when he doesn’t get his way. He can tell us “Poo-poo” before he has actually done anything, yet is scared to death of his kingly toddler “throne” when we place him there to try to do his business there instead of in his diaper.

He knows how to adamantly shout the word “NO” and shake his head to get his point across that he doesn’t want to do something or get something or eat something. He also knows the word “GO” very well and uses it to it’s full capacity when he wants to go outside. We have all sorts of words and even some phrases (“here you go” is becoming a common one lately) being added into his vocabulary now, but most of them are condensed down to a one syllable – sometimes two syllable – word… with the exception of his baby cousin’s name, which has 3, and is the first and only word of that length he’s been able to say… and it still amazes me. I mean, we can’t get out the full word for “cup”, but we can get out a 7-letter, 3 syllable word. I’m learning quickly, that not everything makes sense in the world of toddlerhood and development.

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He loves to play in the floor with me… or, more recently, to kick me out of my recliner so he can play in it. We play and roll and tickle and laugh. But it’s in that moment when he pauses and takes his two hands so soft and sweet and places them on both sides of my face and looks in my eyes that all the world stops and my heart wants to burst with the amount of joy and love I have for him. Of course, then he squishes my cheeks and lips together into mush and continues to giggle, and that moment has passed. But I remember it and hold it close.

He’s growing so fast. I’m afraid to blink because if I do, he really will be turning 20 and he’ll be off in college (hopefully) being his own person. So, while he lets me, I’ll continue to squeeze him tight and kiss him a bazillion times and be the tickle monster so I can soak up his laughter.

He’s my heart, and I love him so very very much.

Home

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You know that feeling when you come home? Even though your time away may have been exciting, that feeling when you walk through your door and familiarity surrounds you and the comfort of the atmosphere relaxes you?

That’s how I feel this morning. My Ping pump arrived (after being held at the local PO sorting facility for two days rendering me completely on-edge!) and I hooked up immediately. Well… almost… I had to go get batteries…. you know, those things you don’t need when you use the t:slim? So, as soon as I got those, I cracked open a new vial of Novolog and got everything set up.

Yay Blue Fridays!

Yay Blue Fridays!

Clipping my Ping to my pants was like welcoming home an old friend. The relief was immediate. It was as if all the worries I had with my other pumps just melted away. Granted, even the Ping isn’t perfect, but I think it just goes back to the fact that it was the one piece of equipment I used while I was pregnant and I trusted not only my life, but my growing baby’s life to it too. It’s not so much that I’m attached to this one particular pump… just the Ping model and functions. (Okay, you’re free to call me utterly crazy now.)

Honestly, I don’t know why I deny to myself that this is the pump for me…. or why I’m so obsessed with having to know each and every pump available. Some people have quirks like jewelry or pens or (if you’re my husband) computer mice. Mine is pumps. No this pump is not perfect. It’s loud, the scrolling is irritating and the meter-remote communication is lacking but, overall, I like it the best, and I need to remember that next time pump-envy comes around.

My t:slim is now sleeping, and my Omnipod stuff is packed in my closet. My thought process is that if I remove the temptation, I won’t bother with it… as often. Switching off pumps every few weeks can’t be healthy, not to mention it totally screws up logging. They all do the same job, just a little differently, and I have to realize that.

So, happy Blue Friday everyone! Hope you have a great weekend.

Waiting

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Since reaching out to Tandem to see if I could return the t:slim and being denied (not surprising  but hey, thought it would be worth a shot), I have been trying to find out when the “fix” would be available to us for the reverse-correction issue. At first, I was told within the next few months… but was promised within a year.

But we all know how that goes. We were promised t:connect for how long? And that was one of the factors that took me so long to reach out to them to ask if I could return it.. I had been waiting for t:connect to come out. Still, I probably would have been denied then too.

When it was explained to me how they want it to work, the reverse-correction won’t be a set feature that you turn on or off in a profile (like the rest of the pumps do), but rather will most likely be similar to the high correction confirmation screen:

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Instead of “Your BG is Above Target. Add Correction Bolus?”, it will more than likely read, “Your BG is Below Target. Reduce Bolus?”, with the current BG and the amount of reduction suggested…. or at least that’s how it plays out in my head from what was being explained. If they pushed that feature out, I’d probably be okay with using the pump. Right now, since I’m using it for my alternate sites, I’m on edge about how it delivers and calculates. Granted, having touch screen bolusing and a calculator built right in is always a plus, but it doesn’t help me much if I’m 86 and it won’t subtract out to bring me up to 120 (my target).

One thing the rep suggested to do for now is if I’m close to the 70 mg/dl cut off say in the 70′s or 80′s range (but not so much in the 90′s or higher), just to record a 69 mg/dl into the pump and it will reverse correct. I told him I was concerned about having incorrect info in the t:connect system, but his argument with it is that being as how I check my bg as often as I do, having a few “off” numbers in there for that reason won’t skew the results that much. So while I’m wearing the slim waiting on my Ping to arrive from my friend, I’ll keep that in mind.

And then… I’ll just wait on them to fix it. I’m a data freak and I don’t like skewing with results, not even a smidge. Doing that feels like I’m violating some endo-law that will render me punished in some way (reduction in test strips? Having a vampire get a blood sample instead of the phlebotomist? Having my FastClix taken away and replaced by the “guillotine”? I dunno). So, it will be in it’s little box in my drawer… taken out for charging periodically.

Also, as a side note, I tried to return the Omnipod sytsem I have just because I don’t want or need 3 working systems at my disposal. I am 6 days over the return period, and Insulet will not make an exception. So, I’ll be using the pods for my stomach / arms and Ping (or when they fix it, the t:slim) for my butt/legs. It’s like, above the waist is Pod safe and below the waste is tubing/longer cannula only.

Orbit

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Okay, so my last post about not needing tubes is a lie. I cannot wear pods on my leg or butt sites, so those, I do need to wear a tubed pump and use the longer cannula.

To give my stomach a break, I pulled my t:slim out (I’m currently waiting on my Ping to come back to me after it camped out at someone else’s house for a while) and hooked back up. Last night, I had to change out everything, and I just so happened to get samples of different infusion sets on Monday from Solara. Two being the Spring infusion sets and two Orbit 90 infusion sets. I’m still quite scared to use the Spring ones, so I tried the Orbit 90.

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I pulled out the one labeled with the 9mm cannula (which I SWEAR looked like 13mm!) and got my supplies together. The insertion is pretty straight forward. You place it in like a shot… manually. There is no insertion device. Just press it in and remove the needle. Then, snap the tubing on top and you’re done (the center of the set snaps onto the center of the site and allows it to rotate). The oh-so-strange thing to me is how it does, in fact, spin around. And, to unclip it, just squeeze two grippy sides together and the center snaps out of the holder

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If you notice, the tubing is not clear, but blue. Supposedly, this helps one to see bubbles clearer. I’m not quite sold on that. Also, the tubing that was sent to me is SUPER long, a full 41″ to be exact. While I have no need to a tubing that long, I know others who would prefer it to be so that pump can still be clipped anywhere it’s needed and the site can be comfortably placed as far away as possible (say, maybe an arm site with tubing ran up and through the shirt sleeve and the pump being placed in a back pocket or the site is really far down the thigh and the pump is being placed between the boobs.) I do, however, like that the tape is nude…. not medical-white. I SO wish the Omnipod had nude tape.

This set, I’m not in love with. It does get the job done and I appreciate that, but the “dome” is quite high off of the site (not slim at all like the Inset) and I just don’t see the need for a rotating site if your tubing is forever long. Just my opinion.

Next, I’ll be trying the Spring set. This one can be clipped into any position needed from what I understand except for in one particular direction. More on that later.

I Don’t Need Tubes

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no tubes neededI have to keep repeating this to myself.

I’ve been on the new Omnipod system for 6 weeks and so far, it has been a great experience. I’m still reluctant to say that I “love” it, but I’m definitely in “like” with it. Very much so.

The current system has been working beautifully for me and my blood sugars like it a lot. That it’s super convenient and has made me feel the most free that I have ever felt being a diabetic. No tubes, all-in-one device that checks my sugar and controls the pump in one, freedom to wear whatever I want and not worry whether or not my pump is in an easily accessible spot. No losing the pump in the bedding. No tubing for the kid to pull on or buttons for him to curiously press.  It really has been a great experience. I have always been able to trust a tubed system much easier because it’s what I’ve always known. And honestly, that’s really the only thing currently freaking me out about this new system… no tubes.

Another thing that keeps standing off to the side… like a dirty old reminder.. is how when I used the first version – the one with the bigger pods – I kept getting errors and pod failures.  I’m constantly worried that it’s going to happen again, so my guard is never down. I’m having to keep telling myself that it’s okay… to relax… they fixed a lot of the problems they were having. I’m trying to get over the worry and fear that it’s going to happen again. If I were anyone looking into getting this pump and never have used Omnipod before, I would jump on this in a skinny minute (seriously… you should…  They’re still offering the Cut-The-Cord program!). I would totally and without a doubtful bone in my body would tell you to go for it, and actully, I still would now. My fears are from the old system, not this one. And, bluntly, I need to get over it. I’m trying. I’m working through it.

Learning to trust a piece of technology that had failed me before is hard. I know others who have the old system and have loved it since day 1. I know others who ditched it months into using it. I have to learn that 1) it’s okay to not have tubes and 2) trust the new system… it’s been redesigned. You can’t compare the two because they aren’t the same.

Now that everyone knows how much of a nut-case I am, if any of you have any questions about the new system, feel free to ask. I’ll be glad to try to answer them.

Mush and a Promise

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There are times when I just shouldn’t be left alone to think. And it’s not that I have too much time to think, it’s just that once I start thinking about certain things, like insulin pumps, my mind is completely consumed by each one’s pros and cons and which one I like better or which one I think would work for me better.

Over the past, well, almost year, I have been doing too much “pros and cons” thinking instead of just stepping back and looking at the picture overall. Instead of comparing how they fit me, I’ve been comparing them against each other. So, after long thinking and irritating the life out of my friends, I’m lightening up the load.

I’ve called Accu-chek about the Spirit pump I had (out of warranty), and they are sending for it so they can dispose of it properly, and a few friends have claimed the other systems (the MM Revel and older, bigger pod system) I had after offering them on Facebook. I feel so guilty having what I do when others out there need pumps but maybe can’t get them or only have one and have no backup system.

So, that will leave me with the t:slim in the arsenal of pumps that would just be sitting around. I’m working with Tandem now to see if I can get approval to return it. It’s a long shot, but we’ll see how it goes. With no promise of when the update will be released to fix the issue of safety I have it it, I just don’t want it sitting on a shelf for possible use. I’ve also given out the accessories that I bought to go with it, so I’m down to what it came with.

That will leave me with the Animas Ping and the Omnipod (gen 2) system. Both of these work well with me and my needs, and I don’t mind trading off every now and then. The Ping will be good for if I want to rotate leg sites because I just can’t get good absorption with the pods there. It will give a break to my stomach and sides from using the pods. I think the benefits of the upgraded pod system are wonderful, and being tubeless is a definite plus, though it still gives me the hebegeebies. And, if I know we have something big coming up, like, say, beach vacation, I can take either system and not worry at all about the water.

So, with all of that being said, I leave you all with this promise… which I have signed:

pump promise

And I have Erik and Cherise to hold me to this. If I don’t, they have permission to go bat-snap crazy on me and take any and all pumps away from me and make me deal strictly with insulin pens. That, in itself, is enough to make me want to not say another word.

I’m confident in the fact that I do not want to give up my Dexcom for another brand nor do I want to switch insulin brands again.. now I need to be confident in my choice of insulin delivery and get over it and move on.

Reset

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So the rumors are true.

If you own a Tandem t:slim insulin pump and put it into shelf mode for any reason, you will wipe every bit of memory it has. No personal profiles, no alarm/alert settings, nothing, nada will be saved. Even the time/date will be off.

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I took my t:slim out last night just to see how much charge had remained over the past 5 weeks of being in “storage” (a.k.a, my bottom drawer of my d-supply case). It had 80% left out of the 100% charge that I had stored it away with. So, 20% loss isn’t technically bad, but for those of you who maybe got one and maybe didn’t like it so you switched to another system and put this one into shelf mode, you may want to pull it out and charge it every couple of months or so.

Also, Erik and I had talked about my maybe needing to use it one week out of each month or two just because it’s not like a traditional pump being chargeable and all, and thought maybe it would do some good. Certainly couldn’t hurt, and I have the supplies to do it. I knew everything would be wiped, but I wasn’t expecting it to be wiped completely.

The only thing I felt uncomfortable about when I switched from the t:slim to the new Omnipod system was the lack of tubing. For some reason, I’ve just never minded having it and felt safer with it. Crazy, I know, but that’s just how I’m wired I guess, but as of hooking back up to the t:slim last night… I actually couldn’t stand it. I hated checking with one meter, then pulling out my pump to dose. If there’s anything that I absolutely love about the Omnipod system is that everything can be done within the remote. (Tandem, I think you’ll be on to something even bigger if you had a way to control the pump remotely. hint, hint!)

I think for now I probably will just use the t:slim as a “break” from the Omnipod every now and then. As of earlier this week, I did get a call from Tandem (after I asked if I could return it) stating that they are working on the reverse-correction issue and will be releasing an update shortly. When I asked for a time frame, one couldn’t be made certain other than it will be within the year. Maybe after it is fixed, I’ll go back to using it as my primary and the Omnipod as my backup. Only time will tell.

:)