How do you handle diabetes burnout? I got a Tandemx2 in January 2020 and although it’s been keeping me in my range (70-160) 92-99% of the time I am totally frazzled. Of course, much of this also could be the quarantine from the virus too, and a micromanaging spouse but I am so exhausted from this pump being 24/7, the CGM alarms sounding and giving me false reading saying I’m low when I check with a stick and I’m not low at all, with changing the site every 3 days, then changing the CGM every 7-10 cause my CGM never goes beyond 7! I just feel there is nothing in my days but DIABETES!
And after all that work getting the basals right and the bolus’s right and the sensitivity and carb ratio it all changes cause of the weather getting warmer! Then after all this my latest A1c is 6.0! Before all this my highest A1c wa 7.8,3 years ago, last year 6.3 to 6.8 so I was never that bad. Ahhhhh!
We are blessed with the tools we have to keep better control, while at the same time these controls remind us of what we are?
I know when I first got my Dexcom with it’s alerts, it was very annoying and I turned them off, until I figured out they were actually useful. Waking up before you’re a shaky mess has it’s benefits. And yes, It’s annoying to change my pods every 3 days, even annoying restarting my sensors, no less when I have to apply a new one. A pen was easy to carry around and give a shot, however I didn’t test for long lengths of time, I would give extra doses to cover the meal and a snack. A pump is easier to give those small doses. It’s easier to see what your BG level is. But it is a trade off.
I haven’t gotten burnout yet. I have gotten annoyed and aggravated. Some people take breaks, some choose not to have the equipment.
What about a short break when it’s time to change your sensor, take a day off with no alerts, no data in stone, a woohoo day??? I know when I restart or apply a new sensor it’s a couple of hours plus that feels like I can do what I want and it’s not going into data central lol…although I am usually testing more during that time than the 2 weeks my sensor is active.
False readings are the fault of the Dexcom sensor. The pump only uses data that the G6 gives it. That was and is my biggest concern as the pump will make decisions I used to make based on Dexcom data that may be faulty at times.
I have had my Control IQ for a month and despite the learning curve I am in luv. Have slept through the night for four consecutive nights. Never before. I look at learning as a challenge. I set most alarms on my phone and the Xdrip app so I have shut off most of the T Slim alarms. Am still annoyed when I get an alarm that say it is predicting I will go below 70 in 30 minutes as I have found Control IQ still can handle this and actually sends me too far up. For me learning is the key, knowing who to blame and mentally treating this experience as a challenge to be overcome and I will overcome the few negatives.
A pump is a lot of work, no way around it. The alarms are stressful, annoying and it all messes up your life bigtime.
Add to that for me I get a lot of pain and sometimes severe irritations at my sensors and sites. When I get fed up which is frequently, I remind myself of how bad mdi was for me with terrible swings and lows. The best thing about the pump is I can shut off insulin for lows. And increase for highs etc.
otherwise I often imagine what it would be like to have my old life back and not have to deal with any of it. I would be ecstatic. I am still hoping for a better treatment that will maybe even get me off of insulin for good. Or at the least make the lows etc not something I have to deal with.
I feel the same!
I also realized that going to the endo is extremely stressful for me. I have had a lot of insensitive doctors over the years, starting from when I was a kid. Does anyone else find check-ups triggering?