My endo is really encouraging for me to get on an insulin pump. He was kinda like well we’ll talk more about it at your next f/u visit in Jan. Well I decided to take matters into my own hands and inquire with medtronic about how much I would be responsible for, and if I could qualify and all that good stuff. I REALLY thought looking up my benefits it would be more around the first of the year before I would qualify, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least get the ball rolling so I could get it as soon as possible.
Long story short, I get a call today from the individual inquiring with my insurance and Im APPROVED and for CGM too. I pay around 74 dollars. So AWESOME I should have it by Tues and then need to get in touch with the nurse educator at my endo office to get some training on how to use this.
Can’t wait till Tues to get my new pretty pink pump.
Wow! That is awesome and a really good deal to boot! I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed mine and that it makes your holidays happier! Both of my endos, to whom I’d switched one to get the pump and one when I moved were really supportive and engaged with my pump/CGM maneuvers so I think it’s sort of wierd that yours seems to be uninvolved? At the same time, if the nurse is on board and they got it going for you that fast, that’s a good thing!
Yeah…I really think that’s so much of the trouble with medicine today…not necessarily that doctors dont care but to get their reimbursement from the insurance companies they are dictated to how many patients they see and u get a total of 15 min of their time. Luckily I work in the medical field, so um lol I have no issues with taking things into my own hands to get it done. But yeah Im really surprised it went through as easily and as fast as it did.
Plus I think some of it too…I was really bad with managing this for sometime…I mean KNOWING better but just NOT wanting to deal with it, but got tired of the horrid feeling of being on some old crappy insulin that didnt work for anything. Finally got my act together and I think my endo just really kind of wanted to see how “commited” I’d be to this…but I firmly believe you have to be your OWN advocate in getting what you want. Wait around for the dr or the office to pick up the phone and do it, you MIGHT be waiting forever.
I know it’s going to take some time…to get my settings all right, but Im HOPING that goes fairly smoothly and start getting some really good results quickly. It’s going to be just WONDERFUL being able to sleep in or NOT have to get up and eat at a certain time…cause I will throw my meds off if I don’t. LOL the weekend rolls around you are lucky if you can drag me out of bed before 11. This is going to work out so much better I think and give me so much more flexibility, Im sure once I get started and get on it Im going to just love it.
I’m till dealing with “old crappy insulin”. The end of a bottle always seems to work less effectively than the beginning. of course, the solution might be to toss it but it’s already on “thin ice” with insurance. I was on the cusp of having a dialogue with them but out of the blue the pharmacist suprised me and said “oh, ok, I’ll give you two”. I was floored.
Re the time and settings, my doc got really close with her estimation on the pump settings. I made some minor tweaks but got it working smoothly very quickly, stuff like little bumps in the middle of the night just got buzzed right off. The flexibility and control and improved data management all have added up to great results with less work for me.
Congratulations Christy! My story is similar to that one, but I won’t bore you with the details. What I will tell you is that some of the longest days of my life were when the pump was sitting on my desk, while I was using the meter that goes with it. The days between you receive your new pancreas in the mail and the time it is hooked up are very long. But when it is finally attached to your body it is life-changing. It rook me about three or four days to become accustomed to NOT having to take a shot, and at five to seven shots each day, that, for me, is huge.
The pump has done two things for me. Convenience and control. I hope it does the same for you.
Congrats christy! I love my pink Ping, it’s been totally life-changing, and my Dexcom the icing on the cake. Having data I can download, being able to overlap lines to see trends, etc. makes management/tweaking so much easier. My CDE also estimated my basals really well, so I had a good running start. My A1C has gone from 8.4 to 5.6.
Allow yourself time to tweak, there is a learning curve. Enjoy your new freedom and control!
Yes, you most definitely have to be your OWN advocate. Doctors can help, but with diabetes, we are the ones living with and managing this disease 24/7. D is very unique in that way, because so much of it is self-management.
I am also so glad to see that, in many instances, the approval process for pumps is getting easier and easier. You used to have to jump through so many hoops to get a pump. It was absurd. As far as I’m concerned, if a doctor says pump therapy is beneficial and is willing to write the Rx, it should be approved. Period. Pumps are so helpful in managing diabetes that I think everyone who has a diagnosis of T1D should have guaranteed access to a pump.
Sleeping in on the pump is the best. I just turn that basal rate down and go right back to sleep. Pure bliss.
Congrats, Christy! Hope it is a smooth transition for you
Side note: If you get the Dexcom cgm, you can request a pink silicone skin cover that might coordinate well with your pink pump…I think they cost $5 or $10 and can ship along with the first order if you ask for it at that time. They will not suggest it to you, you need to ask for it
LOL, I love how we girls love to coordinate. I saw the skin covers, one was a really pretty pink butterfly that I thought would go nicely with my pink pump. I will definately have to check into that.
That is one of the things Im most looking forward to just to be able to sleep in without throwing your numbers all out of whack. Im SO NOT a morning person, that will be just yes like you said PURE BLISS.
