To add to my frustrations in trying to get a pump, today I was told by my diabetes nurse educator that I need to be testing 8 times a day minimum before they’ll let me have a pump!
56 times a week means 2912 times in a year… And, just in case I wasn’t entirely clear with them, I let them know they’re totally insane if they think I can afford that many strips in a month! The woman gave me a look like she’s been punched in the face with a kitten… the look that says “I’m seriously annoyed and amused at the same time”.Even with insurance, that’s $60 a month JUST in strips. That doesn’t include my insulin, needles, swabs, or anything else!
So the list so far for me to get a pump has been:
A1C under 7.0 - it’s at 6.8 as of the 28th of September
Out of my first trimester (which I still can’t figure out…) - I will be as of November 4th! (Did I mention on here that I’m pregnant???)
Testing 8 times a day
Ranges of 5.3 fasting and under 6.6 two hours after meals.
Driving out to the diabetes clinic over an hour away once a week.
Here was the other part that had me so confused!!! They want me to stop taking humalog before I eat my snacks (snacks they’re insisting on btw…) but I still somehow have to keep my sugars under 6.6… Meanwhile, explaining that this won’t work gets me the punched in the face with a kitten look.
So, despite my intense stubborn nature, I’m starting to wonder if the pump is really worth all of this crap!
Oh wait, yeah, not using a needle 8 times a day… WORTH IT!!!
You’re not required to follow advice that’s not good for you like snacking & not taking Humalog with snacks. Never understood all that snacking nonsense. Do what you need to do & don’t bother arguing with them.
Eep- that is frustrating!
Oh but first off, Congrats on your pregnancy and your A1c is awesome! I’m super jealous!! Anyway, I’d be thee first one to tell you that I’m notall keento following everything the diabetes educator tells me, although when they started to tell my hubby and I about the pump, I did have my own reservations on it-- what finally got me motivated was how less frequently I would have to inject… I suppose the only downside is having to test more often ( I was told 6x a day) and you’re righttest strips are expensive! However, being that you will be on the pump and you are carrying another, it might be best to take their advice… Maybe test 8x a day for that week and then show the results to them? Although, I thought to get an insulin pump you would need a 'script from your endo… So maybe go through your endocrinologist and get advice from he/she.
I had to do that when my diabetes nurse started talking and pushing the pump (cuz I thought she was getting some sort of kickback…that’s another story to tell)… Maybe go that route?
I hate to be a hard *ss, but a pump is not magic and your CDE is probably right. A pump allows you to make more frequent and finer adjustments to your insulin, but in order to do that properly you need those test results. And testing 8 times a day is about the minimum for most. If you aren’t prepared to do that, then a pump may be no better than injecting.
This is your baby. Spend some more money, it will be ok. When they are a teenager and they wreck your car and say “gee, sorry” you will look back at these days and laugh at how you fretted over a few dollars…
bsc, I’ve been diabetic for 9 years. I have NEVER before yesterday, been told that I need to test 8 times. Even the other women in my training class who are also pregnant were not told to test 8 times. I appreciate that the pump isn’t a magical cure-all. It’s an alternate delivery device to the insulin I’m already injecting multiple times a day.
It floored me, because until now, the only time 8 testing times a day has been mentioned was when I first start the pump to ensure I’m using the right settings. I think that’s why it floored me so much.
Also, and I only point this out because it’s going to bug me if I don’t. It’s not a “few” dollars. It’s $56 a week. And now, according to my health insurance, not all of which will be covered by them because even THEY have a standard of care at 4 tests per day maximum.
I’ll find a way to do it, but I am not impressed that this is coming up from them as yet another reason to NOT give me a pump.
An insurance company lives to tell you no. They will tell you no to the pump and no to testing 8 times a day. You need to not take no for an answer. If you are on an MDI, you should be testing more than 4 times a day. Get your medical team behind you. If they can’t convince your insurer to cover testing more than 8 times a day, you will probably never get approved for a pump. My insurer has a “standard of care” for test strips as well, but my doctor will (and has) intervened to make sure I have the right number of strips. I am type 2. I “told” my doctor I wanted to test 10 times a day. I got it covered. You can do the same. Be your own advocate.
Well… BSC does have a point… you will need to test about 8x a day just so they can start you off on your pump… however, I do understand where you are coming from. I am used to checking my sugars at least 4x a day, and when they told me that I needed to add 2 more to that, I was upset – strips can be expensive, but what I had to look at was how pump therapy will be an investment on the most precious thing that is important to me and my love ones – my health and life.
Honestly, I am still testing 6x a day, just because I am keeping record for my CDE and endocrinologist… I haven’t gotten my pump either, however, I want to make sure that when it does come in I will be ready to show the information and they can set it up easily…
So I do hope you consider pump therapy, and good luck with whatever you choose to do =)
bsc - I’m in Canada where the rules are a bit different when it comes to insurance. They approved my pump without a single hesitation. They cover strips at 70%, but only up to a certain dollar amount per year. I guess my hesitation stems from never hearing of 8 times a day before, save for when starting a pump.
I’m not going to NOT test 8 times a day, I guess I just never had to think about how many times a week or year that works out to. It’s still throwing me for a loop.
