How's everybody doing?

I apologize. I haven’t had much chance to check in with you all because I’ve been so busy. Its gonna get worse before it gets better.

Are things getting back to ‘normal?’ Everybody OK? Having any fun?

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Crap. I have zero medical devices. I think I’m just going to give up on medical devices for a while. My supply is too unreliable. I have no Dexcom sensors and no Pods.

I took a shot of Trujeo when the last pod ran out, early this morning. So far, so good. If I can get a box of syringes today, then I am back in business. I’ll be able to find some somewhere.

I’m wary of the Trujeo because I have never really used it. Maybe I should go pickup some NPH. I have plenty of strips and short term bolus.

I haven’t done this since I ran out of pods once during covid and had trouble getting them. Things went surprisingly well, but this change does make me a little nervous. This will be an interesting experiment. If things go just fine, maybe I’ll switch back to MI and prevent myself a bunch of hassle and expense…unsure.

I think that the switch to 5g that the cell phones are doing is disrupting my cell service and dexcom operation, but not 100% certain.

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No answers?
Sorry to hear of your troubles. If I had to I could go back to my Toujeo and Humalog MDI (4-6-8 x daily with finger pokes) but I’ve been spoiled now, 18 months with Dexcom and 6 months + of Tandem. I hope you get your supplies soon!
Well things are “ok” and yes, a bit more normal.
I’ve taken my first commercial flights in >2 yrs which is weird because now I’m attached to gizmos and have to go through the “special” line. They’re pretty good with it, mostly laugh when I have to say “I’m full of metal” (like Wolverine or Iron Man) and then their wand beeps where I’ve got metal plates holding my leg together, my Dexcom, my pump, lots to contend with.
Retirement a year away, life feels weird. Happy to be alive still!
Best of luck to you.

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Is there a way to reuse a pod?

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Related to your considering switching to MDI, I just had my doctor prescribe some Tresiba for me to provide a back-up if my electronics fail. In fact, it’s been more than five years since I fully switched over to MDI for a substantial trial.

I remember, at the time thinking that anyone on a pump long term should revert to MDI just to refresh their familiarity with that change. That way, one can make the adjustments needed without any background emergency like a natural disaster or a hospital admission to complicate things.

There are many people who manage their glucose quite well using MDI and have done so for a long time. I’m a big fan of automated insulin dosing and that’s likely what I’ll go back to, but in the meantime I think gaining some new experience on MDI will keep me competent on more than method.

@mohe0001, are you running short of supplies for economic reasons? Or is it simply the vagaries of the diabetes supply chain? I know you recently started a new job.

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Nope. Pods are always 3 days only. The only thing you can do with a Pod is ignore the “change Pod” alert and get about 8 more hours of use out of it. So if a person does that for three Pods in a row, that is a bonus 24 hours. If that is multiplied by nine Pods in a row, a person can regain the three days, so that is like getting a “free” Pod usage. That is the best one can do on a Pod.

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So, I have narrowed down the problems a bit.
Medical suppliers ARE wetting the bed, but apart from that, I am seeing lots of comm failures causing devices to go bad.

Another post suggested the BT receiver in their phone went bad, so I bought a new phone. Also, my carrier is switching to 5G, so there are a lot of phone failures during the switch that might be impacting me. The other source of trouble might be that I am working in an area with high RF and that might be breaking BT communications because BT is a comparatively weak wireless signal.

I’m not 100% sure yet, but I’m a bloodhound on the trail, lol.

MI is going OK.

So many sensor failures and I felt a little unsafe running the pump w/o a sensor. There have been MI problems, but I’m getting back into the swing of it.

Things are getting back to ‘normal’ here now that case counts have fallen. Communities that existed prior to covid are disrupted and disorganized. I’m trying to get back ‘out there’ into the world. Its more challenging than I imagined it would be, but summers in Minnesota are REALLY colorful and active and exciting because people have been trapped indoors for so long. Spring is like an explosion of activity here, so I am optimistic and making efforts to get re-engaged with my community.

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