Taking the plunge

Well, after months of dithering and worrying about the financial end of things, I've finally gotten an answer from Medtronic of how much a pump is going to cost me. I've been on their call list since about June--but I was putting it off until I had an actual paycheck. Besides, I was worried about the price. After all was said and done, pump supplies apparently run in the $150 range for 3 months. I only pay $40/month for my insulin, syringes, and test strips, and it's still going to be $20/month if I'm no longer using levemir or syringes.

The pump salesman explained it's because my insurance has a yearly DME cap of $3000--which I would hit at a run because the pump is expensive. So, the best time for me to actually get a pump is now, at the end of the year, so that my DME cap is hit, and then resets in January before I have to buy a second round of resevoirs and infusion sets.

It's less than $2000 to me. Not much less, but I can do that. Especially since they'll set up a payment plan. Have I mentioned recently how incredibly expensive diabetes is?

And so I just sent off an email to the salesman, telling him that I'm going to go for it. I have butterflies in my stomach about the size of pteronodons, and it's not just because I'm spending half a semester's tuition in one fell swoop. I don't even know if I'll like it--if I'll be able to handle the tubing, if the infusion sets will burn my skin off--I am incredibly sensitive to adhesives.

But it's started. At any time, I can back out, of course, but I think I'm going to like a pump.

Maybe.

I am in limbo still. Waiting for the insurance company to determine if I am pump-worthy. I am looking forward to hearing about your adjustment to thee adhesive and all! I chose the Omnipod. Is that what you will be using?
I know it is all expensive, but I really do have a goal of getting under control, and changing my habits so that maybe I won't be on the pump for life.
I do have some fears about it, but it certainly will be better for me than what I am doing, which is living in denial.
So good luck to you!
Carol

That's great!! It took me *years* of dithering! I hope you like it yours as much as I've liked mine!

Carol, it's going to be a paradigm ravel or something like that. The actual price is more than they first quoted, which means I'm going to be paying it off for a while. Lucky I have a job right now. Maybe I'll get it paid off before the job goes away in May.
Today was the saga of the signed form, which can't be esigned, but needs to be ink signed, scanned, and emailed to the minimed people. I got through that one by about three, and then we started the saga of making sure my insurance will actually do their part to pay for it. sigh.

Everything's always so complicated.

I hope I like it too, AR--it's stories like yours that make me convinced that it could work for me.