Introducing...Laura 2.0!

That's right. 2.0.

Yesterday I had my MiniMed 530G pump and Enlite sensor upgrade training class at Medtronic World Headquarters, here in MN. 

I was pretty prepared for the class - had all my settings recorded on the form they provided in the carry-on they shipped to my house. I had put a battery in the new pump and had set the time and date as well as transferred over (manually) all of the settings from my old pump to the new pump. I also set the settings that were listed in the email attachment sent when the training classes were announced (one of my classmates did none of these things and had to be led through each piece. I think it was lucky he even made it to the class on time...).

Anyway - the class started out great - the instructor that had set me up for the training was a new one that I had never seen before, but when I got to the room, there was my original instructor as well, who led me through the class the first time when I first got my pump and previous sensor!

The first part of class was going to be the sensor insertion. I was so apprehensive about this part - mostly because of the pain and traumatic experience I had had with it the first time around. I did NOT want to relive that. The only words I associated with the sensor were: pain, agony and NO WAY.

I volunteered to go first to insert the new sensor (there were three people in our class, including me). I got all set up, had the new instructor right by my side, walking me through each part of the process. While I was holding the sensor serter to my skin, waiting for the tape to stick to my skin, then pulled the serter away, the entire set came off! I was so bummed. Strike one new sensor, strike ONE!

We tried it a second time, and wow, did that one hurt! The same solution - the entire set came off with the serter. Strike TWO.

We tried a THIRD time - and the same result, but with more blood this time. My instructor decided to call an audible and give me some much needed recoup and clot time. She said they would keep me after class to try again with a different serter to see if that was the issue. So I got to sit through the rest of class hating life, well, mostly just hating the new sensor already, and I hadn't even had it attached successfully yet!

The guy next to me got his to work right away, no issues at all. The other lady in the room also had similar issues to me, and was given a new serter and got her set to stay put. 

After class, I tried for a fourth time. This time, the instructor told me to hold the button down and slightly lift it off my skin to see if the site was in my skin at all or if it wasn't inserting at all. I did, and she held down the site while I pulled off the serter. Success! With that manual restraint, we got one to stick! I quickly pushed down a little on it, and taped that sucker down really well, hooked up the transmitter and just stood there for a second. It only hurt for a few minutes this time, rather than all the time, like the last, old sensor model. 

I went home after class, and was very aware that I had a new attachment. (haha the guy in class calls it his wood tick. I thought that was funny.) I tested throughout the day to calibrate the sensor, and everything seemed to be alright. I even forgot about it at times too! I went to bed that night, with the sensor still attached and was nervous about sleeping with it attached because of the discomfort I had with the last one, and the alerts sounding off every couple of hours. ugh.

I made it through the night alright - woke up a few times, probably just due to my paranoia of sleeping or rolling over onto it - in class they said to try to not sleep on it, as that could skew the results of the sensor.

I have decided that I will try to keep this sensor in for the full 6 days (last ones were 2-3 days) and then try to insert a new one myself. If I am unable to insert a new one myself, I will probably not continue using them. I still don't like the idea of there now being two things attached to me at all times. One is hard enough to get used to, but two is just a hassle. 

The only real benefits that I can see getting from the sensor are:
knowing what my "blood sugar" is on trend - it graphs on the pump, showing where I am trending. This would then allow for my doctor and I to adjust my insulin levels to accommodate those trends. 

Other than that, I am a person who can sense my lows when I get near them. Some people are unlucky where they cannot realize that they are going low. Scary!

Today I have been getting an alert that says invalid sensor value. I might need to call in the reinforcements to see what I need to do to resolve this. I have looked online and done what is said there, but the alert just happened again. ugh. #diabeticproblems.

-LD

Seasonal Cues

After grabbing a much needed latte this morning from Caribou, I realized they had changed out their cups and sleeves to seasonal-themed ones. Then it got me thinking...we take the majority of our seasonal cues from points of retail.

Think about it - not only the slight change of artwork on a disposable coffee cup, but in so many other retailers we shop at each week. Come to think of it, I was in Cub Foods the other night doing some grocery shopping. I was grabbing milk at the time, looked across the aisle and see a display of "holiday themed coffee creamers." Of course I had to snag a peppermint mocha (delicious).

The holidays are even reflected in our coffee creamer selection. That might just be the quote of the day right there.

Think about the big box retailers, like Target. In their stores, Halloween merchandise hit percentages off with the Christmas lights staging the background, with holiday trimmings waiting in the nearby aisles, waiting to push Halloween out of the way.

But think about this. Holiday decorations in stores NOW. It is November 7th. I get that people buy ahead of time and stuff, but it always seems a touch too early. Don't even get me started on the holiday commercials starting last year in October...

I was glad to hear and see that Target took a stand this year and said not until November would they start with their TV holiday commercials. At least one retailer has listened to the public's cries of limiting the holiday exposure.

Don't mind me...I'll just be over here sipping my homemade peppermint mocha. mmm.

-LD

Price Check...Aisle 5

I got the idea for this post today from an article on the Real Simple website.

The idea here is to save you time and money on your next trip(s) to the grocery store. It made me reflect on our habits of grocery shopping and ways we save. I decided to share some of the things I have routinely implemented to keep our foodstuffs stocked. This isn't scientific, other than our method testing - via excel spreadsheet, but some ideas and things we have done.

1. Subscribe to a local newspaper on Sundays - this allows us to (more seldom than I would like to admit) catch up on the news via the good ol' newspaper, but usually I separate out the "paper" from the "gloss," or the coupon and ad sections. Pending a church visit on Sunday morning, you can find me on a patch of carpet or couch, with the ads and coupons fanned out around me. Insert a "helpful" Vizsla and hubby watching football, and you've pretty much got the full visual on that scenario.
2. Clip those coupons! - After I have made a location for myself, grabbed a cup of coffee, scissors, coupon binder and recycling receptacle, I go to work - reviewing ads and clipping coupons. I really try to stick to the things that we have either purchased before or would be willing to try that isn't too far off the beaten path. I have found out - from the few months I have been "couponing," that if I get things that are way too "off our food grid," they get clipped, but seldom used.
3. Sort and file the coupons! - After the clipping occurs, I then file the coupons into categories in a binder. I started out with my own Frankenstein binder of coupon glory - a regular 3-ring binder with numbered tabs. Those numbers correlate to an index of categories in a supermarket that I frequent.
4. Write that down. - I keep a magnetic notepad on the side of the refrigerator so that when we use up the last of something, we jot it down on the notepad so I can factor that into the items I shop for and stock up on when I am at the store.
5. Then usually I take the list from the fridge, paired with other random items that I know we need - you know, the staples like milk and eggs, etc. and I add those things to the fridge list. I check to see if I have coupons for any of those items, and then look at the ad for the grocery store that I shop at frequently. Sometimes I am able to double-up on the store promotions or coupons and pair them with the coupons from the paper or the internet. I have been going less and less to the internet for coupons because I find I can use those less and less, and you are spending money on paper and ink to print them out. Not a lot, but still, it all counts.
6. Envelope, List, Keys, and go! - I put all of the coupons in order of how I travel the store. I grab my list and try to list or group the items the same way so I can just make one sweep of the store and not have to back-track too much for stray items.
7. Enroll in store reward programs. - We belong to the reward card that our grocery store offers. It is actually a sweet program, because your groceries stack up to discounts on gas at a local gas station. An added bonus - my mom has a card to the same account that she logs her groceries to as well - so does Derick and myself, so we get bonus savings. The reason she doesn't have and use her own card and account is because she doesn't have those gas stations immediately near her, and usually fills up at Costco anyway!
8. Weigh the options of couponing vs cheaper stores vs warehouse stores. We did a test for about 2 years where we only shopped at a discount food store (Aldi) and bought remaining items at a neighboring grocer (Cub Foods). Then, we tried couponing (Cub Foods) partnered with a warehouse store (Sam's Club). We really found that we were spending about the same no matter what method we were using to get our food at cheaper prices, so in the end, do what works for you - factor in convenience and everything else that your family values.
9. When in doubt, send the "other one" shopping. - I am the main one in our house who completes the processes listed out above. If I am being honest, sometimes I am swayed by things that "sound good" or wants rather than needs. But when Derick goes, armed with the list, that is what he comes home with - usually the cheapest option for the things on said list. 

What do you do to save a few dollars?

-LD

A Little Diabetes Love

To all my fellow diabetics out there:

I want to give a little love to each of you for all the things we go through on a month-to-month, day-to-day, minute-to-minute, second-by-second basis. You know what I am talking about. It can be the most simple of things dealing with regular or diabetic life. The things that no one else could possibly hope to understand until they live with this disease themselves. Sure, they can read all about it, or live with someone who has it (shout out to my hubby who has had to deal with me on the less than ideal circumstances) but until they have experienced the ups and downs and round-and-rounds of this disease, they won't get it. 

But we do.

I am going to focus on the positive today, day 7 of National Diabetes Month.

I am so fortunate that this disease has led me to meet so many AMAZING, INCREDIBLE people who are all going through the same struggles that I am. 

I am so fortunate that there is a place like diabetes camp where kids can do to learn more about their disease, be inspired by their diabetic counselors, and for one week, know they are not alone.

I am so fortunate that technology has advanced so much for the 24 years I have lived with this disease. I remember the chem-strips for testing a blood sugar that took 5 minutes each time. I remember only long-needled syringes. I remember not having insulin pumps and having to bring vials of insulin with on trips, but keeping the bottles cold at all times. 
Fast forward to today - where we can get blood sugar results in 5 seconds, and we have insulin pumps that store insulin in them for up to a three or four day supply. The invention of the sensor that helps diabetics notice trends which enables us to react more quickly to our body's needs. 

I am so fortunate to have events in my community like Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes (walk event), Tour de Cure (bike event), the Diabetes Expo (vendor fair) and the Diabetes Gala (fundraiser). These events help raise awareness and touch lives of those not only affected and living with the disease, but those who might know someone with the disease and become more informed. This year for the walk event, a family we have befriended recently came to the event for the first time. One day I hope to get so many more of my friends and family at that event. It is truly something incredible to see. 

Okay, this next one even surprised myself, but here it is:
I am fortunate for my parents' nagging. They took the time, effort, energy, screams, protests, and a slew of other less-than-perfect scenarios and persisted. All of that helped shape me into the diabetic I am today. I think the nagging and constant checking-in made me resentful for years, but once I grew older, it made me want to be the sole owner of this thing. I wanted control. I wanted to show this thing who's boss. And man, haven't I? I don't consider my life with diabetes as a really rough journey. Maybe that sounds crazy. I have been fortunate. When I think about the things that could have happened, or maybe should have happened to me with my diagnosis, but they haven't.

I am so fortunate to have finally found a health care professional team that gets me. I cannot tell you, okay, I so totally have told you on here before, but the struggle to find a doctor and team who genuinely care about me and my care as a diabetic is humbling. I am not just a number. I am not just dollar signs to my doctor. Side note - I am totally writing a thank you to my doctor and her team tonight, in honor of National Diabetes Month for all that they have done and meant to me.

Thank you to all diabetics I have looked up to and looked after so far in my journey. You have all inspired me whether you know it or not. I have learned so much and have so much left to learn. 

If you are a diabetic, what are you fortunate to have in your life? 
If you aren't a diabetic, but know someone who is, acknowledge them and their efforts with their fight. For some, it may mean the difference between choosing to care, or choosing not to; choosing to fight and manage the disease, or not fighting and losing all hope. 

-LD

Edit - I found this photo-a-day listing online that I am going to try to participate in via Facebook. Follow along or feel free to join and do yourself. Take and submit a photo of each topic for each day https://www.facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation/app_380832601989620:


AND - check out this link for the President's Proclamation of National Diabetes Month!