Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Totally Unrelated to Diabetes.....

I was woken this morning, early - but a delivery guy at the door. No surprise, I was awaiting the arrival of a new freezer.

I have spent a lot of $$ at Home Depot over the past year, with a total reno of the house I am in. You think I would have learned with past events, but the freezer this morning showed up DAMAGED. The box was in fine condition, so I signed the paper and accepted the package. When I opened it up, the front lower corner is dented in a good 3 - 4 inches - as if it sustained a drop and landed on that corner and then was packaged up.

THAT IS IT. I will not step foot in a HOME DEPOT or support them at all. I have had nothing but bad experiences. Many returns, many faulty items and poor quality. This is my oath to never deal with this company ever again. The lady on the phone was very nice and asked if I wanted an exchange, and I said "NO, I'm going to go to my local appliance store - support my local industry and never deal with your store again"......so that was not a nice start to my day....and reminded me when I let things like this bother me, it makes me BG rise.....soon after I hung up the phone I hear BEEP BEEP BEEP of my high alarm on the pump.....a gentle reminder from my body to just let this go, take a deep breath......and head up to my local home hardware store :)

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

TD DA! My Pump Skins!

Well Minimed never ceases to amaze me. I ordered the pump skins, and within 24 hours they were at my door! Two small envelopes packed in the typically large Minimed box. I'll admit, I was excited!

I was impressed with the quality of the skins - a good thick material and easy to apply. They do not cover the info on the back of the pump and snug up to the screen nicely. I enjoy the little "pick me up" every time I look at the pump. Well done Minimed, I just wish you did not charge $25 shipping for one of these!! (Glad I had a gift certificate, next time I will just add them to my glucose sensor order!!). Next I want to see Minimed come out with different colored infusion set sticky pads, or designs on them. That would be great for kids......err, and the rest of us too :)

Here are a few pictures. I have the Hawiian skin on now - with the Bubble LT still in the package awaiting its turn! It will be interesting to see how long the skin lasts. I keep the pump in my pants pocket most of the time, and often use the holster that the pump slides in and out of...so far so good!


Thursday, November 23, 2006

Pump Skin!

Oh my, strep throat is going through my house with a rampage!! Not fun....not fun at all!

On a good note, I did buy a fancy Minimed pump skin, and it arrived today. I was not going to buy one - it seemed the price was expensive....but in my sickened state I broke down on the internet in the weeeeee hours of the morning, and bought some.

It is cool - a little pick me up, for sure. I love the color, and I am glad I bought it - I seem to buy on to all the gimics !!

A good friend of mine has just switched to our team. He was type-2 diabetes, but only for a few months - and now is has started insulin.....so WELCOME to the club buddy. He is not very old, just a young guy - I tell people at work they need to stay clear of me...that they could catch diabetes. He is already talking about the pump......

Happy thanksgiving to my friends in the U.S.!! Enjoy the turkey!!

Cheers,
Drea

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Reflections......

Well Well Well....first the computer is in the shop getting fixed, then I reset the "keychain" on my MAC and I could not remember my password for my world!! I am back, thankfully!!!

All is going very well. This new second transmitter is ticking away just fine - getting me through this transition from FALL to WINTER! It has been about 3 months I have been using this CGMS system. I was nervous at first. Nervous that I would spend all my day focusing on the pump - always looking at what my reading is, how mch glucose level is doing. I was nervous that my sugar level would rule my life in a negative way.

This was never the case. From the moment I put this system on, it has only been a benefit and a natural progression in my pumping life! I would not like to have to go back to manual testing. I like the assurance that I can look at my pump and know where my sugar lies - as easy as clicking one button and I can see. In the middle of the night, when out for a bike ride, in the middle of a busy day at work, when driving...anytime, easy as that.

It was a little hard at first to trust the sensor system. There was a lot of information on the web discussing the possibility of a 15% variance or more. I have found my system to always be withing 1.0mmol/L of the value from a finger test. 3 months of this, and now I trust the system. Don't get me wrong, I am still going to double check with a finger poke test before a correction bolus!!

The peace of mind this system has brought me is worth it all. What a progression in my life, in my diabetes life. 5.5 years ago the amazing transition to an insulin pump....that was an amazing moment - and now the addition of this glucose sensor technology. 3 months into it - and WORTH IT. My quality of life has increased.....and more importantly I have my password back HA!! Cheers All!