"Shut Up!!"

I love my Endocrinologist so much! She is great! If you live in the Tampa area.... really, she's awesome. So is her staff... which is sometimes just as important!

Anyways... today I got my A1c done in the office at my quarterly check up and as the little machine shook and jiggled I sat their nervously chatting with the nurse.

She sent me into the exam room before it was ready. I opened up the Diabetes Forecast and pretended to be interested in a healthy dessert recipe....

*Knock Knock!*

"Come in!"

*big smile* "6.7!!!"

"Shut up!!! I mean.... really??"

At this point... we both may or may not have kinda done "The Running Man" together for 15-30 seconds.

My Endo took almost an entire half hour answering my questions about my CGM data charts, tweaking my basils, and explaining to me how to go on a "Pump Vacation" by going back on Lantus shots and Humalog pens for a weekend that is coming up (and I just want to be wire free for it, goshdarnit!)

So anyways... we (my family, not my endo... haha, I mean you gotta draw the line somewhere) celebrated with Mediterranean take-out. (Falafels are awesome... And so is James Taylor... who talks about falafels in this song...)

Whoa... anyways....

I'm pretty happy with a 6.7! It's a half a point lower than my last visit. I really tried to stay in range over the past couple months.... and sometimes I wanted to throw my Dexcom 7 Plus in the toilet when it said BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP over and over again at ungodly hours of the night! But having some sort of tangible success in the form of a number, that may or may not have made my doctor dance like a totally rad 80's rock star... kinda makes it worth it. :)

CGMS: Denied

Gina at Diabetes TalkFest has declared July 1st as CGMS Denial Day. Diabetics all over the web are posting their struggles with private insurance coverage for their CGMS.

As posted a few days ago, my coverage has been pending, and pending, and pending, and pending.... (get the picture?)
So I have not ordered any new sensors since my initial order that included 5 sensors.

A CGMS system can show me 1 hour, 3 hour, and 9 hour blood sugar trends, showing me a new result every 5 minutes. It can also beep when I start to get too high or too low, alerting me to correct the problem right away.

My latest A1c (3-6 month average of blood sugar levels... normal is considered between 4-6%) was 6.9% this is fantastic as opposed to my adolescent A1c's of 10 and higher!! When I was pregnant and testing about 10 times a day I had it at a 5.1.... I am POSITIVE I can lower this number and have tighter control with the aid of a CGMS. Having tighter control will keep me from or delay the complications of retinopathy, limb amputations, poor circulations, high blood pressure, stroke, etc.

I am SURE the insurance companies will begin to approve CGMS technology at some point, just as they approved pumps. I am also quite confident that CGMS will be integrated into all insulin pumps within the next several years. But the sooner I get my sugars in the tightest control possible, the longer I can live a healthy productive life with my family.

This is Me, Raising My Voice....

On December 25th, 2007 I almost died. On December 29th 2007, I almost died again. My blood sugar plummeted into the low 20's during my nighttime sleep. On Christmas I woke up screaming incomprehensible words and flailing my arms and legs, waking my husband. On December 29th, my husband's birthday, he mysteriously awoke and found me passed out on the floor next to our bed, minutes from death. (Happy Birthday sweet heart) There is a technology available that can prevent this from ever happening to me again.

It is a frustrating thing knowing there is a technology available to help free me from the daily worry of going into a coma, or passing out because of my hypoglycemia unawareness while I am home alone taking care of my children. Or dying in my sleep because my blood sugar gets to low. Yet this technology is being denied by major insurance companies in many cases, stating that it is not "medically necessary." It brings me to the point of tears sometimes. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for my insurance company to come through for me and approve my Dexcom 7 CGMS, so I can be freed from this worry. Yet they continue to drag their heels. I haven't gotten a denial yet, but it has been pending since January. JANUARY! Ridiculous. I encourage diabetics to raise their voices and post this video by Manny Hernandez of Tudiabetes.com on your blogs!

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems are approved by the FDA and are some of the best diabetic technology available to help control blood glucose levels. The JDRF is working on completing this technology by researching ways to create a closed loop system as a sort of external pancreas. We are making strides.

I am tired of worrying about if I will be around to watch my children complete their major milestones. Graduating college, getting married, rocking my grandchildren for the first time, retiring and traveling with my husband. I want to live to see these years.

So I beg you, Raise your voice.




Find more videos like this on Tu Diabetes - A Community for People Touched by Diabetes



Also see: Six Until Me's battle with CGMS approval

A1c HomeCheck

Hey fellow D-bloggers!

I just ordered my first A1c Homecheck test from Diabetech. I watched the video from Bernard's Diabetes Tech blog and since I have an endo appointment coming up in a couple weeks, I decided I'd like to see how the two results compare. This will also be my first appointment since being on (and off) the Dexcom 7 CGMS (Continuous Glucose Monitoring System). I'm hoping my results will be better. I'm thinking 6's!!

NOTE: This is NOT a sponsored post. I will review this product and let you know what I think, whether that be good or bad! =)

Denied. You suck BCBS!

I got my letter of denial today from Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem (Ohio) for my Dexcom 7. I'll start my appeals process on Monday while the kids are napping. Don't worry, I will win this battle. I haven't used my Dexcom for a couple weeks now because I can't afford $240 for a box of 4 sensors. Grrrrrr......

Insurance Schmimshushrance

The nice Dexcom lady called me today to let me know my claim is on it's way. Best case scenario is 80% covered. I'll take it!! Now we pray. Lots. Please approve me. I only have one sensor left. I love this machine. I can't imagine life without it now. Especially at night... it's like a cuddly little security blankie that saves me from my hypo-unawareness while I'm sleeping.

I <3 My Dexcom 7.

My New Toy... SEVEN.

On Christmas morning I awoke to several paramedics standing over me. I was having a diabetic seizure due to extremely low blood sugar. On the 29th I had another seizure in the middle of the night. Both times were terrifying for both myself and my family. Now I will never have to worry about that again thanks to a new technology by Dexcom.

I just bought a new Dexcom Seven system. It is a Continuous Glucose Monitoring ("CGM") device for people with diabetes. It basically takes a glucose test about every 5 minutes throughout the day and night, allowing users to see trends and patterns in glucose readings. It also has an alarm that goes off when your sugars hit below 70 and above 250. This feature will be lifesaving for me.

The Seven Continuous Glucose Monitoring System consists of 3 parts:
Sensor
Transmitter
Receiver

The sensor looks much like an insulin pump infusion set and lasts for 7 days. The transmitter connects to it and send the info wirelessly to the receiver base. There are many ways to view the data on the transmitter. It can also be downloaded to a computer with Windows for viewing on the Dexcom software.

The rep who helped me was extremely helpful and answered ALL my questions. I had to pay in full for this product since it is a brand new technology. After I receive it they will automatically contact my insurance company with a claim and a letter of medical necessity from my doctor that they have on file. There is no guarantee that the insurance will cover this, but hopefully they will!! In total I paid $718 for the system and six sensors. This also includes training in my home next week by a tech rep. Refill sensors come in boxes of 4 and are $240.

Hopefully you found this article informative! Please check back in a couple weeks for my reviews of this product after using it for a while!

For more information please visit the Dexcom website by clicking HERE