« Still Trying | Main | I'm alive, and Frances is adorable » |
|
|
March 29, 2007 Not the post I planned to write today 
I slipped my black velvet ballet flats on and stopped to check the reservoir in my insulin pump--a little low. Probably not enough to cover me until I get home from work at 4:30. I should change it now so I don't have to worry, I thought. (cue ominous soundtrack) Erik and Frances left and I said goodbye distractedly from the kitchen while attaching a new, full insulin reservoir to the tubing. I put the new site in the blue plunger, took off the backing, pulled the plastic needleguard from the needle, and pulled the plunger back, held by breath and stuck it in my hip. Wow, I thought, it hardly hurt at all today. Good. (HA! says Fate. AhahahaHAhahahaha!) I put the reservoir in the pump and held ACT to prime. It primed. And primed. And primed. Insulin was pouring out the other end but it didn't stop priming. I took my finger off ACT and checked the reservoir--it had chewed through 40 units of insulin (enough to get me through two days) trying to prime the pump. I called the help number, and gave them my name, address, phone number, date of birth, and the serial number on the pump. "What's the problem?" they asked. "It won't prime," I said. "It's chewed through 40 units of insulin trying. The reservoir is in there but it won't stop priming, it won't recognize the reservoir." "Let me check your warranty information," he said. "Your warranty expired December 16. But I can get someone in the Canadian office to call you about a loaner." Is it completely unreasonable that this is where I fell apart? Separations, a few major car repairs, whatever. Broken pump! Stop the presses! The sky is falling! I knew the warranty expired, but I was hoping to get a few more months out of it. Insulin pumps are expensive, even with 80% coverage it's going to cost a lot of money to replace it--money I was hoping to save, under the circumstances. And I knew this was coming sometime in the next few months. If the pump had held out until December, and if Erik and I had still been together, it would have been covered fully, but that wasn't going to happen. Someone called from the Canadian office to find out where he could fax me the loaner form ("I don't have a fax number," I said. "I could get you to fax it to my office, but I'm not going to drive around today without an insulin pump until I find out about replacement insulins from my doctor, so that's not going to do me any good"). I was able to persuade him to email it to me instead ("Hmm, I see your point. Let me see if I have this as a word document") and now I'm going to print it out, sign it, scan it, and hunt down the fax program on our computer to send it back. Here's hoping it works. At least I'll know there's a loaner coming to me. Then call the endo and beg for some kind of long-lasting insulin prescription, pick it up, get some syringes, (none of which will be covered, by the way, since my insurance company won't cover syringes etc. within five years of paying for a pump) and ... ... ...buy a new pump. Blah. The last time I looked at prices they were about $7000. That leaves me about $1400 out of pocket. Fellow pumpers, I'm using a minimed 500-series right now. I'm not married to minimed, but I do want a pump that uses a regular battery, doesn't break down often, and has a small reservoir (I only use 20 units a day; even the 180 reservoir on the paradigm is too big for me). What are you using? Would you recommend it? Posted by Andrea at March 29, 2007 6:17 AM under Pins and Needles EMAIL this entry (comments fields are below this section) Comments I'm really sorry -- I can't even imagine dealing with what you have to deal with on a daily basis. Posted by: arline at March 29, 2007 7:29 AM
Oh geez. Sometimes it only takes a tiny piece of straw to ... well ... that's not really so tiny, is it? Wishing you a swift and stress-free resolution to your current situation! Posted by: Miche at March 29, 2007 7:57 AM
{{Andrea}} Posted by: Madeleine at March 29, 2007 8:16 AM
Oh, no. That sucks. Posted by: Casey at March 29, 2007 8:39 AM
That suckety suck sucks!! :-( I hate the high cost of medical equipment. Will you take a hug? Posted by: LauraJ at March 29, 2007 8:42 AM
Oh, I'm so sorry, Andrea. You did NOT need this. What a lousy thing to happen right now. Posted by: Genevieve at March 29, 2007 9:07 AM
Oh bother. I'm sorry. Posted by: parodie at March 29, 2007 9:20 AM
Sorry to hear it--my 508 is on its last legs and I'm wondering myself about which direction to go next. Can you call the Cozmo and Animas and Minimed reps and test out pumps over the next week? That's likely what I'll end up doing next. So hear you about the money--with US tax season here, I just figured out the Mister and I spent about $20K out of pocket last year. Not just for diabetes, but that was a good chunk of it. I totally hear you. Good luck with whatever pump you move on to next. Posted by: Lyrehca at March 29, 2007 10:41 AM
That's what you get for the stick not hurting. *lol* That sucks! Posted by: Kyla at March 29, 2007 11:08 AM
I'm sorry to hear this, Andrea. Truly sorry. Posted by: Mad Hatter at March 29, 2007 11:11 AM
O uses a MM712, which has a big reservoir. There's a blog called Asskeeper http://asskeeper.blogspot.com/index.html - she uses a cozmo. Val, at Dr Jeckyl and Mrs Low http://drjekyllandmrslow.blogspot.com/ uses an Animas, I think. You could ask them. I don't have any experience with anyone but MM. Posted by: julia at March 29, 2007 12:14 PM
O wouldn't get thru half a day on 20 units.
Posted by: julia at March 29, 2007 12:18 PM
I left another comment about pumps, but it seems to be gone... You might want to ask around the diabetes OC for pump advice, too. Posted by: julia at March 29, 2007 12:20 PM
That's awful. And truly expensive. I hope someone is able to come up with a better solution for you. Posted by: moreena at March 29, 2007 12:28 PM
I found your comment, Julia--MT ate it b/c of the links. Lyrehca, yeah.... I'm not thrilled about the Animas after reading Sandra's stories but I wouldn't mind checking out the cozmo. We'll have to see. Posted by: Andrea at March 29, 2007 1:32 PM
My husband uses the cozmo, and we've been really happy with it... he uses a lot more insulin each day than you do, though. Pretty high resistance. The cozmo uses a AAA battery, so no problems there. Especially wonderful has been the response to any problems. We were on our honeymoon in Hawaii when his two year old pump started malfunctioning (it started beeping and we couldn't make it stop.) They overnighted us a new one, and called the next day to make sure the new one worked fine. They've also replaced button covers with no protests or problems. Posted by: Lauren at March 29, 2007 2:48 PM
I'm sorry. What a freakin' bother on top of all the other crap. Hang in there. Hug Frances an extra hundred times for strength. Posted by: yankee,transferred at March 29, 2007 5:50 PM
I'm so sorry. That is just too much. Posted by: liz at March 29, 2007 7:07 PM
I am using the MiniMed 512. I would recommend it, but I imagine it is probably what you are using now. The 522 might be something good to invest in because it has the ability to work with thier CGMS system once insurance companies start covering that. Posted by: Sara at March 29, 2007 7:47 PM
What a pain in the ass. And a serious problem. I use a Minimed Paradigm 512. (I'm using 28 - 32u per day, so the smaller reservoirs work well for me, too.) I plan on sticking with Minimed, so long as I remain as satisfied as I have been for the past three years. I have plenty of syringes from my MDI days if you want them. Actually, if you can think of anything you may need, drop me a line and I'll see if I know anyone/anything that may help. Good luck!! Posted by: Kerri. at March 29, 2007 10:40 PM
Thanks, Kerri--my doctor's office set me up, so I'm ok, but I appreciate the offer. Sarah, I'm actually on the 511, which functionally is fine, but their customer service (at least in Canada) is crap. So I'm going to look around before I jump back in the minimed pool. Lauren, thanks--that's good to hear. Posted by: Andrea at March 30, 2007 7:27 AM
I use a Cozmo. I love the thing. Standard AAA battery, waterproof, bolus calculator, food database (not sure about Canadian model on that one though). It holds 300 units, but I use less too, so you don't have to fill up all the way. Posted by: Megan at April 16, 2007 7:04 PM
Your a very strong person, i have to say. It is must be difficult Posted by: WD-NYC designer at June 28, 2007 12:47 PM
Go Berserk |
Change is God (Octavia Butler, Parable Series) "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso Email Frances! frances AT athenadreaming DOT org You can email her mother too (that's me):
The Best of Beanie Baby
Recent Entries
Categories Monthly Archives Annika Info
Earn Your Karmic Brownie Points The WHOYCBE Not So Secret Spoilers These links open in a new browser window. Random Writer's Quote The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile. ~ Robert Cormier
My Burgeoning Media Empire (that's a joke)
Dwarfism Resources: Frances's Big List of Misdiagnoses and False Positives Prenatally:
Postnatally:
Blogs I'm Reading
Other Mom Sites: Green Family Library
The title of this blog was taken from the short story "The Language of Nna Mmoy" by Ursula le Guin in her collection, Changing Planes. I won't tell you why or how, because I want you to read the story and figure it out for yourself.
|
