Fasting BG 2018

[Grammabear]

116 this morning.

Great news from Barbara and Tamagno.  I'm guessing the both of you are relieved.  Thinking of you too Wally and hope the test comes out good for you as well.

Thanks Wally for the link for Cetaphil.  That is one that I haven't tried, but I will order it and give it a go.

[bigskygal]

90 this partly cloudy morning, 88 at bedtime last night.

I have an appointment for a colonoscopy early June. It is the day after my birthday so I won't be having any great birthday food!! 

[walkerwally1]

Well, that's unfortunate timing.  You will be doing your prep on your birthday.  However the next day after your procedure you can enjoy what you missed.   

[Tamagno]

185 this morning.

Colonoscopy prep isn't at all fun, Wally; hope all goes well!

Once again scrambling on insurance/Medicare/medical expenses. While I've still got commercial insurance through my wife, the co-pay plus a new "co-insurance" on her policy are making it very expensive this year to buy pump and CGM supplies.

Medicare is, as most always, very weird when it comes to CGM coverage. As Grammabear knows, they'll pay for the CGM, but won't allow you to use Dexcom's mobile apps (a big component of new technology) nor will they allow you to purchase directly from the manufacturer or automatically order supplies. It all seems capricious and excessively complex.

How in the world they'd know if you were using the mobile apps I've no idea. I haven't seen it yet, but presumably at some point you're required to sign something promising not to use them. My pump rep tells me that they have in place some mechanism revealing unauthorized usage of mobile apps, but I can't see how that could possibly comply with, among other things, HIPPA (government privacy laws) regulations which are a very big deal in the medical community.

Oh well, another day given over to slogging through clunky, unreadable government websites...

[walkerwally1]

74 this morning.  Kind of reinforces the idea of intermittent fasting to me.  I wasn't really hungry all day Wednesday but I did often think of things I would like to eat.  The mind wanted me to be chewing on something.  Yes, Tamagno, the prep is the worst part but now it is over, not that bad.  All came out OK.  The Dr. once again had to remove polyps so back again in 3 years.
John, I don't envy you having to figure out anything to do with Medicare.  You would think you could just call and get all of the information you need from some helpful employee but that is a pipe dream.

[Grammabear]

202 this morning - infusion set failed.

I do purchase my CGM supplies directly from Dexcom every 30 days and not one day before the 30 days are up - Medicare rules.  It is my understanding that the transmitter for the G5 gives Dexcom the "information" whether or not we are using their mobile app when you download your receiver to Clarity or when you plug in your receiver to be charged.  It is indeed a sad thing because everyone else can use the mobile app but not Medicare recipients.  Also when I signed up for the G5 I got the old style receiver and not the touch screen receiver.  When the new G6 system gets approved (providing it does get FDA approval) I'm wondering if Medicare recipients will even get a chance at it?

[bigskygal]

91 this mostly clear morning, 96 at bedtime last night.

[Tamagno]

201 this morning.

Well, Kathy, once again, we seem to be on the same page! I've been up since 3am hassling with my insertion set as well. My first try occluded, so about a half hour later I tried again. Hopefully, the second works; I should know soon.

Naturally, my insertion set had started failing earlier yesterday afternoon, but as my CGM is due to be changed today, it wasn't reporting readings most all evening, so I missed gradually rising glucose until late in the evening when I was too exhausted to deal with everything. My own fault, as I should have just gone ahead and done it. Goodness, the wages of sloth! Well, I can always sleep later...

[Grammabear]

105 this morning.

We have freezing rain pellets/snow today.  I guess Mother Nature is not quite done with handing us winter weather.

John - One thing you can say about diabetes and that is "it is never boring".  I am always a little leary about having a straight line on the G5 because I just know for sure that the next day will be anything but straight.

[walkerwally1]

90 this morning.  No rain here, just another windy day.  It looks like a good chance of rain next Wednesday and Thursday.
Tamagno and Grammabear, it seems like a pump should make things a lot easier but from the problems you both seem to have it seems there is work to be done by the mfg.

[Grammabear]

90 this morning.  No rain here, just another windy day.  It looks like a good chance of rain next Wednesday and Thursday.
Tamagno and Grammabear, it seems like a pump should make things a lot easier but from the problems you both seem to have it seems there is work to be done by the mfg.

Wally, A pump does make things much easier in my opinion.  When I was using MDI (multiple daily injections) it was a minimum of 6-8 injections per day.  With a pump there is just one 'insertion' every 2-3 days meaning you insert the infusion set and the pump delivers insulin 24x7 in very small amounts.  Sometimes the problem lies in that the body produces scar tissue whether you use MDI or a pump, and scar tissue isn't visible to the naked eye.  Obviously you can't inject insulin and expect the body to absorb it readily in scar tissue.  It is a problem with the human body and not necessarily the pump mfg.

[bigskygal]

94 this cloudy morning, 87 at bedtime last night.

It got up to 45°F (7.22°C) today. It started lightly drizzling late afternoon. Snow is possible over night and tomorrow. Darn, my road was just beginning to dry out some...

[rocky]

Also 94 today. When I logged into the BG tracker I realised that my last entry was on the 11th of March. I didn't realise that I had been absent for so many days.

Reading the posts I get the sense that Type 1 is such a complicated thing to deal with. As a type 2 I need to just watch my diet, pop one pill a day and continue with my exercise regularly. Right ?

[Tamagno]

117 this morning.

Gosh, Rocky, they're just totally different. In my experience, type 2s seem often to get more diabetes-related illness just because it doesn't seem imperative to watch their glucose. We type 1s hassle a lot with things, but can't at all stay living with very high glucose.

In fact, the article SKB posted recently on the cause of type 2 lends credence to the idea that type 1 and type 2 are entirely different diseases related only by their association with high glucose and problems with insulin.

In the end, the one thing at which I continually marvel is that humans are so wonderfully designed and with such incredible complexity and yet really don't experience a lot of break down in the way of illness. It is, to me, awe inspiring...

[skb]

Great piece of advice John.

In my experience, type 2s seem often to get more diabetes-related illness just because it doesn't seem imperative to watch their glucose.

This is particularly true due to the lack of control expressed by T2s.

In the end, the one thing at which I continually marvel is that humans are so wonderfully designed and with such incredible complexity and yet really don't experience a lot of break down in the way of illness. It is, to me, awe inspiring...

When I was going through my Nutrition studies, I marvelled at the human design every day. Every small bit of learning about the body's processes and anatomy amazed me no end. A look at the design and functioning of the Sodium-Potassium Pump is a prime example that comes to mind.