My techie self...

I'm an insulin dependent diabetic. I'm also fortunate enough to be on an insulin pump instead of multiple injections per day. For those of you that aren't familiar with an insulin pump, it's a device that is attached to me 24/7/365. While this is, at times, uncomfortable and annoying, it is so much better than shots. I don't have to worry about carrying around needles or giving myself shots in public places while people watch and stare. I just have a device attached to me that looks kind of like a beeper with a wire coming out of it. It's even been mistaken as a new kind of iPod. And it's done wonders for my diabetes control.

I'm telling you all of this information because today I took the first steps to obtain a new pump. This is huge. Insulin pumps are not cheap. Many models range from $2,000 to $5,500. This does not account for the monthly supplies and batteries that accompany pump use. It's expensive. My insurance company covered my first pump and I was responsible for a small percentage of the price for my current pump. Moving forward on getting a new pump is kind of stressful. The pump rep. has to get into contact with my insurance company and my doctor and, depending on my control of my diabetes, the insurance company has the right to pay for the entire pump or part of it or none of it. If my insurance decides they won't pay for any portion of my new pump, I'm outta luck. If they cover a portion, I think I'll be ok. But I'm hoping that they cover it all. I'll keep you updated.

I'm sure you're wondering why I don't want to continue with my current pump. It's simple, really. The current pump I'm on has not only given me a number of problems (not user error related) to the extent that it has had to be replaced on multiple occasions, but it is no longer covered under warranty. But that's not that bad is it? You wouldn't think so, but if the pump is no longer covered under the warranty, the company will not replace it if it stops working for any reason. The rep. told me that I could pay them $500 to extend the warranty for 1 (get that ONE) month. I'm sorry, but that's a lot of money that I can't really hustle up that quickly for that short of a period. What if I pay that and the pump is fine for a month but then dies the next month? Exactly. I'm not throwing away that kind of money every month- I can't afford to! So I asked her what my other options were. She said that I can continue to use the pump and if and when something happens to it, pay the $500 so that the company will replace it. At that point, I can then upgrade to their latest model and the $500 I gave them to extend the warranty will be applied towards whatever my insurance company doesn't cover. Ok. So that's what I've been doing. I'm on an essentially expired insulin pump, praying nothing happens to it.

How stressful is that? I am completely and utterly dependent on this little piece of technology. It's lovely, really. Battery operated (not some funky weird battery, it takes double A's!) and it's water resistant/proof.

But I can tell it's on it's last legs. The clock is getting slower and slower and the alarms sound worse and worse. It just sounds like it's dieing. Since I had such a horrible experience with this particular pump company the first year I was on it, I am looking at other pumps. I'm refraining from mentioning this company because I don't want to bias or offend anyone that might come across my blog that either loves it or works for them.

I'm looking at the MiniMed Paradigm pump. This nifty little item has more advance features, offering better control of my diabetes and can also be used to with a Continuous Glucose Monitoring system. The pump syncs with a monitor and then responds appropriately with more or less insulin or related alarms. I find this incredibly cool. Not only can I do what I've been doing with my current pump, but this new pump will display a graph of my blood sugar trends for me whenever I please right on it's little display screen! How cool is that?! Not to mention how helpful it will be with my control.

I don't mean to get all techie on you, but this will offer me more options for a better lifestyle.

In the process of obtaining this new pump, I have to answer a lot of questions pertaining to my medical history. Here are a few examples:

What's your date of birth? June 7, 1984.

What type of diabetes do you have? Are you type I or type II? I'm type 1- insulin dependent.

What year were you diagnosed? March of 1986 (they usually come back with "Wow. How old are you again? So, you've never known life without diabetes.")

How long have you been on insulin? (I find this question kind of pointless since I've already explained to the nurse that I'm an insulin dependent diabetic - I can't live without insulin) Since diagnoses- 1986.

How many injections do you take per day? None, I'm already a pump user.

Keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.

love,
Carmen