Mission Dexcom: Accomplished

 

Patient tested, insurance approved.

My Dexcom should be arriving sometime next week.

Backyard Progress

Destruction of old, tiny slab

Framing of new, bigger slab

Concrete truck arrives

Framing complete

 

Making it our own

Work complete

Much better!

Advances to quality of life – at least for a week

In our move south, I’ve had the good fortune of finding some very good healthcare professionals to partner with in the care of my diabetes.  A few months ago, I found a great team of endocrinologists who have encouraged me and paved the way to a trial with a continuous glucose monitoring system. 

Last week, I met with a representative of Dexcom, who set me up with a week trial.

So far, I couldn’t be happier with the way the sensors work, the transmitter – which doesn’t go with my current Medtronic pump, and the overall results.  I’ll be honest:  I haven’t used the Medtronic sensor, it just happened that Dexcom offered first and I am taking advantage of it.  I am sure Medtronic is great as well.

I have read a good bit on CGMS and had the opportunity to petition my insurance for one when I was pregnant with Patrick in 2007, but I opted not to.  At the time, I was working relentlessly for optimal glucose control and I didn’t want to add another thing to the mix.  I was lucky to have a virtually uncomplicated pregnancy at the time, so not having a CGMS wasn’t a factor.

However, over the last two and a half years, I’ve had a few scares with hypoglycemia, one only a month ago, where I was in public and 911 had to be called.  It was a scary event, minimized by the fact that my mother in law was there to call emergency services and another family member was there.  But still, scary. 

Mike has always been on board for tools to help minimize those kinds of lows and as one of my biggest diabetes advocates, has encouraged this trial.  We both want me to be around for a long time and are hoping to minimize both hypo- and hyperglycemia over the years.

This Dexcom seems to be a good answer.  For now.

I plan to petition my insurance company for coverage.  Like most durable medical equipment, it’s not cheap.  The transmitter is about $1000 and each sensor (to be replaced weekly) runs about $100 a pop.  I am hoping the insurance will cover most, if not all, of the cost.  If not, Mike assures me we’ll figure out a way to pay for it. 

The transmitter.  Holding steady.  I love this technology!

Like all things diabetes-related, I have some challenges with the transmitter.  While I don’t feel the sensor in my stomach (it hurt less than a finger stick when it was inserted), the transmitter is loose.  I’ve been carrying it in my pocket and in my purse when I am out, and at night, I sit it on my night table.  My only challenge thus far has been figuring out where to put it when I am doing chores around the house (i.e. cooking, laundry, etc) and wearing something with no pockets.  Sure, if I wind up getting the Dexcom, I will most likely use the holster and hook it to my waistband.   But right now, I am figuring it out.  Things could be much worse, I suppose.

The resemblance is uncanny!

I know I have posted both these photos before, but I was going through some folders on my computer and saw them.

Incredible!

 

Patrick and I at the same age…

The Labratory of a Mad Scientist

Some days, Patrick is great at putting away his toys.  Some days, not so much.

But he’s always good at taking everything out and playing with everything he owns.

The proof is in the pudding:

Not a bad Mr. Potato Head, even though he insisted on a nose for an ear. 

Sometimes, it pays to get mean and yell a little

So… anyone following the blog these days knows that we’ve moved, and along with our move came the purchase of a new home.  A BRAND NEW home just for the three of us!  Exciting, right? 

Anyway… we have this nice backyard  now, something we never had before and are pretty excited to use it.  Our community is relatively new, practically brand new, so there aren’t a lot of fences (although our neighbors had one installed earlier this week – the first on our cul-de-sac) and there’s lot of space for walking around and exploring.

The one thing hindering a lot of our backyard time is the fact that our lawn never came in.  We were told that the area had been seeded and the seeds had been weighed down with pine straw and that we would have some kind of lawn for the spring/summer.  I later heard from some neighbors that the builder was supposed to provide some sprinklers and hoses in order to water the seeds.  Naturally, being a SAHM these days, I got on the phone with the builder and asked why I didn’t have any of those tools to ensure a pretty lawn for the summer.

The builder sent over the housing superintendent buy, who told me that he had taken the hoses from our house, as well as the sprinklers, and given them to my neighbor and never replaced them.  And that just put me on edge – I called the builder back and took it all out on the poor girl on the other end of the phone. 

This morning, they called that a truck was coming to reseed and as long as we kept the seeds moist, we should start to see some growth.  I think I shamed them when I said that more poor son couldn’t enjoy the backyard this summer.  Either way, they were here this morning and my backyard now looks like a big hayride gone wrong.  I’m not complaining, though; I’m actually excited that we didn’t have to fork over cash to reseed our lawn.

Before – patches of grass coming up, but mostly clay underneath.

Today – there’s seed under all that straw

I also started a small garden of herbs and veggies.  For now, they are all in pots.  I have a small pepper growing, which makes me happier than I could have imagined.

I should add that the front lawn has looked good from day we moved in; it’s one of the differences between sod and seeds.  Since our house was already built when we bought, we didn’t have the option of sodding the back, but I can see why people would do that.

We planted some flowers to make things “pop” a little.  Flowers make me smile.  :)

Next week – construction begins on an extension to our backyard patio.  Photos to come as the project begins.

Book Review – Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-Existing Diabetes

 

I’ve never written a book review, and with my blog becoming somewhat of a haven to Patrick these days, I’m not sure who is visiting my blog these days (I’ve been very absent in viewing my analytics and such!).  However, I would be remiss in not mentioning a new book on the medical shelves:  Managing Pregnancy with Pre-Existing Diabetes. 

(Please note I am writing freestyle – when I have time, I will revisit and rewrite!)

Cheryl Alkon of Managing the Sweetness Within has delivered a fantastic resource for all women (and those close to them!) with pre-existing diabetes who want to become pregnant, are pregnant, or are newly diagnosed and want to learn about pregnancy with diabetes.

When I was pregnant with Patrick I wish there had been a resource like this one to help me along the way.  This book is full of information – all told in a friendly, non-scary way.  Cheryl interviewed dozens of women and medical professionals.  She also added years of personal experience, coping with diabetes, pregnancy, and even infertility.

The book reads like a forum of women chatting.  The stories are informative, funny, and heart warming.  The facts are straightforward. 

I had the opportunity to be interviewed for this book many months ago and was naturally excited upon its release.  However, I didn’t realize the scope of the book; the hours Cheryl spent researching, interviewing, and writing.  This is a true testament of her commitment to her diabetes and family.  Congratulations Cheryl!  You have added another wonderful book to my collection.

Please go out and get your book – if you have diabetes and are thinking of starting a family, it’s a fantastic book to keep bedside.  You can get your copy here.

Singing

The Latest Obsession

Just in time for Spring and Summer!  Patrick LOVES getting wet with the sprinklers outside.