Sunday, May 25, 2014

Decisions, decisions

I got a piece of mail yesterday that brought unwelcome news.
It was a flyer from Activa Brand Products. It said that due to new regulations regarding sterilization of vial adapters, both Activa and Medi-Jector have stopped selling supplies.
However,  Activa is trying to figure out if they might be able to continue, with raised prices, so they are asking for people to commit to supporting the company.

Now, I don't really think I'm gonna stick with pumping. The sensors have misled me and resulted in me getting extremely high blood sugar twice recently (pump read 87 and meter said 357; pump said 60 and meter said 436). I've had numerous lost sensors recently.
The number of sites that work for me is too limited for the infusion sets and the sites are not healing well. Absorption is slower than with shots. I have a lot more highs. And I just don't much like it.


Buuut... it actually has made  dealing with lows easier. LOTS easier! Both the low suspend and the ability to turn down basal help.

 So I was thinking I might wait and get an A1c (I'm way overdue- working full time makes it harder to find time for doctor visits) and see where it's at so I can think about whether or not the highs are as problematic as I think they are (I'm guessing my A1c is up by more than a point and less than a point and a half).

I've also been thinking it might be good to use the pump to allow me to experiment with NPH. 

And wondering if I'm stuck with the pump for a while longer because I don't think insurance will want to pay for a new Dexcom for me within a year of me starting on this pump (could be wrong on that score).

So, thinking about the jet: with the raised prices, it's probably only economic for me to get membership and buy from Activa if I order a lot of years of supplies. On the jet, I need very few supplies partly because my insulin needs on shots are only about 70% of my insulin needs on the pump (nope, my insulin needs have not dropped- still taking about 45 units per day pumping vs  32 I was averaging on shots). But I kind of feel like keeping the jet injector business going is a good thing.

Thoughts, anybody?

1 comment:

Mike Hoskins said...

No expert by any means, but you could try to just go with the pump and not CGM for a bit and see how that goes. Certainly doesn't address the absorption and site issues, but it would alleviate any CGM sensor accuracy concerns. I've heard many say they aren't happy with the MM 530G and are often frustrated, but still like the pump tech itself. And who knows, maybe after a while you could explore the Dexcom and just having the two devices -- Dex CGM and MM pump -- in use. Hope it steadies out for you soon. Best your way.