The Alerts Just Keep on Coming…

June 4, 2024 ~ JodiLea

My new insulin pump gets data from the CGM (blood sugar monitor) and adjusts the insulin rate accordingly. It is like I have a working pancreas most of the time. Some settings must be adjusted, and I must do my part by entering carb data. Until those things become routine, I have alarms going off day and night. That’s right—an alarm alerts me if my glucose is too high. I will give myself insulin to correct the high. Now, I get alerted to the fact that my glucose is dropping too quickly. OK.

The next alert is because my glucose levels are dangerously low. To treat this, I must eat/drink sugar. Then, the whole cycle starts over. My daily chart looks like the Himalayas. I don’t mind the alarms/alerts so much, but my puppy freaks out when she hears them. My hubby usually hears them before they wake me up, so he is annoyed. With me.

When anything beeps or buzzes in my house, everyone looks at me—like I am the only thing that beeps! The dishwasher, washing machine, computers, and telephones also make noise. Since the equipment is also new to me, I can’t be sure if it’s me or something else. I do know one thing: I’m exhausted.

I put the equipment on silent, so most of the alerts don’t sound. However, the critical ones bypass any volume setting and blare at max decibels. Since I must keep the sensor reading equipment within 20 feet of my person, this is quite jarring. Imagine how unnerving it is to sit next to me in a quiet meeting when my blood sugar begins to tank. It actually unnerves everyone in the building, but the closer you are to the source (me), the worse it is.

Technology has done wonders for diabetics to become more balanced and healthy. I have to wonder, though – is it eroding my mental health to live like this?

TTFN

Insulin Pump Saga: Paperwork

December 28, 2013 ~ JodiLea

Now that the hardest part is over (making a decision), you need to fill out the many forms to apply for the pump of your choice.

And I don’t mean the pump manufacturer’s forms. (Those are a breeze, and you have phone numbers to call or their websites to visit.) It’s your doctor’s Medical Facility that runs the background check on you. They don’t really need to do that after you have filled out their 12-page form.

Then… You need to sign up for pump-initiation classes. These are only held once a month, and NEVER are they convenient. Like on the day your husband has surgery, or your aunt’s 90th birthday, 2 states away.

It’s not like I can just drop in to take a make-up class. I drive for 3-hours just to get to the training facility. An hour or two there, then 3-hours home, usually in the dark. Yes, I know. “Have a little cheese with your whine,” you are thinking – and rightly so.

Somehow when I’m tired and run down, my rants morph into whines. As a mother, I learned quickly how irritating whining is when you listen to it. Or, in this case read it.

So I will send myself to bed for some much-needed post-holiday sleep. Right after I finish up some paperwork. 😉

Um, Where Was I?

September 15, 2011 ~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

September is National Menopause Awareness Month…

Did I forget to mention the forgetfulness? It would not surprise me…

I tend to be a little absent-minded when I’m focused (obsessed?) on one particular task. However, I am starting to forget the unforgettable, and this scares me. What I mean is, forgetting important things in my daily routine, like taking the medication I’m supposed to, when I’m supposed to. Because it’s what is keeping me alive.

Earlier this week I did my morning routine and got to work on time as usual. About an hour later it suddenly occurred to me that I had not given myself my morning dose of insulin. Holy crap!

“What is wrong with me?!” I asked myself, in my whiny voice.

“Why can’t I remember anything?” I later asked my doctor. She tells me it’s just another symptom of – you guessed it – menopause.

I want to menoSTOP !. This menopausing thing is not working out so well. Those people who tell me, “Oh, it’s not going to kill you”, do not know what they are talking about. Because it could.

Hubby says I just have Alzheimer’s, which only runs in his family, BTW. I would find that amusing, except now I’m worried about his mental state. What is he forgetting? Our 23rd anniversary is quickly approaching.

He better not forget that 😉