Insulin Pump Users

I wrote to Fourcats:
>>>>We often *don’t care* because it’s a losing battle! We aren’t going to win
anyway. Dr. will say *try harder* w/o giving us tools and working WITH us. It
boils down to an insulin/carb ratio. A non-DMer eats something and the
pancreas takes care of it. A DMer eats something and must inject/infuse the
proper amount to take care of it. >>>

What we need here, is for the Dr/CDE to give us the knowledge of what works -
trial and error. Not blame or accusations of *You can do better/try harder.*
The ones saying that are often not DMers themselves. IF they are, then
something worked for them and we need to know what/how. Since our bodies are
malfunctioning, it isn’t something that *just caught on.* Somehow, some way,
something worked. With the tools we have today: Humalog, home BGs, ketone
tests, pumps, we can finally achieve - with help/education - a more normal
range of BGs.
(more…)

Hey everyone,
Just a little celebratory note from me! I’ve been to see my nurse (basically
my primary care physician, as the UK system means that unless you are very
ill you don’t see your endo more than 2 times a year, NOT a good system, not
matter how good your endo is), who told me that my lat HBa1c was 6.9 Wooooo
hooo almost a year of the pump and they’ve not been more than .2 from 7
either up and down over that time. You can get away with day to day
fluctuations! I was worried about a couple of really high BGs (350, 312),
but they seem to have not made a long term difference, good for the pump.
And on the subject of monitoring, I use the One touch profile and with their
software, and go through the printouts with the nurse, it means that I NEVER
write anything down, it all just goes into the meter!
Nicola
(type 1 15 years, pump 1 year, 25 years old)

Complaint lodged in hospital death

By Sheba R. Wheeler
Denver Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 - Officials at Denver Health Medical Center are
investigating a family’s complaint that paramedics and hospital staff
mistreated their relative the night he died.

Family members of John Stacey Houston, 37, of Denver are also seeking an
autopsy independent of the one done by the Denver coroner’s office because of
apparent discrepancies over what killed him.

Houston, 37, a diabetic, suffered an apparent
low-blood-sugar attack on March 31 and died about 45 minutes after he arrived
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In reply to Chrissy
When I first found this group I was so frustrated! I cried a lot, couldn’t go
to work (well, teaching in Ontario, Canada is VERY
depressisng these days), and, after 42 years of feeling pretty good about taking
care of myself, was very angry at my body betraying
me.

This group has HELPED ME A LOT! You suggested I not panic, that I read this and
that… In general, it has been so good to know
that, at last, I am not alone with this f—–g disease. I still need to let my
own anger out but, you know, what else can we do. Someone
wrote recently about just wanting to give up. Do we know about that manouver???
Yes! I decided on a recent holiday to Cuba (yes,
Canadians can go there!) that since the alternative to not taking care of myself
was death, I would take a little holiday. In Cuba, for 2
(more…)

Wow! I’ve had a lot of wonderful responses!

As far as hormone fluctuations…I already know my pattern there, IF
I ever settle back down. The initial treatment for the cardiac
autonomic neuropathy (CAN) threw me way out of whack. Last month
seemed like it was closer to normal, so this month will be the
determining one. I know that I have to go to a higher basal pattern
for the 4-5 days immediately before, and a lower basal the first 3
days of my period. I had actually gotten brave enough to program the
patterns into the pump back in August, then in September they put me
on a new medicine and everything went CRAZY!

With the anger/frustration…Boy do I hear that! Sometimes I think
that individuals with terminal illness have the advantage in this
area (but only this area!) They only have to go through
(more…)

Last week when I asked the MM rep about the AccuChek Complete program
for pump users, she confirmed that the program expired. She also
recommended that I call Roche and see if they would send me a meter. I
know that many times the companies are more than willing to give away a
meter because they make the money from the strips. Anyway, I called
Roche and the rep there confirmed that the program had just recently
ended. He suggested I call MM, who was willing to send a meter as long
as insurance paid for it, which they won’t. Anyone have any suggestions
on how to get an AccuChek Complete without spending mega bucks? Having
a meter that does double duty as a meter and log for carbs, insulin,
etc. would mean I wouldn’t have to carry around my log sheets or book
too. I really don’t want a bigger purse for all of this stuff.

Connie & Dot

Okay…

First I am on humalog…have been since I started pumping 4 years
ago. It has made a huge difference, since my Regular insulin length
of action was different from day to day…and always lasted much
longer than the expected time. We never could get it so that it
didn’t complicate the NPH peaks! But even on the Regular I had to
wait until AFTER I ate a meal to dose because if I dosed even as
starting to eat I would have reactions.

Second, I have the book…not the most recent version but 2 copies of
the previous one(s). The information is hard to adjust to my
situation because of the erratic swings.

We have been trying to eliminate the lows for the most part…which
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Hello everyone,

I am new to this list. My mother is a diabetic and I am collecting information
on her behalf. Could someone relay their feelings about the benefits of using
the insulin pump versus injections. Also, which is most cost effective to the
diabetic? So much of this is new to us and we have several questions. Thank you
for any assistance you can give.

Jenny

Kroger pharmacies have a sale this week (at least in my vicinity). With the
purchase of a box of 100 Comfort Curve strips, you get an Accu-Chek Advantage
meter free ($59.99 value).

Also, Staples has a Visioneer 4400 scanner ($79.99) for $9.99 after $60.
rebates and sale.

These sales are both good ’til 4/14/01.

I believe there are some visually-impaired members on this list. I received
this from another list and thought I’d share:

THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND.

Video description: Facts and Future.

What is video description?

Video description is the use of narration during
natural pauses in dialog to let a person not able to see the
screen know what is happening. If there is music playing,
for example, and the bad guy leaves an envelope in an
obvious hiding place and then shows up at a meeting of the
National Security Council8 a visually impaired viewer would
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