“Rotating sites? Hell yeah, I rotate.” … sort of. I’m good about rotating my pump and CGM (continuous glucose monitor) sites, but I’m decent, at best, about exploring new real estate. Most of the time, I use my outer thigh or lower back/hips for my CGM, going back and forth between those four areas. This sounds like proper rotating, in…
ALL NEW Jerry the Bear Revealed.
Diabetes Products, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, Robot LifeMy daughter loves Jerry the Bear. And not because he’s this fancy teddy bear aimed at teaching children about type 1 diabetes. She doesn’t care a whole lot about that. She likes that Jerry is soft and cuddly and has a friendly face, and that he also needs her to give him food and check his blood sugar. Birdy getting…
In almost ten years of using a CGM, I’ve never, ever had this happen. This morning, when I went to insert a new Dexcom sensor, I followed all the usual protocol: Put a Toughpad down against clean skin, place the sensor adhesive against the Toughpad, and then insert the sensor right through into my skin, allowing the giant needle to…
Longest Dexcom Break in Six Years.
Dexcom, Diabetes and Emotions, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, Robot Life“Is it because of the skin thing?” he asked, watching me put the transmitter and receiver on the bedroom dresser. “Yeah,” I replied, only it wasn’t exactly the truth. Sure, my skin had some pretty irritated patches from the constant application/reapplication of my CGM sensors, but it was manageable, especially if I was more diligent about rotating my sites. But…
Last week, I was up in Boston visiting with Ed Damiano to hear some updates on the bionic pancreas (now known as the iLet – more on that later meeting this week), and our meeting ended late in the afternoon. Which means I climbed into my car to make the drive home on Route 93 south towards Rhode Island at…
Guest Post: Does Diabetes Tech Assist or Insist?
Diabetes Online Community, Diabetes Products, Guest Diabetes Blogger, Robot LifeSeveral years ago, I “met” DCScribe (who remains mostly anonymous) on Twitter and he and I did not see eye-to-eye on much, aside from sharing the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. For a while, the lack of common ground frustrated me because I identify with and bond over experiences, but then I realized the alternative viewpoints he provided were not…
Sometimes it’s an insulin pump infusion set that starts to peel back. Other times it’s a Dexcom sensor that gives up on the edges and needs reinforcement. And there are times when you just need a band-aid for one of those rogue blisters that pops up. Which is why I keep little slips of Opsite Flexifix tape tucked into my…
Untethered, After a Fashion.
Dexcom, Psychosocial Support, Pumping Insulin, Real Life Diabetes, Robot LifeAround 8.30 am, I took an injection of Levemir. At about 9 am, I switched my basal profile to “OTHER” and disconnected my insulin pump. The OTHER profile has me at 0.025U basal rate per hour (as close to zero as I can get on my pump) but still holds all my other settings. I kept the pump in my…
“Can I lay here?” I pointed to the almost-available section of the couch, where if Chris moved his legs juuuuust a little bit and Siah got her fat furry butt off the cushion, I could curl up and let my brain go quiet after a full day of writing. “Sure thing,” and Chris adjusted his body. “No,” was the message…
Yesterday, my daughter and I went to the beach (with my mom and my aunts and half of the state of Rhode Island) and I wore a bathing suit. I also wore a CGM sensor on my thigh and an insulin pump infusion set on my arm, connecting to the insulin pump clipped to my bathing suit. There were a…
[You can read my Dexcom disclosures here.] The low alarm slammed into my ears from across the bed, coming from my Dexcom receiver on the bedside table. A half second later, it echoed from my cell phone, where the SHARE app threw out a loud warning of its own. LOW. I reached over and clicked on my phone, which was…
Am I a crumb because I want to rip my devices off sometimes and throw them into a great, blue hole? Like this one? My skin is so irritated by the adhesives and intrusions of my insulin pump and my CGM that the desire to heave them into this abyss is intense. the Great Blue Hole – I look at…