Happy 2nd Pump-aversary! (2 year insulin pump review)

Happy Pump-aversary!!

I would've celebrated with (2) small Dairy Queen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards (yes, 2), but I had forgotten today was the day until after DQ closed. I suppose there's always the '2-year, 1 day' anniversary...

It completely slipped my mind until I got an incredible message from a new friend in Canada, more about that later.

So 2 years ago today I made the switch, I took the plunge, I changed course, I....you get the point!!

I was so apprehensive. Very scared. The thought of the added supplies, the changing of the infusion sets every few days, and the tubing....oh....the awful tubing! But I had just reached a point of willingness to try. I was relatively sure it would be a short-lived experiment, but I reasoned, 'if I give it a try I can finally get all those people who harp at me (a.k.a. LOVE ME) off my back.'

You know, people like my wife, my mom and dad, my sisters, my closest friends...people that...don't know me that well?? Apparently that was my though process (crazy in retrospect). Anyway, I gave it a whirl for them, and to combat the erratic blood sugars, constant 'chasing' of highs and lows, crummy, low-energy feelings, and possible onset of complications.

Now, let me break it down here. There have been some monumental events in my life that have shaped me (no, it's not the dairy queen blizzard's I'm referring to here!!).
-I am a Christian, and my relationship with Jesus has been entirely faithful on His end, spotty on mine. Yet it's that relationship and grace that have given me eternal security.
-My marriage is the 2nd most important relationship in the world to me (after the Lord), and I am blessed here as well.
-Every parent knows the birth of your child(ren) is pivotal, as it was for me. Especially our youngest son Nate, who has Down syndrome (read more about him here on my wife's blog).
-The pump.

Yes, you read that right. The Lord, the family, the pump.

And here's something else for you: EVERY relationship is affected by the pump, because when my levels are balanced I am more effective in every context. The pump is that life-changing.

So after 2 years, here's my review:

The insulin pump is the next best thing to the cure. It is so convenient to operate, easy to hide (if you so desire), and masterful at balancing your blood sugars that I firmly believe EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE WORLD that has diabetes should be on it!

Again, look back on this blog. Read my story. I was dead-set against it. I would say, "I'll take 20 shots a day over the pump." Total ignorance.

Do you enjoy shots? I mean, really? For that reason alone, make the switch! But again, it's not about how it looks, whether or not the screen is color, or how easily you can hide it. It's about your quality of life - how you feel.

I have never met a person who has said, "I want to be the worst me I can be." Of course that's lunacy. Who would say, "I want to be a less effective parent?" or "I like my moodiness and short-temper!" The pump WILL help you in all those areas and more. If the pump changed my life, I know it can change yours.

Let me be clear, you will have to learn to use it. It does require you to interact with it. Just like all diabetes management, education is key. But the tools are there for you. Take them, use them, and FEEL BETTER. It's time, NOW, today - no more excuses, no more delays. Do it for your family. Do it for your co-workers. Do it for your friends. Do it for your health.

Here are some of the people I did it for:





Back to the message from Canada. I was so encouraged earlier tonight to receive this e-mail. In part, it reads,

"...You don't know me, but my name is xxxxxxx and I live in Ontario Canada.

I started reading your blog about a year ago and it made me start really thinking about the pump. I had ridiculous A1c's and it was a constant roller coaster. Could never get any semblance of control and always felt like crap (there are other words I should use to describe how I felt).

It has been about 6 months since I started and all I can say is thanks for the blog and the encouragement. We just traveled to Europe for 2 weeks to Norway and Italy and having the pump made the vacation a million times better.

So in closing, I see today was your 2 year anniversary mark and I wanted to say thanks for your posts!

Have a great night and can't wait for the next post...."

That's why ipump is here. That is the vision - to encourage people affected by diabetes all over the world to make the switch to the pump. My story could be yours, or it could be the one listed above.

I want to pause here for a moment and thank those that have patiently waited for me to make this switch - you know who you are. Also, to the many people who either purposely or accidentally stumble across this blog, I am so grateful to you. Your comments and feedback, both publicly and privately are instrumental to this forum.

I love you all!

Summary:
2 year review insulin pump grade: A+

My friends, until next time either get, or keep pumpin....

Medtronic Revel Pump Review

Recently I switched from the 722 to the new Revel.

The Revel has the same feel as the 522/722, as it is the last in the series of Paradigm pumps (Medtronic has some amazing pumps on the horizon...)

Any user of the Paradigm series will be easily be able to adapt and navigate around the new Revel.

There are some additional features that clarify actions (changing your infusion set), that would be especially helpful for the new pumper.

For example, to change your set now, the menu has been renamed "Resevoir+Set." Pressing ACT will lead you to new prompts (Reservoir Set Up, Fill Cannula) as well as the familiar "History."
To change your set, there are now additional (new prompts). For example, the pump asks you if you are disconnected when priming. Then after priming it asks if you see drops (of insulin) at set. Very nice, again - especially for the noobie.

Reducing your Basal rates is also easier. To reduce by %'s (the best way to go), you previously had to do a couple of extra button clicks, but now it's right there for you under temp basal. As an aside, after exercising I reduce my basal rate by about 15% for 6 hours (or more) depending on the time of day. This simple technique has thwarted a LOT of low blood sugars. Try it, you'll see!

Other differences- the design is basically the same. The buttons are the same (placement), just relabeled. You can assuredly tell this pump is in the Paradigm family tree, it just looks like the best looking and most popular sibling!

The main feature that separates the Revel from it's predecessors is the trending feature. In order to use it, you need to be wearing the CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) Sensor. In laymen's terms, here's what the Revel will do:
-When you wear the CGM sensor, one of the parameters you must set up is your high and low alarms. In a nutshell what that means is that when your blood sugar rises to OVER or UNDER the level you set (say 80 and 200 mf/dl respectiveley) an alarm will sound on your pump notifying you that your levels are off. This is VERY helpful in tightening up your control of diabetes! So the Revel takes it one step further with something Medtronic has titled, "Predictive Alerts." What the Revel will do is actually calculate WHEN your blood sugar will either be higher or lower than your preset levels. It is based off the way your blood sugar is trending (up or down), and is calculated considering the current rate of rise or fall. So if you are told your blood sugar is going to be low in 15 minutes, you can act NOW to avoid it.

Now that, my friends, is AMAZING!

My original review of Medtronic and their products still stands. I fully endorse their line, and believe they are the unmatched leader in diabetes treatment and research. Their pumps are incredible, and their service is equally as awesome. My rep, Kevin Scheffen is a personable, caring professional that seeks to help people live better lives through using the latest advancement in diabetes treatment.

The pump has exponentially changed my life for the better. Let it do the same for you and your loved ones, too. No more excuses, no more delays - every day of high blood sugars is a day you cannot get back. It's imperative that you get on the pump, now. You won't regret it, I personally guarantee it.

Until next time, keep pumpin'...

6 month review of the insulin pump

Greetings friends!

It's been 6 months (+ 5 days - but who's counting?!) since my life drastically changed due to the insulin pump. I've learned a lot about the medtronic paradigm system, and I wanted to share my review with you here.

The 'honeymoon' phase of feeling invincible wore off after a few weeks, but in general I cannot compare now to 6+ months ago. A few general observations:

-I sleep much better. I used to always wake up tired and lethargic, no matter how many hours of rest I got. Now I pop out of bed promptly at 5:15 AM daily whistling "It's a wonderful life!" Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but really I wake up feeling refreshed, and that has everything to do with the blood sugar averages thanks solely to the pump.

-I'm less moody. Again, operative word: less! All kidding aside, my overall attitude, motivation, and energy level are much higher. Irritation levels have decreased [ note: that's my irritation level of how I feel, not how much I irritate others - :) ] Why do I hear a booming, "A-MEN" coming from my wife and kids??!

-I like testing my blood sugar. 20+ years of ka-ka-me-me readings makes you a little jaded towards testing. But when you see those normal readings on a consistent basis, you start to think, "hmmm, when can I test again?!"


On to the review:

1. "Low resevoir" means I should change my set soon.
I know, I know - thanks a lot Captain Obvious! But for some reason I think of insulin as liquid gold, and treat it as such. A while back I learned that there's about 10 units of insulin in the primed tubing, so even when the pump reads "0 units left" you still have around 10. Again, I should know better. I had to learn the hard way...I ran out of of insulin (bone dry) in the middle of the night, and awoke at 511 mg/dl. Yes, I said 511. Even when my average was high 511 felt horrible - but when your average is normal, 511 feels like your worst nightmare. Lesson learned.

2. De' ja' flu
I was worried about getting sick and being on the pump. I normally get the flu every few years. Well, I got the flu this year (despite the flu shot), and it was really no biggie (see a previous post). But then, I got it again. Not quite as easy the second time around, but being really sick stresses out the body, and after a day or so I recovered fine. Having the pump actually makes it easier to control the blood sugars while sick, so that's a bonus.

3. The meter & the pump talk.
So you test your blood sugar, and moments later, "voila" your reading is displayed on the pump. Magical (actually, RFID, but still impressive). They say it works up to about 8 feet or so, but the other day I had my pump off (shower) and tested my blood in the kitchen. My pump was in the bathroom - around the corner, down the hall, in the room, take a left, through 3 doors and 2 walls. Suddenly I hear the familiar 'bzzzzz bzzzzz' and I think, "whaaat now?" I look at the pump and there it is, "113." You've got to be joking me...nope, that's how cool this stuff is.

This communication makes taking your insulin easy. And who really remembers to test 2 hours after you last ate...exactly after 2 hours? The pump and meter combo make it a cinch.

4. Dress up.
Medtronic calls them 'skins,' and it's an adhesive you can put on your pump to personalize it. Being baseball season, I now sport the Milwaukee Brewers pump. Ironically, ever since the pump and the brewers got paired, the brewers have hardly lost. Who knew the team needed the paradigm insulin pump?

5. Painless.
I can't remember the last time inserting the infusion set actually hurt. Usually it's totally pain-free, as in I cannot feel it at all. Once in a blue moon it's slightly uncomfortable, but no where near the 'muscle shot' pain. And to think you only have to change it once every 4 days (I mean, 2-3 as they recommend - lol), again: awesome!

6. Care link.
It's a usb dongle that plugs in to your computer (pc only - I've logged plenty of complaints!) that reads EVERYTHING from your pump. Every setting, blood sugar reading, insulin dose, time, carbohydrate value, correction amount, basal, and bolus. As if that weren't cool enough, you can customize a variety of charts and graphs to visually see everything that's happening with your diabetes management. You can go from a daily report up to SIX MONTHS! This tool has been invaluable to me, and helps you identify trends that you might otherwise miss. I can't endorse it more highly.

7. CGMS
Fancy acronym for "continuous glucose monitoring system" which in English means a sensor that you wear that remotely sends your blood sugar to your pump every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day! (that's 288 blood sugars a day!!)

I tried the sensor twice before and we didn't get along well. So many stinking error messages, it caused more anxiety than anything. Now I know how to get around all the drama, and realize it's just the sensor and transmitter courting (who doesn't have a few minor issues while courting?!), it has nothing to do with the pump.

I gave it another try and absolutely love it. Well, mostly love it. See below for what I don't like, but I would definitely endorse it and think it's another great way to get tight control.

Here's my current screen...oh the bliss of the straight line (means blood sugars are steady)..



Notice the 'skin'? Brewer time. Also I have no clue what that is under the ACT button. My guess? Some Reese's Peanut Butter cup derivative...(I love having ratios that work!!)


What I don't like:

1. No back light on the meter.
An obvious design oversight. My one touch ultra smart has one, my one touch ultra has one, the one touch ping pump meter has one...the one touch ultra link does NOT. I've logged my frustration with Life Scan (one touch maker), but they have no plan to resolve the issue. When you test at night, or when out to dinner, or when driving at night, or at the movies....you get the point....YOU CAN'T READ THE SCREEN! So I use my cell phone as a light. Lame.

2. No back light on the pump buttons (halo lights).
Again, I don't know how this went unnoticed. Although the screen lights up beautifully, the buttons themselves do not. Having back lit buttons would ensure the proper buttons are being pressed. This would be an easy fix, and I'm going to photoshop a pic of what it could look like in the future.

3. Insulin delivery is slow.
You wouldn't think it would matter, but if you bolus (take your insulin) before a shower, you may have to wait a bit until you disconnect. If the delivery was faster (ala animas ping), you'd be ready quicker. Not a huge deal, just a minor preference issue.


4. Tubing options limited.
The tubing is what connects the pump and insulin reservoir to your body. The current options are 23" & 41." I use the 23" as I stay around the abdomen for infusion sites. But I could use a 6 or 9" as the pump and site are often just inches away from one another.

5. Care link log book
Although I sang the praises of care link above, the log book feature is useless. I called and made many suggestions for changes, none of which were incorporated. You need to be able to enter blood sugars and notes outside of the defined times, and you can't now. It's not very intuitive or user friendly, and I bypass it altogether.

6. CGMS
Yes, we're happy together now. But I have to admit, it is somewhat finicky and high-maintenance. The thought of the CGMS can be better than the reality of it at times (the CGMS is generally about 20 minutes behind your actual blood sugar). However, through proper calibration and updating, you can get the numbers to be fairly uniform. The errors and hassle therein can be a drawback, but if you simply insert the sensor and connect the transmitter WITHOUT TURNING IT ON on your pump...and leave it in for at least 2 hours before turning on (doing it before bed works best), then when you turn it on, within 15 minutes or so you calibrate and you're off and running (thanks Kevin for that great tip!)

My biggest frustration is keeping it on. The sensor uses adhesive, but the transmitter does not. I've yet to find adhesive that works well for me, and I prefer none at all (although that's risky and I've learned the hard way that the sensor can become dislodged this way rendering it useless).

7. Low blood sugar symptoms
I am much less sensitive to low b/s symptoms than before the pump, because my average is so much healthier now. I still have them, just not as pronounced. Not really something to complain about, more an observation than anything. This is where the CGMS comes in handy!


One final thought....I've noticed many diabetes suppliers and manufacturers believe we hate testing our blood sugar because it hurts. Further, many pump companies think we despise taking shots. My contention is that we don't like testing when control is difficult as more a psychological issue than a physical (pain) issue. Additionally, I never thought needles were a big deal. I mean, sheesh, they're so small and narrow you can hardly feel them at all. Again, a mind (mental) issue.

For me, being on the pump isn't great because of no shots. Before the pump I thought, "I'd rather take 10 shots/day rather than be hooked up to that pump." What you can never imagine until you experience it is how it will affect your...everything.

I'm a better husband, better father, better son, better friend, better man, better child of God, better employee.....

I'm just plain better -

Because of the pump.

So get better, and get pumpin....

100 days

Well, I made it! The first 100 days! It sounds somewhat presidential to do a 100-day review, but I'd like to recap what it's been like:

-I made the switch from insulin injection 'therapy' (taking 4-7 shots per day) to using the Medtronic 522 insulin pump. I was scared and skeptical, but within 24 hours I knew it was the right decision!

-I had many appointments with my C.D.E. (Certified Diabetes Educator / R.N.). I was in constant contact with her, reporting on progress and making slight changes to the new routine. This is an important step, because just like computers have the POTENTIAL to assist us greatly in daily life, the pump will only be as effective as your education and commitment level.

-I endured Prednisone and its negative effects on blood sugars! (see an earlier post)

-I switched from the 522 to the 722 (different model, virtually same pump sans the fact the 722 holds 300 units of insulin vs the 180 of the 522). My 522 was glitchy, so I wanted the larger insulin capacity and made the switch. Again, definitely the right move!

-I got the flu. 

I was wondering how it would all work with the pump, but for me, I ended up just not eating anything, thereby not taking any 'bolus' (short  term) insulin. I let the basal (long term) continue, and it worked like a charm.

-Tried the CGM, and it may not be for me. More about this at a later time. 

-Went to the eye Dr. and got a clean bill of health. This was particularly nerve racking, as last time (2 years ago - tsk tsk) I was told they 'saw something' - a hairline something or other related to Diabetes. 

When I finally (begrudgingly) returned (die to an expired contact lens rx, I got the full works. So when the Doc said 'perfect' I about fell out of the chair! I reminded her about my last appointment, and she checked the chart. "Sure enough," she said, "How are your sugars now?" "Perfect" I responded, and she said, "The spots on the eyes are related to blood sugars. They can GO AWAY if your levels are normal." I told her she just made my month, as I didn't know that, and left a happy camper!

-I no longer dread the doctor. This is big for me.

-I FEEL healthier, have more focus, drive, determination, patience, and energy!

So in review, there have been no negatives and an abundance of positives. Sure, it's been an adjustment, but considering what is at stake, it is incomparable to the benefits!!!

I'd love to hear from you, so please drop me a line.

Stay encouraged, and until next time, I will undoubtedly be pumpin....