Rapid Response. Minimed to the rescue.

So I decided to change out my battery the other day and noticed several cracks around the cap on the main body of the pump.














I called Minimed and asked how serious these were, thinking no big deal, just stay away from water. I disconnect to get in the shower/hot tub any. Well apparently it is a BIG deal. They are overnighting me a new pump. w00t!

Awesome finds

I find some interesting things now and then. Take today for example.

I'm at my local Grocers and about to leave when I see a display with this little jewel.



I just could not resist.

Evil Pizza.

Yesterday was a Blah day. You know the kind of day. "what do you feel like having for dinner?" "Blah I dont know. "you feeling ok?" "Blah."

So my wife went out with her mother to Costco. Now Costco is a great store if you like to purchase items in bulk. And the same can be said for their take home pizza. So I get home from getting the boy and the wife is home and she has brought two of these monstrous pizzas home for dinner. Normally this is a good thing, however I'm not exactly feeling well since I caught this slow cold. (thanks daughter of mine). Now my CK guide says that Costco pizza is about 70 Gm CHO per slice, however is this the in store slice(1/6th of a pie) or the take home slice(1/12th of the pie) and why on gods green earth can't they cut the damn things evenly.

So to make a long story short, I ate 3 take home slices, bolused for about 135gm CHO and still went sky freaking high. then to top it off I slept through my alarm to remind me to test after a correction. All in all not by dest pizza day.

Bad Blogger, No Donut

I realized that I havent posted in a LONG time. Bad, bad, bad me. The problem is, that between financial issues, work, and the recent issues of at work hypos, I havent been in much of a mood to post about anything.

But today I'd like to talk about a few of my coworkers. Let me explain that I work in a small company. Under 100 employees. Of that small sampling about 6 of us have D or D related issues. I'll talk about the other 5 as those who know me already know my story.

Subject 1 is an older male with controlled T1.5. He watches his diet, tests when needed and takes his insulin as often as needed. He's very active and IMHO is a model of a "Good" diabetic

Subject 2 is also older but was diagnosed with D after problems with his liver/pancreas due to alcohol. He has since cut alcohol from his activities and tries to control but doesnt understand the basics of carbs and their relation to his diabetes. He takes his meds daily but doesnt test as often as he should.

Subject 3 was Dxed as T2 very recently and is still new to the game. So far he is doing well with diet and exercise but I feel that he isnt getting good info from his Drs about proper care.

Subject 4 has not been Dxed yet but has classic Reactive Hypoglycemia. Her Drs arent all that concerned which is a shame. She is taking good care of herself and is working on a healthier lifestyle.

Subject 5 is a classic T2 and doesnt care about control. Meds are a necessary evil to her and she only takes them because the Drs tell her too. She eats constantly and doesnt bother to count carbs. Testing is done in the mornings and she is constantly at 180mg/dl or higher, and she thinks that this is ok. No exercise, no control, constant illnesses, and scabs/scars that wont/dont heal.

I dont feel sorry for any of these people. The majority of us accept our lot in life and deal with it accordingly. The last one however makes no attempt at proper control but wants pity when she doesnt feel good. Sorry, not gonna happen. I DO feel sorry for her child though. The child will be the one that gets the worst of it when mommy is hospitalized because of poor control leading to complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, kidney failure, amputations, and or/death. I hope she gets her wake up call before this happens.

In other news, not only am I bad for not posting, but last week I ate chowmein noodles and General Tso's chicken. I guestimated for about 200 carbs and monitored closely every hour for about 4 hours. After that I was at 96mg/dl. Not too bad for a once in a while treat. What can I say, I ♥ chinese food.

New toys for the new year

So a few months back I started collecting junk laptops. Then a few weeks ago my beautiful 19" widescreen LCD died on me. Well the other day I was talking to a friend of mine and told him of my predicament. He offered me a working laptop for my broken monitor and 2 of my junk lappies.

So now I sit here in my room, not at my main computer, and type from my working laptop. Its something that most take for granted but for me its a new experience.

In other news, too many great Icons have passed this year. Eartha Kitt, Forrest Ackerman, Michael Crichton, Isaac Hayes, Estelle Getty, George Carlin, Harvey Korman, Charlton Heston, Roy Scheider, Majel Barrett, and Don Davis. These are just a few. They each had their moments in my life. Please wish them well.

Clinical Trials - New Glucose Meter

First off let me state that yes, I am an idiot. I forgot to take pictures.

Last week I participated in a trial of a new Glucose Meter. This thing was nice. It came from a reputable company with a long history of making good solid meters for us D people. But they decided to raise the bar just a bit.

That's right folks, One Touch is finally turning out a new meter that everyone can use. Allow me to introduce to you, the One Touch Verio.

1. First Impressions

The case for this thing is a little large. It's big. It's thick. We're talking a good 2.5-3 inches thick here. Now they may change this for final release, but for the trials this thing was a even thicker than my UltraLink.

When I opened It I was a bit surprised at the size of the meter. It was relatively small and compact. Dark in color and looked very nice. The color scheme was a welcome change from this companies standard 2 tone look. The standard data port on the bottom, and strip insert site on the top.

Think the Ultra 2 but shaped like the Ultra Smart.

2. Using The Meter

The test strip has been redesigned. No more little black strip. This one is green in color and instead of having a 3 striped end to insert into the meter, this one has 2 prongs. Sample size of 1.0µl has changed to a size of 0.45µl, and its loaded onto the side of the strip instead of the tip.

Now for the best part. No Code!!!! That's right. No more playing with buttons to get the code onto your One Touch meter. In other words, The people have spoken and One Touch has finally listened.

Results appear in the standard 5 second time frame and are accurate to within ±15% of standard lab values. This is an improvement over the previous ±20% of the standard One Touch family of meters.

This meter also allows for alternate site testing from the palm or the forearm.

After testing you can enter flag info such as before/after meal, exercise, hypo, illness, etc.

3. Control Solutions

This time One Touch has released 3 solutions for control testing and they can be a bit confusing. The print on the vials is small but not impossible to read.


Pros.
Smaller sample size. - 0.45µl mg/dl
Backlight
No Code

Cons.
No strip light.
No IR/radio communication with pumps.

4. Overall

This is a nice meter though its a rehash of the Ultra 2 with a few much needed improvements. I found it very easy to use and was quite happy with how the results matched up to my UltraLink.

I look forward to seeing this meter on the market.

Fun, fun, fun.

Hello folks. I started into a clinical trial yesterday. I'll tell you about it as soon as I'm allowed.(nondisclosure agreement)

Work has been picking up as well as my mood. I've been going through a bit of a slump lately. Nothing too dark just feeling like I'm in a rut. But lately things are starting to look up. So here's hoping.