New meter, again.

I use pretty much whichever meter is integrated with my Medtronic insulin pump. It keeps things simple. First they gave me a B-D Link Meter, then about two years later they switched to One-Touch Ultra Link, and now they are paired up with Bayer. A few months ago they shipped me a Contour USB Next Link. Yep, next is right.

The Next Link is supposed to be more accurate, and it has a USB connector right on it, and works to upload your pump data. So, you don't need another device to upload your stats to the Medtronic CareLink reports website. It's pretty small too.

All that said, I'm not totally flipped over it. There are definitely some things I like about it, but unfortunately the things I don't like about it pop up every time I use it.

Operation:
My old Linked meters used to just send the test results directly to the pump and initiate a conversation about a correction, if needed. This one asks me every time if I want the results to be sent to the pump. Every time... I have to decide. It also asks me upon each test whether this is a before meal test or an after meal test, I always push "no mark" because... I really don't care... (my pump already has all the meal times programmed so I can look at that data later). So, before I can see my darn numbers I have to answer questions, and then I have to tell it to send the results to my pump. I'd love to skip the questions and just get on with it. This is a major weakness with this meter, for me... I've thought that maybe it can be programmed to skip this stuff, but I haven't investigated. (I just did and found that you can either "never send results", or "ask me".)

Okay, other factors... 

• Despite the meter being small, the case is just as big as other meters have been. This is okay for me, because I always try to keep my Symlin pen with my meter, and it barely fits in the case. 
• The elastic strap that holds the meter in place is flimsy and cuts right across the middle of the screen. This is weird. 
• The zipper on the case opens in an unintuitive way so that whenever I unzip it, my meter is upside down. It's like you have to forget all you've ever known about books, left to right, and top to bottom.

Some good things...

• I like the color screen.
• The results are quick, once you answer the requisite questions and finish getting annoyed. 
• The test strip container is big enough for you to get your finger into the container and drag a strip out. I've had a few meters where you had to shake them out.
• The meter has a rechargeable battery that you can recharge less than once a month by attaching the USB connector to your computer. My other meters only needed batteries about once a year, so this isn't necessarily an upgrade.
• Accuracy? I tested this meter against my One Touch Ultra Link a few times and didn't find  much of a discrepancy. I think it may just be a reason to get users on board with the change, but in the end it probably isn't that significant, considering that the accuracy standards for meters are rather soft (+/- 10%). The change probably had more to do with business relationships and money than accuracy. Maybe I'm just jaded?

That's what I have on this. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has thoughts on this change. And if you know how to make it more convenient to operate, let me know...

Update: After messing around with the settings a bit, I was able to turn off the "before meal/ aftermeal" questions. Now I just have to test and send reading to my pump. It's not as annoying, but still kind of unnecesary.

An easy study...

Through myGlu.org I am participating in a study about infusion site changing and the length of time it takes before your insulin absorption is affected. It's a pretty easy study, and sometimes I wish I could explain why my glucose was high on waking up (eating dessert usually). But, it's one of those things that is good to see the trends and what might be going on.

They are only collecting info on when you change your site, your fasting BG, and your total insulin needs each day. Well, my food intake and activity is pretty variable these days, so it's hard to tell what trends are site related. Even so, I think I can see a pattern. I almost always change my site based on when I think my insulin isn't acting as effectively as usual. So, I'm already aware of the infusion site factor. I usually find this happens at about day 6-7. 

Summer Update

With the busy school year taking over my focus for the past few months I haven't spent as much time with diabetes blogging or even thinking very proactively about my glucose control. I guess this is going to happen sometimes. I'm glad to stay that I survived my first year of doing the high school yearbook, and a few days ago we submitted our final pages, and it's done.

On the blood sugar front, I've slipped into a more reactive management style. Just taking more insulin when my levels aren't quite right and not really wondering "why" as much. My consumption of some starches in the evening meal hasn't been working out that well either. I was getting away with it 6 months ago, and now it seems like it is one of the factors that throws things off.

Now that I'm home and have a lot of control of my schedule and activity I've noticed that my glucose climbs at different times of the day for no apparent reason. If anything, I thought that my insulin needs would have gone down in the low-stress, warm month of June. I think my basals need to be tweaked. I'm uploading my sensor and pump data right now, so I can analyze it.

Soon, I will write about: my off-label use of Symlin, the Contour Link meter, and a few other things I've been thinking about.

Something to blog about...

Yesterday around 9am my blood sugar started to climb. It wasn't that unusual, being morning and all. But, when it reached the 200s I started taking aggressive correction boluses, and I kept going with it till I got home from work. By this time it was 418 md/dL and I was feeling pretty lousy. So, I drank a lot of water, skipped dinner, replaced my reservoir, and changed my set.

While changing my set I realized what went wrong. The needle had broken off and insulin was no longer making it into the inside. And the needle? Yep, still inside. I'm going to see if it causes discomfort. I searched online and it doesn't seem like this is a very common problem. I have used these sets for years now and never had any problems with them.

Well, I'm happy to say by 9pm (12 hour tour) I was back to 123 mg/dL and was feeling pretty normal. The unresolved part is that needle that just became part of me. It made me considering taking a break from the pump for the first time in a while...

An unpleasant break in the routine...

On Monday I missed work, and I'm pretty sure it was the first time I've called in sick because of something remotely diabetes related.

During the night on Sunday my glucose level climbed to 350 mg/dL and I was awakened at 3:15am feeling overheated and clammy, and wasn't able to get back to sleep. I tested and took one of the largest boluses I've taken in a while. An hour later I was still in the 300s. Another bolus... and an hour later, with no real progress, I swapped out my infusion set and reservoir. By 5:45 AM I had been over 200 for several hours and was feeling truly lousy. In addition to the normal hyperglycemia symptoms, I was feeling nauseous and had no appetite. I felt like I had the flu. My stomach was gurgling and churning. I called in sick and started crafting my sub plans.
By 7:00am my glucose levels were under 200 mg/dL and I fell asleep. I slept for three hours and woke up feeling much better, with my blood sugar reading 130 mg/dL.

I'm not sure if a stomach bug caused me to go high, or if my infusion set wasn't working properly, but either way my symptoms were both gastrointestinal and high blood sugar. It was unpleasant and I hope to avoid it in the future. It made me realize that I am lucky that these type of complications don't arise more often.

CGM life

I use my continuous glucose monitor ALL the time.

I've found that, when I'm using it, I am more likely to head off rises before they get too high. When I hit 130 mg/dL I bolus and I'm able to turn it around. The days that I have taken a day off are almost always days that I spend more time out of range. All that to say, it's become one of my essential tools for keeping me where I need to be throughout the day. (Notice I didn't say night?)

However... it has caused me some problems too. It wakes up my wife at night. And, it's not to save my life. There are many unnecessary alarms at night, and they don't wake me up. The sound it makes is too high-pitched for me to hear. Carol hears it, and it completely interrupts her sleep. When I say unnecessary alarms, I'm not kidding... Normally the alarms that are waking her/us up are for calibration, low-reservoir, or low battery. It's the kind of stuff that can wait a few hours till morning.

Since these types of alarms are not "live-savers", I've chosen fitful sleep for both of us. A few months ago I discovered the setting called "silence all alerts". It's perfect. I set it for a duration of 8 hours and the thing shuts up completely till I get up in the morning. It's basically saved our co-sleeping marriage. But... I have to remember to do this every night before going to bed, and I  resent it. I feel like I already have enough pre-slumber tasks that I have to remember... take the dog out, lock the doors, turn out the lights, test blood sugar, calibrate the sensor... silence the alerts.

Here's what I think Medtronic should do to get this right:
I need a louder, lower frequency alarm, so that people with high-frequency hearing loss can hear it. The alarm is like a mosquito ring-tone that my kids can hear from the next room, and I can't hear from 2 ft. away. My students can hear it and I can't. If I'm in a noisy environment I don't hear it. To be honest, because it also vibrates, I don't really need to hear it. Most of the time, I've gotten the vibration alert, read the screen and then ignored it... and then it starts freaking out...

We should be able to choose time periods when we want certain alarms to be active. During sleep, I don't want petty calibration alerts to wake me. The data collected is not more important than sleep. I am glad I have the option to "silence all alerts" while sleeping, but I have to do it every darn night... and if I forget, I'm in trouble with my beloved.

The "new sensor" warm-up period is poorly timed. It requires a 3 hour warm up before calibration, and then asks for a second calibration in 3 hours. This means that if you start a new sensor, or re-start an old sensor, within 6 hours of going to bed (so for me, after 3pm) I will be awakened by another calibration request in the middle of the night. The only way I can get by this is by turning the sensor off until the morning, or silencing the alerts.

Oh, and also... I'm looking forward to not hitting large blood vessels with the sensor harpoon and dribbling blood for 10 minutes. It doesn't happen that often, but once every 6 weeks is often enough. I hear that the recent developments make this an outdated practice. I can't wait to get with the times. I'm patiently waiting for Enlite.

January- first 30 days of 2013

I'm going to report my summary numbers. I have gotten in to a routine with my diabetic management, and there haven't been too many surprises or discoveries lately. Well, maybe a few minor ones...

Average sensor glucose: 144 mg/dL.
Standard Deviation: 55
TDD Insulin: 30.8
Basal: 18.9

I stopped taking Alpha Lipoic Acid and Evening Primrose Oil. They are insulin mimetics which I have been taking for some time. I decided to stop taking them for a while because they are a bit expensive. I found that when I stopped taking them my insulin demands went up for about 4 days, and then settled back close to normal. I know there may be some other benefits to the supplements, but, for now, I'm going to see how I fare without them. I am taking very little beyond insulin and Symlin now.

I am a little shocked that I made it this far into a flu season without getting a cold or flu. At work I've seen kids out for a series of days quite regularly, so I know there are certainly some bugs going around. It's been over a year since I've had any viral stuff.

As I look at my sensor data I'm seeing some trends that show that I may need to look at my basal rates and make some adjustments. I think my higher trends are at the same times of day, normally around dinner time and afterwards. I'm noticing a dawn phenomenon trend as well.

At work they are offering health screening blood panels for free. I will probably participate because it will give me another metric to look at for a1c and whatnot.

My cardiologist recommended that I see his colleague for my recent six-month "check-up". It was like starting over again... he was looking at my condition like it was a brand-new mystery. He wants to confirm my diagnosis and has requested that I wear a monitor for 30 days. I'm fine with experiments and information gathering... but, if it's just for kicks? I think it's a bit inconvenient to wear a 12 lead monitor for a month just to confirm my diagnosis from a year ago, with no changes in treatment. So, I'm going in to get the monitor today... Also, how do you take a shower?

The medication they have had me on for the last year has been working well lately. It's a super low-dose and doesn't have any side-effects. I'm finding that when I don't have gluten in my life, I don't have any a-fib episodes. I'm pretty happy with the current program.