About 10+ years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I have a poor genetic profile that might have contributed to my pre disposition or maybe just my poor daily habits and lack of movement. Not sure which. I am not inclined to beast mode and run and jump with the rest of people and my advancing age certainly contributes to that lame excuse but...here I am.
So excuses aside, I actually watch my blood sugar like a hawk. Over the years I had access to several wonder drugs and treatments that pretty much dried up when I started Medicare. After reviewing my list of medications pre Medicare, and finding several would cost me over $600 a month, I opted for insulin therapy. It’s not that I don’t make insulin, I’m just resistant to insulin in general. This causes my blood sugar to rise despite meds that kick the crap out of my pancreas. So, the administration of exogenous insulin seems to help.
I started my journey with a few victories, a few let downs and now I am just trying to stay the tide. I’ve had some success with mechanical pumps and sensors so that’s the route I am traveling today. While the clockwork pump V Go 40 served me well for a few years, I was not getting the precise control I wanted and a month ago I abandoned the device for an Omnipod device and switched sensors to a Dexcom G6. I was using a FreeStyle Libre sensor but had issues with accuracy.
My buddy Andy is 30 years my junior and a muscle head but we share a common diabetes thread and advice with each other. I embarked on this new therapy territory that he had been using for a while.
So, with insulin capped at $25/month I fill my Omnipod with 200 units that will only last me 2 days, not the three days the company touts. My basal rate is high, 3 units an hour, combined with my boluses I use all 200 units in about 48 hours. The great thing now is that my G6 is monitored by my phone widget. Alarms are set for high BS alerts over 200. I can then ask my Omnipod pump to calculate my bolus dose, based in my carb intake and current BS reading. I can then ask it to deliver all at once or aver a set amount of time. Don’t be fooled, I still monitor my carb intake in detail and can pretty much tell you within a gram or two how many carbs are in any given food. I eat light everything when it comes to breads, pastas and hidden carbs in Chinese food, BBQ sauces and the like.
So...how am I doing? The goal for me is to stay in target at least 70% of the time. My target is between 70 and 180. I like to keep it in a narrow range between 80 and 140 and this system really helps maintain that range. Currently I enjoy a target of 75-85%. Doing well, thanks for asking.
My journey is anything but typical. My boy Ben is a DNP Hospitalist in Council Bluffs. He says it is rare for most type 2 my age to have any idea what their last sugar was or even when they last checked. His patients ride well over 200 or more and suffer all the ills associated with having a BS that high. Apparently, I am amongst other things, a bit anal retentive but in a good way maybe.
