When your doctor tells you they want you to go on the pump, or they want you to change your blood sugar meter, or they want you to get a continuous glucose monitor, or any other diabetic devices, how do you decide what to get? Do you just get what the doctor tells you to get, or do you go out and start shopping around like you would for a new TV or a new car? Should you get a Medtronic Minimed, an Animas Ping, or an Omnipod? Maybe you’re looking for info about the Dexcom G4 vs. the Medtronic Guardian? Many people ask their doctors for advice. Some will do their own research by calling manufacturers, or looking up magazine reviews, and now in todays age, people will Google for information about the diabetic device they need. What’s the best way to do your research though? How will you find out the secret little things that no sales rep, doctor, or nurse will know or tell you?
Well here is my opinion about doing research for diabetic devices. Ask people who use them. Certainly doctors will be full of info they’ve been trained on by the manufacturer reps, and the manufacturer reps will tell you all the reasons their product is better than the competition, but the people who will tell you the honest truth about a product, are the people who it. Doctors will skew you towards the products from the manufacturers who bring them donuts, cookies, and coffee more often, the manufacturer reps won’t tell you about the “known issues” with their product because they want you buy it, but the people who use it, will tell you EVERYTHING. The good and the bad.
How do you find the people who use the products? In local diabetes support groups, in JDRF meetings, at diabetes walks, and ONLINE. The diabetes online community is jam packed full of people who just love to rave about their devices. Just go to Twitter and search for the hashtags #doc, #dsma, #review, etc, and you’ll find people who can help. You can also of course do Google searches for personal reviews written by real diabetics like me. For instance, if you go to Google and type in “dexcom review” or “medtronic guardian review” or “dexcom vs. medtronic”, your going to find this blog in the top 10 search results. I love to promote my Dexcom, and I’m not a fan of the Guardian! I really should work for Dexcom I think. Hey Dexcom, wanna hire me?! LOL!!!
I have only 3 diabetic devices. My Medtronic Minimed pump, my Dexcom CGM, and my One Touch meter. My Medtronic pump I got simply because it’s the one my doctor at the time recommended, and it’s the only one they were trained on in her office. That was in 2006. I’ve stuck with it over the years because it’s never failed me. Not once. In fact, I’ve only had 2 pumps in those 7 years, and the one I have now is only a year old. That means my pump with a 3 year warranty lasted 6 years, and it still works! Why would I change, right? My Dexcom I got because of the failure of the Guardian I had. I got the Guardian because it was matched to my pump. It was horrible. The #doc was full of people posting about how they love Dexcom though, so I did some research, read some personal reviews, asked some people who use it about their experience, and couldn’t be happier with it. My One Touch I use because I’ve used it for more years than I can remember. Insurance sends me new ones every once in a while, and I just keep using them.
Well, I hope you found that bit of perspective helpful. Happy shopping!!!
This post is my June entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2013/june-dsma-blog-carnival-3/
So I don’t usually get really excited for Valentines Day because like Halloween (Samhain), it’s usually surrounded by candy and chocolate. So if not chocolate or candy, what? What could you get a diabetic, that would convey your love, friendship, or affection. What you get someone might depend on the level of your relationship with them. Of course flowers would be a good choice. Even some guys I know enjoy flowers. One of my guy friends even breeds champion orchids. Most girls I know like flowers and especially red roses, well . . . 1 girl I dated didn’t. She liked black roses. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find black roses? OMG! (I’m so busted if she reads this.) Anyway, so flowers are nice. A heartfelt card, with some poetic words that convey something you can’t convey in your own words. These are all nice non-food gifts, but I think what really makes a Valentine special, is a small token made by ones own hand. Something you’ve put your loving energy into. A flower or plant you’ve grown yourself, a piece of jewelry you’ve hand crafted, a poem you’ve written, a piece of art you’ve created. Those are what I think make the most meaningful Valentines gifts . . . for anyone . . . and they work great for a diabetic friend or loved one since they have no carbs. *chuckle*
This is my first ever entry into the DSMA blog carnival. Ok, so lets get this done. In 2013, I’m striving for an A1C of 7.0 or below. In all my life as a type 1 diabetic, I never really even understood what that A1C score was for. Never paid attention to it. I only got it checked every few years or so, by doctors that had no clue about how to treat type 1 diabetes. I never really lived my life like a diabetic. Didn’t even know what an endocrinologist was, until my cardiac arrest in the summer of 2003. I didn’t even start to understand my diabetes until after my cardiac arrest, and it wasn’t my doctors that got me interested in understanding it, it was bodybuilders! When I went through cardiac rehab, that got me hooked on exercising, so I found a trainer . . . . . that just happened to be a competitive bodybuilder. 
That’s him off the right. That was in late 2003. I surrounded myself in that lifestyle, although I wasn’t a bodybuilder. It was those bodybuilders who began to teach me about insulin. Bodybuilders understand insulin better than most diabetics, and even better than most endocrinologists. I began to understand metabolism, exercise, nutrition, etc. 2011 rolled around, and I started a home business as a Team Beachbody coach, which made me become even more interested in improving my diabetes. Then, in early 2012, I discovered the 2 things that have been instrumental in improving my diabetes. The paleo lifestyle, and the diabetes online community (#doc). Slowly over the last year, I’ve become even more of a nutrition nazi, and biochemistry hobbyist. Reading book after book, learning more and more about insulin, metabolism, biochemistry, and more. I’ve read more books this year than any other year of my life! All of them on nutrition. (I’m going to start a book review series on this blog as a matter of fact!) Although I’m an online diabetes advocate now, that doesn’t mean I’m a perfect diabetic. It does make me want to improve my A1C to a respectable level if I’m going to be an advocate though. I struggle just like everybody else. My A1C did drop by 2.5 points in 6 months last year, which I was really excited about. Still a little way to go to reach 7.0, but I’ll make it. I have a lot of people that have thanked me for what I do in the online community, but I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you. Were it not for all of you, I wouldn’t be improving nearly as well as I have over the last year. In helping you, I’m helping myself. thanks Diabetes Online Community (DOC)!!!
Inigo Montoya: But, I promise I will not kill you until you reach the top.
Diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetics everywhere know this term, . . . I hope. What is diabetic ketoacidosis? How is it different than ketosis?
