#dexcom said DIE

[zurko48]

I love it when I’ve been high for so long that my dexcom just stops beeping. It’s like well clearly you’re just fucked and there’s no helping you.go die I guess

[hellishvxbes]

all this stuff with the stupid moron CEO thing really pisses me off. It's one thing to really celebrate his course of action, but people are really missing the point of why he did what he did. making simping videos, and making him a trend that will eventually settle down until they have something else to do with their pathetic fucking lives. doing it for every single person who got denied treatment and life saving medication because they could not afford it.

my medication I need to keep my disease in check is 11k. There isn't an insurance in the world that will cover the entire thing. I'd be paying over 1k for insurance, and still have to pay over $500 copay for this medication.

my insulin supplies aren't covered by ANY kind of insurance. supplies that HELP make managing diabetes easier isn't covered. you have to pay out of pocket for that shit. my dexcom sensors for 3 are over $400 and my pods??? $500

pods last 3 days only, sensors are 2 weeks and ironically the actual transmitter is the cheapest fucking thing at like $240

i was on Medicaid until June of this year when they cut me off for making $300 more than what I am supposed to on my paychecks.

I have been struggling ever since, and I'd be in a deeper hole if I wasn't able to get financial assistance. but I have four chronic illnesses, 2 of which are still new, and there were times where I thought I was really going to die because i wasn't going to be able to afford my treatments. I cried like a baby when trump won because I still am very unsure of my future with this.

This guy, who by the way, HAS money, was wronged and bullshitted by the same people who try and keep us down is the reason he is being celebrated. because it shows, no one is actually safe from this. and they do it to us just to stay rich. eventually people get tired and these are the things that happen because of that.

its always 'this man had a wife, he had a family' so fucking wHAT. so did everyone you denied with your polices. the ppl who died because of it. i have no sympathy for that man. I will never have sympathy for the rich who seek to step on us, fighting for crumbs while they get to celebrate and live without consequence. this is BTW what helluva boss is about.

when you ask questions about why do ppl have to steal, why do they have to rob and sell drugs, why cant they go to school and make something of themselves have never fucking live in a place where the system is meant to keep you down. when you realize the schools they go are barely funded, they dont got no computers, no one to actually care about helping them succeed. you hear about ppl talk about getting out of the hood, because they WANT these places to stay like this.

my cousin sells drugs and the reason he gave was because it was easier. he has great math skills, but he said no one cared to help him in school, it became too much and he made easier money this way. And its like that for a lot of kids. when they dont have the support they need. from adults, from their own parents. sometimes I wonder, if my parents hadn't moved us to a bougie ass white ppl neighborhood if I would have turned out the same way. cuz i used to fight in school, I was a problem child. and honestly believed I have changed because of the new environment I was now around. when I was in school back then, lmao, I was the only colored person in my class. that shit scared me to death. i learned how to behave. suddenly, i felt like I could do things. it absolutely fucking matters. but America doesnt care. they never will. doesnt mean i'll ever stop yapping about it tho.

[optimal-spark]

There’s something to be said about price fluctuations and inflations when it comes to disability care. With one of the best insurances I’ve been on, sometimes my Dexcom supplies would cost $200 for three months of sensors and a transmitter, other times $600 for the exact same supply amount, it was never consistent. On its own without insurance it adds up to over $700. Insulin we all have heard about, sometimes a month supply is $100, $300, or even $600, that’s not including the doctor’s visits every three months or so required just to keep that script, the lab work, the tubing and needles and glucometers and strips and tablets and glucagon and lancets and the constant debates with insurance companies about whether you are “disabled enough” to have certain items you need to live.

The way things are happening, more and more diabetics are forced to ration supplies, as a result so many die every single year because they cannot afford to live. And people blame them for it, rather than looking at the companies shaking us for every dime we have in our possession. Things need to change. Why are we getting better technology to make our lives easier, healthier, safer as diabetics and disabled people, only for so many to be unable to even access them?

We need change. And now.

[mia-fruitbat-blog]

I was walking down the beach with my best friend when I started to feel low. My dexcom said I was 125 and dropping. I noticed that I had 12 units on board. I turned to my friend and said “I need to turn back and drink all the juices I brought with me my pump gave me 12 units of insulin.” She immediately started running back to our beach towels. I ripped my pump site off and squeezed where it was until it started bleeding to maybe get some of the 12 units out. My other friend came running down the beach with three juice boxes. I got back to the towel and drank more juice. I was shaking and felt like I was passing out. I took the glucagon out of my bag. My friend was going to give it to me but he seemed a little confused and explaining to him how to use it seemed like too much effort at the time because I felt like I was going to pass out any second. I gave the glucagon shot while my dexcom alerted that I was 45 with both arrows dropping down. Then it just started alerting Low. I was terrified. All three of us got in the car called 911 and started driving toward the nearest place with doctors. An ambulance was on its way to meet us but we didn’t really know where we were. I was drinking a bottle of ginger ale and I was on the phone with my boyfriend. I started crying because I really thought I was going to die. I tested my blood sugar a few times and my meter read error 5 which is the same thing I get when I test a Diet Coke. My numbers started to come back up. The next time I tested it didn’t say error 5 it said 132, then 192, then 260 and then 347. We got to the healthcare clinic which was over an hour away from the beach. I sat there checking my blood until all of the insulin was out of my system. I had called the diabetes educator from the hospital where I was diagnosed and she got in contact with my doctor. After the 12 units wore off I started with my basal of tresiba and shots again. I’m scared to put my pump back on.

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Implanted Islets: From the POV of a Longtime Type 1

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/implanted-islets-from-the-pov-of-a-longtime-type-1/

Implanted Islets: From the POV of a Longtime Type 1

We shared the news early this year about the exciting work happening at City of Hope, after the Wanek Family in Wisconsin donated millions to diabetes cure research at the California facility. Today, we're excited to hear a first-hand POV from a longtime type 1 who's gone through the transplantation procedure himself. That D-peep is Roger D. Sparks, who writes about his experiences at Pancreatic Islet Transplant blog.

We're happy to feature this guest interview with Roger today, conducted by Joanne Milo in California, an active advocate in the Diabetes Online Community (DOC), and close associate of our team here at the 'Mine.

A Transplant Patient Q&A by Joanne Laufer Milo

I've had the privilege of befriending Roger Sparks, and I find him to be a very interesting, sharing, courageous man and still, as he considers himself, a type 1 diabetic.

On Jan. 1, 2016, Roger had his first pancreatic islet cell transplant at the City of Hope in Duarte, CA (near Los Angeles), in a clinical trial phase that uses new immunosuppression drugs and treatments in an attempt to prolong the life of the transplant, perhaps as long as 20 years! The surgery lasted about 1-1/2 hours, with Roger awake, only under a mild sedative. (I think I'd opt for a heavy sedative.) After 5 days post-op in ICU, he was sent home with meds, supplies, and log sheets. He was still taking insulin but WAY less than before the transplant. After 75 days, his A1C was 5.2%.

A second transplant five and a half months later made him insulin-FREE! No low blood sugars! No high blood sugars (no matter what he eats)! And his latest A1C is 5.4%!

I had the opportunity to sit down, over lunch (he ate a cheese omelet, no toast) and chat. I had bunches of questions, mostly about the emotional impact of his new life and his decision to take the risk of receiving the pancreatic islet transplant.

JM) Can you tell me a little about your journey with diabetes, please?

RS) I was diagnosed at age 32 in 1981. My treatments included injections - NPH and Regular - for four years, NovoPens for five years, then the Medtronic insulin pump – multiple versions over the years. I used Apidra insulin (covered under my insurance) for the last few years with the pump.

When did your hypoglycemia unawareness become significant?

I began losing awareness about 15 years ago and lost it totally about a decade ago.

Why didn’t you try CGM (continuous glucose monitoring)?

I did about nine years ago -- a Medtronic CGM. I found it so inaccurate, and so difficult to insert and keep in place (I was an active tennis player and golfer), that I gave up on it. When Dexcom started to be used, my insurance company did not initially accept it, and I couldn’t afford to pay for it. When I reached Medicare age, three years ago, of course they wouldn’t approve it. My timing couldn’t have been more off. It was also an issue for me in general due to my sports activity. I could deal with one device but two was more of a problem.

What was your defining moment when you said, 'AHA, I’m going for the transplant?'

My insulin requirements, due to insulin resistance, had grown to over 50 units a day, and I was increasingly brittle. I was having several hypoglycemic episodes a week, with 3-4 severe ones every month, where paramedics were required. In the two years before, I had two bad car accidents caused by a low – I was just very lucky that no one else was involved.

I had one low which resulted in convulsions at a friend’s house and they were terrified. In short, my life, which had always had a lot of diabetic implications, was getting significantly worse, and diabetes was starting to dominate it more every day. I was about 35 pounds overweight because of insulin resistance, even though I was on a very controlled diet where I ate very little, and exercised every day. I took blood sugar readings 12 times a day, yet still I could not control the lows -- and they were getting worse.

I came to the conclusion that I was going to die from one of these lows if I didn’t do something. I also felt that I wanted to be part of something that was working towards a cure, so at least my diabetic life would have some additional meaning in the fight for a cure.

I had been following all the clinical trials, particularly those that were Edmonton-related, and came to the conclusion that the one at the City of Hope offered both the most short-term promise for me and for an eventual cure for everyone.

This video, by Dr. Kandeel at the City of Hope, tipped me over the edge:

Do you have any regrets about undergoing the procedure?

None.

Why do you still consider yourself a T1? Do you feel like you are straddling two worlds?

That’s a really good question and one that I think about a lot. I do still consider myself a T1 because so much of my life involves T1. I write, speak, and meet regularly with T1s wanting to know about my transplant and how I am doing. I feel like these talks bring light and hope into the daily lives of T1s struggling with complications – if it can work for me, it can work for them, and a cure is coming.

I also feel a responsibility to correct the misconceptions about immunosuppression and its effect on one’s life. Everyone worries about it, but believe me, I don’t.

So, in short, I feel I am and will always be a T1. It continues to lead me down many good and rewarding paths.

Do you have any nightmares or fears since your transplants?

I have a recurring fear – irrationally – of a blood sugar out of normal range. I still test multiple times a day as a condition of the trial, and I never do it without thinking, “Will this be the time that rejection starts?” But I haven’t had a low less than 80 or a high greater than 145 since the first transplant. If this fear lasts, it’s not a problem.

Also, I have to be careful of skin cancer, since immunosuppression does make me much more susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma. But I was already careful, so it’s no big issue for me.

Besides being freed up from carb-counting, etc, were there any pleasant surprises?

My life changed completely, in three primary ways:

I was never obese, but increased insulin dosing due to insulin resistance had caused me to gain a little weight each year, so at 6’3” I weighed 235 pounds. I lost 40 pounds in the two months after my first transplant, changing nothing in my diet. I’ve kept if off, and have never felt more fit in my life.

My mental outlook also changed dramatically. I had resigned myself to severe hypoglycemia being a part of my life. These recurring events had affected my marriage – I was divorced 8 years ago – and I did not want to get involved seriously again because of them. I am now looking forward to sharing a long and happy remainder of my life with someone.

I’ve also just assumed a new position as president of a non-profit foundation called Skin Cancer Free, raising funds for early detection programs in the fight against melanoma and other skin cancers. It will fully occupy the next few years of my life, and I would never have known about it, or considered it, without the experience of my clinical trial. I now know for certain that studies and trials save lives and conquer disease. I am now forever part of the fight, both with my transplant and the work in fighting melanomas.

You might be described by many as an “early adopter" -- are you fatalistic, or is it more about contributing to science?

I always wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. Life is very short, and being able to be part of this clinical trial has changed mine forever. I love being on the “cutting edge” of any technology that will make people’s lives better. I really don’t care what happens to me – my experience, and my body, are now part of this fight for a cure. I love being part of it.

Do you feel like a pioneer?

I don’t – I just feel like someone who has been incredibly lucky to survive bad complications, be part of a clinical trial, and to be part of this incredible community. If I am a pioneer, fine. If not, fine also. I just feel so blessed.

Thank you Joanne for sharing Roger's story! We're very grateful that this type of research is progressing, and already changing lives in our D-Community.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Doug Masiuk, the "Diabetic Forrest Gump," Runs Across America

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/doug-masiuk-the-diabetic-forrest-gump-runs-across-america/

Doug Masiuk, the "Diabetic Forrest Gump," Runs Across America

In 1994, the Academy Award-winning movie Forrest Gump showed Tom Hanks as the title character running across the country... for seemingly no good reason. Fast forward nearly 20 years and there's another guy running across the country. This time, he's doing it in the name of diabetes awareness.

Diagnosed with type 1 at age 3, Doug Masiuk, a 38-year-old computer consultant from Annapolis, MD, has been running the equivalent of a marathon a day since May. After seven months, he's now almost finished with his more than 3,000-mile journey across the continental United States. When we spoke with him this past Tuesday by phone, he was just outside of Allentown, PA, where he had stopped to do an interview with Runner's World magazine. This weekend, he's wrapping up his journey in New York City.

So of course, I had to find out why someone would be crazy motivated enough to do be the first diabetic to run across the country.

DM) What was your own childhood like with diabetes? Were you always an athlete?

Doug) I was diagnosed the day after Halloween in 1977. At the time, insulin came from animals, and there was some control with it. I've met a lot of type 1s who were on that regime and it was a lot more erratic than what we have now. I always walked around with a box of raisins in my back pocket.

I would ride my bike, and play soccer and baseball, and do other activities. Games were fun... games are still fun! I played competitive soccer, and when I wasn't playing, I'd go running. But then you get caught up in career and life... and we all know diabetes likes schedules. It likes a routine. Exercise, diet, and medication. With my career, I was definitely lacking exercise. In my early 30s, I realized that if I wanted any chance of making it into my 80s, I needed to do better. So I started running, slowly at first. I kept going farther and farther. A mile, 5 miles, 10 miles, 17 miles... I discovered I had a gift. And the more I was running, the less insulin I needed. My diet also changed in that I ate really specific things, and I started understanding how my blood sugar levels affected my running.

Where did you get the inspiration to become the diabetic "Forrest Gump," running across the country?

Possibly from that movie, but it wasn't really something I thought much about. Maybe the seed was planted. Then I did research, and I saw that about 230 some-odd people have done it before, actually, so why not a type 1? It almost became a challenge and mandate.

Look at (other PWD athletes) like Jay Cutler, Charlie Kimball and Team Type 1. It is such an odd category, but it's also another box that has been checked showing what people with diabetes can do.

Part of it also has to do with the rise in diabetes nationally and globally. With the number of kids and adults getting type 1 and type 2, diabetes is almost getting the status of being a war. There are 100 million people dying from complications annually. That's a big number! If I can run a marathon, then anyone can put in 20 minutes of exercise a day, because exercise is great for managing diabetes.

So, how exactly do you run a marathon a day and not, you know... die?

You just become more stubborn than anything, I suppose! Specifically, you're closely monitoring your diabetes all the time. The thing about running this distance is in the fuel intake. You start going out there with a 7,000 and 8,000 calorie-a-day diet. You are asking a lot of your body. So I use a Dexcom G4 (continuous glucose monitor), and that thing is remarkable.

After fueling at breakfast, I head out between 9 and 10 a.m. and run about 5 miles in an hour. Then I stop at the car and I test my blood sugar. Generally I don't need a snack, because breakfast is still on board, so then I run 5 more miles. Then I'll stop again, check and have a snack. At dinner, I'll go and eat as much as I can, and generally I don't even need any insulin!

I used to be on a pump, but I'm running so much that a pump is overkill for me. I'm on 6-8 units of Lantus a day and then dosing accordingly with fast-acting Humalog.

How did you test your endurance prior to running cross-country?

I had the idea and people asked, "How do you know you can do this?" Because it was so hot in the summer, I would wait until 4 p.m. and run 30 miles. I've been running since 2008, so I had already built up my mileage to those distances. Before CGMs, I just had to keep stopping and testing. I was lucky in that there is a beautiful bike path near where I live, so I was always within a few miles of food if I ate all the snacks, I could get something more if I needed to.

What did your training look like?

I had to figure out what my insulin needs look like. And you're just peeling it away and going down to less and less, contrary to what you're trained for — testing, eating and taking insulin. But when you eat and take insulin, and then you're 40 mg/dl, you have to keep changing things. The doctors and educators didn't exactly know either, because there aren't a lot of diabetics who run 30 miles all the time.

From that experience, my insulin requirement went to a quarter of what it typically would have been, just because of the volume of running I was doing.

Learning how to best manage diabetes with insulin, some of it gets made up as you go along. And if this is what you want to do, this is the experiment that you're willing to make.

You've also spent quite a bit of your journey meeting with adults and kids with diabetes. What do you share?

I talk about how everyone has challenges, no matter who you are. Our version of it is our diabetes. It's not to take away the serious nature of it, but also to never use it as a reason not to do something. It's not a cop-out. I also share that as diabetics, we almost have a duty and responsibility to pass (this advocacy) on to the next generation. Be leaders, lawyers, politicians, doctors. Raise families. We can live life and be productive people, but to do that we have to put forth that extra effort in the management of our health.

Also, don't take health for granted. When you have kids who have had it their whole lives, and are now in their teen years, there is some resentment. But they're in the U.S. in 2012, and there are a lot of people who have given us the ability to have this opportunity (through improved tools and treatment). I'm also reminded that for almost 100 years, researchers, scientists, pharmaceuticals, philanthropists, parents have all worked extraordinarily hard to make sure that the science is getting better so that we can go out there and do things like this.

What's been the hardest part?

Finding the right kind of nutrition. Being on the road and getting support from restaurants. Sometimes they'll donate food. I'm not a proponent of carb-loading, I think it's a little overkill. Challenges on the road are hard too, like how do you bring down a high blood sugar while you're running; it's not like you're sitting at home and you can take a unit. It's a frustration and challenge to make the right choice. Having a CGM and looking at the trend definitely gives you peace of mind.

There have also been some unexpected lows. About 5 or 6 weeks in, I would go out and run, and my blood sugar would fall all the way into the 40s and 50s. I would just eat tons of food and tons of snacks. It wasn't a dosage issue because I wasn't taking much insulin, but these unexpected trends are a part of life. Diabetes will defy all these things that you're doing — like it has a mind of its own! It almost seemed like no matter what I did, it wasn't enough. But it eventually just resolved itself after five days and everything just went back to normal.

Running a marathon a day for several months is very impressive, even for a non-diabetic. I'm just beginning to run, but I'm not sure I could ever do that much!

I don't put importance or significance in the number of miles. This is just what I can do. There's maybe a handful or 10 other people who can do that. When it comes to running, this is what we do. It's out there and it's extreme, and not a lot of people are able to withstand that. But I love running and love what it does for my diabetes. It doesn't feel like it's impossible and I'm proving that right now.

When asked what he'll do after he finishes in New York City this Sunday, Doug said, "I plan to go home and sleep." Doug is inviting anyone in the NYC area to come celebrate with him. You can find out more about the event on his website or get in touch with him on Twitter.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article