I’m right, and everyone else is wrong?

Sounds ridiculous, right?

I keep asking myself why I feel this way about the Enlite sensor.

I keep telling myself that – despite the experience of others – I can get it to work to my satisfaction. I want it to work, I really do. Really, really, really.

Lots of times, it does. When my diabetes is behaving well and my blood sugars stay in a comfortable range (say, between 70 and 200 mg/dl), Enlite’s performance is fantastic. Awesome. Impeccable. And I’m happy – very happy – and I tell myself that I’m going to stick with it after my trial (disclosure) is over.

But then something goes wrong.

Things that go BEEP in the night

Oh, I heard it.

I’m pretty sure I heard it.

Every hour.  For seven hours straight.

I don’t remember the first six times it happened, but I do remember lying in bed on the seventh, to the sound of Bee-do-Bee-do-Bee-do echoing from beneath the sheets.

I remember lying restlessly in bed, trying to fall back to sleep in spite of the background noise.

Bee-do-Bee-do-Bee-do.

#DBlogWeek ’14 – Day 6 – Sharply dressed (video)

Here’s 30 days worth of sharps logged and catpured on film in under 3 minutes…a video collection I began last August.  Enjoy!

(Yes, I used two meters – during this month, because I momentarily lost one, an only changed the lancet once in each).

---

Today’s topic: Back for another year, let’s show everyone what life with diabetes looks like!  With a nod to the Diabetes 365 project, let’s grab our cameras again and share some more d-related pictures.  Post as many or as few as you’d like.  Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures, or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

530G: Good expectations

My reenactment of this.

Like some other d-bloggers, I was invited to test-drive the new Medtronic 530G pump (formally the “Medtronic Minimed 530G with Enlite”).

To be honest with you, I didn’t immediately jump at the opportunity.  I had a few reservations and took some time to think about it, but ultimately decided to give it a go.  I’ll discuss that thought process in another post.

But for now, I think it’s helpful to express and document what I expect out of this trial and this baby-step towards a closed-loop system. Only then can I deem this a “success” or not.

So what do I expect out of this system, that my current Medtronic Revel doesn’t offer?  Well, not a whole lot. Not a heck of a lot has changed since the previous version. But what has changed is pretty big. Or small. (Depending on how you look at it).

What’s in a name?

The “Medtronic Minimed 530G with Enlite” has got to be the longest, most convoluted name for an insulin pump. Within the first moments* of the Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum**, I sent out this tweet:

"Medtronic Minimed 530G w/Enlite" flows off the tongue with same awkwardness as "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim". SoCal thing? #medtronicdaf

— Scott E / Diabetes (@Scott_InTheD) January 10, 2014

* “First moments” = by the time I realized that it was not inappropriate to open up a laptop and tap away on the keys while someone was speaking

** A peculiar name for the forum given that Bayer was also a host – in absentia. But a wordy name like “Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum presented by Bayer Diabetes Care”, although not unprecedented, would have been downright laughable.

Why did they call it that? Because “Medtronic Minimed 530G with Enlite and Bayer Contour NextLink Glucose Meter” would have been too cumbersome.