The Corner Booth

I received a bill in the mail the other day, recapping the costs from the most recent visit with my endocrinologist here in Southeast Michigan. One particular fee caught my eye, and made do a double-take in terms of reviewing just exactly what I'm paying for when going to see my diabetes doctor. Instead of a tidy little co-pay, a larger dollar amount screamed from the statement, delivering what felt like a punch to the gut. On top of that, this additional charge caught me off-guard: This is the 8th endo I've seen in the three-and-a-half decades with type 1 diabetes, and while this is by no means the highest bill I've ever been sent for a single office visit, that particular fee ruffled my feathers more than others. Sure, I've noticed the fee schedule before: a $5 processing charge for calling in a prescription; $10 for obtaining blood sugar logs or lab documents; and $25 for a pre-authorization letter to insurance or a form letter for traveling. These "physician se...

My third-party supplier has recently tried to limit test strips for those using a Dexcom CGM system. In fighting this policy, I penned this letter. While I've been able to get more strips as prescribed, my hope is also that this letter leads to deeper consideration at the policy level by this Michigan company. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  --> August 6, 2018 Michael W. Hoskins ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------------- J&B Medical Supply --------- Wixom, MI 48393 Dear ------- and J&B Medical Supply: I am writing this in response to recent letters received from J&B Medical starting on July 24, 2018, regarding the allowable amount of glucose test strips for those who also use the Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor (CGM) as part of their diabetes management. Per your letter, “ all regular diabetic testing supplies are included in the coverage of your Dexcom G5 sensor .” And further, due to the Dexcom G5 b...

As I mark my 34th year living with type 1 diabetes, it's a perfect chance to pen a letter to my lazy pancreas. You know, the main culprit behind this chronic condition who managed to convince my immune system it ought to attack what it shouldn't. But before we get to that, let me recap my D-story for those who haven't heard it before. My Diagnosis Story Being 5 years old at the time, I don't remember too much. I'm not exactly sure when my diabetes anniversary actually is. I have self-designated March 10, because that's as good as any date. And because it happens to be Chuck Norris' birthday, so for me it adds a theme of karate-kicking diabetes into line. Anyway there was an overnight visit to my paternal grandparents' home. An unfolding of events that mirror many diagnosis stories -- waking up during the night, excessive thirst, frequent bathroom trips, moodiness (for a 5-year-old). My grandparents explained these symptoms to my parents, who instantly...

As my endo read through the medical chart at a recent appointment, I sat there anxiously waiting for him to tell me my latest A1C. He scanned the notes and rattled off bits of information about prescriptions, before getting to the meat and potatoes (so to speak) of our visit. If you were a fly on the wall at that moment, you would have seen me all jittery, leaning forward in the chair waiting for the words to emerge. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke: Your A1C is 7.7% My heart sank. While not really much different than my previous result, it was a 10th of a percentage point higher than last time at 7.6. Sure, it was only a tiny change, but in my head a screaming voice of judgement shouted: " Your A1C went up! " I was beyond bummed, especially because I've been putting in a lot of effort over the past few months to do better. Apparently, this A1C was telling me that I was in fact doing worse than before, even if just a little bit. Then I began to doubt... was ...

A month ago, I decided to step away from my Medtronic insulin pump. This was long overdue, a needed change that I needed to revisit in order to get my diabetes back in line. Yet, I had been putting this off and it wasn't until Medtronic's business decision to screw with patient choice and access that I made the final personal decision to disconnect from my pump and go back on injections like I've done a few times in the past. My first pump vacation lasted for about five months in 2010, and led to a 1.1% drop in my A1C. The later vacations also saw smaller drops, but still they helped me re-focus on D-management. And so, that's what I set out to achieve in the here and now.  After my first month of this #PumpHiatus , my BGs have been phenomenal compared to how they were before. Glucose variability is hella better, and my A1C dropped from 8.4% in February to 7.6% in early June! This was also down from my A1C last Fall where it rang in at 9.1 -- so progress conti...

I was beyond nervous. Freaking out, scared in a way that I hadn't been in a long time. The fear of possible diabetes complications, the kind you've been dreading all of your life, will do that to you. In our office visit last week, he made a comment about not understanding an apparent blip in my blood work that he noticed. Maybe a sign of a potential complication, or something else going wrong. And then as I left his office and headed for more comprehensive follow-up labs, I noticed on the paperwork a medical term that I'd not seen before. Being curious, I did the worst thing you could probably do in that situation -- looked it up on Google. And my brain exploded from there. My thought: Kidney failure. OMG... IT'S HAPPENING!!!!   And then all the horror stories ran through my mind, of worst case scenarios...   Luckily, a weekend email from my endo put most of my fear and frantic over-reacting to rest. Aside from some protein in the urine, somethin...

This one sucks. Sorry about that, but there's no way around it. That's how diabetes works sometimes. For me, it feels as if there's dark clouds overhead and tornadoes and thunder moving in, and there's just no way to avoid the storms -- not even by hiding inside those storm shelters of in-range blood sugars and community inspiration. I'm caught up in the suckage of suspense, waiting for an answer that might help tell me what the fuck's going on, but dreading that answer as much as I'm anticipating it. So right now, I just need to get this out of my system with a little keyboard-fingertip tapping... An endo visit where all seemed OK, except for the expected "keep on pluggin" message that was obvious before I even walked into the clinic that morning. Nothing else out of the ordinary, except an off-hand comment about potential complications and an unfamiliar medical term written on the lab-work order. Curiosity leads to the evil Dr. Google...