The Corner Booth

Here we are, at the end of 2016. And with that, I've made a decision: No more insulin pumping for me. For most of this past year, I've been disconnected from my pump, which is unusual for me since I have pumped since the middle of 2001, taking only an occasional short break (or pump hiatus) over the years -- but always eventually reconnecting the device under my skin. That was even the case this past Spring when I decided to unplug, after becoming a disgruntled Medtronic customer and deciding to test the waters of Multiple Daily Dosing (MDD) once again. But over this year's Holiday season, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on how far we've come and where we are going in this world of diabetes technology. As we start 2017, I've made a decision that we are so close to the so-called Artificial Pancreas that I am not interested in finding another device to hold me over until the AP hits the market. Hell, we're going to be at that point inside of two years,...

For the past five months, I've been unconnected to my insulin pump and have been doing daily injections and inhaled insulin to keep my blood sugars in check. All is well on that front, and at this point I have no plans to go back to insulin pumping in the near future. As some may remember, I've been on a pump break since mid-May -- mostly because of my need to mix it up in my diabetes management, to motivate myself to get back in gear. But also, because of my frustration and disappointment in Medtronic Diabetes and their business decision-making that I, personally, do not feel best represents the D-Community. Anyhow, with that being said... I'm still perfectly happy " playing darts ." This is a phrase my Loving and Supporting D-Spouse uses to describe my insulin injections. Whenever I ask for her help in doing a shot in the arm, she jokes that it's time to "play darts." No, she doesn't actually toss the needle at me. It's just a ...

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...

This fun post originally appeared here on The D-Corner Booth about two years ago . But Elvis was on my mind recently, as evidenced by a recent Facebook status: Lord Almighty, I felt a sting from infusing! Hotter hotter, it's burning under my skin. D, D, D, this feels like I am on fire. My set's a flaming, and I don't know if it should be pulled. Just a hunka hunka burning leg site. Hunka hunka burning leg site... #ElvisIsAliveAndLivingWithDiab etes So, in honor of that recent mindset, I've opted to re-post the following blog from March 2011. Enjoy! The King of Diabetes Rock N' Roll Those of us in the Diabetes Online Community are music lovers, and we're loyal followers of the magical musical phenomenon known as BluntLancet . ( #BluntLancet, for those Lanceters on Twitter ). We've come to know the story Behind The Music and even learned of some hidden lost albums of those years long past and rumored new releases on tap. But a recent...

Without warning, the surprise came as the recent Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum was coming to a close. Our group of about 30 advocates was sitting in the conference room listening to Nancy Katz, VP of consumer marketing, give closing remarks when she made an announcement that caught us completely off guard. The news: We were being given the chance to use the newly-approved mySentry system and related products on a trial run for three months. We didn't ask for and honestly didn't expect this.... Incredible offer that would be open to us, if we choose to accept it. I'm pretty sure I heard a roomful of gasps and someone may have proclaimed "Holy shit" when hearing this. It might have been me. News about the FDA's approval of this gadget came in early January after something like four years of talk and waiting by many in the D-community, mostly parents. This is essentially like a CGM-connected alarm clock, which has a monitor that can sit on a nightst...

One of my key takeaways from the Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum 2012 was how this company is focused on patients and actually wants to know what we think about the products and bigger diabetes picture overall. Set at the company's California HQ in Northridge (outside LA), this forum and particularly a tour of where the CGM sensors are made was something I was really looking forward to. In large part, because I've been using Medtronic Minimed for most of the past decade as my one and only insulin pump and have used the company's Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), before switching over to Dexcom. So, to see the place where these sensors and D-supplies are made was personally very exciting for me. But it's also a privilege being able to be a part of a broader discussion with fellow advocates, diabetes colleagues and industry folks about where we are and how can get to the next level. For disclosure purposes : I'm sure most readers know that Med-T paid for airfa...

Blackness surrounded me. The clock on the nightstand next to my bed probably read something like 1 a.m., but I wouldn’t know – because my eyes were closed. At that hour, all I wanted to do was sleep. And I was almost there. But a faint noise was keeping me awake, just enough to stop me from stepping over that line into sleep-land. Not a beeping, as I’ve sometimes heard overnight and during the day as a diabetes device alerted me to a High or Low blood sugar. No, this was a vibrating. Reluctantly pulled back from the doorway where sleep would fully cover me like a blanket, I opened an eye groggily and looked around. A sleeping wife next to me. The covers pulled over my body. A faint night-time glow from the window off to the side. I’m sure the Riley Dog was nestled on her blanket next to the bed, but I didn’t turn over to look. Reaching down to my waistline where my insulin pump was secured, I pulled the small pager-sized device up to my open eye to have a look....

Sometimes, the only word you have is: "Doh." T hen you find a new set, a new site, and move on. Just keep pumpin', just keep pumpin'...

Our driving experiences bring us together, typically twice a day. Sometimes more. Insulin Pump: you stay fastened on my belt-line, keeping up my insulin fix as we travel along. You occasionally get to move around and escape that plastic holster, in times of coffee-bolusing or minor comfort-adjusting. That usually lets you brandish that tubing around with reckless abandon, and that’s a concern. Seatbelt: the law tells me that you must stop hanging around when I’m behind the wheel. That means you have to get all clickety-snuggly in that slot to secure my safety, and usually equates to sharing personal space with Said Insulin Pump. Obviously, I’m right there with you both. The Diabetic Driver who gets stuck in the middle as you try to wrap yourselves around me with care, all in the name of simultaneous driving and blood sugar safety. I know. Things can get confusing, when we’re all jumbled together. Especially when we’re Already Running Late. But you two must co-exis...

We were watching the disaster-themed movie marathon on Sci Fi recently, and a crazy D-scenario came to mind: What if THAT particular apocalyptic situation played out and those of us People With Diabetes had to maneuver our own survival? Hmm. This particular flick was a 2009 TV-movie Polar Storm , with the plot basically being that a comet collides with Earth and knocks the planet of its axis, throwing off its magnetic field and causing some crazy EMP bursts that randomly appear and short any electronic device going at the time. So, any cars or cell phones - and anyone touching those at the time of the burst - would pretty much be out of luck. ( Disclaimer: the fact that I was actually watching this movie should in no way signal my endorsement for others to watch it, or hint that my thumbs are in any way pointing upwards when describing the quality of this screen-writing... It was just a way to pass some time without having to exercise the mind. Seriously. ) Anyhow. As some of ...

So, there was this hacker’s conference in Las Vegas recently. That was where Jay Radcliffe, a security researcher and fellow Type 1 diabetic, gave a presentation about his findings that someone could remotely hack into insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors to manipulate data and even control the devices. Some specialty publications picked up the story, as did the Associated Press and then basically the same story ran in a number of newspapers nationwide, including U.S.A Today . Eventually TV media-players like Fox and CBS picked it up with their own variations, too. Headlines and stories reiterated the basic point of what Jay said at the conference: ' Hackers can do this to kill people using these devices, and we should all be concerned ." This issue came up earlier in the year with an MSNBC article on hackable medical devices , and this is the latest highlighting a topic that may very well be possible and a concern for those of us using these devices. That...

Given that I've now completed my first decade of being an insulin pumper, I'm at a crossroads on what to do next. Should I stay or should I go? Temporarily, that is. Though I'm a fan of insulin pumping, it does take a toll on my mind and body. The signs are evident whenever I pull up my shirt and examine my stomach where I most often put my infusion sets. Last year, I took a several-month hiatus to give my mind and body a break and it did wonders. I wrote about it then, but I'll reiterate it again: In a way, this Pump Hiatus was "freeing" in the sense that I could walk around unconnected and unhassled and just do a shot whenever I might need to consume some carbs. Multiple Daily Injections worked well for me, and that period between March and September resulted in my A1C dropping by a whole % point! It was pretty cool! But don't get me wrong: I LOVE insulin pumping. The more detailed control. The D-Math it helps you with. The constant stream of insulin a...

This is my 10th year of insulin pumping. So apparently, this marks a milestone Pump-A-Versary in my D-Life. We met for the first time in June 2001, the summer just before my final semester of college and one of the busiest times of my life. After 17 years of two to four injections a day, I gave up those daily syringe meetups for a piece of technology. A device that promises to provide a constant stream of insulin throughout the day, and some extra boosts when needed for food or other variables. An exact day isn't marked on the calendar, but it was mid-year and warm and I remember getting my intro to pumping while wearing shorts. My Minimed pump rep was a fellow PWD, a cool guy who later went on to work at Deltec Cozmo and helped convince me to try that product out for a bit. Much has changed in the past decade, from the pump itself ( early Minimed versions, upgrades, a switch to the Cozmo briefly, then back to MM Paradigm ) to the style of supply needed to make it work. We've ...

Today I am living it up guest-post style for Kim, getting the chance to spend some time Texting My Pancreas while she's off having a blast at this year's Friends for Life conference in Orlando. I'm sad to not be joining some friends for all the fun, but am honored to have the opportunity to chime in here short of being there. In good form, the chosen topic this round is some food for thought about Wall Corners & Cartwheels - or simply: the joys of insulin pumping in the workplace. Enjoy! And please, drop some comments while you're over there! Yes, You CAN do this!

It's Independence Day in the United States of America. And so, my Patriotic Pump has a message: Happy Birthday, U.S.A. Displaying again the patriotic skin first shown a few weeks ago on Flag Day, my Minimed 722 is being all deja vu-like and recycling some of the thoughts from that day. Cool cover created by Medtronic's SkinIt . Here's another view... All in the palm of your hand.  And another... With stove and egg timer in background...   And so it is ( again ). On the evening of July 3, we spent time with two group of friends both outside and inside our neighborhood.  One neighbor wasn't familiar with my Type 1 diabetes, but we ended up discussing paramedics visiting our home - (it's happened, from time to time). That led to a general D-101 talk about carb counting and pump use, and I was able to show off my American Flag-decorated insulin pump. It stole the show, and impressed all. So, it was a great day of fun and fireworks festivity and fr...

Tuesday is Flag Day. And I almost forgot about it... But I didn't. So, this is the chance to show off an awesome skin cover for my Minimed insulin pump. Cool cover created by Medtronic's SkinIt . Here's another view... All in the palm of your hand.  And another... With stove and egg timer in background...   And so it is. This is one of many options that existed for a pump skin cover, but weighing all the options and realizing this skin would pretty much be visible to everyone - even strangers - most of the time (since I wear my pump on my belt), the patriotic design is what I went with. So, my trusty Mimimed 722 (a.k.a. The Don of Rage Bolusing) gets to show off the patriotism online, just as is now done each and every day as it hovers on my belt-line. Being all " U.S.A., U.S.A ." and such. There you have it. Happy Flag Day. And upcoming Fourth of July, in like four weeks.

Walking down the hallway at my office recently, the plastic pump holster keeping my Minimed 722 fastened to my belt suddenly broke off. No apparent reason. One moment it was attached, the next my pump was dangling from my waist. Luckily, the tubing had been tucked in and the arm set wasn't impacted. Of course, this meant I'd need a new pump holster. Fortunately, I have backups in my arsenal of supplies at home. Three to be exact. I've stocked up on some of these over time, after once upon a time having one of these break and not having any replacement. I prefer the holster cases, where I'm able to wear it on my waist and slide the pump out for quick easy access whenever needed. These cost a nice little chunk and so over time I've been able to stock up as they've replaced my pumps - they send a new case with the pump, but they don't want the case back so I keep them.   Another one busted a month or so ago, and so this was a relatively recent swap. S...

A total of three insulin pumps are currently residing in my world. Yes, that's correct: 3 of them. It's like an episode of Three's Company, where my D-Life is like the show in that it's a comedy of errors, chronicling the escapades and hijinks of Pump and Pump Master's constant misunderstandings, social jives, and struggles to keep up with all of life's adventures. So, this is why three are currently a part of my life. They are all Minimed pumps and have names and stories, too: 1. Larry The Loaner: a 523 Paradigm Revel that I was trial-testing for a few months, thanks to a local rep who gave me the chance to see the ins and outs before making a final decision on buying one of these CGM-pumps for myself. An informative and beneficial experience that I'm grateful for and have written about once or twice or more, but that trial run has come to a close. But in the meantime, Larry is sitting on the sidelines with transmitter nearby while I get back to...