[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

CramCycle

cocker5 wrote: »

Sorry also wanted to point out the Dexcom doesnt have its own insulin pump... just a GCMS and is only compatiable with a handful of pumps... so not universal.

I figured that about them being separate, going down the route of "enquiring" for "research" to see can I get quotes for the ones available through healthcare professionals only.

CramCycle

Are animas covered by LTI or is it only medtronic?

EDIT: I presume not as animas use Dexcoms CGM from my understanding

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

I figured that about them being separate, going down the route of "enquiring" for "research" to see can I get quotes for the ones available through healthcare professionals only.

Yeah we tried thats too, but the HSE (well namely Vincents) wont consider the Dexcom at the moment as Medtronic have the tendor for all the hospitals at the mo. So in a sense they cant. so in my husbands we had to pay for it ourselves and for the all senors etc, which is very costly but TBH its gives him a massive sense of freedom and relief so we feel its worth it.

He wil be pushing for the Medtronic pump with the GCMS when he is applicable etc.

BTW we were given some tricks of the trade to say to your consultant in order to push for the entire combined unit.


The Dexcom are cheaper via the US, but they use a different measurement system and not mmol etc

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

Are animas covered by LTI or is it only medtronic?

EDIT: I presume not as animas use Dexcoms CGM from my understanding

TBH the vide hasnt actually been released here as of yet in Ireland.. and according to the Medtronic rep we met with last week , they have the tendor for all the pumps etc in Ireland. But this is reviewed each yaer, although Medtronic have had it now for the last 3/4 years i think.

Best thing to do is research in your area and ask you consultant they will know better.

Whatever pump your consultant puts you forward for will be included under the LTI, from my understanding at present its Medtronic etc.

If i were you id push for the Medtronic with the intergrated CGMS... thats what we'll be doing at the end of the year.

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

Are animas covered by LTI or is it only medtronic?

EDIT: I presume not as animas use Dexcoms CGM from my understanding

Hold that thought Im going to make a few further calls today a further investigate Dexcom and LTI, ill report back hopefully by end of day...

CramCycle

cocker5 wrote: »

Hold that thought Im going to make a few further calls today a further investigate Dexcom and LTI, ill report back hopefully by end of day...

I was just wondering if you had a Dexcom pump and then moved from lets say England to Ireland, would they force a swap or would they not cover your inserts etc. I thought that if you had the pump, regardless of how the LTI would cover the consumables provided a consultant signed off?

Alanstrainor

My consultant recommended that I Change to animas about 2 years ago. This would have incurred a substantial cost, but the consumables would have been covered. I didn't go for this at the time as I didn't like the Animas pump.

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

I was just wondering if you had a Dexcom pump and then moved from lets say England to Ireland, would they force a swap or would they not cover your inserts etc. I thought that if you had the pump, regardless of how the LTI would cover the consumables provided a consultant signed off?

Do you mean a Dexcom GCMS (they dont do a pump) ?

TBH Im still trying to get to the bottom of this whole issue, we paid ourselves for the Dexcom and senors (all comsumables), and we were told they wont be covered. BUT we are going in to see his consultant in April and will press further.

from my understanding if your consultant signed it off then all comsumables are covered under LTI BUT the consultants are slow to approve them due to the cost and in thier eyes not entirely necessary IFKWIM.

I will give a further update once i know for definite.... wont be til april though.

cocker5

Alanstrainor wrote: »

My consultant recommended that I Change to animas about 2 years ago. This would have incurred a substantial cost, but the consumables would have been covered. I didn't go for this at the time as I didn't like the Animas pump.

Thats good to know thanks for that.

In ireland its seems to be all down to how knowledgeable your consultant is!

CramCycle

cocker5 wrote: »

Do you mean a Dexcom GCMS (they dont do a pump) ?

TBH Im still trying to get to the bottom of this whole issue, we paid ourselves for the Dexcom and senors (all comsumables), and we were told they wont be covered. BUT we are going in to see his consultant in April and will press further.

from my understanding if your consultant signed it off then all comsumables are covered under LTI BUT the consultants are slow to approve them due to the cost and in thier eyes not entirely necessary IFKWIM.

I will give a further update once i know for definite.... wont be til april though.

Everything on my LTI was signed off by my GP not my consultant, I changed insulin and strips. I realise they are common things but just in case, the signature on my LTi is my GP if anyone knows if that is a way around it for you.

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

Everything on my LTI was signed off by my GP not my consultant, I changed insulin and strips. I realise they are common things but just in case, the signature on my LTi is my GP if anyone knows if that is a way around it for you.

It very well could be... I just had the same thought, my husband is going to try and get his GP to apply to HSE / add his sensors to his perscription and see how it goes.. Ill keep you posted on how it goes!

Thanks for your help!

CramCycle

cocker5 wrote: »

It very well could be... I just had the same thought, my husband is going to try and get his GP to apply to HSE / add his sensors to his perscription and see how it goes.. Ill keep you posted on how it goes!

Thanks for your help!

I don't think he even applies for you, you just get him to fill it in with a script, date and sign and then post it in to the HSE, fingers crossed they will send it back to you approved.

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

I don't think he even applies for you, you just get him to fill it in with a script, date and sign and then post it in to the HSE, fingers crossed they will send it back to you approved.

ahh ok that makes sense now! we'll def give it a try and ill update when ive some news!

Thanks again!

Yakuza

CramCycle wrote: »

Are animas covered by LTI or is it only medtronic?

EDIT: I presume not as animas use Dexcoms CGM from my understanding

My daughter has an Animas Vibe which she got in November last year. As far as I can make out, the government(HSE) puts out tenders for batches of pumps from the manufacturers, so whatever tender comes in the cheapest becomes the de facto pump for that batch.

The_Conductor

Yakuza wrote: »

My daughter has an Animas Vibe which she got in November last year. As far as I can make out, the government(HSE) puts out tenders for batches of pumps from the manufacturers, so whatever tender comes in the cheapest becomes the de facto pump for that batch.

The tenders aren't evaluated purely on the basis of price (though price has the highest rating in the evaluation matrix, when all tenders are being evaluated). Its quite possible for a competing more expensive pump to win through- if it could be shown to better fulfill other criteria, other than those of the lower priced alternative.

CathyMoran

Am I the only one who allows themselves one day a year (diagnosis day) to get upset about their diabetes? 29 years today. Did not think that it mattered as much as I have been diagnosed with far worse things (am a cancer survivor, have sarcoidosis etc). I am suprised that I got upset this year.

Captain Albection

No Cathy, you're not alone on that. In fact, I have several days like that a year.

I'm currently really quite annoyed about it all today too. Had a hypo earlier (only 3.1 and still felt fairly ok) but I've rebounded up to 18.5 mmol/L now. I feel awful. Bad headache, vaguely nauseated and thoroughly pissed off.

Spent the evening looking at continuous blood sugar monitors online but not even sure if the HSE would be willing to pay for that (and had such huge trouble when trying to get my pump that I'm not sure I could cope with trying to get something else out of them) and not terribly keen on the idea of another implant as the infusion cannula hurts me enough as it is (please note for anyone else considering a pump: I am one of a very small minority that that appears to be an issue for, so that is not a reason to not consider a pump and even I would not go back to the previous regime).

My HbA1c has increased (again!) this year. My endocrinologist didn't say much as it was only fractional (about 1 or 2mmol/mol) and she seems to understand that the pressures of my job make it very hard to control. But it's unsustainable in my opinion and I can't help but feel that I'm asking for trouble though my primary concern was staying high enough to not pass out when it got busy in work.

Sorry, got a bit rambly there. I think the point that I was trying to make is that it's normal that it upset you Cathy. It sucks. It's not fair. So get upset, it's normal. Acknowledge that it annoys you. You'll drive yourself mad otherwise.

CathyMoran

Captain Albection I agree - I am not a lab rat, I can not do the same thing every day and stress levels vary. I also get the joys of variations due to increased resistance once a month! I also get duming syndrome due to surgery that I needed for the cancer I am a surrivor of. I am greatful to be still alive but is hard finding a doctor that understands that as so few type 1's have it.

graflynn

Yakuza wrote: »

My daughter has an Animas Vibe which she got in November last year. As far as I can make out, the government(HSE) puts out tenders for batches of pumps from the manufacturers, so whatever tender comes in the cheapest becomes the de facto pump for that batch.

I have an Animas pump too. However, the HSE awarded the pump contract indefinitely, to Medtronic in 2011.

You can request one of the other pumps but you would have to do it early in the process and give a reason why you are choosing one of the other pumps and pay the difference. Of course, your hospital has to be willing to do the extra paperwork too.

C-Shore

Yakuza wrote: »

My daughter has an Animas Vibe which she got in November last year. As far as I can make out, the government(HSE) puts out tenders for batches of pumps from the manufacturers, so whatever tender comes in the cheapest becomes the de facto pump for that batch.

Did you go through a private consultant to get the Vibe? That's the one I'm trying to get.

Are the consumables covered under LTI? Also, how much did you have to pay for the Vibe?

I hope you don't mind answering those questions!

C-Shore

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Minimed VEO Pump, and MiniLink Transmitter.

Can I ask you a few questions? I hope they aren't too personal, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get a pump/cgm system.

Do you go through a private consultant?

Did you just request this from your consultant and he/she put it on your LTI? Or how difficult was it to encourage your consultant to get this for you?

How much did you have to pay for the unit?

If there is a cost on the unit, how much of it is covered under a private health care plan? If you have one of course. I know each plan varies, but just to get an idea.

Thanks in advance if you can answer any of those!

herisson

Serious problem regarding diabetes.

Ive got the fear back, i cant bring myself to test myself anymore. Every time i try i freak out.

Anyone have any tips to just get over the fear?

Alanstrainor

C-Shore wrote: »

Can I ask you a few questions? I hope they aren't too personal, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get a pump/cgm system.

Do you go through a private consultant?

Yep!

C-Shore wrote: »

Did you just request this from your consultant and he/she put it on your LTI? Or how difficult was it to encourage your consultant to get this for you?

Through my Consultant I had a meeting with Medtronic to discuss my pumping, and how I could improve it. They proposed that a CGM would improve my control, given my relatively active lifestyle.

This meeting came about due to ending up in A&E twice in one year due to ketones. I've been diabetic for 15 years, and never before had I ended up in hospital with anything diabetes related. The first incident, was a case of my set failing and me going high, getting high levels of ketones (all on new years day!). The second time happened as a result of pushing myself too hard while cycling!

C-Shore wrote: »

How much did you have to pay for the unit?

Not a cent. Just had to wait around 2 months for the application to go through and to get the pump.

C-Shore wrote: »

If there is a cost on the unit, how much of it is covered under a private health care plan? If you have one of course. I know each plan varies, but just to get an idea.

Thanks in advance if you can answer any of those!

As I said, no cost, and none of it came under my private cover!

If you have any more questions just pop them up here or drop us a PM!

Captain Albection

herisson wrote: »

Serious problem regarding diabetes.

Ive got the fear back, i cant bring myself to test myself anymore. Every time i try i freak out.

Anyone have any tips to just get over the fear?

Is the fear of the result or the fear of actually pricking yourself to test?

Fear of result: that never really goes away. I tend to just get annoyed when it is less than satisfactory and then try to fix it as best I can.

Fear of the pricking: Sounds stupid but before I put any sort of needle in me I hold my breath. Wait a few seconds and then just go for it. Try to remember that it only hurts for a small while.

Also, check to make sure that the setting on the lancet isn't too high for you. Most (if not all at this stage) have a few settings on them now so be sure that yours didn't just come with a higher than necessary setting on it by default. Experiment with it (within reason) and try to find the one that hurts the least but will still let it get all the way through your skin.

herisson

Captain Albection wrote: »

Is the fear of the result or the fear of actually pricking yourself to test?

Fear of result: that never really goes away. I tend to just get annoyed when it is less than satisfactory and then try to fix it as best I can.

Fear of the pricking: Sounds stupid but before I put any sort of needle in me I hold my breath. Wait a few seconds and then just go for it. Try to remember that it only hurts for a small while.

Also, check to make sure that the setting on the lancet isn't too high for you. Most (if not all at this stage) have a few settings on them now so be sure that yours didn't just come with a higher than necessary setting on it by default. Experiment with it (within reason) and try to find the one that hurts the least but will still let it get all the way through your skin.

The results im not afraid of. Its the actual noise when you press the button. It freaks me out. Its not the pain, i know it doesnt hurt, its the noise of it that makes me think its going to hurt.

What i did this morning was take the cap off and kinda pricked myself with the needle. I get the right amount of blood for it.

I know its not the right way to do and if my doctor saw me he we probably eat the face off me for it, but it works and im not as afraid of doing it.

Captain Albection

Possible solution: next time you're in with your diabetes nurse tell them that you don't like your current lancet (don't need to go into full specifics if you don't want). Ask to see the ones that they have around the place and just listen to the different noises that they make? Might be able to find one that doesn't make as much or as annoying a noise.

herisson

Captain Albection wrote: »

Possible solution: next time you're in with your diabetes nurse tell them that you don't like your current lancet (don't need to go into full specifics if you don't want). Ask to see the ones that they have around the place and just listen to the different noises that they make? Might be able to find one that doesn't make as much or as annoying a noise.

Im having my first meeting with my diabetic nurse in a week so i can do it then.

Yakuza

We use this device on our daughter, clicks just like a pen : https://www.accu-chek.com/us/lancing-devices/multiclix.html

herisson

Yakuza wrote: »

We use this device on our daughter, clicks just like a pen : https://www.accu-chek.com/us/lancing-devices/multiclix.html

Mine clicks like a pen too, i have the one that came in the FreeStyle freedom light one. I think its a psychological thing with regards the noise!



Another question Honestly i dont really know anything about diabetes at all. But I took my blood sugars 10 mins ago, it was very high the first time so i checked again and they were much lower ones, i did it on 3 different fingers. Should this usually happen??

What one should i go with??

CramCycle

herisson wrote: »

Mine clicks like a pen too, i have the one that came in the FreeStyle freedom light one. I think its a psychological thing with regards the noise!



Another question Honestly i dont really know anything about diabetes at all. But I took my blood sugars 10 mins ago, it was very high the first time so i checked again and they were much lower ones, i did it on 3 different fingers. Should this usually happen??

What one should i go with??

How much different? Had you washed your hands/dried your hands thoroughly the first time?

It is quite normal to get different readings from different hands. Its been discussed in thread before but the issue is that it is only a rough guide, but it is the best we've got. Different machines also have different accuracies, newer ones tend to be better with some claiming as good a results as the gold standard bench top machines.