August 25, 2004

Diabetes Testing Meter

Thanks for your comment Judy, I appreciate your support. I did have a freestyle meter when the little blue ones first came out, but the problem was that because I have such a tight (and complicated) insulin regimen, I can't test on alternate sites. You can only test on alternate sites if you aren't expecting a drastic level change, and because I have been so brittle, I just cant take the risk. When alternate site testing came out, I was just really happy, but they didn't mention that you have to have pretty stable blood sugars to use the alternate site testing. I guess they say it is because if there is a change in your blood sugars your fingers will detect it before alternate sites. The meter I have now has the capability for alternate site testing, but those freestyles sure are snazzy. I actually have a collection of meters, as I'm very hard on them. I have two one touch ultras, an original freestyle, a one touch basic, two accucheck compacts, and the one I use now is a one touch ultra smart. What I like about it is that I no longer have to keep a log of how I'm feeling, the meter does it for me. I can put in the meter if I feel sick, what my ketones are testing at, how many carbs I had with which meal, etc. BUT - I recently had a hard time with one of their customer service agents who was very rude and gave me a hard time because I couldn't read the numbers off of certain things he wanted me to. One of the side effects of uncontrolled diabetes is vision changes. My vision can change from one hour to the next.

Most people tend to be afraid of the needles, but the needles that you inject insulin with, and needles used when you get a shot at the doctor's office are different. (for the most part..if you have to inject a lot of insulin, you may come closer to the same needle size) The needles I use are very small. Most of the time I don't feel the shot at all. It's a good thing, because I take multiple shots a day of two kinds of insulin. My insulin regimen has to be changed. All the health practitioners I've seen lately say it is the most complicated they've ever seen, and I agree. But it is all I have right now, and I'm getting by. I'd like to get an insulin pump someday, but they are very expensive, and some doctors are determined to get me off of insulin all together, but that is just them still not believing I am a true type 1....my body doesn't make insulin on it's own. I'm watching islet transplants carefully. That is where they take pancreatic cells and transplant them in to you. It supposedly gets your pancreas to make insulin. It has a pretty good success rate, but from what I've read, it isn't permanent. Not nearly. I read one article that said you'd have to get the transplant twice a year. I think I'll wait until it is further tested, and possibly improved.

Orthodox medicine has not found an answer to your complaint. However, luckily for you, I happen to be a quack.
~Richter cartoon

Posted by HeatherLeigh on August 25, 2004 05:48 PM