Insulin Pump!

About three weeks ago I had a doctor's appointment with my Endocrinologist (my diabetic Dr.). I have a check up once every three months or so. During this visit, we talked about how I get frustrated when some mornings I wake up and my blood sugar is high. I told her that I usually test myself before I go to bed, and my blood sugar is fine, then when I wake up, it has gone up by 100-200 points. This frustrates me more than anything because I am obsessed with having good numbers.
My doctor told me something that no one has ever told me before, after having been diabetic for over 13 years. She said that sometimes your liver stores extra glucose and then releases it during the middle of the night (usually around 2 or 3 AM). She said that the pump can help with this because you can program it to give you extra insulin around that time. We started talking about the pump, and let's be honest, the only reason that I haven't ever gotten one, was because I didn't want to wear it and be labeled by people as being diabetic and I thought it would get in the way and it just looks ugly!
The doctor pulled out this sample pump and showed me it wasn't that big (let's be honest, I knew how big they were before, but I still thought it was too big to wear all the time) but the best thing she showed me, is that they have a continuous glucose monitor that you can wear in conjunction with the pump, that transmits your blood sugar to the pump every 5 minutes. I got really excited about this. The worst part of being diabetic is NOT the shots, it is testing your blood sugar 6-8 times a day, pricking your fingers and carrying around that big tester in your purse. I had to upgrade to a bigger purse in March because my last one wasn't big enough to carry my tester and ended up getting holes. The doctor said that the continuous glucose monitor is not covered by almost any insurances. I asked how much it would cost to pay cash for the system thinking that maybe we could pull enough money together and make the sacrifice to get it, and she said it would cost about $12,000/year. That was sad, because that is WAY too much money! She said she would have the pump lady, Angela, check to see if I qualified for any kind of coverage from my insurance and we'd go from there.
I talked with Angela a couple days later and she said that I am 100% covered for the pump (which costs $6,000) and that my insurance was the only insurance that will cover the continuous glucose system completely!!! I was so excited!!! The only thing I have to pay for is a $12 fee every 3 months, plus the cost of insulin (which I have to pay for anyway) .
This last Tuesday, I had an appointment to learn how to use the pump and to get it all hooked up! It has been 4 days and I have loved having the pump already. It is nice to know that I just push a few buttons and have insulin. It hasn't been too hard adjusting to wearing it...although I am still not too crazy about the way it looks, but I guess you have to sacrifice sometimes. I am really excited about how much control I will have. One of the coolest things is that when you exercise, you can program the pump to give you less insulin. With all other insulin, you have to eat extra and make sure your blood sugar is high enough before you exercise. That almost cancels out the exercising if you have to eat before you do it. I don't have the continuous glucose monitoring system yet, but should be getting that within the next couple of weeks...and I can't wait!

Here is what the continuous glucose monitor and pump look like in action. D is the continuous glucose monitor and then your glucose shows up on the pump every 5 minutes which is obviously A.

I am just really grateful for the advancements in medical technology. I know we are all blessed today because of the great medical technology we have. I will give you an update once I get the continuous glucose monitor!