Saturday, July 29, 2006

No Coincidence Here!

I've been in the process of becoming a certified product trainer for Minimed, but one thing that was holding up the Continuous Glucose Monitor System (CGMS) certification was lack of an extra pump for me to use. Well, a pretty neat turn of events have helped that along. Thursday night I had to change my pump site, but for some reason the pump was not acknowledging that there was a full reservoir there. It just kept pushing the plunger along, instead of showing the amount of insulin that had been primed and letting me stop it! Luckily, I didn't let it waste too much insulin, before calling the 1 800 number. I was told I'd have to leave my pump off and use shots to manage my diabetes until a replacement pump arrived the next day. I had been using a 512, and they didn't have any 512's available to send me, so I mentioned that I was going to be a product trainer, and asked if I could get a 522(the newest one that communicates with the sensor). The customer service rep said he didn't have one available, that I'd be getting a 515. I thought, well, ok, I need to learn the differences between the 512 and the 515 anyway, and it's a "free" upgrade, so that works too. I managed to avoid having more than trace ketones by the am, and my BG's weren't too bad either. The pump had to be delivered to work, since I needed to sign for it, and it came by 1000. I tore open the box, and found a brand new 522 ready for me to use! I sat down and programed all my info it, and played with it for a bit. Now I just have to wait for the Diabetes Nurse Specialist who is training me to get back to me about when a sensor is available for me to train on. Jim and I are going on a tour of Italy in 40 days, so the pump malfunction really was prefect timing for more than one reason. (I know Medtronic has an office in Italy, but we're changing cities every couple of days so it'd be tricky to plan a delivery.) And for those of you who aren't familiar with insulin pumps, the malfunctions are few and far between. I've been on a pump for 7 years, and this is only the second time I've had to send a pump back for a new one. Which, considering that it's worn 365 days a year and gets bumped into, dropped, etc occasionally, is pretty good. So I don't consider this malfunction that led to me getting a 522 a coincidence-like a coworker said, I couldn't have planned it.

2 comments:

Bernard said...

Kate

Wow are you blessed. Please let us know what you think about the 522, it sounds like a great device and I'm really interested in trying to get one. But before I do, I'm trying to read and learn about it from real users.

I was at a pump club meeting recently where the 522 was discussed. One thing that I learnt which might be useful for you to know is that Minimed have a program where they can send you an extra pump to take with you when travelling. The Minimed representative thought that there's a small fee for the extra pump - maybe $50. If that's true it's a small price for peace of mind.

Bernard

Anonymous said...

There ya go... you got a new pump *AND* it interfaces with the sensor. I know you can't wait to get it next week and I can't wait to hear about how it changes your ability to manage your glucose (especially that unpredictable chinese food!).