Sunday, November 21, 2010

Dex...YES

Yes!! We received a box with more Dex's!! I spoke with another person, and she was going to extend our current year one more month!! I was so happy when I saw that white box with orange letters!! Thank you Providence...at least for now.

What does this mean?? We can sleep so much better at night. We already were saved by Dex once tonight...he was low, only an hour after we put him to bed. So instead of waiting until close to 3am to check him...we were able to respond to the nice little alarm and give him a juice box and curb that low...MUCH EARLIER THAN IF WE HADNT HAD DEX!

Ahhh. Sleep. How I love sleep.
ZZZzzzzZzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzz.......

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Who makes these decisions anyway??

When I get anxious, I sometimes get a little...frantic. A little mind you. (DO NOT ask my husband his opinion of this).

Today was one of those days.

I called the middle man, aka Providence Home Services Diabetic Supplies, to request more Dex sensors to be ordered. (aka, my sons CGM...continuous glucose monitor). Today is Nov 11th. After verifying I am his mother, and our address where I would like our supplies send to, the woman on the line tells me we do not have a current authorization. It expired on Nov 5th. WHAT??

Apparently we have to "re-apply" for Dex annually. Which is also weird b/c our 1 yr date is Dec 23rd. When I asked about that, I was told, well, it was probably the time when it was approved to when you got it. I politely corrected her....they sent it to us the MINUTE we were approved. We were waiting for our approval.

Why the frantic frenzy anxiousness?? We had to fight for our insurance to cover Dex. We had to appeal. They told us we didnt need it. We didnt need a device that could tell us an estimate of what our sons blood sugar was at any given time. Our son who at the time was 2.5 yrs old. Who could not, and still cannot tell us when he feels low (or high, but the concern was with the lows). Really?? Really people. I remember the frusturation at that time, I remember wanting to go sit outside of the board of directors who denied our request and have Jack with me. Have them see that he shows NO signs of being low, that he cannot communicate it.

Well, it was authorized, and we have LOVED it. Technology is amazing. I know ppl live without Dex, or any CGM, but it is so helpful. We can see when he is going up, going down, dropping like a rocket...and seeing this helps us manage his disease (gawd I hate that word!!) It allows us to NOT poke his finger 12 times a day. Dex is usually spot on. It is reliable. If hes starting to crash, we can catch it before it happens (not always) and supplement with a carb snack or juice. If hes wanting a snack, we can look at Dex and see where his blood sugar is to gauge what kind of snack he can have...low carb (like proteins/ SF jello/ or his current fav: almonds & olives), or if he can have a snack with a light carb load.

The anxiety is because I fear they are going to tell us no again.
I have NO idea how this process works. I sure wish I did. Am I anxious for nothing??

I love Dex. Love it. I think ANYONE with diabetes should wear one. They would be amazed at what their sugars actually do.

Research has shown that you have much better control with a CGM. Who decides this?? Who are these "board members" that review our case. Do they have diabetes? Do they know what it is like to have a child with diabetes?? More importantly, do they sleep? Because without Dex, it is middle of the night checks. With Dex, there is a "low" alarm that occasionally goes off and alerts us to get up. Its not nightly, like it is without it. Do they sleep??

So for now, I will sit eagerly/anxiously/impatiently awaiting their decision...and try to sleep.