Seriously, though. Kerri recently posted about the trials and tribulations her poor pump has seen. And, honestly, after reading it I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Lord above I'm not the only adult diabetic who beats their pump up like Mike Tyson on a bad day! Every so often when I look down I my pump, I really see it and I realize that it is looking more and more hit up every day. And I am forced to wonder, how do these giant scratches and deep gouges get there? It's finding a giant bruise on your body and having NO CLUE how it got there? What could I be doing that would inflict this level of carnage and destruction on my poor little pump??I wasn't a terribly active person until recently (I told you, I'm working on it!!) and even still, how dangerous is the treadmill for a device that's tucked into your bra?!? During the day, I tend to store my pump in the pocket of my pants/jeans and clipped in a cami under my scrubs for work. Now, I am the rather clumsy and I tend to take sharp corners that result in me clipping my hips/toes/etc on walls and door frames. (DOH!) But my pump usually remains safely in my pocket/cami. The only time it's clipped to my waistband and is exposed is when I'm at home in my PJ's since they have no pocket. So sure, every now and then my pump gets a beating when I walk into a wall, but how often is that really?
When I was pregnant and on my feet for 24 hours straight at work, I tended to get pretty hot and sweaty. Gross, I know, but stay with me here. One day at work when I pulled my pump out of my cami, I noticed that the rubber cover over the up/down arrows stayed stuck to my skin as I pulled my pump away. It wasn't completely torn but it looked like the glue had melted and the rubber was coming up. I could only assume that this was because I had been hot and the pump was restingd against my skin. Luckily since Animas' warranty and customer support was awesome, they overnighted me another pump for free and I shipped the sweaty one back. Eww for them! Yay for me!
So I've technically only had my current pump for 6 months or so. I've gone through 3 pumps in 15 months?!? WHY?!? I will say that the screen on the Animas Ping is pretty soft and any kind of rough rubbing (like getting scuffed on the rivets of my jeans as I shove it into my pocket, say?) will create a white-ish scar over the screen. And it's pretty hard to see through if it's in the wrong spot. They offer a replacement screen film but I have no desire to pay $10 for it (plus shipping) when I can just as easily squint or use my meter remote. Call me cheap, I don't care, not doin' it !
Anyway, other than the hot-and-sweaty-business (which is gone now that I'm not dragging Katie around with me at work) and the screen, I can't for the life of me figure out why the rest of my pump looks like it's been through the garbage disposal. And I think I'll just have to live with the fact that I just may never know.
Anybody out there in that boat with me? Any other battered and bruised pumps?
PS: For those curious, I took these pics at work. And when I dug my pump out of my cami I had to dig everything else out of my shirt pocket/neckline to reach it. So it's dumped next my other work-time essentials that I carry on my person: my patient census with all my patients and their details (otherwise known as my "brain"), my ID badge and key to the call room/office, the delivery phone (that I would love to throw out the nearest window at 4am), a Diet Coke and cash for the vending machines. You know, the must-haves! ;-)
Hey Layne! Thanks for your comment, just found your blog! How funny, my poor pump gets pretty beat up, too. It must be made out of pretty hard plastic though, bc as I look at it now, it looks pretty good, other than a few scratches on the screen. I used to always keep under my arm in my bra, but once i got the sensor on it and wanted to see the screen, I moved it to my waistline (and people suddenly started asking what it was, how funny, I always thought it was so obvious under my arm). Anyway, i still keep it in my bra when I'm exercising (which also has not been since the baby arrived, glad your are there with me!!) and it would get really sweaty and gross.
ReplyDeleteYes, there was a little bit of drama with my pump and anesthesia, but once we got passed the resident who read the rule book that said "no pumps", we were all good. I heard a little about your experience from Dawn.. like them wanting to treat a blood sugar in the 50s or something?! Craziness. Thankfully, whether good or bad, it's all pretty much a blur now anyway!
Hmm.. maybe this should have been an email instead of a comment! Oh well!
Oh, and I would like to point out that your blog has a picture of you, your husband, and your dog.. where's the baby!? ;)
ReplyDeleteLayne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting....and CONGRATS ON HAVING A BEAUTIFUL BABY!!!! You are an inspiration to me. My husband and I are still waiting anohter year or 2...but it is so encouraging to see other type 1 women having babies!
Great pics of your pump. Mine is pink as well...and scratched up too! I just banged it into the counter this morning in the kitchen!
So sorry to hear about not getting approval on your strips. I just found out that BCBSH accepted my dr's appeal letter to let me test 10-12 times/day instead of 6.
Someone told me if BCBSH denies the dr. letter, it can go before another board that isn't so interested in the insurance aspect, but actually makes a decision based on health.
I agree...I'm still fuming that an insurance company can tell me how to handle my health, even when it's contradictory to all of the medical research that shows testing your blood sugar is one of the best ways to prevent complications.
Hoping you can get more advocacy with this. Maybe contact the ADA?!