I feel the need for a rant!!!
I was promised a new pump back in August by my consultant as I suffer dozens and dozens of hypos a month & lots of highs too. I have been on the old Spirit pump for 2 1/2 years & I have come to the conclusion after loads of fasting basal testing that the basal increments (min 0.1u) just aren't flexible enough for me. Plus, I really wanted CGM so that I can better see what's going on for a few months while I get myself sorted out.
I have through doing 250 BG finger prick tests per month & have got myself down to about 40 hypos per month, which is terribel, but better than the 60 I was having 6 months ago. I am so fed up of stuffing sugar down myself, but if I reduce my basals & fast, my BG goes up, so I increase my basal & fast & it goes down (which is why I think I need an 0.05u/hr or 0.025u/hr pump). Most of my hypos occur about 5-7 hours after eating, suggesting that it's basals which are the culprit.
With all of this, I persuaded my consultant to give me a new Veo pump & agreed that I would fund the CGM myself (though I will only be able to do it for a while at £250 per month for sensors :shock: ). Over to the DSNs to sort it out. Firstly, they didn't contact me, then, when I finally gave up waiting & contacted them in early October they said it would take about six weeks (my consultant had indicated in August that she believed that I could have had the new pump by early October). I rang a week later with a question, they never called back. I eventually spoke to them again on 31 October, they still didn't have authority to purchase the pmp.
My patience finally ran out yesterday as I am soooo fed up of finger prick tests & not making any progress to even out my control despite all my hard work. I rang them again. I actually got a call back today, quite quickly by their standards. They've got my pump (I was too gobsmacked to ask how long it had been sitting in their store) but had been too busy to contact me to set up an induction for me!!!!
I recieved a letter from the hospital a few months ago about a change to clinic structure and how every patient will be expected to attend education sessions every check up which will show commitment to managing one's own health & included an implied threat that if anyone declined to attend these sessions that they might just take their pump away. That implied threat incensed me enough, but to now hear that I am so low down their list of priorities that they hadn't got around telling me that they have the device that I need to have a chance of sorting out my problems leaves me speechless. :evil:
Why is it when one tries to keep control of one's own health, works hard to do all the right things yet still needs some assistance, they just seem to look at you and say, "that one's alright on her own, she'll cope."
I'm not sure if I can bear to ask how long ago I could have had this new pump, I might just swear at someone. :x
Rant over, thank you for reading, sorry if I bored you :yawn: (unless it's late at night when I might just have helped you get off to sleep
)
I was promised a new pump back in August by my consultant as I suffer dozens and dozens of hypos a month & lots of highs too. I have been on the old Spirit pump for 2 1/2 years & I have come to the conclusion after loads of fasting basal testing that the basal increments (min 0.1u) just aren't flexible enough for me. Plus, I really wanted CGM so that I can better see what's going on for a few months while I get myself sorted out.
I have through doing 250 BG finger prick tests per month & have got myself down to about 40 hypos per month, which is terribel, but better than the 60 I was having 6 months ago. I am so fed up of stuffing sugar down myself, but if I reduce my basals & fast, my BG goes up, so I increase my basal & fast & it goes down (which is why I think I need an 0.05u/hr or 0.025u/hr pump). Most of my hypos occur about 5-7 hours after eating, suggesting that it's basals which are the culprit.
With all of this, I persuaded my consultant to give me a new Veo pump & agreed that I would fund the CGM myself (though I will only be able to do it for a while at £250 per month for sensors :shock: ). Over to the DSNs to sort it out. Firstly, they didn't contact me, then, when I finally gave up waiting & contacted them in early October they said it would take about six weeks (my consultant had indicated in August that she believed that I could have had the new pump by early October). I rang a week later with a question, they never called back. I eventually spoke to them again on 31 October, they still didn't have authority to purchase the pmp.
My patience finally ran out yesterday as I am soooo fed up of finger prick tests & not making any progress to even out my control despite all my hard work. I rang them again. I actually got a call back today, quite quickly by their standards. They've got my pump (I was too gobsmacked to ask how long it had been sitting in their store) but had been too busy to contact me to set up an induction for me!!!!
I recieved a letter from the hospital a few months ago about a change to clinic structure and how every patient will be expected to attend education sessions every check up which will show commitment to managing one's own health & included an implied threat that if anyone declined to attend these sessions that they might just take their pump away. That implied threat incensed me enough, but to now hear that I am so low down their list of priorities that they hadn't got around telling me that they have the device that I need to have a chance of sorting out my problems leaves me speechless. :evil:
Why is it when one tries to keep control of one's own health, works hard to do all the right things yet still needs some assistance, they just seem to look at you and say, "that one's alright on her own, she'll cope."
I'm not sure if I can bear to ask how long ago I could have had this new pump, I might just swear at someone. :x
Rant over, thank you for reading, sorry if I bored you :yawn: (unless it's late at night when I might just have helped you get off to sleep
)