Diabetes Thoughts Blog

Today was my three month doctor visit. Since I have a chronic illness, I need to have my blood tested 4 times a year.

So, as you would guess, I have had my blood tested an awful lot. What makes it harder is that I have what the phlebotomists call difficult veins. It isn’t my fault, I didn’t make them this way. But, some of the phlebotomists treat me that way. Sort of like they are thinking “Why are you making my day difficult”.

It is hard enough getting your HbA1C tested. You are worried that your numbers are okay, and you feel like you are going to be judged. Having an annoyed phlebotomist doesn’t help matters.

Luckily, I didn’t get an annoyed phlebotomist…I got one in training. So, instead of annoyed, she got all flustered. Honestly, I don’t do it on purpose. My veins are just small.

On a better note, I heard a couple of things from my doctor. He has heard that continuous glucose monitoring has started to be covered by health insurance. A Medtronic rep will be in his office soon, and I can talk to her about the possibility of getting one. Yay!

My new Ultralink arrived on Monday. Yay! It was a bit of a surprise, because I didn’t get my usual “we shipped something” email, like everything else from Medtronic. I’m going to play with it a couple of more days before I write my review. Overall, I like it!

Yay! I just got a letter yesterday from Medtronic Minimed. They have finished mailing the One Touch Ultralink meter to the owners of 722/522 and now have started sending them out to those who own the 512/712/515 and 715 model. (The letter said that people with those models should be getting the Ultralink FREE by August 30, 2008.)

I am so happy! I really liked the way the BD link meter worked, but I didn’t like the cost of the strips. (It was covered by my insurance, but with a much higher copay than the Ultra strips. Since I test around 8-10 times a day, it can make a HUGE difference. )

I’ll put a review here once I get it.

Here is a link to Medtronic’s announcement, if you would like to read it: http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/components/onetouchultralink/faq.html