My First Month with DEX

No. Dex isn’t the name of my significant other. However, it’s probably the most significant relationship I have. He’s always and quite literally by my side. We’ve slept together nearly every night, and he’s a great companion whether I’m feeling high or low. Sometimes communication is rough especially when Mercury is in retrograde, but we’ve learned how to course correct and trust one another.

Ok, I’m done. However, if you haven’t read my previous post, My Week with Dex, you’ll probably want to do that first as I explain more about my new little diabetes-related best friend. As for now, I wanted to share a little more about our initial month together including our firsts, our successes, and our learning curves.

When my box of Dexcom G5 supplies first arrived, I eagerly ripped it open. Despite having only worn it in a trial for one week out of the 14 years I’ve been living with type one diabetes, quality of life felt a little less after I’d returned the device to the doctor’s office. It had changed my world that much. Finally, I had one to call my own. BUT, not so fast. I still had to wait a few weeks for a nurse visit appointment to go over set up and some training. Patience. Is not. My forte. Especially with new gadgets. I behaved though and only took a few pieces out of their boxes to look over before the appointment arrived.

Just a quick reminder for anyone wondering what the hell a Dexcom and/or CGM represents. Aside from the measurable freedom a type one might see through their eyes, a continuous glucose monitor (aka CGM) does exactly that. It monitors blood glucose continuously and displays it on a screen be it a smart phone, an insulin pump or various receivers that come with each CGM brand. Dexcom is the brand of CGM I’ve chosen. At the beginning of this post, I linked the article I wrote with many more details on these devices and why I chose this particular brand, so I encourage you to check that out!

Now, as I finally got to sit in the private office for my appointment that day, I somewhat cautiously asked the nurse (who also happens to be a t1d wearing Dexcom) if she could show me how to insert the sensor into my arm. Two reasons for this:

1. Because I knew it would be the most difficult for me to do on my own. I wanted to do it with someone who could help and had experience with/tips for doing it completely correct. Anywhere else such as my stomach, lower back, thigh, etc would be easier from there.

2. Also- and this is kinda silly but so me- one of the reasons I was super excited about having a Dexcom was to wear it on my arm. In the open. Making other people question the odd “button” and being spotted “in the wild” by other t1’s. What can I say? I’m proud and completely unashamed of being different.

Long story short, I got it successfully inserted in my arm (with a lot of assistance and only mild panic). After setting up my phone to sync via Bluetooth with Dex and their app, as well as a few other setups, tips, tricks, and encouragement, I was off into the wild.

My first solo insertion a week later went shockingly well. I opted for a little “love handle” spot that turned out to be completely painless and surprisingly comfortable. I ended up using a video located directly on Dexcom’s app that does a step-by-step insertion tutorial to make sure I was covering all of my bases.

In that first week, I was already getting game-changing results. My overnight blood sugars formed nearly solid lines of perfection after months and months of waking up with random highs. It’s like my body knew I could watch it’s moves now so it couldn’t pull any shit.

Mornings by far seemed to be my biggest struggle before Dex so this felt revolutionary. You’d be surprised how much waking up to something so small going right can impact your overall mood throughout the day. Getting in workouts was made easier because I could watch how my blood sugar was trending (i.e. steady straight, up, down) moments before my planned workout. Also, I could catch and treat lows mid-workout before they stopped me completely. A truly glorious gift for this fit gal.

In the last month, I’ve only experienced one minor learning curve worth mentioning. This happened while trying to do my first solo arm insertion. This also happened to be on the day where I thought filming these processes for my blog would be a great idea since both my pump and Dex were demanding my attention! First, I did a video of the process of connecting my pump after filling it with more insulin. That was a breeze for the most part. Only minor editing required.

However, I could say a lot more about the Dex process. It needed a little more editing to cut out the multiple pauses for hyperventilation and remarks about how much I was sweating during the process.

I inserted the video from that experience at the end of this post in case you’re a curious individual with eight or so minutes to spare.

However, despite how successful I appear in the video, the sensor was not a success. LOL. During what’s called the “warm-up” process, the sensor failed and wasn’t able to give me any blood sugar readings. So guess what? I had to do it again. The second time around was a little smoother but slightly more painful. It ended up being a heavy bleeder, too, as I must have struck a vein. I decided to give it a try before pulling and wasting what might be a perfectly functioning sensor. And it was! I got through the entire sweaty dance-a-thon that I participated in with the help of an avocado Pump Peelz and a little IV prep swabbed around the edge to really secure it in place during hours of copious wild movements. Unfortunately, a day or two later, I pulled the sensor early anyway due to pain randomly shooting down my arm. It was frustrating, and I ended up not putting another sensor in for a few days.

Overall, I feel considerably blessed with more freedom. I might check my blood sugar via blood drop a little less than what I should (to confirm Dex’s readings are near accuracy), but I’m also very confident in listening closely to my body. I love being able to watch my blood sugar when I’m out of the house which eliminates a great deal of anxiety that I’ve always dealt with in the fear of going low inconveniently. I’ve even been able to watch how and when certain foods affect me in order to react much sooner to keep my numbers in range.

And, of course, I’ve been able to catch all the unicorns! That’s t1d speak for blood sugar readings of a perfect 100 mg/dL. They’re rare and completely majestic (hence unicorn).

Not all of my days are straight lines and unicorns though. It’s not natural anyway. Even a nondiabetic has a rise in blood sugar after eating most meals. And being able to watch these numbers consistently does come with mental frustrations, fear, and obsessive worries.

However, my numbers have become immediately better than I ever thought possible. I think I can easily count on one hand the number of readings over 300 mg/dL (which is fairly high) that I’ve seen since hanging with Dex. And, it just so happens that I got my recent A1C done last week to check my management overall.

Terminology time! A hemoglobin A1C test reflects an average blood sugar over the previous three month period. I’ve always been told that 7 and below is ideal for someone with diabetes in order to prevent complications.

Well, over the last year or so, I struggled with small burnout phases leading me to A1Cs of 8.0 and then down to two 7.8s in a row. Definitely not my best nor something I could be proud of as an advocate for self-care.

Want to know just how much Dexcom has improved my short and long-term quality of life? Well, this quarter’s A1C came back as…

Wait.

For.

It.

YAAAAS!!

In mg/dL speak, I went from an average of about 175mg/dL to about 145mg/dL. My average of the one month with Dex was about 140mg/dL, so I’m super motivated to keep crushing these next three months to achieve my best A1C EVER. I’m also tremendously grateful for the support of my diabetes educators who looked at me in amazement as I conquered this feat. They were blown away and helped me realize and validate how hard I’ve worked at getting to this point in a small window of time. All of the refocusing, pausing, and giving more attention to my body held the promise of a better me, and, man, has it paid off.

So has opening up and sharing more about this journey. I’ve also found, after downloading their app, that the Beyond Type 1 community is insanely welcoming, helpful and supportive. It’s been a blessing to connect with other t1ds and ask questions, get advice and read about different experiences. I cannot recommend them enough to anyone with this illness (as well as parents, spouses, etc who care for loved ones with t1d), and I cannot imagine what it would have done for me so many years ago. Feeling apart of something makes a game-changing impact.

My hopes are that I can use this community to make some west coast diabuddies real soon!

Anyone who wants to sign up can go here, and you can find me on this lovely network as Taylor Lane!

Lastly, I want to recognize my ultimate gratitude for this device.  I’m so grateful to have amazing insurance that covers all of these supplies. You’ve likely seen in the news where insulin costs are freakin’ skyrocketing. Many diabetics can’t afford the one supply we need to keep LIVING. All of this other technology- the pens, the pumps, the CGMs, etc- is incredibly beneficial for managing all that diabetes throws at us by helping us achieve a better quality of life. Some benefit from them a little more than others. However, we all equally benefit from insulin just to live.

And living shouldn't be a luxury.

When it comes down to the backbone of this illness- that’s insulin. A liquid hormone in a two inch tall vile. For many, that one vile which can last approximately a month depending on one’s needs, can cost several hundreds of dollars per month. Out of pocket.

If you’re reading this, please take an additional few seconds to sign this petition and help me stand up for affordable insulin. You can read more about this movement and how to take action on the American Diabetes Website.

Do you see now, how I can be overwhelmingly grateful for my pump and Dexcom and everything I need to live a wonderful quality of life at just a phone call and a pharmacy away? It’s just a moments notice away whenever I need it. I will never take that for granted. And these companies taking this kind of advantage over it’s customers shouldn’t be taking us for granted in this way.

So, that took an unexpected turn, but it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass over after going on about how wonderful my own management has been. Gotta keep it all in perspective.

As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read my words. I do it all from my heart with the intention of inspiring at least one person. I try to be the person I once needed even when I believed I needed no one. If you’re also a type one having stumbled over this blog, don’t be afraid to reach out! Say hi! You’re not alone. And I’ll answer all of your questions and do my best to help calm your concerns.

With that, I leave you with this lovely video from my Dexcom insertion as promised, and I cannot wait to update you on my CGM journey again when I receive the G6 model in the coming months!

trainliketaylor@gmail.com