Thursday, September 25, 2008

Pumped Up and Knocked Out!

I got a call today from Kacey's CDE. I had called this morning to ask what kind of OTC meds I could give Kacey because she's got a terrible runny nose :( She told me I could use any of them *gasp* Ok...I was under the impression that she couldn't take the ones OTC cuz they have sugar in them. She explained that she could have them...we needed to test 3hrs after she takes them...and if she continues to run high then she'd need a correction.

Then she goes on to tell me a rep from Medtronics came by the office with paperwork that we filled out to get Kacey a pump...WTF?!?! Uhhhhhh NO! I explained to her that I'd been researching pumps trying to be proactive...we'd chosen to go with the MiniMed since everyone we know has one and it was well liked...so I went to the website and saw that they would sent me info about the pump to read and I took advantage of it. A rep called me a few days later to ask me if I got the info and what I thought. I told him that I was pleased with what I saw...enjoyed the DVD that came with the info...and was looking forward to Kacey going on the pump! So he asked if he could send me the forms to fill out so I could find out how much my insurance covered. Well....sure! I thought to myself...well at least Im being proactive and I will know what sort of out of pocket costs we will have to pay when we finally get the green light for the pump. Ummmm well I thought wrong! The CDE got sorta short with me and told me that Kacey would NOT be a candidate for the pump until she got through her honeymoon (however long that is!) and then after that she'd have to get the ok from her Endo. Once we got the ok from him then we'd have to attend a pump class where we are shown 4 different models of pumps and then we get to talk to all the reps from each one....we take an hour....decide which one we want....and then Kacey will be given a "trial" set to be worn for 3 days and then we go back to the doc and they file the paperwork! OK....my question is this....if she knew all that then how come when we went to our appt last Monday, the CNP couldnt tell us that?!?! I was really upset by this point! Once again, I explained to her I was being proactive and doing my research as a parent and choosing what is best for MY child. The paperwork we filled out was so we could find out how much we'd have to pay since we are a ONE income family and I dont wanna be smacked in the face with a bill for $3000 if our insurance will only cover 1/2 the pump. And....as of today....we still dont know WTF they cover.....grrrrrrrrrrrr!

So I guess Im a bit disappointed now. I was really hoping to be able to go thru everything (classes, etc) and then once she was ready for the pump we could just do it...but it doesnt look like thats gonna happen ~sigh~

Now...about this honeymoon...
When you look up the definition of honeymoon it says :

Definition:
[n]
the early usually calm and harmonious period of a relationship; business or political

LOL...ok so for the record....this is NOT a calm and harmonious period...and it is something I wish would end!! Why in the hell would they call this time a honeymoon? It should be called "The diabetes hellish roller coaster period"!! For now I can only hope and pray this cold Kacey has will kick her out of her honeymoon (since we were told in the hospital that usually once they get sick for the first time it will kick them out and her sugars will stay up...thus ending the honeymoon and increasing the need for more insulin) Not sure how Im gonna break the news to Kacey. Think its easiest to just tell her she cant have the pump til she gets out of her honeymoon. So hopefully by our 6mo appt...she will be out of her honeymoon...and when we see her doc (since we havent seen him since she was diagnosed in the hospital in July) then we'll be ready for it! ~fingers crossed~

Until later....
~*~JILL~*~

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hang in there girl! Nikki really never had a honeymoon phase. Her pancreas was considered "dead" (great word huh?) almost from the beginning.

We went through the pump classes and it was pretty soon after, like a day or so, that we had made up our minds and ordered the mini-med. Here is a tip for you, BRYAN AND I wore the pump for 3 days each before we allowed it to be hooked into Nikki. We ran saline solution through it, but we did everything she would have to do for 3 days; I simply had to know what she was going to have to deal with (sleeping, running, walking, INSERTION) If you ask, they have to let you do that and I know that Mini-Med supports doing that. Bryan and I practiced inserting the site on each other and we good at it before I ever touched Nikki!

We can talk more, but if you want I can send some of our left over Mini-Med site for you and hubby to practice (of course DO NOT FORGET THE EMLA CREAM!!!)