My RANT: Trips to pharmacy

Howdy everyone!!!

First, thanks Angela for the bit about sleep before midnight. It had been a few years since I last heard that. Makes it all crystal clear now, and I feel good about waking up the roosters:)

Second, training is going good. The lantus drop has been good. 5 units in the am, 7 units pm, and Blood sugars have been perfect. Saw the eye, and endo docs yesterday. All results were perfect. I had a better A1C than my endo, Bruce Bode...ha Sitting at 5.5 now with only 2% below target in 28 days. Best #'s ever. Ride on Sunday was amazing. Doing exercises every morning, yoga 3x a week, and massage and the difference is noticeable. I am very excited, and very motivated!!! Bigger week this week, with a few small tests. My guess is that by Saturday, total Lantus dose will be less than 10 units/day.

Ok, so now for the rant. I have been going to the pharmacy once a month for my entire life to get supplies. Every month I get the same thing: Apidra, Lantus, Freestyle Strips, Syringes, and Pen Needles. I get the same quantity every time, yet for some reason each and every time I go in the pharmacy, I never leave in less than 30 minutes. It has always been like this. I am not going to name bash, but they all seem to be about the same. Yesterday I went in to get the same 5 items as always, that I called in and requested, and then verified via phone before going in, and then I get my order minus 2 big boxes. No Syringes. I ask the guy, and he said insurance isn't covering them.
"Excuse me" I say.
"Well, your insurance isn't going to pay." he says
"I still need the needles" Wondering here why he didn't tell me this was the reason I had no needles instead of just not giving them to me.
"You have to pay cash"
"Ok, I want to keep my eye-sight, I will take the needles..."
So I pay my $30/box for needles, but decided to prolong the trip by calling my insurance company, United Health Care, who initially denied the coverage. The ironic thing is on the on-going message while I was on hold, the first thing it said was "Properly managed diabetes can significantly reduce the risk of complications, such as blindness." I found it quite funny that they are telling me to properly manage my disease, but refuse to pay for syringes that I need to give injections to ensure I do not have complications.
The lady on customer service was very nice, and ended up taking care of it, so I waited another 20 minutes while the "script" was filled, and then got my boxes for $15 a pop. All in all, just getting the diabetes supplies was $250, and this is the same cost every month.

I hope President Obama does act on his plans to help people get the tools. I have faith that he will. What if it was an underprivileged family, who could not swing $60 for needles, or didn't have a cell phone to call the insurance company, or even worse, did not have insurance to pay for the supplies???

I know exactly what would happen:
The person would be forced to check less, due to cost, not desire. He/she would be forced to do fewer injections, use inferior insulin, and/or use dirty needles, which could cause infection. This person probably sees an endo 2x/year at best, and has an A1C over 10, purely because of $$.

Diabetes, as you know, is a disease where management is everything. We have to take care of it, and having the best treatment (insulin) and technology will enable us to avoid complications.
Not having the tools is not an option, and if any reader out there has a contact in the House, Senate, or Oval Office, I would truly appreciate an introduction to try and make change.

I propose a $26 Billion Dollar "Supply Campaign" where we provide supplies to people with diabetes around the world, provide the best cancer treatment to those in need, and help people who cannot afford to help themselves. Maybe we start here, and see the impact it has, and then move outwards.

Together we can do it.
Thanks for listening to my RANT.

Have a great day.

Phil

Back Baby! early rising??

Howdy!

Things have been good as of late, and my respect for those who gain their fitness from riding inside has sky-rocketed. Why? So this was comeback week for me. Sunday, I got to ride inside for 1 hour, and was counting the seconds. Tuesday I had big plans to ride outside, but it was freezing, so I opted to ride inside again. Made it 1 hour, and wondered why I do this? Did some Yoga that night, which was refreshing. The mediation part at the end is really good for me, and at least I know for 4-6 minutes a few times a week, nothing matters. It rocks!!
Wed, was able to ride outside for 1.5 hours, and then Thurs had plans to ride with my buddy John Martin, when the sky bottomed out. Back to the rollers. Again the longest hour of my life.
Wed, I got some acupuncture, and massage, as well as trying gyrotonics and Pilates, which were good! All this time, insulin requirements are dropping. It really is cool to see the effect exercise has on my metabolism. Going from 15 units of Lantus early in the week, down to 12 last night.

I saw my chiro on Thursday, and he straightened me out, which anyone who has ridden with me over the past few years will attest to the miracle that it is... I have been pretty crooked for some time, and I believe it is due to the blood flow discrepancy that has now been fixed, but it has been tricky to re-train the body to think straight.

Friday and Saturday were both 3 hour rides, and I have begun to feel good on the bike again. Let's just say I am very motivated to do everything humanly possible to be the best I can be.

This time getting back into training, I have been staying one step ahead of the game with my Lantus drop. Sticking with 5 units in the am and have gone from 10 at night down to 7 last night. I have been determined not to go hypo. So it has meant some rises in the night, and small corrections in the middle of the night. I plan to do 4 hours today, and will most likely stick with 7, as I went up to 155 by 4am, did .5 unit of Apidra and had a nice slow drop to 105 where I am sitting now. Just did the Lantus, and in will snack on some fruit, until about 9am. At 9 I will eat 2 packets of Oatmeal to get the trend going up, and then hit the road at 9:30. I am hoping that I won't have to eat as much on the rides as the past few days. Yesterday I had to eat 1000 calories on a 3 hour ride. My Blood sugar was between 80-110 the entire time, but I would have preferred 110-130, or even 130-150 with less food. This is normal as the body is learning to fuel during exercise. I think by this time next week, I will be able to do the same ride with only 500 calories.

Last thing before my ramble ends... Can someone explain to me what has happened? I used to enjoy sleep, and could sleep until 8,9 in the morning no problem. This week, Mon-Fri I have woken up between 5-6 every day. Granted I am going to bed earlier than normal, but this is making me wonder....ha Not to say it has been a bad thing. I am up, and can get 50 emails out of the way, and am caught up by 8am every day. Then I spend the day staying on top of them as possible before the inevitable fall behind...

Thanks for reading, and any thoughts on these new sleep habits would be much appreciated.
Have a great day!

Phil
www.teamtype1.org