Anyone else "use" medically with T1D?
Ghomerzgirl
Posts: 67 Member
With my fibromyalgia and neuropathy and unable to take Lyrica because of it dropping my blood sugars (paramedics had to be called 3 times in 1 week due to lows that didn't even come up with a glucagon shot) and my high tolerance to pain meds making them noneffective I have to use pot a few times a week to get any relief and sleep. My problem is my uncontrolled munchies afterwards. I try to make food or set food out for me to eat so I know what i am intaking carb wise to use my carb ratio after I eat but sometimes it really doesn't go as planned. The next morning my blood sugars are easily over 300 (which I am used to bc my sugars are very uncontrolled and trying to get a pump to help, however insurance is saying a pump isn't medically necessary and my latest A1C was over 14). Anyway, i was wondering if anyone else uses either medically or recreational use and how you handle the munchies factor afterwards with your insulin. I'm open to trying new things to try and control it so just wondering what others do..
Jenn
Jenn
0
Replies
-
I just want to say that in regards to the pump, DO NOT let your insurance company dictate what is or is not medically necessary. Get your doctor to write a formal Letter of Medical Necessity. Have him/her outline your history of A1cs, any complications you have, the COSTS that these are causing the insurance company, etc. Often an insurance company will look at it and say 'Why would we pay towards a $7000 medical device and all future supplies when we don't have to?" but if they realize that in the long run it will make you HEALTHIER and cost them less.......they are often more willing.
Also, appeal their decision and ask that a third-party endocrinologist review your request for an insulin pump. This kind of stuff should not be decided by a customer service rep on a power trip.
Keep fighting - it can take a while, but eventually they should cover it.0 -
We have appealed it several times in the past. I'm on Iowa Medicaid, and even the diabetic center has said they are the worst when it comes to paying for a pump. Last time I had formal letters from Endocrinology, Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Obstetrics, along with a breakdown of costs from me, still a no go. That's why we are trying again being that my conditions have worsened exponentially since the last time I was on or tried to get a pump. I'm crossing my fingers, but not getting my hopes up. I'm just tired of being sick all the time and going from severe highs to severe lows on a regular basis...it's exhausting!
Jenn0 -
So sorry to hear that! Medicaid programs can be difficult to work with in terms of getting a pump unless you are pregnant at the time (and then they just give you one for the pregnancy and say they won't pay for it afterwards, ugh).
If you can afford it, I recommend looking into getting a private insurance plan next year when insurance companies have to start accepting and covering people with pre-existing conditions. My husband works for an insurance company and he said they are actively looking for people with pre-existing conditions who either are doing well, or who want to do better with their care and actively work on being healthier. It definitely sounds like you want to work on doing what is right for you and your body!0 -
I wish i could afford it. however I am no disability along with my youngest son. (I did have a pump for my pregnancy with my oldest though they wouldn't loan me one for my youngest, which now he has had 2 open heart surgeries with 2 more expected, and a slew of other health problems). I get about 1500 a month and 150 in food stamps for me and my two children. My boyfriend is trying to find a job that pays enough to help with expenses as well. But he owes back child support and they take 50% of his check so he basically works for 4 an hour. Things are very tight in our household between health problems and food allergies....which is another reason I want a pump back so I can get healthier to try and go back to work.
Jenn0 -
I took a quick peek at your profile, and noticed you are trying to gain weight....so why are the munchies such a problem? Why not just count out a bigger snack, and take insulin on a carb scale?
Aside from that, all I can say, being a smoker to control OCD, is that after some time, you actually do not really get the munchies anymore...in fact, sometimes I can use herb to hold off hunger if I am not able to eat at that time....the only time I find munchies a problem is if I am having a low as well, or it is already my mealtime, then I tend to over eat.....0 -
That's my problem is that I tend to overeat and then fall asleep either not taking my shot afterwards or not really remember exactly how much I ate and fear of lows. I try to set stuff out and then write down the carbs next to them to help me remember. I really was just wondering if anyone else with T1D also had issues with their numbers for the same reason or similar to those reasons.
Jenn0 -
It might help to measure things out, know the carbs, etc (like you are doing) and then give your shot before you eat - that way you don't forget to do it. I do this even with my pump, because I like to give my insulin about 10 minutes headstart time so that the timing of my food digesting meets up a little better with the timing of my insulin's peak. This can also cut down on those unplanned munchies - after all if you already did your shot and ate..........do you really want to eat more and do ANOTHER shot?
The other idea with waking high is that it might be that you need more of your Levemir/Lantus (whatever you use) overnight. Do you do two shots of that per day or one? Sometimes people who wake up with very high blood sugars split that insulin dose into two shots, 12 hours apart, and give about 60% before bed and 40% in the morning, instead of splitting it evenly. Might be something to discuss with your doctor if it happens a lot
0 -
Hi Jenn,
My mom is on Medicaid and is Type 1 (as am I). She was told by Medicaid that they would not cover a pump or continuous glucose monitor, so I told her to contact Dexcom and Animas and let them know she wanted their products. THEY did the leg work for her and worked with her doctors office and Medicaid to get her approved. I'm not sure that this is helpful in your situation, but just wanted to offer up the suggestion. I so wish there was more I could do to help! It's infuriating that you are being denied something that could so improve your longevity and quality of life. >:-/
I, like Kari, take my insulin before I eat, mainly for timing reasons, but also so I don't forget.
Please feel free to add me if you'd like another friend
-Amber0 -
It might help to measure things out, know the carbs, etc (like you are doing) and then give your shot before you eat - that way you don't forget to do it. I do this even with my pump, because I like to give my insulin about 10 minutes headstart time so that the timing of my food digesting meets up a little better with the timing of my insulin's peak. This can also cut down on those unplanned munchies - after all if you already did your shot and ate..........do you really want to eat more and do ANOTHER shot?
The other idea with waking high is that it might be that you need more of your Levemir/Lantus (whatever you use) overnight. Do you do two shots of that per day or one? Sometimes people who wake up with very high blood sugars split that insulin dose into two shots, 12 hours apart, and give about 60% before bed and 40% in the morning, instead of splitting it evenly. Might be something to discuss with your doctor if it happens a lot
I have to take my shots a half hour after I eat. I have severe gastroparesis and a tendency to not eat everything that I have in front of me (my eyes get bigger than my stomach sometimes, and other times the pain in my stomach gets too severe even if i haven't eaten much). I take 13u of Levemire in the morning, and 14u before bed for my long acting insulin. We are tweeking things right now because I finally came out about why my sugars are high in the morning on some days and not on others. So I call in every 2 days to my dr with my sugars and what I have eaten, another reason for joining MFP.
Jenn0 -
Hey Amber!
Great idea I didn't think about that! I will talk with the nurses and Drs when I talk with them next about that.
Jenn0 -
Oh yes, sorry - gastroparesis is serious stuff! Have you tried incorporating that into your medical necessity letters for the pump? (Since pumps can deliver meal-time insulin boluses over extended periods of time, I'd think it would be super helpful in your case!)
Ugh, I'm just so frustrated on your behalf with how stupid Medicaid can be about their decisions to cover or not cover certain therapies.0 -
That's one of the main focuses for this one, we have included it before, but it's at a point that it really hinders my daily activity. I have also since have had foot ulcers and blisters, 4 rounds of laser surgery for retinopathy and injections in my eyes every six weeks, along with 2 heart attacks and a bout of renal failure last year...did I mention that I am only 30? So yes it is very frustrating, though I don't want people to feel sorry for me. A lot of it I did bring on myself because I didn't take care of myself as I should have...I went nearly a year in high school without doing a single blood test because I didn't feel like it and ate whatever. I'm paying for it now, but now I have realized my mistakes, and have two little ones I need to fight for.
Jenn0 -
How long have you been diabetic?0
-
I can relate to the retinopathy - I chose not to take care of myself during my first year or so in college and I developed proliferative retinopathy. I've gone through dozens of laser treatments and a vitrectomy (invasive surgery). One eye is now stable, but the other continues to have problems. Due to having so much laser I have lost some color vision, some peripheral vision, and some depth perception. I have pretty bad night-blindness too. If you ever need someone to talk to about your eyes, I'm here 0
-
How long have you been diabetic?
22 and 1/2 years. January 21, 1991. It's funny looking back to those times. i remember sitting in the office at my elementary school doing my blood tests before lunch with my Accucheck II meter. Put the blood on the strip, wait one minute, wipe the blood off with a cotton ball, put it in the machine, wait another minute and there ya go. Now it's 5 seconds or less. Oh how the times have changed!
Jenn0
