Oh well!
While I mentioned it in passing the other day, I should make a grander statement and explanation about the revelation that I had this Diabetes Month:
My insulin-pump infusion-set problem is fixed!
As with so many things in medicine, the solution to my problem was $MONEY$.
Long story short, infusion sets only last 2 days (at the most) in my body, if I leave them in longer, they work less and less. The problem I had been having was not caused by the new infusion set, but the fact that the previous set had not been working well for the last day of it's life.
When I was in Ontario, I got $200 a month in funding for all pump supplies - which is pretty much exactly what it cost to buy one box of infusion sets and reservoirs per month. That means that I had two choices:
1) make the sets last 3 days each
or
2) spend money out of pocket
I was often spending extra out of pocket because of screwed up sets anyway, and I tried wearing them for a shorter period of time, but I didn't get the conclusive proof I was looking for.
In the end, as an Ontarian, I could not afford to use the pump the way I needed to.
That year on the pump in Ontario was unbelievably frustrating, but it wasn't all for nothing. I learned more about the pump in that year than I would have in a few years of using it problem free. I am, as a result, well versed in pump problem solving! Also, I've been humbled (which I do see as a good thing) and totally see that I was wrong with my claims during that whole year of complaints. I apologize for being so stubborn. I wasn't allowing myself to accept the short-life of the sets because I knew that meant I couldn't afford to be on the pump, and for some reason, my mind felt that being unhealthy was a better option than being extra poor (or even just accepting the reality of my financial situation. Sure, we might say that money doesn't matter when it comes to health, but it does - it really does.
Fast forward, and I am loving being poor in BC. Now that I've met my yearly max on drug spending, everything that is covered is free! Once I get the ordering sorted out with the pharmacy, I'm going to stock up on infusion sets and reservoirs.
I am grateful that everything worked out in the end, so now I have a new beginning ahead of me. I am now loving my pump, ish. Finally, I can start taking full advantage of the pump and what it can offer!
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