Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on January 24, 2011 at 12:43pm

In my case technology has gone backwards it is worst than 10 years ago. The meters now are very inaccurate and as I result I inject too much insulin at times.

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Permalink Reply by Desdemona on January 24, 2011 at 1:45pm

sadly, I have to agree. I have three testers I use. When one seems wrong, I pull the other two out.

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Permalink Reply by Redshaw on January 24, 2011 at 12:56pm

My meter is prettier. That's it. Nothing new for me. Had to change to Lantus as I became immune to Humulin I and have to use their ridiculous pen. It is so prehistoric (only works in 2 unit increments and is flimsy plastic) compared with my Humalog pen.

What has amazed me is all the gadgets and gizmos you can buy in everyday life (at affordable prices) and yet insulin pumps are so exorbitantly expensive that they are virtually unavailable on the NHS, and CGM really is unavailable. And I don't have several thousand £ to spare annually.

I have lumpy arms and legs, and my stomach has given up on absorbing insulin, so I'd say that I am worse off now than 10 years ago. Although 10 years ago I'd probably only had a meter for a few years, so that was a novelty.

Are you UK or US? I can't tell from your post (British sugar figures but you don't say HbA1c).

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Permalink Reply by Desdemona on January 24, 2011 at 1:50pm

Yup, they sure are prettier and faster. Not sure about the accuracy though. Do you think the accuracy was better 10 years ago?

Canada :]

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Permalink Reply by Redshaw on January 24, 2011 at 2:05pm

How can you tell whether they were accurate or not? I remember that my hospital regularly tests 5 or more meters at one time. And they are always different results.

BM sticks were what we had before, and you could fudge the results. You had to try to match the colours to a chart. But I always read it lower than it was.

Meters only give you an indication of where your bg is. Basically do I need a snack or more insulin? It's all a guessing game, and after 27 years I'm fed up of playing it.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on January 24, 2011 at 3:39pm

THE ACCURACY WAS DEFINITELY BETTER 10 YEARS AGO. My meter then was always 5% below the lab result. Now plus or minus 20% is not uncommon. Makes injecting insulin a crap shoot. I don't measure a lot anymore because whatis the use of spending a dollar for a random number so in one way inaccuracy saves money at the expense of our health and wellness.

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Permalink Reply by Kari on January 24, 2011 at 6:02pm

I don't understand why they won't release the OptiClik pen outside the USA. This is what I used when on Lantus and it uses 1u increments.

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Permalink Reply by Kari on January 24, 2011 at 6:03pm

Actually now that I look at their website, all cartridges for the OptiClik will stop being sold after March 2011. Weird.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on January 25, 2011 at 6:29am

They have actually already stopped the OptiClik for Apidra. That ticked me off because the SoloStar doesn't work right if you try to dose 1 or 2 units.

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Permalink Reply by Melitta on January 24, 2011 at 1:19pm

Technology has significantly improved my life with diabetes. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (and autoimmune hypothyroidism) in 1995. The first big improvement was insulin analogs--Humalog came out in 1996, and I was in my endo's office asking for it in the first days. What a huge difference that made! Really, it changed my life with diabetes (fewer lows, more convenience, etc.). Then in 1998 I got an insulin pump, another vast improvement that just made my life easier. I did get a CGM two years ago, but sadly chose the Medtronic, and I wish I had chosen the Dexcom because the Medtronic has not been very useful. I always say I am just counting on the technology to continue to improve my life with diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Betty J on January 24, 2011 at 1:53pm

I was diagnosed in 1959 with Juvenile Diabetes. The new technology has helped to extend my life. When I was dxed there was only animal insulin which didn't keep my bs as stable as it is today. We didn't have glucose monitoring machines we tested our urine with a few drops of water in a test tube and dropped in a pill. I had a chart with different colors that I would compare the color in the tube and it would tell me if I had sugar in my urine (it didn't tell how much sugar there was as monitors do today). There are so many other technologies that are available but the one that I appreciate most is the pump. Since pumping I now have a more stable basal rate and bolus measurement.

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Permalink Reply by Desdemona on January 24, 2011 at 4:06pm

I remember when I first became diabetic and we had the BM sticks and I thought those were wickedly hard to gauge, I can't even imagine soley relying on my urine! Eek.

Yes, the pump is a great device to maintain stable sugars (most times). I am surely thankful for that technology.

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