You may recall that back in March 2011, there was a huge recall on IV Prep pads that many people with diabetes used to prep an infusion site location.  Since that recall there was a substitute that my supplier recommend that was just OK.  The Skin Prep pads were just too thin on the liquid [...]

My Medtronic Pump I have been using a Medtronic Minimed 715 insulin pump for the last 5.5 years.  I believe the warranty is only for 3 or 4 years, which means if mine breaks now I need to pay for a new one (insurance copay).  If it was under warranty I would probably be able [...]

5 Years on a Pump This past January I hit my 5 year anniversary for being on an insulin pump.  Yes, there are advantages and disadvantages to being on an insulin pump, but I don’t want to get rid of mine anytime soon.  I’m starting to think about my next pump as mine is currently [...]

OneTouch UltraLink x2 Call me lazy, but I needed to have a second OneTouch UltraLink.  The benefit this meter has is that it communicates via wireless to my Medtronic Pump (715).  This is key because I use my pump to upload data to Medtronic’s CareLink site for reporting to my doctor and my own analysis. [...]

When I was at my last Endocrinologist’s appointment, I scheduled a consultation with the on-site Dexcom guru.  That appointment was supposed to be Wednesday, but I canceled it last week.  I was pretty pumped up to try out the Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CMGM) for a week to give it a trial run.  That WAS [...]

I am almost to the planning stages for 2011 in terms of my flexible spending account (FSA – more on this in future post) that I use for my Rx items and supplies to save money.  My Medtronic MiniMed pump is also falling out of warranty soon if not already.  I am seriously considering a [...]

When I converted over to an insulin pump roughly four years ago, little did I know that syringes would never go away.  I have written here before some of the reasons I miss my syringes and my insulin pen.  With injections there’s no unknown.  You fill the syringe, you grab some skin and inject.  When [...]

After looking at the instructions for my Medtronic MiniMed infusion sets, I came across some things that I found quite amusing.  I hope you do too. Warnings "Remove the needle guard before inserting the infusion set." – Um, really?  Maybe that’s why I…. never mind.  "The soft cannula must always be completely inserted to receive [...]

For those readers that are newer to Blogging Diabetes, I will say that I’ve been on an insulin pump for about 4 years now.  The entire time I have been using a Medtronic MiniMed 715 pump.  In each infusion set package from Medtronic, there is a small round disk that clips on to the infusion [...]

In the past I have written about insulin pump advantages and disadvantages.  I have been on a Medtronic insulin pump for about 4 years now and wouldn’t go back to shots without some serious money being involved.  All joking aside, I mind-mapped this post while enjoying some fun and sun on vacation.  There are definitely [...]