On being a cheap SOB
I'm hobbling around like a cripple this morning, barley able to walk. I've got no one to blame but myself for my predicament. I've often commented, sometimes rudely, that diabetics are the cheapest SOBs in the universe. I have no doubt at all that right this very second, out there somewhere, is a guy who is pulling apart his test strips and trying to clean them out for reuse.
But I've always thought that I was IMMUNE to diabetic cheapness. Wrong.
When I put my last leg set in it hurt. Hurt a lot. Hurt bad. Hurt so you forget to breathe for a minute. Sharp, like a bee sting. But then the right brain kicks in. That's a $40 sensor. Be a man. So I left it in. Wrong call. It hurt some off and on. Never quite enough to signal a definite problem; but always enough to signal that things weren't quite right too. I rode it out for a couple of days. This morning the pain was dull, throbbing "pay attention to me" level. Finally common sense ruled the day. I pulled the set early.
The sensor was bent at a crazy angle. Looks like I hit something inside the leg. Muscle maybe? Then, with all the assorted bandages and tapes off I could see clearly that the leg was very swollen. It is an area about the diameter of a tennis ball. Raised almost an inch above the normal level of the skin. At first it hurt more with the sensor out than in, but now it's getting better.
Printcrafter's tip of the day: don't be a cheap SOB. If it hurts like hell when you put it in, take the sucker out. Screw the $40. You'll be able to walk without limping.
But I've always thought that I was IMMUNE to diabetic cheapness. Wrong.
When I put my last leg set in it hurt. Hurt a lot. Hurt bad. Hurt so you forget to breathe for a minute. Sharp, like a bee sting. But then the right brain kicks in. That's a $40 sensor. Be a man. So I left it in. Wrong call. It hurt some off and on. Never quite enough to signal a definite problem; but always enough to signal that things weren't quite right too. I rode it out for a couple of days. This morning the pain was dull, throbbing "pay attention to me" level. Finally common sense ruled the day. I pulled the set early.
The sensor was bent at a crazy angle. Looks like I hit something inside the leg. Muscle maybe? Then, with all the assorted bandages and tapes off I could see clearly that the leg was very swollen. It is an area about the diameter of a tennis ball. Raised almost an inch above the normal level of the skin. At first it hurt more with the sensor out than in, but now it's getting better.
Printcrafter's tip of the day: don't be a cheap SOB. If it hurts like hell when you put it in, take the sucker out. Screw the $40. You'll be able to walk without limping.
posted by Wil | 1:24 AM
5 Comments:
Yeah only rich people should get diabetes with how much supplies can cost with average insurance coverage ;-)
Hmmm now how exactly can I reuse test strips? LOL
That sounds incredibly painful. Is it infected or just reallyreallyreally irritated?
Erica - I wish. We go thru 300 a month at my house.
Ugh. Do $40 sensors hurt 3x worse then
$12 sets? if its infected- you should get antibiotics pronto..
Erica- back in the old days, they'd cut urine test strips in 1/2,1/3's, 1/4's... So I've heard. ( twas wayyyy before my time)
Erica--How about making all the diabetics rich instead?
My "friends" at Blue Cross sent me my my annaul Happy New Year and We Are Raising Your Rates Again letter. An extra $80 per month between my wife and I.
Julia--as it turned out, just reallyreallyrally irritated. It has now settled down to the size of a marble and only hurts if I press on it. I expect it to go away in a couple more days.
My pre-Guardian script was for 450 test strips per month.
Type1emt--Rumor has it Medtronic is working on some sort of system for replacing ones that only work a short time. Details sketchy at this point, but by the time of full roll out it looks like there will be some sort of policy in place.
I use between 400 - 450 strips per month here in the teeny state of RI. Expensive little bastards. Without fail, the words "one dollar" pop into my head every time I load up my meter.
And I do remember the Old Days when urinalysis strips could be sliced in thirds in efforts to save strips. We were all about it.
I'm convinced I need a second (extremely well paying) job just to pay for diabetes. Sigh.
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