Dexcom Furlough

Keep holding on, cause you know we'll make it through, make it through. Just stay strong, cause you know I'm here for you, here for you. ~Avril Lavigne 


Alright, so I know it's only been a week, but after NaBloPoMo, I feel as though I have been absent from the blog world forever. I would, however, like you, fair blog reader, to know that I am officially done with classes as of 8:10 this morning. That is, if I get all my papers done, pass all my finals, get transfer issues figured out, and pay all my (library) fines by next Friday.

Yesterday I downloaded info from my Dexcom 7 plus for the third time in the about three weeks that I have been using it. I was pleasantly surprised that despite my instincts, the pump and the dexcom are allowing me better control, my averages in the past 3 weeks have been 154. Wow! Going from averages in the 180s to the 150s in three weeks is pretty huge in my book. I'll have my A1c tested again in three and a half weeks, and I'm crossing my fingers for something in the vicinity of 7.0, although anything 7.5 or under would be fine with me.

Now, on to the furlough. Why furlough? A furlough is a vacation you take by force. My biggest complaint with Dexcom is that out of the five sensors I've had, three have failed. Three! My most recent failure happened this morning. I checked my bloodsugar and reached for my dex roboticly like I do every morning, and saw this: ???. I've seen the ???'s before. I usually get them just before a sensor failure. Sure enough, as I was still gazing at the sensor in my six AM stupor, it beeped at me. "Sensor Failure," complete with the familiar, cute, pixelated  picture of the sensor inserter.

My new month's order of sensors won't get here til Tuesday. I can (and will) call and get this and the other failed sensors replaced, but they won't make it til Tuesday either, most likely. Therefore, I am on Dexcom furlough. Vacationing from my sensor before I am ready. Not being "paid" with the information I so value and had a blast playing with last night (the software is pretty great).

So here I am, on sensor furlough the weekend before finals. Not the best timing, Dex! But it's ok. I'll survive the old fashioned way - with 15-20 finger sticks a day.

(well, maybe ten).

EDIT: Post-posting this post, I received an email from my Dexcom rep saying they were overnighting me a sensor. She had read my blog. Creepy, Dexcom, but not unexpected. Dexcom really takes care of their customers, and that is one reason I chose Dexcom over another CGMS company. 

So I will have a sensor for finals week! HURRAY!