Dexcom G5 Early Mockup on iWatch and iPhone

Dexcom just sent me this "G5 early mockup" from the Consumer Electronics Show... thought you might like to see it. 

Dexcom app shown on an iPhone and the yet to be released iWatch.

So excited for the G5 to arrive!

Dexcom G5 Early Mockup from CES 2015

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A1c: Working 9 to 5

I remember the first time that I was able to make Arden's A1c decrease on purpose.

I don't remember what her level was or where it moved to but I remember making an adjustment to her regiment that worked as I anticipated and the moment that her Nurse Practitioner walked up to me to share the good news.

The decrease was minimal and Arden's A1c was still much higher (in the 9s) than where we hoped for it to be, but still I broke down and cried in the waiting area when the NP told me the news. I must have been quite the site because after a moment I felt the NP put her arms around me and she hugged me tightly without saying a word.

That moment in our lives occurred many years ago. On that day I believed that I was crying because Arden's A1c was lower, but today I think that the relief I was feeling stemmed from success – effort was finally turning into results. Moving that number however how slightly, was the result of hard work, hours of contemplation and months of trial and error. The tears that I shed had accumulated from all of the moments that I wanted to cry but didn't and it felt right to release them in celebration, I could sense that the tide was turning. 

In the years that followed more adjustments were made. We added the OmniPod insulin pump, a decision that led to a large decrease in A1c. We also changed how we thought about many foods but the final piece of the puzzle was adding a Dexcom CGM which gave me the confidence to use insulin more boldly. We now had the tools that I felt I needed and the path to travel was clearly in front. We just needed to learn how to walk. Each step was a learning process that led to incremental improvements for Arden but we were finally moving forward with purpose and that seemed like a huge leap.

I love to tell these stories because even though it doesn't feel like it today, you won't be reading this blog for much longer, at least not for the same reasons as when you began. Arden's Day readers are mostly made up of the parents of newly or newer diagnosed children and folks who are still finding their way with type 1 diabetes. One day, much sooner than you think, you will have the accumulated knowledge, courage, and hope that you will need to make Arden's stories your own. Then you can get back to using the Internet for good stuff like reposting photoshopped pictures of Kim Kardashian's shiny ass, taunting your friends on Facebook when their sports teams lose and 'liking' pictures on Instagram. 

Here in present time... it was Endo day. I tried to give Arden my obligatory speech about A1c levels and ready her for an unexpected increase that will likely happen at some point. I want to prepare her because we have been on some kind of a crazy run over the past two years and my hope is to limit her disappointment, should things go the other way. Arden stopped me before I could finish and said, "I know, I know, you tell me every time - I won't be disappointed if it goes up". Seems that my sly parenting skills aren't so sly anymore...

When we arrived the nurse recorded Arden's weight, height and BP and then we made our way to the little room where the blood stuff happens. The A1c machine began it's test as we were being ushered into an exam room. Not long after we sat down, the NP brought Arden's A1c results to us. When she spoke the number out loud there were no tears of joy, no relief, no sense that we had been working hard for what was achieved and deserved this. Arden's A1c had reached a new level, one that I certainly didn't expect we would arrive at for maybe another year. Hearing the number only caused me to feel calm. "I knew this was going to happen if we just kept at it", I thought to myself.

I put my hand on Arden's back and congratulated her and then texted my wife Kelly with only this image, her response was...

"Shut up!!"

This post is for everyone who is at the point where 5.9 feels unobtainable. I am here to promise you that it is within your reach. Each of you can do this with time and patience. It hasn't been easy. We've added technology, switched insulin, adjusted diets, sacrificed sleep and persevered countless setbacks, some of which I thought could break my spirit. Yet here we are at 5.9.

I don't know how long we can hang on to this number. Maybe this is our new normal, maybe it's a fleeting moment and puberty will come and knock us into oblivion, who knows. None of that matters because I know and believe that we can find our way back here again; this time with purpose. 

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2014 Year in Review

It's December 31st and I've been spending a lot of time recently thinking about how to make Arden's Day better for you. As we head into the eighth year of my little blog's life I'm looking at ways to make the blog more informative, social, easy to consume and worth coming back to. In the process I've been reading a lot of old post from 2014 and found a few that are worth revisiting before the ball drops. I hope you read to the end of this long post, I'd like to share something very personal to me before the calendar flips. 

From January 2014

It baffles me, but one of the most popular things on the blog this year was a photo of me looking tired, How to Spot a D-Parent. It was even reposted on Diabetes Daily and become one of their most popular post of the year. Of all the things I wrote, shared and talked about this year, you liked seeing me looking ragged the best. Tells me we are all pretty damn tired.

From February 2014

Dexcom was approved for pediatric use, one of my non D storIes blew up on Huffington Post and Miss Manners was all the buzz but all you guys wanted to see was pictures of Kris Freeman's abs. Parents still read this post every day when they wonder if their child is too lean for pumps and a CGM. Kris's abs turned out to be quite the public service.

From March 2014

My blog titled, Pitstop Fail won Best of Betes Blogs for March - a huge thank you to the person who nominated it and voted!

From April 2014

A Forgotten Wallet Buys a BG of 25 and I got yelled at a little bit in the comments. BTW, Kris Freeman could have easily been mentioned here too, you guys sure love abs.

From May 2014

I changed my expectations for what 'in range' means and lowered Arden's a1c, Living Between the (Diabetes) Lines. 

From June 2014

June brought the lowest A1c Arden has gotten to date, A1c Countdown: It's Endo Time.

From July 2014

This was the month of #ShowMeYourPump but Arden's Day readers were more interested (By just a few hits) in Arden's Sudden Needle Anxiety. 

From August 2014

In August I tried with all my blogging might to get you to believe that Diabetes and Fear don't have to go together, Guts over Fear was written, the hashtag #DiabetesandFear was tweeted and my quest was underway. 

From September 2014

I traveled to the Dominican Republic to deliver a speech to a group of D parents during the summer but wasn't able to share the video of my talk until September. My time in the D.R. led to a very popular post, my first invitation to give a keynote at a JDRF event (Info coming soon) and a whole lot of new understanding about the rest of the world. 

From October 2014

Hello Dexcom SHARE you are the remote monitoring I've been waiting for.

From November 2014 

Arden changed her first OmniPod without any help from me while she was at a sleepover, I'll Take Insulin Pump Change for the Win Alex.

From December 2014

I shared our experience with getting an insulin pump in the hopes that it would give you the freedom to speak your mind because, Don't Let Doctors Push a Pump on You, that's why. 

I can't thank you enough for reading about Arden's day. I hope you have time to check out one more post from 2014, it's one I wrote today about what diabetes blogging means to me, you can find it here. Have a happy, healthy 2015... you are all in my thoughts. Best, Scott

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Best of Betes Blogs From 2014

Best of Betes is from Sara Nicastro and it is wonderful!

from Best of Betes Blog: Best 2014

"It’s that time of year again – we’re wrapping up the Best of the ‘Betes Blogs of 2014. I’ve visited the posts for all of this year’s hosts and compiled their lists of the best posts for this year. It was really interesting to look back at all the posts that have been written over this past year and see all the changes we have experienced.

[If I told you it actually took me HOURS to look up all the posts and write the code for all the links in all the categories, would that make you more likely to vote? Please vote!]

From now until 12:59:59 PM PST on December 31, 2014 visit the links below (all links open in a new window so you won’t lose your place!) to select your favorite posts from 2014. Then after the first of the year, we can see the Best of the ‘Betes Blogs of 2014 as we begin sharing about our meet-ups, d-mistakes, vlogs, advocacy, humor, and all the other best moments of the diabetes community in 2015."

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If you want to read some of the best diabetes blog posts from 2014, this is the link for you. While you're there you can even vote for one in each category and help to decide the winners for 2014. No prizes go with the distinction... just a bit of bragging rights.

Psst... I won way back in March for a post by a Type Awesome (That's a D parent) for my blog titled 'Pitstop Fail' -- just saying ;)

But seriously, there is a ton of great writing and advocacy at this link, you'll be happy that you took the time to check them out here

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Don't Let Doctors Push a Pump on You

I've never told the story of the day that we chose Arden's insulin pump because it involves people that I love and who have done countless wonderful things for my family... f%&cing up.

But it's been a while and most of the people involved in the story have moved on to other places of employment... so what the hell.

Kelly, Arden and I stepped into the conference room at our children's hospital for a pump presentation. There was maybe a dozen families in attendance, each frightened, unsure and hoping for proper guidance. The people running the presentation spoke for a while, they taught us about pumping and then brought all of the different pumps out so that we could see them. Parents began to formulate questions, it was obvious to me by the trainers answers that they had their favorite pumps and were trying to lead people to certain devices.

Not wanting to be part of the folly, I went back to the demo pumps at the now abandoned display. This table was set up so specifically, like a display at a high-end retailer. Each pump was presented just so, documentation arranged off to their sides. It looked like the manufacturers sent a trainer, to train the pump trainers on how to make the pumps appealing. 

Beyond the table was in a misshapen corner of the room where the trainers had abandoned the packing materials. The mess caught my eye and when it did, I noticed a little white box with green and blue printing that didn't look like it belonged with the garbage. I walked over to investigate and found an Omnipod starter kit that contained a PDM and sample pods.

"What's this", I asked a trainer. 

"You don't want that", she replied.

Not being the kind of person that enjoys being told what I do or don't want, I responded with a bit of sarcasm, "Oh... why not?".

Then it happened, a person I was counting on to give me good advice, began just to say what ever they could think of to make me rejoin the group.

"Your daughter is small, you want a Ping" - "This one won't work on skinny kids" - "It doesn't have a small enough basal rate" - "You will be limited to sites" and my favorite, the scare tactic that they all love to pull out... "If you don't like it, you will be STUCK with it for four years because of (Cue scary music) your insurance... FOUR YEARS".

I didn't listen to her. I inspected the Omnipod and saw a lot that I liked. I saw different, innovative, the ability to change designs without having to repurchase and of course, I didn't see any tubing. We were sold and set off to show the pod to Arden so we could explain how it would work. In the time that we sat there talking to Arden, each trainer took a shot at scaring us into not choosing the Omnipod.

Fast-forward to two years later

Arden's Endo appointment ended and the NP asked if Arden could wait outside, she closed the door behind Arden and then said this.

"I wanted to take a moment to apologize to you..."

You see, two years prior at the pump training that I just told you about, the people in Arden's practice didn't have any experience with the Omnipod and they didn't want to be responsible for overseeing a device that they didn't understand. It wasn't the basal rate or a lack of sites that made each of them try to talk us out of what has become the foundation for how we keep our daughter happy and healthy. They weren't concerned medically and everything they said was one hundred percent horse shit. They were just covering their asses. Anyway, the NP goes on to tell me that because of the fantastic success that Arden is having with the Omnipod, the institution is going to start prescribing them to children. 

There are a few professions that we are conditioned from birth to revere. Police officers, teachers and doctors are the big three. You listen to police, you respect your teachers and you assume that your doctor knows much better than you - and I would tell you that I believe those things are true a lot of the time, but not all of the time. 

I tell you this story today because I recently heard about a family that was being forced away from a device that they wanted by their doctors. Medical professionals who defended their position with a lot "information" and "reasons". Doctors who took advantage of the patients desire to want to believe and listen to them – I deplore that. I've been around type I diabetes long enough to see this happen time and again and I wanted to offer you the moral support to trust yourself. I'm certainly not suggesting that all doctors are lying, or that every time you are prescribed something it's with deference to who the institution has business relationships with - but you know, it's worth considering.

You are the final word on what pump (or CGM) is right for your family. Do the research, ask the question and by all means take your medical teams advice seriously, but don't let anyone pressure you into a decision that you aren't comfortable with.

Stand firm the next time you feel pressured by your medical team to make a decision that you don't agree with but for all that is sacred, if a cop tells you to put your hands up.... please do it. ;)

If you're looking for a deeper conversation on this topic go to episode 124 of the Juicebox Podcast.

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