They seem to think, simply because they are the parent of a juvenile onset/type 1 diabetic, that they KNOW what it's like to actually live with the disease/chronic illness. Well they don't. Living with diabetes and being the caretaker or parent of one is not the same thing. Yes it's difficult to have a child with some sort of disease/ or disorder. It's not easy. It's harder on the person who has the disease or disorder. Especially when the person who is caring for them is a control freak.
Anyway, I found one forum where the parents don't post as often, and if they do, they listen to those of us who have had diabetes longer than most of these parents have been alive. We know what's it's like. We were alive before meters were used on a daily basis. We had to test our urine. We were lucky enough to use glass syringes and not the awful plastic syringes we are now forced to use if we use the syringe instead of the pen, which I won't ever use.
END OF THAT RANT.
I've been having a discussion with, I believe a type 2 diabetic who it looks like has Medicare, or about to go on it. Apparently Medicare is a bit upset with Dexcom because they only have FDA approval of the G5 mobile CGM for dosing insulin. So Medicare has told Dexcom to make a G5 receiver that cannot be connected to the mobile device.
This fellow is being really obtuse about my responses. He says he doesn't understand what I'm saying. I've said the same things two different ways. The last time being more specific. He's just being a jerk. I think he's being stupid because he thinks he's better than me all because I don't have a smart phone.
#1 my T:Slim G4 can't use the G5. It's still under the original warranty. So I can't get it upgraded to the new version of the X2 without paying around $500. So I'm keeping the G4. I'm not going to carry two diabetic devices just to monitor my blood sugar. AND, the top reason is. How do I know that the G5 will be any better than the G4 in what my meter reads and what the CGM gives me. I don't.
I can understand why Medicare is doing this. It's economics. If a person doesn't have a CGM or doesn't have the right type of smart phone and knows the only way "legally" they can dose their insulin is using the mobile app, there will be some who will actually believe that Medicare has to purchase the right smart phone for them. Granted not all people are like this, but there are some. So Medicare is trying to prevent this by forcing Dexcom to get FDA approval for the G5 receiver for dosing too. I don't know why they didn't do this too. Because everything I've read, the only FDA approved dosing is the mobile app.
NOT EVERYONE has the G5 or a smart phone. Is it fair to them that they can't dose from their receiver? Yes they can do it, and I'm sure a lot do. BUT if they are like me and have problems with the CGM the majority of the time being incorrect, they could give themselves more insulin than they really needed. And since the receiver hasn't had the FDA approval yet, would Dexcom be at fault? I think not.
So Medicare is just looking out for itself.
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