Today, I received my Florida Blue denial letter for a Dexcom G6 coverage. I expected as much.
The reason is that I initiated the Dexcom G6 coverage, not my doctor. Florida Blue has very specific requirements for coverage, of which I have not completed.
Coverage guidelines, require 4 or more finger sticks per day(severe aversion to doing it) for 3 months(which I have not been doing), 3 or more insulin injections per day (which I have been doing) and poorly controlled diabetes (which I have).
So why did I get a Dexcom to begin with if I have to pay for it? To figure out what was going on, learn what I am doing wrong, and correct it.
Has it made a difference? Oh God Yeah!
Will I continue to pay for it out of pocket? YES.
What have I been doing wrong? LOTS of stuff.
So a little history, I was diagnosed about 10 years ago with Type 2. Was going to an old school doc, who gave me the basic instructions of: Inject this much before every meal, avoid these foods, test your sugar 3 times a day.
I did this for 9 years, had ups and downs with my A1C, but more or less was doing fine. Then came Hurricane Michael. To say it threw my life into a chaotic shit storm is an understatement. I stopped testing, I stopped taking insulin, my other meds like for my heart I took every day but ignored my diabetes.
Why? I have no clue. I know why this was wrong, I did it anyway, it did not instantly kill me or send me to the hospital, so I went about my day. Then the little things started, tingling in my feet here and there, an ingrown hair that turned into a cyst, that required a quite invasive surgical removal, slow healing time (3 months and counting). So I knew that if I didn't get off my ass and do something I was going to kill myself in short order.
So here I am 5 weeks since getting the Dexcom, completed 2 of 3 "new diabetics" classes, found me an Endo, stabilized my blood sugar, learned I was taking my long-lasting at the wrong time which was sending me low overnight, starting to learn how to count carbs, started using NightScout with Hue lights so my partner knows when I'm not doing what I should and finally paying attention to how I feel.
How do I feel? Better, but I could be great.
I'm making changes, I'm following the advice given and I'm going to do this.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Lets start this off with a story...
Everyday above ground is a good day!
About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. CDC
For me it started in December of 2011....
So I was lifting something, thought I threw out my back. Couple days of bed rest and pain but it didn't get better. So I finally go to the Chiropractor, who makes me come back the next day without doing anything.. (more on that later).
February 2012, it happens again.. More visits to Chiropractor.
March 2012, another incident after lifting something. Chiropractor again.
April 6, 2012
So I'm at work, goofing off in the break room having a snack and one of my coworkers makes me laugh with food in my mouth. Well, it goes down the wrong way.
April 7, 2012
I feel like crap. It feels like I'm getting pneumonia. I told myself if I don't feel better in the morning I'm going to the ER.
April 8, 2012
Get up, pack a bag, and drag my ass down to the ER. I feel like hammered shit.
X-ray, some tests, yep I got aspirated pneumonia. So I make some calls, get out my kindle and start reading. Next thing I know, I have a room full of people jumping all over me. I'm like WTF!
A nurse takes my kindle and leans down and in the sweetest voice tells me "Your having a heart attack, lie still, don't get upset. We got this." I don't remember much else that day.
April 9 & 10, 2012.
Blur. I know I had two stents put in. I was getting sicker and sicker. They wouldn't do anything else because I was so weak. One of my nurses suggests that I get a second opinion, I said yes I would like that, he said I'll take care of it.
April 11, 2012
About 6pm, this doctor from another hospital shows up for a consult, he walks in the door and lets it close behind him, about 15 feet away, never comes closer. He skims my medical chart, insults me and tells me there is nothing else that can be done.
Now by insult I mean that he read my chart, saw a notation from a previous visit and jumped to such an outlandish conclusion that it offended me. Needless to say I started screaming and calling him names so loud that several nurses come storming into the room to calm me down. I'm yelling at them to get him away from me and that I want to get out of this Podunk hospital and out of this POS town.
My mother comes in about 15 minutes later from having dinner, about that time the nurse that suggested the second opinion comes in and tells me that I'm being transferred to UAB in Birmingham Alabama and tells my mom that if she leaves now, she can be there about the time I arrive by plane.
April 12, 2012
Arrived at UAB around midnight.
April 13th, 2012
Quad CABG surgery
So here it is 8 years, 2 months and 6 days later.. And I am finally going to start a blog.
About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. CDC
For me it started in December of 2011....
So I was lifting something, thought I threw out my back. Couple days of bed rest and pain but it didn't get better. So I finally go to the Chiropractor, who makes me come back the next day without doing anything.. (more on that later).
February 2012, it happens again.. More visits to Chiropractor.
March 2012, another incident after lifting something. Chiropractor again.
April 6, 2012
So I'm at work, goofing off in the break room having a snack and one of my coworkers makes me laugh with food in my mouth. Well, it goes down the wrong way.
April 7, 2012
I feel like crap. It feels like I'm getting pneumonia. I told myself if I don't feel better in the morning I'm going to the ER.
April 8, 2012
Get up, pack a bag, and drag my ass down to the ER. I feel like hammered shit.
X-ray, some tests, yep I got aspirated pneumonia. So I make some calls, get out my kindle and start reading. Next thing I know, I have a room full of people jumping all over me. I'm like WTF!
A nurse takes my kindle and leans down and in the sweetest voice tells me "Your having a heart attack, lie still, don't get upset. We got this." I don't remember much else that day.
April 9 & 10, 2012.
Blur. I know I had two stents put in. I was getting sicker and sicker. They wouldn't do anything else because I was so weak. One of my nurses suggests that I get a second opinion, I said yes I would like that, he said I'll take care of it.
April 11, 2012
About 6pm, this doctor from another hospital shows up for a consult, he walks in the door and lets it close behind him, about 15 feet away, never comes closer. He skims my medical chart, insults me and tells me there is nothing else that can be done.
Now by insult I mean that he read my chart, saw a notation from a previous visit and jumped to such an outlandish conclusion that it offended me. Needless to say I started screaming and calling him names so loud that several nurses come storming into the room to calm me down. I'm yelling at them to get him away from me and that I want to get out of this Podunk hospital and out of this POS town.
My mother comes in about 15 minutes later from having dinner, about that time the nurse that suggested the second opinion comes in and tells me that I'm being transferred to UAB in Birmingham Alabama and tells my mom that if she leaves now, she can be there about the time I arrive by plane.
April 12, 2012
Arrived at UAB around midnight.
April 13th, 2012
Quad CABG surgery
So here it is 8 years, 2 months and 6 days later.. And I am finally going to start a blog.
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