I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes when I started Learn to Run with Paradise Running Club in 2013. I didn't join because I was a diabetic, I joined because...well because of my husband Marc. He encouraged me to join and I was like, ok, but it is not going to be pretty. I struggled with the running and I struggled with having diabetes. Well. I actually STILL struggle with both.
Something that comes along with Diabetes is the dreaded finger pricks! I have confessed many times to my doctors that I am a "bad" diabetic because I don't check my sugars as much as I should. Part of me is probably still in denial. Another part of me knows that if I check my sugars after I eat those nachos, my sugars are gonna be on bust and I will fell like crap so I would rather not know the dreaded number.
So as Google and Facebook tracks our searches, I noticed more and more that I was seeing a sponsored ad for Freestyle Libre. They claimed that there was no more finger pricks and I could scan a sensor which would tell me my sugars. I thought, "my god, to good to be true." Can you imagine not having to stop during a run to take out your diabetic supplies to see if your sugars have dropped? I have done this in the past but it was just to much so I stopped carrying my supplies during my runs. Months have passed and I was still seeing this ad. I checked out the comments and reviews and more and more people were claiming that it was life changing. Seriously, can't be. Something has to be wrong with it! I will grow a third arm or my arm will fall off or that it was be to expensive and wouldn't be covered under my health insurance. Surely it was not going to make a diabetic a little more comfortable.
I finally decided to check it out. I emailed my health insurance company to see if it was covered. They needed a specific number but described the device and said it would probably be covered. I got excited but not to excited until I found out for sure. So I sent a message to a running friend of mine, Andrea, who owns PharmaSave on Commonwealth Ave in Mount Pearl to see if she could put in an estimate to see if it would be covered. Tada! It was! Awesome! Now I was excited! I couldn't wait. I had a doctors appointment in a few days and I would get a prescription.
When I got my prescription I asked Marc to go get my new sensor for me because I was working and he got off earlier than me. When I put the sensor on first I must have done something wrong because it didn't work. I almost cried. I was so disappointed. I sent a message to Andrea and she said not to worry she would get me another sensor. Awesome!
I got the sensor the next day and I was on my way to checking my sugars a 100 times a day. Why? Because I can! Seriously! There is no limit! It doesn't hurt! You just have to change the sensor every 14 days. I can handle that. Each time you start a new sensor you have to wait 60 minutes before it will register with the meter or phone. Yup. I said my PHONE! Technology can be so great sometimes. Like many people, I don't leave home without my phone. When I go for a run, I take my phone. Now, if I need to check my sugars, all I have to do is haul out my phone, select the app, scan the sensor and there ya go, my sugar reading. I shit you not. It is amazing!
Another thing that is amazing is the customer service support. I sent an email to the company about my first sensor not working and they told me to give them a call. I had a busy couple of days, so I finally got around to calling them. The only issue was that the number I was provided in the email, caused me to be transferred a couple times before I finally got to the correct person. The gentleman that I was speaking to was awesome and so helpful. And just like that. A replacement sensor was put in the mail for me. How awesome is that?
I am loving my Freestyle Libre sensor!
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