Onward and downward in the wacky world of Diabetic Healthcare providers.
I called the company with no negative Yelp reviews and talked to a woman who seemed to know what she was talking about. She asked lots of questions and said they would have to contact my doctor directly before they could do business with me. She also said she would call back in two days and let me know when they could ship me the Flash glucose system I needed.
She did call back and said that they were not an in-network provider for my insurance company, which she could have told me during the first call, as I had made it clear which company was covering me.
She told me that I should call another company which was an in-network provider and gave me the phone number and wished me well.
This time, before calling them, I looked this new company up on Yelp and found only more one-star reviews and no-star reviews! To give you an idea of the state of mind of these reviewers, several of the reviews began with SCUM! and went downhill from there.
I decided the devil I knew was better than all of the other alternatives and I contacted CVS and ordered the Freestyle LIBRE FGM equipment without insurance coverage. They said it was in stock and I could pick it up a few hours later. I picked up the Libre system with no problem at all and took it home to check it out.
Opening the boxes and applying the sensor and reading my blood sugar with my cell phone was like opening an entirely new world. I don’t know how many of you have seen the opening to the original Wizard of Oz movie, but it is certainly magical. The movie was in black and white up until the moment Dorothy opens the door to her house after it lands in OZ. That’s what it felt like using this incredible Freestyle LIBRE system.
I merely hold my phone up to the patch on my arm and it reads my blood glucose instantly and shows the trend as a graph. You can get a reading every 10 minutes if you wish and the system will flash warnings if you go out of the range you have set,
After I had played with the system for a while, I saw I could invite my wife to receive readings so she could be assured that I was behaving myself and watching my blood glucose. In fact, I could invite my whole family to monitor my readings if I was so inclined. I can see that this might be a real blessing for families who were concerned about children or aged parents who might be forgetful.
Being able to check my blood sugar instantly makes all the difference in the world. I can see how a meal or a snack affects me and I can also see what happens when I take insulin. This system gives me more control of my health than I expected and I look forward to seeing how this affects me in the long run.
I replace the sensor every two weeks and I consider it one of the best developments I have encountered. If you find yourself in need of this kind of system, I suggest you get it from a local source, like a drugstore, and avoid any of the mail-order medical supply houses. If in doubt, check what Yelp reviews have to say and avoid any business with lots of one-star reviews.
If you are a diabetic who fights to maintain your health, this may be a helpful solution for you. Discuss it with your doctor as there is more than one system available. Each has its benefits, but buy local if you can.