I’m currently using Dexcom G5 CGM sensors, and like many people I’m self-funding it. In Australia there is rarely insurance cover for CGMs (and where there is, it’s only slight) or funding support for those of us over 20 years old. So we so what we can to cut the costs down. One of the most …
NOTE: this article was superceded in November 2018. Please check out the updated article! It’s time for another update as to the insulin pumps on the Australian scene! There have been a few developments lately, with new pumps introduced along with updates to the Health Department’s Prostheses List. This article is our latest summary of …
Here in Australia we have three fast-acting insulins available, although it seems many people are only aware of two. Humalog (insulin lispro) from Lilly, NovoRapid (insulin aspart) from Novo (called NovoLog in some parts of the world), and Apidra (insulin glulisine) from Sanofi. These are used for meal-time boluses and corrections by people using injections (MDI), …
As an insulin pump user, when we insert a new cannula we usually need to tell the pump to “fill” it to ensure that insulin deliveries are accurate. After rewinding and priming the pump reservoir and filling the tubing, the cannula is inserted into the skin. The teflon cannula starts off with an introducer needle down …
We don’t always replace infusion set and refill the pump at the same time! After issues with lipohypertrophy (essentially fat/scar build-up around infusion sites) a few years ago, I now try to use a new cannula at least every 3 days. But I don’t replace the pump reservoir every 3 days. When I started using a …
Last week I wrote about my favourite BG meters, and briefly described the two blood glucose meters I use as my standard tools. One is the Accu-Chek Guide, and the other is the Contour Next One. I pointed out that I’d had to obtain my Contour Next One meters from Germany and the US because …