At what cost?

The other day I mentioned getting a "Sensor Error" during my ballroom lesson.  I turned the sensor off but left it intact on my tummy.  The next morning I restarted it.  It was working great.  At lunch, my sensor read 77 and my finger-stick read 76.  It stayed right on track, never varying its reading more than 10 points from my blood sugar machine.

So I was a bit irked yesterday when it started to feel sore.  Every time I leaned a certain way I felt a pang.  It was uncomfortable, but it was working great.  And even with insurance, the sensors are expensive.  I decided I could live with the discomfort for a few more days.

I didn't last more than a few hours.  By last night, it was really bothering me.  I could see redness on the skin around the sensor.  Yes, it was working fine and yes, the sensors are expensive - but I didn't care.  I carefully peeled off the tape and gently removed my transmitter and sensor.  And when I saw what was underneath, I was very glad I did.

The darker spot to the right is where the cannula (or whatever it's called on a sensor) was.  They don't usually leave me with such blotch.  The red bump on the left?  I have no clue what that is, but my skin was definitely very irritated.

Speaking of irritated, I got pretty irritated with myself.  If I had pulled the sensor when it first started to bother me, it might not have been so bad.  I wear them all the time without a problem - so if I was feeling pain I should have been smart enough to know something was wrong.  If I had left it longer, I might be dealing with a nasty infection today.  As it is, the red splotches still look as bad as they did last night and are almost as sensitive.

Yes, diabetes supplies are expensive.  It's tempting to use them as long as possible.  But at what cost?  Is it worth a nasty infection to get two more days out of a sensor that is feeling painful?  It isn't and I'm so glad I came to my senses last night and pulled it out.