Dear Cigna . . .

I got your letter a while ago.  Quite frankly, I couldn’t deal, so I stuck it in a folder but it’s been nagging at my brain anyway.  I’m getting ready for my endo appointment next week, so I pulled the letter back out.

"Starting January 1, 2016, your Cigna plan won't cover the medications listed below.  This means that if you continue to use any of these medications past January 1, 2016, you'll have to pay the full cost of the medication."

Now I’m sure you have no idea what this means to me, so let me try to explain it to you.  Pretend you’re going to buy a new pair of shoes.  And you are told that shoes now only come in size 5 or size 9.  And your foot?  It is a size 7.  Oh, but don’t worry, it’s all still shoes!  Look at all these people happily walking around in size 5 and size 9 shoes with no problems whatsoever.

Ridiculous, right?  Those happy people clearly have size 5 or size 9 feet.  But you don’t.  Those sizes won’t work for you.  Sure, you can cram your foot in a size 5 and walk around, but soon you’ll be dealing with blisters and bleeding and foot cramps to start, and it will only get worse from there.  Or you can slip right into the size 9 and then trip and fall and lose the shoes.  Neither are an actual solution for your body.

This whole analogy sounds preposterous, right?  That’s because it is.  And so is your letter.  Apidra is my size 7.  Humalog and Novolog are my size 5 and 9.  I’ve tried them.  They are not a solution for my body.

I will fight for my size 7 shoes.

Another Thing to Carry Around . . .

It’s been about a month since MiniMed Connect began shipping.  I was fortunate to be part of a pilot group testing MiniMed Connect before it’s official launch, so I’ve actually been using it for about two months now.  (Disclosure: As part of the pilot group, I received my Minimed Connect free of charge, in return for providing feedback about my experiences with the system.)  I’ve done a post for The Loop about my first impressions, which you can find here.

One of the most frequent concerns I hear about MiniMed Connect is that the uploader is just one more thing to carry around.  And I’ll admit, that was a concern of mine too.  Not just for the hassle, but for the fear of losing it.  The first time I put it in my jeans pocket I could see this wouldn’t be a secure place to store it.  My DKNY jeans have ridiculously shallow pockets and it seemed like it would be way too easy for the uploader to fall out.  So I came up with another way to carry my uploader that feels both secure and hassle free.  I use a cell phone charm strap!



First, I perused Amazon and found 100(!!) straps for about $5.  I’ve actually broken one so far, but I’ve got 98 more on hand should the one I’m currently using break.  Anyway, I threaded the strap through hole in my phone case for the mute switch thingie (official technical term - not!!).



And then I attached an old key chain loop to the top of the uploader and clipped that to the charm holder.
 

And it’s been working perfectly.  The uploader just needs to be within about 6 feet of my pump, which is fine because my phone is usually just a few feet away.  The only problem I’ve had is when my laptop is between my phone and my pump.  Some electronic devices can disturb the frequency, but solving it is as easy as moving the phone next to my pump instead of next to my laptop.

There you go, my solution to the “I don't want to carry around one more thing” dilemma of the uploader.  It’s now part of my phone, which I’m carrying around anyway!

I’m hoping that between this post and the Loop post, I’ve answered any questions you might have about MiniMed Connect.  But if I’ve missed anything, leave your question in the comments and I’d be happy to share my experience!

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **