Rosemary's Wisdom

Why did you choose a sensor and injections? 

I’ve really been focusing this last year to have control of my (Insulin Requiring Type 2) diabetes. The key factor is monitoring your sugars and I was having problems with poking my fingers all the time, and the calluses; three times a day. You know, I’d forget or I wouldn’t do it, and when this Freestyle Libre became available I talked to my doctor. The Freestyle Libre has really changed a lot for me in this past year that I’ve had it. 

What are the tradeoffs of using a sensor and injections? 

Pros: You’re always aware of what your sugar levels are. I can check my sugars every two hours, every half an hour, especially if it is a little high. It gave me so much relief to know that all I had to do was wave that little monitor over the sensor and it would just tell me what my sugars were. I like it. I really really like it.

Con: I have problems on my right side and I have an astigmatism so I really can’t see very well. I bumped into the wall and it took the sensor off. I had to go get a new sensor and start from there. That’s the only problem I’ve really had with it. I just had to be careful and mindful that it was there.

How do you respond to people when they notice or comment on your devices?

I get a lot of questions from little kids. I tell them I have diabetes. It is a medical condition where my body doesn’t produce insulin to break down the sugars in your body. So this device helps me by telling me what are the numbers, so I can control them so they’re not too high or too low. I have to have this little disc on my arm and I use this little monitor. I show it to them. And they can see. They’re truly amazed at it.

Grown-ups already have an indication, especially if they’re living with diabetes. They’ll ask. They want to know about it - the ins and outs - because they’re thinking of asking a doctor about it.

I don’t try to sell them on it and say ‘it’s the best thing ever!’ For me, it works. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me and what I needed. It helps me function with my diabetes. I never did it before because I was struggling and trying to control my diabetes for a lot of years. So this is truly a benefit to me.

How do you make the sensor comfortable on your body? 

It’s taken me a few times to learn where it’s comfortable. Right now it’s comfortable on the right side, and sometimes it’s comfortable on the left side.

After I started switching my arms I got used to it. I didn’t really have any soreness after a couple of times of using it. Then it became easier - I knew what to expect. I knew what to do.

What helps you trust your devices?

I was kinda leery at first and I didn’t know how it was going to work. Once I did it, then I focused on the numbers. That’s what this device is for. That’s what I needed. It gave me a better outlook. Looking at the graph, and seeing it over time - you have that information right in your hand.

If you don’t try it then you’ll never know. If you try it and it fits you, then you learn to trust in it. The monitor is my friend. That’s the way I need to view it. It’s my friend because it’s telling me, ‘Rosemary, it’s 2 o'clock and you’re at 230. This is too high. You need to do something here.’ Or if my sugars are at 68, and it’s telling me it’s at 68 then I need to eat a little snack. It’s not dinner time, but you need a little snack to bring it up a little bit and have dinner with control. So my friend is that meter. I trust it. At that point in time you have to trust it because it’s telling you what’s happening with your body. 

How do you use your data?

I like it to be convenient for me, so I just make sure that I’m looking at the numbers at that point in time when I scan the sensor, and I leave it up to my doctor to look at the graph. I know that the graphs are there and I know it gives an average, and there are a lot of other things that it tells the doctor. But I need to know every two hours, or every other day, so I just want something simple, basic - where I can comprehend it and not worry about it. 

What would you tell someone considering this same combo? 

For me, it’s well worth it. It gives me a better quality of life; and of where my life is going to be. It’s helping me prevent a lot of things that would otherwise happen sooner than later. I’m trying to prevent them as long as I can, to avoid them if possible. So this little device is well worth it to me.