"How are you?" B asked as she shuffled me from the lobby of my dentist's office to her hygienist room.
I like B. She always makes me smile, she's straight forward and we get along great. Even if she is a dental hygienist.
"I'm on the verge of tears!" I said, and then practically let them fly, but I held back. I guess I felt like breaking down in the dentist's office at 7 a.m. wouldn't really help anything.
I held my pump, disconnected, in my hand. There was fresh tubing still curled up in the paper tape, and a full reservoir. It wouldn't prime and I was frustrated. And it was 7 a.m. and I am *not* a morning person.
It's Thursday, which we've established as one of my two days per week that I change my site. I had plenty of time this morning to change sites (and boy was it time: trying a new spot on my hip left the sticky tape ragged) and send an email to my boss reminding her of my appointment ("Nothing like being chastised before breakfast for not flossing enough," I wrote.).
I don't know if it was the time of the day, or the fact that I was headed to the dentist or that I woke up ridiculously high since I forgot to bolus for a bedtime snack, but I repeatedly got NO DELIVERY messages when I tried to prime Toohey. I probably could have sat there all morning, grinding my teeth in frustration.
I was so angry that I had to leave the house with my pump in my purse instead of attached to me. Not to mention that I hadn't corrected for the morning high because I expected to be able to do it with the new site. All I could think about was being disconnected and how the hell I was going to get insulin all day while I waited for a replacement pump that would come after I called Medtronic to say "HELP!" (Yes, I have emergency syringes. Remember, it was early, I was high, and I was frustrated.)
"Is there anything I can do for you?" B asked as I sat down in the chair.
I looked at her with what must have been the sappiest eyes ever and said: "Please don't yell at me for not flossing enough."
(While getting my teeth cleaned it occurred to me that something might be wonky with the tubing attachment and/or the reservoir. After my appointment I drove the 3 min. home and tried to prime with a new infusion set and it worked immediately!)
There have been a handful of times my Minimed reported that there was "no delivery". In my cases, I had placed the infusion set in such a location on my body that when I slept, the infusion set was directly beneath me with all my body weight on it. Shifting my position was the answer.
But in one specific case, when there was no pressure on the infusion set but the pump still reported "no delivery", it occurred (I suspect) because I put the infusion set in a place that likely had scarring from overuse of the site for infusion sets.
Regarding dental hygeine, I have found that my gums stay healthier when I take Vitamin C daily. I hate to floss, it's like if I'm going to do it, it has to be before I take a shower. But the worst part is that when the floss flips out from in between my teeth, I have to clean the bathroom mirror. :-)