Ok, for those who know me, I am something of a voracious reader. I'm currently working my way through Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Quite an epic and something I consider should be read by everyone. We all have alot to learn from the Bishop of Digne, Jean Valjean and Insepctor Javert. I digress. Today I read this post on Six Until Me written by the lovely Kerri http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2011/06/need_vs_want.html and it got me thinking.
The question is that of need versus that of want.
Now in the fluffy bunny, hippy loving world that the small, repressed and generally hated part of my mind that is rarely let out of the box we would all have what we needed to manage our D to the best of our abilities. However, the part of me that is usually expressed knows full well that this is never the case in the NHS upon which we so readily depend and love.
I would love a CGM. This is something that most of the folks across the pond have seem to be able to access this wonderful technology with comparative ease. The same goes for pumps. On the other side of the pond in The Sceptered Isle we go through hell high water to keep outselves in decent nick. Now, I am well aware that I have had a damn easy ride as opposed to some (see Siobhan at Click Of The Light for further detail http://clickofthelight.blogspot.com/)
Back to the point in hand. I would love a CGM given the amount that I believe it would benefit me. As it stands there is nothing like the NICE quidelines which exist to make insulin pumps available to all who need them (well that's the theory at least) there is nothing like it for CGMs.
Now a CGM is a very gucci piece of kit which serves a very good purpose. I would love to have a twenty four hour picture of what my BGs are doing. That and I would love to see what they are doing on a screen without stabbing myself. Now I do know that a CGM is not a replacement for BG sticks. It would be a hell of a help given the line of work that I am going to go into. Nursing is a hell of a job it's demanding. Then throw in diabetes. When you combine the two you need every little bit of help that you can get. A CGM would help me so much. It would give me so much more information as to what happens to my BGs during the thirteen hour shifts that I do at work. Remember, a BG stick is but a snapshot. Basal testing is the most impractical thing when I am at work for many reasons. I need to see trends so I can have a good chance of getting a basal sorted for work so I am less at risk of hypos and that type of things. At the end of the day, I am a liability if I am not in decent control of my diabetes. I can get days with decent control and some when it's night on impossible to maintain control. A CGM would do very nicely at keeping me in check or helping me to keep in check. If I find a CGM friendly consultant I will happily play the patient safety card to get what I want. At times, I wish I had some form of health insurance that would fund this for me. If I had the money, I would self fund it. However, on a band two NHS salary you can just about live let alone fund that sort of technology. At the end of the day I want one of these things because I have that thing that most men have. Gadget fever. That and I'd like to maintain good control over my diabetes. I need one because I want to be as safe as I can be in terms of diabetes in my chosen line of work, nursing. I suppose the need is greater than the want which I have for this technology. Only just. As with everything pertaining to diabetes it is always a balancing act, albeit one from hell.
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