It is a place not of control or calamity. A strange place where the patient is ill, but not sick enough to cure. It is where doing the best you can with cutting edge medical advice is often inadequate. It is where best practices of medical care, compassion and empathy are comforting and supportive but not enough to overcome uncertainty and frustration. It is my place - the Type 1 Twilight Zone.
BACKGROUND
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in January, 1994 - just a few days after my 30th birthday. For the first twelve and a half years I used multiple injections of Regular and NPH insulin. I was among the very first users of the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor - starting in the summer of 2006 but discontinuing it (not by choice) a few months later. At around the same time I started using a Medtronic MiniMed Insulin Pump and have been for the last 11 years. I currently use a Medtronic 530g Insulin Pump and Enlite CGM.DISCLOSURES
I applied for, and was accepted as a Medtronic Ambassador in the Spring of 2017. According to their web site, "MiniMed Ambassadors receive promotional items and educational material to use and share as the Ambassador sees fit. Ambassadors are not provided monetary compensation for their participation in this program. Opinions expressed by an Ambassador are based on the Ambassador's actual experience and are not necessarily the opinions of Medtronic MiniMed."I have never received any compensation, promotional items, or anything of value from any company or organization related to diabetes.
