Boy was today EVER a Monday. I woke up late, no time for makeup, ironed clothes or even a shower. Scarfed down my breakfast so fast that I actually forgot that I ate breakfast, and as I was trying to rush out the door, had an insulin pump failure. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP it screamed. Too busy to take care of it at home, I grab pump supplies and race to work. I call Omnipod while I'm driving to report the defective pod; hang up with them as I'm pulling into work.
I get to my desk, I pull off the failed pod (ouch cuz it was really stuck on), and quickly began getting the next one ready to put on. Except, there's a problem. It won't prime. It won't beep. BEEEP. No beep. It's dead. GAH! Luckily I'm prepared and pull out my backup spare pump supplies from my desk drawer. I'm calling Omnipod quickly and quietly to report the 2nd pump failure. The call feels like it's taking forever. I'm at work, and I'm a new employee with this pile of d-crap on my desk and sitting on my cell phone on a personal call. I understand the phone reps have to go through a laundry list of questions- what kind of insulin did you use, was it room temp, what were you doing when it failed, can I confirm your home address, when is your next shipment due, what is your astrological sign...etc. I finally tell the woman on the phone, who at the end of the call wants me to 'hang on the line while she documents the call(which I did for a while but we were now about 15 minutes into the call) that I'm at work and I HAVE to go; my shift had started 10 minutes prior and could not hang on the line any further. I put on the new pump and OUCHHHHHHHHHHH, it hits a nerve or something and I'm writhing in pain with no back up pumps to replace it. It's 7am and I'm stuck with it until 5pm when I get home. I'm starving, and try finding anything gluten free in a vending machine.
You might have seen my Twitter post at 7:10am.
You'd hope that would be the end of a bad day. But when I got home and opened my mail, I saw this
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Why do I feel that as a diabetic I was singled out for this? Do they send people with all diseases this letter and force them to get into their specialist doctor (endocrinologist) within three weeks from receipt of the letter (yeah, right) or else lose your driving privileges? Why did I receive this? Why now and not two years ago when I was diagnosed? Why ever? This upsets me for two reasons, first I have a perfect driving record. Second, I am a very well-managed diabetic with no history of having an event while driving. So why do they require that I fill this out in the next three weeks OR ELSE... To me, it would make more sense to send out this letter if you've had a documented medical event while driving. But I'm healthy, and when I opened this letter I felt like my civil rights were being threatened and given a very short and unreasonable amount of time to complete their request. I called my doctor's office and advised I'll be faxing this over tomorrow but can't get an appointment until 11/23, and that was because there was a cancellation.
I would love to hear how others feel about this. Am I overreacting? Is there any part of you that feels that this is somewhat discriminatory towards those that have diabetes? Do they require everyone with a disease to fill this form out?
I can't wait to get in the bubble bath and wash this day off me. The whole day just feels rough and dirty.
Omnipod trouble = suck
ReplyDeleteI have never seen anything like that letter! That's crazy! My license says on it in small red letters at the bottom "insulin dependent diabetic" but I didn't have to do anything special. They just added it when I told them I have diabetes.
Yeah they put a capital letter "M" with a box around it on my driver's license that represents a general medical condition, but that was 2 yrs ago. I don't like this, I don't like this at all!!!
DeleteHey Nikki,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the rough pod day - that's no fun.
Those letters are routine here in MN as far as I know. I get them too. Nothing about singling you out or anything like that. Most doctor's offices are very used to dealing with them and will often send/fax it back to the DMV for you.
Hi Scott! Thanks for the reply! Well, I don't mean singling me out individually, but singling me out because I have a diabetes diagnosis. I dont understand why when I have a perfect driving record and never having had any events while driving they would require that form. I feel that form should be reserved for people - with any illness- whose illness caused an event while driving, not just because I have a particular diagnosis tied to my name. That's just my opinion on it.
DeleteYou'll get those letters at least every four years - the max they'll grant you between, depending how your dr. responds. I don't know whether they have similar letters for other conditions. I definitely don't like them, but I've never had any trouble with mine. My dr's office is very familiar and will complete and fax it right away, regardless of how recently my appointment was (granted, I am there regularly, but you should have a similar experience in that respect).
ReplyDeleteHi Nikki! I totally get how you're feeling about this letter. I got one shortly after my diagnosis this year and was shocked and offended slightly too. At first I was more scared because no one mentioned this to me and I was scared about losing my license. I have a good driving record too but I kind of get why they would want a doctors opinion in advance; better to ensure you're safe to drive then risk it. I also hated that I have to pay to have the forms filled out. On top of everything else I was paying for I also had to $40 for my doctor to fill this out, when I had no choice but to get it done.
ReplyDeleteanyway, I get how you feel about it. We have to do them every 2 years in Manitoba and I will resent every one of those friggin' letters.