First World Problems

During last week’s OzDOC chat, I was racking my brain to think of ways that I push the boundaries with my diabetes gear. Other than, you know, using a lancet to pop a pimple that’s sitting in an akward position inside my ear…(too much information?)

Then on the weekend, this happened…


I’m now reusing infusion sets. The manual insertion nature of my Animas Comfort sets make them reusable. And my Rockadex Libre patches fitted perfectly around the site, making for a clean looking, one piece adhesive to hold it all down.

So, why exactly am I doing this?

I’m on the verge of opening my last box of Animas Comforts. Besides a few spares floating around in various places, that’s all I have left. After having a few sites that have needed swapping out earlier than anticipated, I just want to make sure that this final box will last me until my new order arrives.

Why don’t I have enough of a back up on hand?

I’m still waiting on an order that I had placed through my local pharmacy in December. When my order still hadn’t arrived at the turn of the New Year, my Pharmacist suggested I order through Diabetes WA, who had 3 boxes in stock. (Diabetes WA still sell NDSS products online without the free postage option that was available prior to the changes).

I was able to get my hands on another two boxes in January through Diabetes WA. However when a subsequent order came back to me last week with the words “on backorder” written on the invoice, I began to worry that there might be shortages.

I’m told that the order from Diabetes WA is on the way in the next week, while the order from my Pharmacy is likely an issue with their wholesaler.

I’m hoping I won’t be doing this for long. The extra adhesive on my skin is annoying, I hate how used it looks every time I glance at it, and I feel cheap. Which is a very first world problem.

I’m lucky that I don’t have to resort to such desperate measures very often. I’m lucky that there’s plenty of spare insulin in my fridge should my pump consumables run out. I’m lucky that I have options when it comes to managing my diabetes.

Which is why I’ll definitely be Sparing a Rose today, and donating the gift of life to a child with diabetes in the form of insulin.

Diabetes sure does force you to get creative…


One Comment

Leave a Reply