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Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

blog.lauramichet.com

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Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#21

Post by bitmasher9 »

oompydoompy74 wrote: post #15
Symbiote wrote: post #8

I don't think the attitude in the first several paragraphs, wishing harm to the pump engineers etc, can lead to a good discussion.

Not every blog is written to be discussed on Hacker News. That being said I enjoyed it and found it illuminating. It could be a regional difference, but I’m from the South East US and didn’t mind the direct communication style at all. I much prefer someone to speak their feelings rather than being nice for the sake of nicities.

I don’t think it’s appropriate to wish ill on other people. When writing I think it’s just as important to consider the impact of your words as it is to express your ideas and emotions. These sorts of words can make people feel unsafe, and in extreme situations can inspire similar feelings in other people with similar problems. Maybe someone that might take more direct action than a blogpost.

I understand different regions have different communication style, but the murder rate in the US is too high for us to joke about these sorts of things.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#22

Post by swiftcoder »

Symbiote wrote: post #8

I don't think the attitude in the first several paragraphs, wishing harm to the pump engineers etc, can lead to a good discussion.

It honestly might be helpful if we framed more conversations that way, when talking about the creeping dependencies on tech firms that fill our lives.

Those of us without a medical dependency are lucky that catching one of the many tech failures modes won't actually kill us - but you'll still want to throttle more than a few folks if you ever have to recover from your Google/Apple ID getting banned, or PayPal running off with all your money, etc.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#23

Post by dreamcompiler »

One other thing to try if you find yourself in a "need meds away from home" situation: Ask a local pharmacist.

Find a local pharmacy -- preferably not a mega-corporate chain pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS -- and ask to speak to the pharmacist. Tell them your situation. They can often call your regular pharmacy and get your prescription transferred to themselves temporarily over the phone without even getting your doctor involved (if they have your meds in stock). This works better talking to the pharmacist in person than on the phone, especially if you need a prescription that invokes DEA scrutiny like pain meds.

I recommend avoiding the chain pharmacies not because their pharmacists are bad, but because they are often hamstrung by corporate policies that won't let them do things like this without a lot of red tape.

Pharmacists are medical professionals. Use them.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#24

Post by 1123581321 »

yellow_lead wrote: post #20
1123581321 wrote: post #4

I’m diabetic and found this strange for a few reasons. There’s a postscript in the blog post wishing death from diabetes on any diabetic who tries to point any of it out—so I’ll leave it at that.

> If you were even thinking of emailing me to criticize me about what I did, I hope you die. Of diabetes. Found your comment strange, did you read this incorrectly?

I don’t want to risk writing something I would decide to email later!

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#25

Post by tptacek »

swiftcoder wrote: post #22
Symbiote wrote: post #8

I don't think the attitude in the first several paragraphs, wishing harm to the pump engineers etc, can lead to a good discussion.

It honestly might be helpful if we framed more conversations that way, when talking about the creeping dependencies on tech firms that fill our lives. Those of us without a medical dependency are lucky that catching one of the many tech failures modes won't actually kill us - but you'll still want to throttle more than a few folks if you ever have to recover from your Google/Apple ID getting banned, or PayPal running…

This isn't, like, TikTok. It's a firm that provides a transformative improvement in quality of life to diabetics.

(Not above criticism, of course, but weird to lump them together as insidious "tech companies").

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#26

Post by indrora »

1123581321 wrote: post #4

I’m diabetic and found this strange for a few reasons. There’s a postscript in the blog post wishing death from diabetes on any diabetic who tries to point any of it out—so I’ll leave it at that.

The author isn't talking about you.

The author is talking about the people who will inevitably email with explanations about how she's doing something wrong or things are not as bad as they seem or any number of other options.

I have asthma in a particular form, and when people hear that I get triggered by extensive exercise and hill climbs and that I have to take things slow (it's gotten progressively worse in the last two years after COVID) I will inevitably be told "well you need to exercise more."

Exercise can't fix scar tissue, bob.

Because that's what I'm fighting. I don't have a full pair of adult lungs. I have two lungs that got the shit beaten out of them when I was 3. Could I use some more exercise? Certainly. Will it magically fix my asthma? no.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#27

Post by zamadatix »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #19
Symbiote wrote: post #8

I don't think the attitude in the first several paragraphs, wishing harm to the pump engineers etc, can lead to a good discussion.

First, let's acknowledge that when the actions of some people lead to endangering a human life, it's natural to be angry about it. Personally, when anger is justified, I feel more comfortable with people who clearly and openly express it. I find them more reliable, more honest, and usually better people to be around. By my standards, I'd even consider the style very mild, considering a life is on the line. I would al…

It's more than alright to be outraged, that's very different than it being alright to wish harm. That shouldn't negate anything else said in the conversation, but it's also just as much of the conversation to call it out.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#28

Post by antasvara »

Reading this, my takeaway was less about the pump and more about how every part of the medical system is disconnected from every other part.

There were some mistakes made but they were all pretty reasonable decisions. But the situation that caused this in order:

1. The support line for the pump won't suggest sending it to where you are because you say you have a backup plan.

2. The support line also isn't a doctor; they can't evaluate how good or bad your backup plan is, just how to deal with the pump.

3. You message your GP. But the message system doesn't connect you live to the on-call practitioner; that's a phone number that is not easily findable.

4. Your GP fills a prescription for the backup pen and sends it to the closest pharmacy.

5. The pharmacy takes the prescription, but they don't actually know if they can fill it until later. They also can't find a pharmacy farther than 25 miles away from the current location.

Each issue is reasonable by itself, but the end result is that the patient had to call 2 different people, go to a pharmacy, and still wasn't able to get what they needed. The gaps that could have (theoretically) been patched are:

1. Support could have known the possible workarounds. I realize that legally it could have been dicey, but the "fix" suggested on Reddit seems like something that could have been mentioned as an interim solution.

2. Your GP could make it more obvious which communication method reaches the office on a weekend.

3. The GP should be able to talk to the pharmacy to ensure they have the medication in the prescription.

4. The pharmacy should be able to search farther than 25 miles to find a medication for a prescription they've been sent.

It should be much more difficult for a patient to hit every edge case like this, especially when just being able to talk to each other would have stopped some of these.

Re: Having your insulin pump die while you're on vacation

#29

Post by oompydoompy74 »

bitmasher9 wrote: post #21
oompydoompy74 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every blog is written to be discussed on Hacker News. That being said I enjoyed it and found it illuminating. It could be a regional difference, but I’m from the South East US and didn’t mind the direct communication style at all. I much prefer someone to speak their feelings rather than being nice for the sake of nicities.

I don’t think it’s appropriate to wish ill on other people. When writing I think it’s just as important to consider the impact of your words as it is to express your ideas and emotions. These sorts of words can make people feel unsafe, and in extreme situations can inspire similar feelings in other people with similar problems. Maybe someone that might take more direct action than a blogpost. I understand different r…

I disagree, but I appreciate your perspective. I think it’s fairly clear that the author is using exaggerated speech to make a point and convey their feelings. The reason I mentioned regional differences is I often find myself having this disagreement with my west coast compatriots.
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