Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger...

...à la Stephen Colbert.

I've got some kudos

Not the Snackbar

But (oh!) did I love to make lunch-time trades for these little devils in elementary school!

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and complaints about Dexcom that I'd like to air.

First, the complement: Before the holidays, I had two Dexcom sensors fail on me in rapid succession. One sensor lasted all of six hours! I waited a day or two to put in the next sensor because I definitely wanted some Dex coverage over the holidays. So I put the next sensor (my last sensor as well) in on the day before Christmas. This one lasted all of 3 days before it went kaput.

I called my very friendly Dexcom rep when I got back into the office after my holiday and let him know what had happened. He said: "Always call the tech support!".

So that's what I did.

I tell you, I have never (ever) had such friendly and helpful support with anything. The rep I spoke to asked a few questions, apologized for the inconvenience and sent 2 sensors out to me right away.

I was extremely impressed and feel they certainly deserve serious props

I've always wondered what that meant

Turns out, it's slang for "proper respect".

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for their service.

Unfortunately, these warm Dexcom feelings were recently washed away.

One night last week I woke up with only the faintest of sensations that something wasn't *quite* right. I look at my Dex and see that I'm flat and in the normal range (I think Dex said 130 something. I tested with my OneTouch, and (lo and behold!) I was at 42 (there's that number again, of course, I didn't panic). I tested again to make sure that wasn't a mistake and it came back at 43 (then, perhaps, I started to panic a little).

Quite a disappointment with the Dex, but it gets worse:

THE SAME THING HAPPENED THE VERY NEXT NIGHT.

In case you're curious

I've been biking to work in frigid weather (e.g., 10 degrees in the morning was my coldest ride so far). I think working so hard in the cold weather was causing these serious low blood sugars in the middle of the night. I need to figure out how to reduce my basal rates over night to hopefully prevent this from happening. (NB: I know *how* to do it, I just mean the inevitable trial-and-error of doing it *right* -- Oh, the bane of my existence).

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This time I woke up feeling a little off, I looked at Dex (it said 116 and flat), I tested and it came back at 34(!!!).

Two back-to-back scary lows with only the faintest of sensations and not a buzz or beep from the Dexcom receiver on my night stand.

Seriously:
Isn't that the WHOLE POINT of having this thing?

Dilbert on Diabetes

Well, not exactly Dilbert, but Scott Adams.
And not exactly on diabetes, per se, but something somewhat related.
And besides, "Dilbert on Diabetes" is catchy (and alliterative to boot).

I've never been a huge Dilbert fan, but I've found the comic to be entertaining from time to time. I am, however, a fan of Scott Adams's blog. If you enjoy reading stimulating (and often very funny) thought experiments on business, politics, statistics, personal finance, and economics

Of the Libertarian Variety

While I'm not a libertarian, I am an economist (or at least I play one at my job).

But I do think that most economists come away from their education with at least a little bit of libertarianism in them. It's basically the pie-in-the-sky variation of economics where markets always perform efficiently and there should be little (or preferably, no) government intervention.

Unfortunately, the world isn't as tidy as pretty supply and demand curves might lead you to believe. But it is nice to dream.

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from a smart guy who draws cartoons for a living, then you might like to check out his blog.

Anyway, I was immediately intrigued when I saw a post titled:
"Glucose Equals Free Will".

Basically, he's citing some psychology research that finds when people have low blood sugars, they have much less will power and are less able to resist temptations.

Scott starts off linking this with his productive ritual of eating before he draws a comic strip and then leaps to what an optimal food strategy might be for seduction, but what popped into my mind was:

THIS IS WHY WE

Am I being too presumptive?

Perhaps that should be first person singular rather than plural.

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BINGE WHEN WE HAVE LOW BLOOD SUGARS!

Fascinating and funny, what more can you ask for?