curlygirl
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I have been on my pump for one year today, and in some ways it seems remarkable that it is that long, but in other ways it feels strange it is only one year!
When I started on the pump it is something that I was very apprehensive about (and for 'apprehensive' read 'terrified'). It is one of the biggest and hardest things I have done diabetes-wise, and it is not a decision that I came to easily. I have had a genuine fear of hypos for many years that had got to the point of impacting on my quality of life, and it is this, along with wanting to feel like I was in control of my blood sugars, rather than just reacting to where they were and acting accordingly, that finally persuaded me to consider moving to a pump.
I had always been absolutely against the thought as I really did not want to be attached to something 24 hours a day. It turns out that I feel completely ok about this element of it however, because in being attached all the time, it has actually made me feel a bit less diabetic all the time, rather than more so.
This is because, despite it being very hard work and something that you really only get out of what you put in (the same as any treatment approach to Type 1 due to the constant and relentless nature of the condition) there are times when I feel much more 'free' on the pump than I ever did on MDI.
Being able to alter the basal and bolus delivery in such detailed ways is something that takes a bit of getting used to, and in some ways means that more time is spent figuring out how best to approach things than on MDI, but having the technology to do this absolutely blows me away sometimes. Just occasionally when the pump handset is taking longer than usual to find a screen, or connect to the pump, and I think 'oh, blimey this is taking a while', I catch myself and think 'wow, just think of all the amazing calculations and intricate and complicated things this little gadget is capable of' and then I try to have a little more patience with the whirling circle that sits on the screen for a few seconds...
Of all the things I have learnt about diabetes and pumping over this last year, there are a few that stand out.
1) Being on a pump is hard work, especially in the early months when it feels like you have been set down in the middle of a maze full of booby-traps and the only tool you have to get out is one that doesn't seem to follow the same rules of diabetes that you had been working to for the previous 14 years...
2) In a power-cut, a screen that lights up so that you can bolus without having to try to hold a torch and inject at the same time is a bonus I had not thought about, but very much prefer...
3) Being on a pump is not perfect, and obviously given the choice I would prefer a fully working pancreas please, but of the treatment options available, this for me is the one I would choose. I love my pump and would not want to go back to injections and I am truly grateful to have one.
4) Having a forum with friendly, knowledgeable people who you can ask questions to and read about their experiences is such a help. It is fantastic in a practical sense, but it also helps just having the support of others in the same, or similar, situations. It makes you feel like you are 'normal' rather than 'different'. I am not sure I can find the words to express how useful and nice it is to have somewhere to come where you are not the odd one out. For this I thank all the people who make this forum the supportive and friendly place that it is.
Curlygirl
When I started on the pump it is something that I was very apprehensive about (and for 'apprehensive' read 'terrified'). It is one of the biggest and hardest things I have done diabetes-wise, and it is not a decision that I came to easily. I have had a genuine fear of hypos for many years that had got to the point of impacting on my quality of life, and it is this, along with wanting to feel like I was in control of my blood sugars, rather than just reacting to where they were and acting accordingly, that finally persuaded me to consider moving to a pump.
I had always been absolutely against the thought as I really did not want to be attached to something 24 hours a day. It turns out that I feel completely ok about this element of it however, because in being attached all the time, it has actually made me feel a bit less diabetic all the time, rather than more so.
This is because, despite it being very hard work and something that you really only get out of what you put in (the same as any treatment approach to Type 1 due to the constant and relentless nature of the condition) there are times when I feel much more 'free' on the pump than I ever did on MDI.
Being able to alter the basal and bolus delivery in such detailed ways is something that takes a bit of getting used to, and in some ways means that more time is spent figuring out how best to approach things than on MDI, but having the technology to do this absolutely blows me away sometimes. Just occasionally when the pump handset is taking longer than usual to find a screen, or connect to the pump, and I think 'oh, blimey this is taking a while', I catch myself and think 'wow, just think of all the amazing calculations and intricate and complicated things this little gadget is capable of' and then I try to have a little more patience with the whirling circle that sits on the screen for a few seconds...
Of all the things I have learnt about diabetes and pumping over this last year, there are a few that stand out.
1) Being on a pump is hard work, especially in the early months when it feels like you have been set down in the middle of a maze full of booby-traps and the only tool you have to get out is one that doesn't seem to follow the same rules of diabetes that you had been working to for the previous 14 years...
2) In a power-cut, a screen that lights up so that you can bolus without having to try to hold a torch and inject at the same time is a bonus I had not thought about, but very much prefer...
3) Being on a pump is not perfect, and obviously given the choice I would prefer a fully working pancreas please, but of the treatment options available, this for me is the one I would choose. I love my pump and would not want to go back to injections and I am truly grateful to have one.
4) Having a forum with friendly, knowledgeable people who you can ask questions to and read about their experiences is such a help. It is fantastic in a practical sense, but it also helps just having the support of others in the same, or similar, situations. It makes you feel like you are 'normal' rather than 'different'. I am not sure I can find the words to express how useful and nice it is to have somewhere to come where you are not the odd one out. For this I thank all the people who make this forum the supportive and friendly place that it is.
Curlygirl
