Paging my Pancreas?

pager

insulin pumps/meter

Believe it or not...that little device on my hip 24/7 is not a pager! I know people are addicted to the many ways of communication now-a-days, but I promise I am not that obsessed. However, I do understand how people make the mistake. I mean look at the pictures here. They are very similar. BUT most pagers (in fact all) do not have a tube coming out of them that is constantly attached to the user. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked when giving insulin, "Is that a pager?!" or "Wow, what kind of cell phone is that? I've never seen it before!". Sometimes I am tempted to say "Oh yeah it is this new thing from this country far away or whatever, it is like super cool. I am the first person in the world to have it."

Anyways, an insulin pumps are a form of therapy. This device functions as a normal pancreas would. Yes, the diabetic has to manually enter the amount of carbohydrates they eat and what their blood sugar reading is, but it is a lot easier and more convenient than shots. Giving shots is inconvenient for many reasons. First, shots are annoying. I mean who wants to stab themselves with a needle four times a day. Second, they are averaged. They give a round-about amount of insulin. You cannot take .05 units of insulin with a shot as you can with an insulin pump. However, there are downfalls to insulin pumps as well. With insulin pumps you can get bad sites that do not distribute insulin correctly, your site can become disconnected accidentally leaving you without insulin for hours (speaking from experience), and it also can make you gain weight (for a few reasons). First, because it is so convenient to eat. Instead of having to take a shot every time you want a snack you can simply push a button. Second, because the constant drip of insulin under the skin can cause you to bloat and sometimes insulin distribution can simply make people gain weight.

Despite the downfalls, I am in love with my insulin pump. It has changed my life soooo much and I would never go back to shots willingly. It has made me more independent and also gives me the option of hiding my diabetes if I would choose to (which I never do). The technology simply amazes me. In another post I will explain some other technologies that have been developed in diabetes care such as the CGM and the Artifical Pancreas (which is not fully developed, but awesome). I cannot believe that this small little PAGER-LIKE machine is keeping me alive. It is truly my hero, along with my boyfriend (love you superman). :)


Goodnight
-Ash