This diaTribe article by Gary Scheiner has a great little summary with lots of suggestions to help you pick the right pump for you but the comparison information it links out to on Integrated Diabetes Services gives you the full monty on each current pump. Happy pumping!
So lately I’ve been trying out OmniPod sites to experiment with my insulin absorption rates. Wearing the pod on my back is great as far as insulin absorption and blood sugar are going, however, how the heck do you reach back there to change your pod?
If I was just using the OmniPod and the adhesive it came with, I’d probably be ok using a mirror to place new pods and remove old ones…but I use Skin Tac and (as many of you know) that stuff is messy!
When I place pods on my belly, the circle of Skin Tac I apply first is larger than the circle of the OmniPod adhesive, so I’m left with a sticky ring around the new OmniPod when I’m done that I have to go back and carefully clean off.
No way I can use an adhesive remover on my back and just wipe off the extra “ring” of Skin Tac without also getting some on the OmniPod. If you can do this…more power to you! But, I’m just not that flexible/coordinated anymore. What’s a girl to do? Well, actually I’ve been asking my husband to assist with hard-to-reach site placements. He diligently sprays the old pod with De-Solv-it, removes all the old, yucky residue, places the new pod (where I actually want it instead of where I’d probably accidentally stick it if I was trying to place it back there myself), and wipes away the “ring” of leftover Skin Tac. Yeah, I know…he’s a great catch!
What would I do without him? Anyone have any good tricks to share for hard-to-reach sites?
So, like a lot of people, I tend to get higher blood sugars after breakfast (which I rarely eat) or morning coffee (which is a “must have” every day) than after any other bolus in the day. Until about 6-12 months ago my post-meal highs were something like 150-160. Lately, though with all the other variables I’ve introduced (post-pregnancy, nursing, hormones, stress, etc) it was getting to be like 250…even 300 some mornings. I always felt guilty about it but did I give up my morning joe? Heck no! I’ve just been keeping the problem on the back burner for several months knowing I would eventually have to deal with it. Now is the time.
Realistically, I need to reassess my entire insulin regimen including my basal rates (but for me that’s phase 2 after hormone-adjustment phase 1), so for now I’m experimenting with less conventional ways to bolus in the morning that might make the difference. It looks like I may have found one!
For the past several days, I’ve been giving myself a square-wave bolus over 30 minutes and then actually drinking my morning cappuccino starting at minute 45. Look at these CGM results: On this day, I took my bolus about 7:45 and drank my coffee about 8:30. The little bump you see about 9:30 never got over 140.
It’s not the most ideal but it’s working for now so I’ll take it! What do you do for post-breakfast (coffee) highs?
Today on my lunch hour I headed home and loaded up my 6-year old daughter in the car to take her to her first day of lego summer camp (fun!). Normally I would have checked my BG before driving at lunchtime but I’ve gotten kind of reliant on my CGM and it said I was fine at 87, so I didn’t bother with a finger prick. We’re half way there and I start to feel just a little funny, so when we hit a stop sign I whip out my kit just to be sure…53. Grr! Thanks for nothing CGM!
I suppose the appropriate thing to do would be to pull over, tab-up, and wait for my BG to rise. What actually happens is this: 
That’s an open container of glucose tabs I’m holding while also shifting gears (no, I didn’t actually take the pic while I was still driving…I’m not crazy!).
Why did I drive-while-tabbing instead of pulling over?
Because in my world a BG of 53 (being treated) isn’t terrifying or dangerous. In my world it’s just another, albeit wearisome, inconvenience. In my world you don’t pull over (literally or metaphorically) for the big D unless you really have to….you just don’t.
Instead you adapt, and learn to overcome new challenges. Dealing with D becomes part of life and you figure out how to get the job done anyway. For me, popping a few tabs in the car occasionally, while not ideal, has become equivalent to opening a box of crackers for my kid while driving or feeling around on the floor of the car for the baby’s pacifier while driving (you know we’ve all done that one!).
You adjust to how your life is different. Like when you have kids and your life changes. It’s still “your life” but now it’s also “your life with kids” and this change brings with it lots of wonderful and not-so-wonderful moments.
My life isn’t only “my life” anymore, now it’s also “my life with diabetes” and my life with diabetes happens at home, at work, on vacation, and yes…sometimes even in the car.