having some bad diabetes related thoughts
i half-assed this but I don’t care
Happy Valentine’s Day
Best drink. #diabetes #rootbeer #a&w
One thing I never quite understood was why do they put so few test strips in a bottle. I always end up combining two bottles (as you can see in picture two) worth because if I didn’t, I’d be switching out my bottle every week or so. And they cost SO much. I’m pretty sure we’re paying for the tons of packaging used for just a couple of test strips…in addition to the cost of actual test strips.
Day 3/365
Hey everyone!
So today I figured I would show you what kinda keeps me alive in a way. The top right and left pictures are of my omnipod insulin pump. It stays on me for 3 days at a time, can hold 200 units of insulin, and is water proof and wireless. After the 3 days you dispose of it. I swap sides on my lower back, and it allows me to never have to take shots!
The omnipod does however shoot a small needle called a canula into me when it attaches onto me. It has a small tube around it as well. Once the needle punctures me, the tube stays in, and the needle retracts back into the pod. It doesn’t hurt too much, and it’s way better than taking shots.
When I took shots using insulin pends, I would go hide in a bathroom and try and find a spot where I could grab skin, which was next to impossible with my skinny dumb body. Now, I just tell my pdm what to give me, and someone might just think it’s a funny looking cellphone. I went from taking 5-7 shots a day (depending on my diet) and now I get punctured by my omnipod 1 time every 3 days. So I went from 15 times every 3 days feeling pain, to 1 time every 3 days.
For me, the omipod has improved my life ten fold as a type 1 diabetic.
The bottom right image is my insulin. Just your standard Humalog insulin, and I have 6 vials there. Depending on insurance this can cost an arm and a leg. I paid about…$220 out of my own pocket for all 6 vials. That shoul (keyword being should) last me about 90 days.
Fun fact: Type 1 diabetics CAN EAT ANYTHING they want. Nothing is out of our grasps as long as we have insulin. Of course avoiding surgary foods is ok, but in no way shape or form should be not eat it at all. We need carbohydrates, and even more so than someone without diabetes. Instead of being RUDE and saying to someone “can you eat this/that?” you really should say “do you want some of this/that?” because the answer is always going to be yes to the former. We can eat anything if we have insulin. You’re only making yourself look ignorant if you think we can’t.
Name: Alex
Age: 22
Diabetic since: March 3, 2004
Pumping since: May 25, 2010
Pump type: OmniPod
Pros: Tubeless, wireless PDM communication, hands-free cannula injection, super friendly customer service, Pods are waterproof (PDM IS DEFINITELY NOT)
Cons: Okay, after about 3 years on this pump, I have a lot to bitch about. Sure, it started out great… tubeless, wireless PDM communication, etc. But hear me out:
- I’m pretty forgetful. If I forget my PDM at home, guess what? That meal I just ordered with all my friends… yeah, I can’t eat it. Not without going all the way back home first, which isn’t even always possible.
- Look at the size of that adhesive site. My sensitive-ass skin can just BARELY handle that. When I change sites, I spend a good ten minutes just scratching the old one.
- It gives me a weird bulge on my back, which
- Can get knocked around quite a bit because of how much it protrudes from my back, which also
- Makes things like sex, yoga, and exercises like sit-ups either impossible or really awkward because there’s a giant, unyielding plastic bump punching me in the back.
- If it starts beeping/freaking out at an inopportune moment, I have to subject myself and those around me to its ungodly high-pitched whine while I frantically dig through my bag for my PDM (which, see first point, IS HOPEFULLY IN THERE)
- This pump works by injecting it with insulin from a vial. If an occlusion/”pump error” occurs, you lose the pod, and all of the insulin you injected in it (I’ve had this happen MOMENTS after starting a new pod, and lost a very unfortunate amount of insulin).
- I’m also on a very low dose of insulin (Novolog, btw), so I tend to lose a lot of it anyway, since the pod has a minimum that it needs to get started.
- This also means if I put it on and the cannula’s been injected at an angle that hurts (which happens a lot, actually), I’m stuck with it for three days. And the pain just gets worse as time goes on.
- The bulk of this thing makes it near impossible for me to wear it anywhere else but my back, which severely limits my site options, and probably contributes to my irritated skin/frequency of occlusions (not that frequent, but enough to be a pain). I’ve tried wearing it on my stomach, it got knocked around by just about everything (tables, my steering wheel, sinks, pulling my hoodie off). Same with wearing it on my upper arm, with added, Wow, this looks ridiculous. I don’t wear skirts, so wearing it on my leg isn’t even an option, because my pants are just way too tight for that.
- I’ve also been through 3 PDMs in the time I’ve had this, and the one I have now is sort of glitchy but I’m just dealing with it.
- I’m not sure about the cost of other pumps, but even with insurance coverage, maintaining this therapy costs about $2,000/year.
- LOTS OF WASTE! Old pods, plastic pod casing, injection syringes that come with each pod, insulin vials, etc.
- No one that sees it knows what it is. I’m not trying to be an OmniPod spokesperson/Neighborhood Diabetes Infomercial, so this gets a tad annoying.
- The Pods are waterproof, so showering/taking a bath isn’t a problem, but I have noticed that a long time in the pool cause the adhesive to get a little goopy and they become easier to rip off accidentally.
Whew… Closing comments: My pump nurse has told me that OmniPod is working on making their pods “smaller,” but whether that means “slimmer” or smaller lengthwise, I’m not sure. I really enjoyed this pump when I started it, but now, it just doesn’t fit my lifestyle anymore. I know switching to a pump with tubing seems like taking steps backwards, but I’m in need of a change. Any suggestions are welcome! Right now I’m looking into the One-Touch Ping or the Accu-Check Spirit!
Get inspired by Awards Season to GLAM MORE FEAR LESS and pamper yourself and your health like the star you are! Renew your interest in diabetes daily self-care
i think i laughed way to hard at this…
Was wondering if you could post a photo of my decorated glucometer…I got sick of the plain black and wanted something cooler/easier to look at. I have a couple of more pics on my blog if you’re curious. I just started out on Tumblr and even though my blog isn’t exclusively diabetes, I am diabetic and it would be awesome if I could somehow get more recognition! Thanks!!!
Note by Admin:
These are really cool!! The inside is decorated too. I made the picture a click through link to her blog, check it out! =)
F u #diabetes
Do any of you ever have like a serious sweet tooth?
I feel like I ave one but I feel the effects of eating sugary things afterwards.
When you get high blood sugars are you ever able to tell just by the pain you get in your legs, fingers, feet, hands, etc.
