Diabetic Recipes
T McShane
The letter C brings us to cannula, by request.
I found an interesting photograph of an insulin pump cannula that said much of what I'd decided to write when I was thinking through this post. Essentially, the photo verbalizes for me the sentiment that my life - the lives of all of us who use an insulin pump - turn (quite literally) on a dime. The cannula that delivers the medicine that keeps us alive is smaller than a coin that, this day and age, won't even pay for a gum ball.
But, oh, how that very tiny piece of tubing matters. Anyone who's had a kink or a bend in their cannula knows what it can do to blood sugar. Anyone who's seen that little piece of tubing popping up from the center of the tape-gauze that secures it to the skin knows the panic it can cause.
I think we can all agree, it's not actually the cannula's fault. It's not its fault when it bends or pops up or gets blocked with blood. It's not its fault when our blood sugar is 365 mg/dl even after two doses of insulin. The cannula is, after all, an inanimate object. It is just one of those "small things" that represent how those of us using a pump are required to live our lives. It has its place aside the little test strips and the lancet tips and the insulin in the little bottles or the drip-drop form it takes when its delivered by the pump.
All of these things are physically small. But in the end, everything they sustain makes them seem so much larger.
When I look at that cannula as it enters or exits my body, I see years. Years that I know have been added to my life because using an insulin pump has drastically improved my diabetes control. I see a future with the man I love. I see the faces of my nieces and nephews and I see myself being there as they graduate high school and college, as they make their way in this world. I see the opportunity to make a difference through my work. I see the opportunity to share the story of how I've lived well with diabetes.
I see my life, turning on that dime-sized length of tubing.
Great post. I feel the same way looking at my bottle of Lantus every day. My life is literally in my hands in this bit of glass and fluid. Who can be bothered by needles, when the sting is what keeps you alive?
Beautiful post, Nicole.
Fantastic job, but I'm biased. Keep up the good work.
Great post, N. I remember all those years of injections and feel very lucky to have had access to the technology of insulin pumps for the last four years.
And I love the story of living well with diabetes that you share. :)
C is not for cat? Hmmm... <^.^>
Thanks, Araby. So many small things keeping us alive... :)
Thanks, Sara, I'm very glad it touched you.
Mark, thank you for the inspiration! Now on to D... For, hmmm, what d could I write about?
Thanks, Kerri. Those YEARS of injections took their toll. I am grateful everyday for the advancements that brought us our pumps.
Siah - Of course C is for Cat... If you're feline. Happy V-day, fierce kitty.
I will leave D to someone else. Even though I have a pretty good idea what you would like to use. E = endro or eyes.
Nicole, Great post and I can fully understand how this cannula has has helped extend my life for the last twenty-one years. I can rememeber when I first started sticking that cannula in my skin subcu., it was a needle actually attached to the end of the cannula that you stuck into your tissue manual. Twenty- one years ago the needle actually remained subcu. and was not like todays soft cannula extension that is left after you remove the insertion needle. We also only had regular insulin and still had to worry about the insulin plating out on the interior of the cannula causing an occlusion that you couldn't see except by BG of greater than 250. But as a diabetic qadriplegic with very limited hand function, the pump was my savior as it almost made feel like I was only a quadriplegic. The continued pump and delivery research has made feel fortunate to live at this time. My pump has become a very close friend that I could live without. David
In my last posting I meant to say "that I could not live without"
David
I don't know why no one uses either the Advanta Jet or the MediJet? I have used both of them over my 28 years as a type one. Nothing is sticking in me and I can oversee any problems! I have a 4.2 HBA1C with that technology and have used it for as long as it has been on the market. It must be at least 24 years and I used the old machine with great success. Why or why doesn't anyone know about it!
gail
Great post
It has been 55yrs of insulin.
Multiple daily testing and multiple injections.
Going to stay with this winner.
The pump is the future,go with it
Dr. al
Having Type 1 diabetes for 26 years, since the age of 5, there have been lots of new and exciting developments in the treatment of diabetes. I do not miss multiple daily injections, especially during my first pregnancy, but sometime get frustrated with my insulin pump as well.
Your blog definitely sheds a new look towards the insulin pump and I look forward to reading your blogs every time! ~ Denise
Mark - I think E is for eyes... I had been thinking on that...
David - Thank you so much for commenting. I love hearing about the "old days" of pumps... That weren't even that long ago. Amazing how far we've come in such a short time. I'm glad the pump changed things for the better. It must be difficult to have the challenge of quadripalegia in addition to diabetes - I can't even imagine. Hope you'll come back again...
Gail - I have no idea what those technology are - but I'm going to google search. I'm pretty happy with an A1C of 5.5 or 5.6% and very few low bloodsugars... The pump has given me that. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks, Dr. Al. I know a lot of people who still do MDI and do it successfully. But it's the pump for me - all the way!
Denise - Thank you so much. I'm glad that my blog gives another perspective. Sometimes we all need that - I get a lot of insight from the blogs of others out there. Thanks for commenting - I'm happy you'll be back soon!
Actually, Gail. I looked up the technology you're talking about - and I did know what it was, I didn't know the brand names. I actually tried this technology twice - once as a kid and then once as an adult and found that I was unable to use it because the needle-free injector left large welts on my very sensitive skin. Thanks for mentioning it, though!
I'm so happy I'm using a pump!!!!!! Nothing else worked properly for me before. Because of highs and ultra- lows, I was afraid to eat, sleep or be alone for over a year. It was horrible. Now and then I get annoyed that I can't "hide" my pump, or keep it from bulging through my clothes. But I just take a pause and remember what life was like before I had this little machine.
That pretty much stops my whining!