Using an insulin pump has its advantages. I don’t have to carry around syringes with me everywhere I go. It automatically calculates the amount of insulin I need when I enter the amount of carbohydrates I am going to consume. If I get to a restaurant and have to wait 45 minutes to be seated I won’t have a low from taking my shot before I get to dinner (which happened several times to me before).

With that comes the down sides of insulin pump therapy. The biggest one that comes to mind is having to wear this infusion site on you all the time. And since I do not have an Omnipod, I also have to worry about tubing which can get tangled, caught on things, and just get in the way.

  (READ MORE)

It's Wednesday, when the majority of the world is at work. So when the doorbell rings, I'm pretty sure it's a salesperson -- or the kid down the street.

This afternoon the doorbell rang. I quietly went downstairs ready to get "mad" at the neighbor kid who has come to the door two Wednesday afternoons lately looking for No. 1 and being genuinely confused about why I'm home and No. 1 is not.

I looked through the peep-hole expecting to see the kid. I saw no one, but kept looking thinking that he was so close to the door that I couldn't see him. I saw something on the street, but assumed it was a trashcan. I didn't open the door, walked upstairs and looked out the front window and saw and heard a UPS truck driving away.

UPS! I didn't order anything! Does that mean I got a present?! Ooooh a present!!

  (READ MORE)

DeathByBokeh on Flickr

I try to change my infusion site every 3 days. Generally, I hit the mark almost perfectly at 72 hours. Lately, I've been running the pump all the way to the last drop of insulin so my infusion sites go a little longer (only about 5 hours). I've just gotten lazy in changing them out.

Even before I started doing that, my pump supplies started piling up. I would get shipments for 3 months before I was anywhere near being out. I have a 3-month supply just sitting in my closet while I still use the current supply I have (about 1 month). My next shipment will probably be here within the month.

  (READ MORE)

Minimed Silhouette Infusion Sets

I started using the Silhouette infusion sets last night. I'm in completely new territory with these sets because I'm using them in new locations. This one went into my outer thigh.

I forgot to order the inserter, so I had to manually insert the needle. I got the longer needles/canulas, which scare me a little at first just because of their length and thickness. But inserting the needle was actually quite painless and effortless.

  (READ MORE)

sixuntilme

I knew that walking around the huge Texas airport carrying two pieces of luggage would be strenuous. I also knew that the stress of making a flight and worrying about forgetting things would be a factor. So I lowered my basal by two increments about an hour before hitting the airport.

When we finally made it to the terminal, I checked in at 150. Perfect. I wanted to run a little higher than normal to avoid a low. I didn't bolus and kept my basals the same.

  (READ MORE)

This morning I woke up to my pump alarm yelling at me. I turned over and looked at the clock. Having over an hour before I needed to wake up I grabbed my pump and pressed the ESC and ACT buttons to kill the alarm and fell quickly back to sleep. I knew this morning was going to be an infusion set change day so I was not surprised, just annoyed.

No sooner did I go back to sleep that I heard the alarm again. Not normally when you clear the low reservoir alarm you have another 10 units of insulin worth before the alarm goes off again. I reached under the blankets and cleared the alarm again. I don't think I even achieved REM state before my alarm went off and I was up for good. Bummer. (READ MORE)