Me and my pump
Sam with her pump on the first day
Since 8th Dec 2001, I have been the very proud owner of an insulin pump. A full 24 years after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus, I had the chance of not having long acting insulin.
This is an important distinction: the pump gives me a human analogue insulin – in other words an insulin which is fundamentally identical to human insulin. It has a very short life span as a result and therefore is ideally suited to Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (the proper name for an insulin pump). But it means freedom from long acting insulin – a real bonus as the unpredictability disappears from dose calculations.
Being a constant companion, the pump not only makes life so much more flexible (and dare I say, easier (ok, it has it’s own set of problems, but on the whole)) it is always there. It feels like it’s a part of me.
So, I hate swapping the pump out. My latest one has developed a very small hitch and needs to be checked and I feel like I am losing an arm! Tomorrow, I am sending off this one off and swapping in a different pump.
Strange how you get attached to things.
Posted: August 21st, 2008 under 42.