Thursday, July 14, 2005

I am getting an insulin pump

After 19 years with diabetes, I am getting an insulin pump. The paperwork has gone to the company for the pump I want, Animas, and supposedly they are clearing it with my insurance. It has been about three weeks; I expect to hear something soon. I chose the Animas IR 1250 insulin pump because of the software available, the lithium battery, and the fact that it doesn't lose all the data right away if the battery dies.

My doctor says programming an insulin pump is like programming a VCR.

I am looking forward to the day when the pump will measure your blood sugar in real time along with infusing insulin.

Why am I getting a pump? Because my diabetes has suddenly become very hard to control. In the last few months, I have had blood sugars ranging from 30 to 600. What I used to do no longer works. I was in the hospital three times with ketoacidosis. The doctor tried increasing my Lantus, but then my family ended up calling an ambulance on me because of severe hypoglycemia. I now know what ketoacidosis and severe hypoglycemia feel like, and I don't want to go there again.

No comments: