All For Diabetes

Over the weekend I decided to switch back to pens, my pump was getting on my nerves. Don't get me wrong I love having my insulin pump but sometimes I just want a break from the tubing and the bulkiness of it, also, the clip is a little bit broken so my pump likes to do a nose-dive every once in a while. I've forgotten how free it feels to not be wearing my pump- it feels nice! Different, but nice. I'm still wary of doorknobs and my rabbits being on my lap in case my tubing gets chewed or pulled out...but then I remember I'm not actually wearing my pump so I can relax a little in that respect.

The thing about insulin pumps is although they're brilliant and totally allow you a lot more freedom in terms of food and insulin doses, they're hard work. You have to be so wary of it all of the time, you need to make sure the tubing is tucked in and make sure that it's filled up with insulin and fully charged before you go anywhere. And in comparison pens are so much simpler! So I made the impromptu decision to switch back to insulin pens and so far so good.

Another thing about insulin pens is I feel like they make you a bit more disciplined, In the sense that, you need to do your injections or it could end up much worse than if you didn't bolus on a pump because a pump has the basal rate...but if you didn't do your levemir or lantus then it might be a whole different story because you would have no insulin at all. I was at clinic the other week and my consultant knows that I'm not the best for bolusing my food so that's something I need to work on...'basal machine' was his choice of words. Thankfully he's totally not mean and doesn't shout!

Sometimes I wonder if maybe I should switch back to pens all together...but then I think I'd probably end up getting really fed up of them. Because even though it's simpler in the concept, it's not that simple when you're out and about because you actually have to stop what you're doing, or find somewhere to sit down while you inject, whereas with an insulin pump you just press a couple of buttons and then you're done.

So, I have mixed ideas about pumps and pens, and I think I like a bit of both every once in a while.

-Ellie