Life is incredibly busy lately; as a result, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to write brand-new blog posts! But I thought this would be a fun throwback to publish today: the post I wrote for ASweetLife.org on January 21, 2015. It’s all about how I got started with my first (and only) insulin pump, the OmniPod. I’ve written so much about it here in the last few years and it recently occurred to me that I’ve never gone into much detail on how my first day with it went. Fortunately, I rediscovered this post, which does a great job at capturing all the emotions I experienced that day. Read on for more…

Today marks a new beginning for me. After seventeen years of taking insulin shots, I’ve made the move to a higher form of technology: the insulin pump! My pump of choice? The OmniPod, which appealed to me mainly because it is tubeless and my mother also uses it.

As the day went on, I experienced an array of emotions. I woke up feeling pumped (ha-ha, diabetic humor) because I realized I would be taking my last shot via insulin pen for the time being at breakfast. It was pretty anti-climatic, but a major moment for me nonetheless.

Some anxiety started settling in around midday. This was partly due to the fact I knew my visit with my diabetes educator would last roughly three hours in duration. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to spend a good chunk of my day off at the doctor’s office. I also had a few lingering questions. When would I take my first bolus? When would I be able to eat my next meal? Would it hurt when I inserted a new pod? I was driving myself nuts with my ceaseless stream of questions.

When it came time for me to actually leave for my appointment, I felt as ready as ever. I decided it would be best to just go with the flow and be patient as I listened to everything my diabetes educator needed to say to me.

Much to my relief, the three hours flew by more rapidly than I thought they would. In that span of time, I learned not only the basics of my pump, but the finer points that I may not have necessarily understood or picked up on my own. And I was reassured when upon inserting my first pod, I learned that it’s painless – my Dexcom causes more of an unpleasant pinch than the OmniPod system.

By the time I left the office, I had three more follow-up appointments scheduled and a fully active pump stuck on my belly. I didn’t give it much more thought until dinnertime, where I tested (more diabetic humor!) its abilities. I was impressed with how simple the entire insulin delivery process was, and I liked that my PDM would beep periodically to inform me of the status of my bolus.

Post-dinner, though, brought some frustration. As I write, I am still higher than I would like to be. It could be due to anything, which makes it especially irritating. Maybe I miscalculated my carb intake, or maybe my basal rate or insulin-to-carb ratio needs tweaking. For now, all I can do is accept the fact that the beginning of this new regimen will bring lots of trial-and-error with it and monitor my blood sugars carefully – it means waking up a couple times during the night, but I know I just have to do it.

I am not looking forward to this start-up period, but I am hopeful for what it will bring and what I can learn from it. I do look forward to sharing my experiences along the way, so stay tuned for my next post about my transition!