Life as a Pancreas: Part I

I no longer doubt what my next a1c will be.




















Granted, I don't know the precise number, but I'm sure it will be under 7. Yes, sure. (can't say I've ever felt that feeling before) I'm not cured, I have not "gone Atkins", nor am I am in training for an Ironman. (last time I went to the gym? don't ask)I just know that this clinical trial & me were meant to be.















I still have highs, but they're not a daily occurrence. No lows whatsoever in seven days. And that is exactly what the first phase of the Artificial Pancreas is supposed to initiate-elimination of the extremes. Perhaps this is not a huge deal to those who already keep their bgs "tight" but as a card-carrying member of the 250+ club, I could not be more thrilled. (to not go above that, multiple times a day) My TDD has dropped 20%, my insulin/carb ratio's have doubled(1/10 to 1/22) and I do not feel like this is my diabetes anymore. My diabetes loves insanity, not order. In the 70-80 range, I don't feel like stuffing my face(1-2 tabs cure the slight jitters). And the overnight Dexcom reading is not a series in insanity(typical night:either spike,drop,spike drop or monster spike) its either slight drop, or slight rise. Stability is not a River in Egypt..it is possible for me,and possible for anyone. I don't know if it's them,(I go off preprogrammed suggestions most of the time) or just the direct contact of the Omnipod/versus traditional pumping..I suspect it's some of both. (and mandatory 3-day pod changes really, REALLY help)



















That being said, it's not all sugar-free cream puffs..my skin doesn't like the Pod tape,& I have some slight rashes from that. I will start using Tegaderm, should it continue to be an issue. I also cannot correct for a high,(premeal) because the Omnipod does not have a food IOB (and invariably, some insulin is still around from the last meal/snack. If I corrected, I would have to eat more, to keep from bottoming out post-meal) I am not happy that it doesn't have meal IOB,but it's something one could get used to. Because my decisions are not truly my own(I'm supposed to be trusting this thing, most of the time) it gets a little tricky, & I'm not really sure what I should be doing. (Study Endo hasn't called me back yet) I want to do what's best for my diabetes care,and it is a "behavioral study" but I'm new to this pump, and have no real clue what I'm doing. Certain things I love, certain things I hate,and certain things I do not know how I feel about it.(as of yet) Had to switch to Freestyle test strips, and as a die-hard One Touch fan that was really, really difficult.(although,bg comparisons showed them to be within five points of each other,so that helped convince me that they are just as (in)accurate) Right now I'm not doing much of anything, besides using the pump/meter/cgm & getting acclimated to it. Friday, I'll begin "tagging" events in the PDM (as previously mentioned, this is primarily an observational phase of the project, and they want to know what makes PWD tick.) That also entails filling out multiple psychological tests like the Beck Depression Inventory,which is every bit as dry & depressing as you may have guessed it is. But it's necessary, so I continue to plow through it.