It's been awhile since my last entry so I'm doing one in response to a recent post in Shadowgods forum and a pm. I told the sender in a reply, this would make a good blog entry and I'd try to have it up some time today.

A question to the readers was asked, didn't the description of Jonathan shooting up creep you out? I replied with this, Some it would bother, but not me. When you check your blood sugar six times daily and then give yourself injections, you can get used to it.

You can get used to it, but not completely. I can usually watch someone else get stuck and then there's no guarantee I'll still look, but when it comes to having my own lab work done, I usually look away while they insert the needle, then watch as the tubes fill. Part of that also comes from all the years I've worked in the health care profession. I don't see how anyone could subject themselves to it just to get high.

I also used to work with a couple of guy's, who fainted at the site of a needle.

I've been on the pump now for 11 months and it's changed my life. Before the pump, I was taking my blood sugar before each meal and before bed. I would then have to calculate the amount of Humalog to inject with the meals and Lantis at night since it was only injected once daily.

One less worry I have is, now with the pump, I no longer have any need to travel with a bunch of syringes. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of being in an accident, or being pulled over, the car searched, and the syringes found. It would be assumed that I was a user before anything else was said or done. Granted, they would be in the packaging I bought them in, but at the site of them, it would be assumed.

With the pump, I now check my blood sugar (bs) more, before breakfast, before lunch, two hours after lunch, before the evening meal, two hours after, and again before bed. Yes, the number of finger sticks went up, but the number of injections went down. Every few days, I have to refill the disposable syringe and change the location of the inset.

I have better control of my bs levels than I did before. I figure out what my carb intake is for the meal, enter that number into the pump along with my bs reading. It then calculates the amount of insulin. I then enter that number into the pump and it will inject that amount. The pump also delivers a small amount hourly. At the time of writing this, it is programed to deliver 0.70 unit per hour. This changes for different periods of the day for a 24 hour period.

The pump came with a food list that shows the carbs. This list downloaded into a pda that I bought. The pump came with software and a download cable. The program was downloaded to the pda the first time I synced it with the desktop. I was also able to add food items to the Favorites list that I use. At lunch, I pick what I'm having from the list and it will add things up. It's more accurate than trying to guess what the carbs are for something. I've also learned that when it comes to fries and potato chips, double them.

I learned very quickly, after the first time I installed the first inset, to trim away hair. Nothing like pulling out some hair off your belly. There are several sites that can be used, arms, legs, and belly area. I stick with the belly area as it's easier to work with. I'd also need the inset with the longer tubing for the other areas since I keep the pump no my belt or waist band.

Something funny with it. During my brief training period with the pump, I was told I would need to disconnect from the pump when I was changing the piston and inset. I assumed this meant disconnecting the tubing at the pump. So for two weeks I was hanging it from my necklace to shower, it's waterproof. I found out one day that I could disconnect at the inset and use a cap that came with them and shower without the pump hanging around my neck.

If I had to pay for the pump and supplies, I don't think I'd have it. The pump is over $5,500 and my usual order of five boxes of insets and five boxes of infusions set costs over $700. My health insurance pays for most of it. I just have a $20.00 co-pay per line item. Periodically, I have to buy a pack of lithium batteries and a new replacement battery cap.

With today's technology, there are blood sugar monitor's available that can give you real time readings without the need to prick a finger. They are attached to your body, much the same way as my pump, and they are wireless.