Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I am so PUMPed!

As many of you know, I've been preparing to go on insulin pump therapy for some time now.

I got the call just minutes ago that I was approved through Animas, a Johnson & Johnson company division that only deals with diabetes care. I'm finally getting a pump!

It feels like this journey has taken FOREVER. And it has. I've been looking into it for almost a year now.


I completed a required saline start with the pump back in February. I wore it for 3 days, and used it just as I would if it were filled with insulin. It was weird to have a tube in my abdomen all day & night, but it was SO worth it not to have to take at least s-i-x insulin injections a day. By the end of the second day, I was already more comfortable with the tubing. I'm sure I'll grow used to the tubes with time.
Carys thought it was pretty neat, and Cailyn kept trying to pull the tube out, but I think their fascination will wane after a few days. Carys was concerned at first, but I explained to her that my body doesn't work correctly, and I have to have some help. She called the loaner pump my little tummy robot. True!

The best part is that it should help me live a more normal life, with fewer restrictions about what & when I can eat. (That's the hardest part of the diabetic challenge for me!)
Basically, the pump is like a little artificial pancreas.
I have Type I diabetes. My pancreas no longer works correctly, so I don't produce any insulin. No one knows why this happens exactly, but I did have gestational diabetes with both pregnancies. Cailyn's pregnancy was a lot more complicated as far as blood sugar management goes. No one was really surprised (but me) when my body just decided to stop producing insulin a few months after Cailyn's birth. We thought it was Type II at first, but soon realized that my body just wasn't producing any insulin whatsoever.
So, with the pump, my body will receive small doses of insulin throughout the day, and larger doses with my meals -- just like a pancreas should work.
Science is an amazing thing.

After I receive the pump, I'll have to hang out at my endocrinologist's office for a good part of the day as they get me started. They have to figure out dosages & program my little insulin machine. I would imagine this will all be complete in a few weeks.

8 comments:

Rachael said...

These pumps are kinda CUTE! At least you get to be fashionable and alive at the same time!! LOL!

Sip said...

it's like an iPancreas.

i need a caffeine pump. do you think they make them??

Emily said...

Congrats Skye, that's great!! I hope it is a great relief to you.

Anonymous said...

Hooray! Hooray! I am excited for you - less stress is always a good thing. (Not like you have much anyway.)
And, "sip" - If you find that caffeine pump, let me know!

Anonymous said...

that's great!! what color did you choose? oh, sip's iPancreas...too funny!! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy for you Skye! You will love the pump once you get used to it.You fix it and forget it! One less thing you will have to worry about during your day.

Anonymous said...

Now you'll have more time to hug that tree that I was never cutting down in the first place.

Melissa said...

Awesome! My biology professor has one and not only did it regulate her insulin but apparently it has a clock! She's from ukraine she told us "et pump de insuuulin in de bodee!" hmmm... not as funny in type as in class. What color are you getting?