Surprise Today: I'm Getting a Brand New Pump!!!!

I had an appointment at Diabetes Health today with both my dietician and my nurse; I needed their help in filling out a form which will allow me to get my pump supplies through the government. I'm not really sure how it came up, but I ended up showing my nurse the crack in the side of my pump. She took one look at it and said "You need another pump. Like today!"

And so now, the paperwork is being filed for me to receive a new pump as soon as possible! In the meantime, Medtronic is loaning me a pump for the next three months because everyone is really concerned about the crack in the casing (see picture).

For me, this is going to mean some big changes. First of all, I have to get into the habit of testing at least four times a day. Looking back in my log book (yes, I'm still keeping it!), I would say I average 2-3 times a day; I'm going to try testing for sure at lunch, at supper, at 10 pm (my normal third meal) and again before bed.

I will also have to get into the habit of changing the reservoir, the site and the hose thing every three days. Apparently this is the standard the Government has set. I change the reservoir every three days, but I normally leave the site and the hose longer (bad, I know!) I think this is a good habit to get into, but it will just be strange at first. I'm thinking I'll change everything every time I change the reservoir.

I will also have to see my team at Diabetes Health every three months. This is definitely not a bad thing. Unfortunately, I have a bit of trouble keeping up with them (if I don't make an appointment while I'm leaving, I tend to forget to make one for several months), so I'll have to always remember to make a new one when I leave. And if I have to cancel, I have to make sure I reschedule!!!!

Finally, I will have to attend classes on using the pump. My nurse has asked me before if I'd be interested in this, but I declined because I lacked the time. So I will be attending these classes in May. I think they're going to be a good thing. When I first learned how to use the pump several years ago, it was hard to take everything in. But now I understand all the basics, so I should easily be able to take in new information.

So all in all, an exciting day! I think these changes will be really good for me, and for taking better care of my diabetes!