Alternate Infusion Set Sites!!!

Okay, I am super excited.  When unboxing my new VEO the other day, I was reading the box the sensors came in (yay sensors!  I haven't had any since 2010!) because I was shocked to realize they came in an un-refrigerated box (I guess the technology has changed in the last six years?)  And I was shocked to realize that the sensors are approved for an alternate site too (on the bum).  Which led to the realization that I could probably be moving my regular site around, too!  I went looking online and sure enough, I found a Medtronic blog post about moving sites around the body!

Now I am a huge lover of the insulin pump.  But the one thing I have never liked is that you use the torso for infusion set sites and sensor sites.  The torso is, in theory, a great place because it is convenient and not going to get hit as easily while walking and whatnot.  But I've always had troubles with my abdomen in particular.  Even when doing insulin injections years ago I wouldn't use it because it would hurt and bruise super easily.  This has remained true with the insulin pump.  Luckily my sides aren't as sensitive to this sort of thing, so I've been using them for years.

But now the idea of using an alternate infusion set site has opened up a whole new world for me!  Today I'm trialing using my thigh for the first time ever.  It felt a bit weird at first, but things seem alright so far.  I'm excited to see how things go over the next few days!  

New Pump!!!!!

I just unboxed my brand new pump!!!!

I didn't post anything on here, but my old pump, a Minimed 522, got cracked a little while ago.  The pump continued to function, but if it got any more damaged it wouldn't have been able to properly hold the reservoir.

Yes, this is worse than the last time I got a new pump.

So today, I got to set up my brand new Minimed VEO!  I'm really excited to get this pump - when I got my last one (the 522), the VEO came out like a month or two AFTER I got the 522!  :/  

This time, there's another new pump coming out, but I'll be able to upgrade to it if I want, which is also really exciting!  No missing out on new technology for me this time!  :)

So anyway, I've got my new VEO on right now.  I haven't really been able to do anything with it so far besides set it up with my basals and other settings.  But first impressions: 

• it looks like it's got way more control in the case of programming basals!  I think I saw some options for adjusting by a quarter of a unit!
• it's going to be a bit weird getting used to some of the sub-menus. Like you go into "Basal Setup" menu which is an option under "Basal Menu." "Basal Setup" is now where things like editing your basals and setting patterns are.  On the 522 those options are just under the main basal menu.
• "Prime" is now "Reservoir + Set." That honestly confused me until I went into the menu and saw what it was.
• I really hope I won't have to tell the pump "yes I am disconnected" when changing reservoirs.  Those extra steps annoyed me and will annoy me more if I have to keep doing them.

So as expected, there's some good and some annoying things with the VEO, which tends to be the way things go with new/different technology.  We'll see how things go once I'm using it more in the next little while!  :)

September Update

Whoops, it's been awhile since I posted.  But here are all the numbers I have from the last month:

Sept 5:
weight: 207.8 lbs
fat percentage: 45.5%
hydration: 37.4%
muscle: 26.8%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2333

Sept 13:
weight: 207.0 lbs
fat percentage: 45.4%
hydration: 37.5%
muscle: 26.9%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2328

Sept 17ish:
weight: 208.0 lbs
fat percentage: 45.4%
hydration: 37.5%
muscle: 26.9%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2334

And today:
weight: 204.6 lbs
fat percentage: 43.2%
hydration: 39.0%
muscle: 28.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2314

This has been a super busy month.  I had a fun BBQ for Labour Day weekend.  Friends of mine got married.  I helped a friend move.  I helped out at a fun fundraiser for one of my jobs.  Oh, and I've been fighting a cold or something on and off for about two weeks now.  I had a day last week where I stayed home and did a whole lot of nothing.  I thought I was doing better this week but ended up out for another day and a half.  I finally left my house today, which was wonderful (even though I was just getting groceries).  My weight has moved below 205lbs in the meantime - I don't want to celebrate yet in case it heads back up once I'm not sick.