Frankly, Our Options Suck... But We Deal With It.

So heres the fun thing. Treatment. While yes, I am thankful I live in a time and a country where I have a choice, they really aren't that great. You either do injections multiple times a day or you have a pump tethered to your side all the time. No matter what, your sugars go up and down and you never get a break. We try for control but even with the best technology, it is very difficult to achieve. 

Personally I prefer the pump but sometimes, a change can be the thing that brings you back from the edge of being fed up and exhausted.

There are good and bad with both.

Injections can be very inconvenient. It isn't as easy as just pressing a couple buttons to give some insulin when you eat or you are fixing a high blood sugar. Often the long acting insulin doesn't really last as long as it is advertised. 

However, on the plus side, there is a freedom to not being attached to something 24/7. There is a different kind of flexibility that comes with injections that you just can't experience when on the pump. After being on the pump for a long time and then doing shots for a couple months its always amazing to look at myself in the mirror and not see that little box sticking out of my pocket or tubbing trailing down my leg.

Pumps can be inconvenient as well. You have to be sure to tuck the tubbing in to what your wearing or door knobs can be among your worst enemies. A night full of tossing and turning has you tangled in tubbing or with a lovely and somewhat painfully, square box imprinted into your side, back, or stomach. There is also always the risk of a bad pump site that leaks or kinks and air bubbles in your tubbing.

But on the other hand, pumps make it easy to give insulin for a meal discreetly, mine (the Animas Ping) even pairs with a glucometer that works as a remote which is great when you have hidden your pump under clothing. They are also great for allowing your insulin to adjust at different times through out the day and can allow for better control. 

No matter what, there are times where it gets very, very old. Where it gets hard to continue, but, there's no other option. It passes. Right now this is the choice given to us and we have to make the best of it. One day, there will be a cure, but until that day, we have these two things to choose from and we have no better choice than to make the best of it.