The Vanity Issue

OK, I'll admit it, one of the main reservations I had about transitioning to an insulin pump was vanity.  Pure, simple VANITY.  There, I've said it.  My name is Naz, and I'm slightly vain about random lumps and bumps underneath my clothes.  Or at least the ones that shouldn't be there! 

That was the main reason I did not want a conventional, tubed pump ever. I mean, first, I'd have random bits of tubing snaking through my body, and then I'd have this pump that would have to be attached to me at all times.  I wear dresses in the summer that don't have pockets or belts, so where would I put the pump?  In my bra?!  Well, I suppose I could have, and if anyone asks, its a tracking device!  Plus, let's face it, having to disconnect from the pump at certain, um, moments would really kill the mood! ;)  Not to mention that sleeping would mean I'd get tangled in tubing and things like that.  So, I ended up going for the OmniPod.

But guess what?  I'm still vain!  And whilst the OmniPod's not big (its an inch wide, two inches long and about half an inch thick.  Ruh-row, thought I!  Its still going to be visible.  People are going to see this lump under my clothes and stare.  I figured I'd use every trick in the book, patterned fabrics, baggy pants, flared skirts/dresses, the works.  But you know what?  It doesn't matter.  I've had this pod on my thigh now since Tuesday.  I've worn it with dresses, some of which have been rather fitted, I've worn it with gym shorts, I've worn it with cargo pants, I've worn it with a swimsuit.  And the only time it was ever noticed?  In the swimsuit, as you might expect.  I've noticed it under my clothes, with the tell-tale lump, but nobody else has.  Not even people I'd have expected to have noticed it.  My vanity is being pampered, I think.  Of course the best thing will be when I start the insulin for real with it, and I won't have to drag out the insulin pens and needles before I eat, merely press some buttons and listen for the reassuring clicking of the Pod doing its thing.  Just a few more days for that!! :)

And so the cyborg-ification process begins...

Or, how I'm now semi-hooked up to electronic devices to control vital insulin delivery!  There's only saline in the OmniPod on my thigh right now, in order for me to learn properly how to control it, and live with it without knocking it off, and figure out where it poses a problem, etc etc.

I had my first training session on the OmniPod yesterday.  Basically, its a tubeless insulin pump.  One bit, the "Pod" attaches to my body, has a reservoir of insulin, and inserts a cannula into my body.  Every three minutes, it gives me a tiny "hit" of insulin, just like a working pancreas would.  If I'm exercising or doing something strenuous, I tell it, and it reduces the amount of insulin I get per hour.  If its time to eat, I tell it my blood sugar, what I'm eating, and it gives me the required insulin.  Its waterproof, and so far after a day of work, turbokick, salsa and floating around a swimming pool, I haven't managed to dislodge it!

It also beeps at me.  Do you know how disconcerting it is to have your thigh beeping at you??  If I alter insulin delivery, I beep every half hour.  Once I finish bolusing insulin for food, I beep.  If something's wrong, you guessed it, I beep.  If the Pod's about to expire, it whines.

Fortunately, that's where the remote control comes in useful.  There's no buttons on the pod, its all controlled by a small device about the size of a Blackberry which tells it what to do, and tells me what's wrong with the Pod.  Am only pumping saline solution so far, and will be untill this time next Wednesday, at which point I'll start the insulin, and things will get fun.  For starters, no more shots!! \o/

OK so this OmniPod thing is going to take some planning

So, one of the things I do to unwind is to dance.  Mainly salsa, and a variant called rueda de casino.  Anyway, one of the moves we do, although not in that video involves the guy grabbing the woman's hip/lower back to stop her after 3/4 of the turn in a coca-cola, passing her behind his back as if he's doing a basketball behind the back dribble, and then spinning her out back into the basic dance move (guapea) by applying a torque to her hip to give her the momentum and direction to spin out.   You can imagine what's going to happen if a guy grabs my hip with a Pod attached there.  Yeah, that baby's gonna get ripped right out.  And OUCH!  So, its going to be planning time.  No Pods on the hips when dancing!

Oh, and if you're interested, this is what we look like when dancing rueda de casino. Yes, its a bit dark, but its fun. ;)