About OmniPod
I didn’t really know much about diabetes until I was diagnosed; I
don’t think I had ever really heard of it. It was hard at first. A
lot of kids made fun of me and called me names. My daily routine changed.
I had to eat snacks to keep my blood sugar from dropping, and I had to prick
my finger to test often. If I wanted to go on a bike ride or go to the movies
and eat popcorn, I had to change all my insulin doses. And it interrupted
my school work. If my blood sugar was high or low I had to go down to the
nurse. I had to study longer, I had to start my projects earlier, just to
stay at the same level.
The doctors kept trying to push me onto a pump, but the tubing looked really scary – and the infusion set looked really painful. I didn’t want to have huge bruises on my stomach from the big insertion needle. Plus I would have to take the pump off if I wanted to take a shower, or go swimming, or play sports. I figured the shots were fine; I could just lug around the insulin in a little icepack until something better came along.
When
I heard about the OmniPod, it looked really interesting; it seemed so
much easier and better than the shots – and so much less painful
than the regular pumps. And it was. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t
really matter to me that it is there; I even forget I am wearing it sometimes.
The PDM is really easy, like 1,2,3; I got it right away.
Being on the OmniPod has made my A1c level so much lower. It’s between 6.9 and 7 now; on the shots it was between 8.2 and 8.3. My blood sugar is pretty much normal through the day – which has really helped me stay among the top students in my class this year.
The OmniPod is so carefree – it makes everything so much better. I can ride my bike to my friend’s house, I can walk my dog, I can golf, I can do anything that I want to – I can even play volleyball wearing the OmniPod.
When my semi-formal was coming around, I wanted to find a really perfect
dress. I did – and you couldn’t see the OmniPod
at all. The dance was five hours long. If I had been using shots I would
have had to carry around a pack of insulin and needles and if I had been
wearing a pump I would either have to take it off for those five hours,
which would have made my blood sugar go really high, or clip it to my
dress, which would have been really visible and kind of annoying. But
with the OmniPod it was really easy. I took my PDM with me in my little
clutch, and I wore my OmniPod and I barely had to remember about it. I
had the best time ever.
Before the OmniPod, I felt like the diabetes controlled me. Since I have had the OmniPod, I feel like I am in control of my diabetes. I don’t feel like I am in a separate category from all the kids anymore; I feel so normal.
I didn’t choose to have diabetes; it kind of chose me. The OmniPod
makes it so much better and easier. I have no words to describe how thankful
I am that they came up with the OmniPod. It changed my life. I would never
go back to shots again. I love the OmniPod, it has got to be the best
thing out there!
