Where Are We Now
When it was through multiple daily injections instead of a pump that we delivered insulin to Lia, minus the early emotional strain, it was a fairly straightforward method of managing her diabetes. Or as straightforward as any such nearly impossible task can be. Three times a day she ate a meal, normally of food prepared in our kitchen, and for which we bolused insulin beforehand based on her blood sugar and the food’s carbohydrate count. Before bed we gave her a long-acting shot of Lantus to cover all of her non-food requirements for the next twenty-four hour period. In between these occasions we monitored blood sugar, treated lows, used exercise to bring down high numbers, snacked responsibly, and did all we could to go about our daily lives and not be slave to the next shot. In addition, we kept copious notes in her logbook of what she ate, how much we dosed, and how she reacted to certain foods; and we read and talked often of ways to better ensure her happy, healthy future.
As a result we were rewarded with the majority of her blood glucose readings in target range and a three month HbA1c two full points lower than when she was diagnosed. But besides being hurtful to Lia, the shots were time consuming, inflexible, and less precise than we wanted to be. The strongest thing they had going for them was that in theory a shot has minimal lasting impact in the course of a day. You deal with it and move on. Lia could dose and as long as that dose was marginally accurate she could within reason forget about diabetes. The key word, of course, is marginal, which when held up against the sexy appeal of technology doesn’t stand a chance. Add to it the reality of what it means to deal with diabetes and move on and we naturally leaned toward the pump.
So it has been three weeks since Lia switched over to the Animas Ping and while there have been some great improvements to her treatment, chiefly the absence of needles, the verdict — for us anyway — is still out on the MDI vs. Pumping debate. On the one hand, it is much easier to dose. Just enter a few numbers, press Go and voila, insulin delivered. The remote meter makes it even less intrusive, enabling us to not even bother Lia except for the blood test. The logbook reflects blood sugar results similar to what we were getting on shots, perhaps a bit higher as we are still trying to learn the pump’s capabilities and fine tune the many settings; and while we haven’t yet had a glycated hemoglobin test while on the pump, all indications are that it will be acceptable.
So why not stop there, with acceptable? Why muddle things up with second-guessing the reasons for abandoning what had so far proven to be an effective means of treating diabetes? Lia prefers the pump. It works well. Her numbers appear fine. Everyone is happy to be rid of the shots. Why can’t I be content with that?
Part of the reason why is the complexity of it all. Our expectations were high on the pump, either because of our lack of understanding or it being oversold to a couple of amateurs. The pump is no silver bullet. It is an intricate piece of equipment that requires extensive thought and expertise to use it to the fullest of its capabilities and achieve tighter blood glucose control. Tighter control, however, it appears at the moment, is synonymous with greater worry, and possibly even risk.
I’m not opposed to worry or work, especially if it will benefit Lia, but we are still newcomers to diabetes and there is much I’d still like to learn about it, and time I’d like to devote to research and advocacy. I wonder if the energy to calibrate the pump to Lia’s insulin requirements would be wiser spent, at least in this early diagnosis stage, better understanding the effect food and exercise has on Lia’s blood sugars. It feels at the moment like taking off in a plane without having thoroughly learned how to land it.
Complexity is one thing. It can be overcome through knowledge and experience, two things of which are both in short supply around here. But the other reason I am not quite sold on pumping over the shots has less to do with technology and Lia’s treatment than it does her way of life. It comes back to that minimal impact thing. MDI, as sad as it may sound, fit our lifestyle nicely. We eat real food, enjoy both vice and virtue in moderation, and take seriously the health of our mind, body and spirit. The shots, since she had to take them, became simply another part of the way we live our lives. Not a preferred part, mind you, but a part nonetheless. They were a few seconds of discomfort. We tried not to dwell on them, only the results.
But any loss of the privilege to live life unattended is the same no matter the treatment. Whether it is a shot taken before a meal or the programming of a highly specialized device, ultimately it will be Lia’s overall health that will direct us. I just hope that as these and more and more options open up to her they don’t come at some greater cost.
To find out more about the research being done for the treatment and cure of Type 1 Diabetes, click here.
