Tubed to Tubeless

When I was a teenager, my diabetes team at the hospital often showed me insulin pumps. I could barely stand looking at them and would immediately decline wearing one. For me, it was like walking around with a sign saying: LOOK AT ME I HAVE DIABETES! Despite understanding all the benefits that an insulin pump can have on diabetes management, I simply could not say yes to one.

One day, I remember meeting another young T1D in the waiting room at the hospital and she was proudly showing me her insulin pump. She had a pouch on her waist to carry the pump, which had tubing. I still remember how happy she was to share her insulin pump story with me. It made her life much easier. Still, I was stubborn and all I could see was a pouch and a medical device attached to her 24/7. I had made up my mind that I would never wear an insulin pump.

As the saying goes; never say never. A couple of years later, I decided to try a pump for various reasons. First, as the years flew by, I realized that I didn’t have to hide my disease.  I also realized that an insulin pump does, in fact, help a lot with my diabetes management and especially with my A1C. Third, as much as I loved MDI (multiple daily injections), my on the road lifestyle didn’t match with injecting myself for each meal and correction.

So here I was, back in 2016, a proud owner of my first ever insulin pump. After some time adjusting to this new robot part, I quickly saw how much easier life with a pump was. I was worrying less, spending more time on hobbies, and feeling ‘’normal’’ again.

My first pump had tubing, and as much as I loved this new pump lifestyle, many other tasks were added to my daily to-do list, such as removing it before a shower and waking up at night to replace infusion sets after they’d fallen off from my tossing and turning. On top of that, I constantly needed to consider the tubing and where I would put my pump while shopping for new clothes.

I was extremely grateful for the technology, but I was curious about a tubeless solution.

After talking with my nurse, I chose to switch to the Omnipod® System; a tubeless, waterproof* insulin pump. There were various insulin pumps with tubing options that seemed very interesting, but I wanted a device that would be more comfortable and easier to use. 

Are you curious about tubeless? Check out Omnipod’s® 90-day risk-free trial here. 

Not having tubing in the way was very appealing to me. Someone once said to me that living with diabetes was like constantly having a little fly around your head and you can’t seem to make it go away. I wanted to have an insulin pump that would help me to forget a little bit about this fly. After all, I still had diabetes, so I know that having no worries was close to impossible. But anything to simplify my day-to-day was worth it!

How going tubeless helped me:

I used to often wake up at night because of the tubing on my insulin pump. I would lose it during my sleep. Yes, lose it! I would go to sleep with my pump attached to my waist and wake up to it underneath my pillow, don’t ask me how! I’d have to follow the tubing to find the pump at the end of it. With the Omnipod® System, this is not a worry since the Pod is attached to my body and is tubeless. It’s not going anywhere!

A tubeless pump also means that there is no need to disconnect or reconnect an infusion site. Since my Pods are waterproof*, I don’t have to think twice before taking a shower. The same goes for summer when I spend more time by the pool. With a tubed pump, I was able to go swimming while wearing it because mine was also waterproof, but I would find it too heavy in the water and it just wasn’t comfortable. Also, I can’t tell you how nervous I was when I’d go swimming at a beach with big waves (on vacations mostly). I was scared that my pump would detach from me and disappear into the underwater world. With my Omnipod® PDM (Personal Diabetes Manager) being separate from my Pods, I was confident because the remote-control part of my pump was safely stored on shore and the Pods were firmly attached to my body.

I‘m not someone who enjoys extreme sports, but I do love fun activities such as running, biking, and going to the gym. Living with diabetes means paying extra attention to blood sugars during exercise. Hypos can’t always be avoided but I try! Therefore, I wanted an insulin pump that would let me fully concentrate on my workouts while feeling confident. I liked exercising with a tubed pump because it still allowed me to adjust my basal rates for workouts, however, having my pump moving back and forth distracted me. I’d often need to stop to place it in a more comfortable position.

‘’Where’s my Pod?’’ I often ask myself this question after placing a new one on! Since it’s so discreet, I sometimes forget where I’ve placed it when it’s time to change it or if I want to show it to someone. The Omnipod® System gives me peace of mind: I simply use my PDM when I need it, and besides that, I can go on with my day without feeling attached to a device. Simplicity at its finest! 

To wrap up, every person with diabetes has their own experiences and preferences. In my case, going tubeless was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The positive impact it’s had on my diabetes management has allowed me to feel FREE, something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Thank you for reading diabuddies!

- Judy