I recently blogged about getting a Medtronic insulin pump. It has been life changing. I’ve gone from 33% of time in range to between 68% to 97% in range. Don’t believe me? Here’s the evidence, from a particularly good day:
As a result I’m less tired and in a better state of health.
The biggest adjustment has been remembering to take the pump with me when I roll over at night in bed. I have fallen asleep with the infusion set stretched, having forgot to take it with me. I have also woke up laid on top of the pump. Thankfully the insulin pump has been well designed and is very durable. Meaning it is difficult to damage. That said, I do try to take good care of it.
I got some amazing news last week, a date for setting me up on the Medtronic MiniMed 780g insulin pump. It was the following Monday.
I’ve had my insulin set up and operational for just over 48 hours and here are my first impressions:
The pump is small (see photos below) and lightweight, so much so that I sometimes forget that I have it on.
It is easy to use. I only got 2.5 hours training on it and was worried that it wouldn’t be enough. But it was. Thanks to the pumps’ intutive design of both the hardware and software.
The difference it has made to my blood sugars has been dramatic. They have already fallen, leading to me spending significantly more time in range.
It’s alarms and alerts are really useful and helpful. However I do wish that the alarms were louder.
It takes a little bit of getting used to in terms of using the toilet and sleeping with the pump attached.
The Senor just works when in place and lasts for 7 days.
The App including CareLink feature is fantastic.
Overall, I’m over the moon with the insulin pump and sensor and already seeing dramatic improvements in blood sugars with less thinking and work from me. Despite a device being attached to me 24/7, I feel a great sense of freedom.
Don’t buy MSI laptops. You have been warned. I’ve had two in 18 months, the first a gaming laptop and the second a producitivty laptop that have both broken after really sort periods of use.
MSI laptops used to be known for their quality and come with a price tag that reflects this.
My first laptop was a secondhand MSI gaming laptop that keys on the keyboard stopped working after only around 3 months of use. Okay – I thought – I could vouch for anything the previous owner had done to it.
So I bought a brand new productivity laptop from MSI. First the camera broke, then a speaker, then the mircophone. I ended up having to replace this laptop after about 12 months of use.
I HATE how commercial WordPress is becoming! What went wrong? It started out as a community-based blogging platform. Now everything is about business and money and it stinks!
A good example of this is Jetpack. Jetpack is a plugin that recorded statical data about visitors and views. It used to be free and did these lovely annual reports.
Now the services provided by Jetpack, including their Stats has in the latest update become a paid model. Not just a paid model, but a subscription service – like money is no object. Sure it’s fine if you have a business and are making money.
But for a small author and blogger like me, let’s be clear: This website costs me more than it has ever earned me. But I keep it running, at a personal cost to me for my enjoyment. It’s a leisure activity.
So today, it was Bye, Bye Jetpack. I’ve removed and deleted the plugin. I encourage other bloggers to do the same. Let’s not give in to their financial demands and instead opt with our fingers and delete plugins and themes demanding money with their Dashboard banners.
It’s not just Jetpack. EVERY theme and plugin now expects you to pay, usually a subscription service, for regular updates.
Honestly if there were an alternative community-based platform, similar to WordPress’ past, that focused on development to improve user experience, rather than making developers rich, I’d switch. But there isn’t right now, meaning that at least for now I’m stuck with WordPress.
Blog – Yes blog, writing for pleasure, not to make money, soon,
Antony
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Thursday 11 April 2024
About
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of nine books.
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Antony Simpson is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.
