Parents vs. Devices

Some weeks, diabetes feels heavy. Other weeks, it feels like it’s out to break you. This week? Definitely the second one.

We tried to make the switch back to her t:slim pump, even though it wasn’t connecting to her phone. And here’s the thing—if the pump isn’t connected to her phone, it doesn’t mean she stops getting insulin. Basal insulin still goes in. The pump still works. What we lose is the ability to bolus (give insulin for meals and corrections) from her phone. Which means every time she eats or needs a correction, we have to pull the pump out.

Sounds small, right? But it’s not. Especially at night. Those 2 a.m. checks, when she’s finally asleep, mean I have to dig her pump out (its attached to her) and wake her up to bolus, pause alarms or alerts and more. She gets disturbed, I lose sleep, and we both end up frustrated. It doesn’t sound like much until you’re living it over and over again.

So on site-change night, we decided to go back to the Omnipod. At least it connects to her phone. At least it makes things a little easier. We still risk infections and we arent excited for that, but with diabetes we make choices with the cards delt, regaurdless of the crappy hand.

We tried to hook up her G6 sensor along with it. It was already connected to her pump, but we thought it would work out fine. Well… not so much. We learned quickly that if you hit “stop sensor” on the PUMP (not the dexcom app), it stops it on the app, too. Not cool. Lesson learned. That meant we had to put on ANOTHER Omnipod. Two Omnipods in one night. Add in a new Dexcom sensor, a high blood sugar, shes confused and annoyed, and the fact that shes sick, and—yep—you can picture the meltdown. From her and I both lol.

Now we’re in this weird limbo. Waiting to see if insurance will cover a new pump, trying to stretch supplies without knowing which ones we’ll need long-term. Her G6 prescription was put in but not filled. We’re running low on adhesive stickers, but we don’t want to buy more when we don’t even know what pump or sensor we’ll be using in a month. It’s like we’re constantly one step behind, and diabetes is two steps ahead.

The bright spot? We have an endo appointment at the end of the month. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have answers, a plan, and maybe even a little breathing room. But right now? It’s just been a nightmare.

And that doesn’t even touch her blood sugars while she’s been sick. Highs, crashes, stubborn numbers that won’t budge. Add “regular life” on top of that—meals, bedtime, schoolwork, laundry—and it’s all just… a lot.

Diabetes sucks most of the time. But this week? It’s been especially cruel.