LIVINGLIVING
use it all the time. He says, "I think CGM
is a useful tool, but insulin I need all the
time, CGM not so much. Recently I've
been working in London and there have
been tube strikes. I've had to do a lot of
walking, so I stuck a sensor on, as I can't
always stop fiddle about to do a blood
test while I'm on the move. It is easier just
to look at the screen of the CGM reader
and keep going."
Face the music
By day, Grumpy works as a Business
Continuity Consultant, sometimes
working with the NHS. So how did he end
up blogging? "I'd use Facebook to keep
in touch with family. But when I went on
a sponsored sports weekend, I set up a
Twitter handle and kept it separate from
my own life. Facebook was in my own
name, this had to be different. The name
The Grumpy Pumper just popped into my
mind. I'm on an insulin pump and I'm a
grouch. The name just worked. It's ironic
that I blog now, as I'm dyslexic. It had
never occurred to me to do it, yet it really
took off. I talk about my life, including my
clinic appointments. HCPs are part of my
support team but I'm not in awe of them.
I don't want people to be scared of their
diagnosis. However, if they are not getting
good care, they need to ask for it, and
they need to know that. So on that front I
am an advocate. I am not rude to people,
I hope I do the blog with humour. My first
blog was in December 2012, though
I'd gone on an insulin pump in 2011. I
was given an Animas VIbe pump, there
wasn't a choice back then, and I didn't
know enough about insulin pumps to
know which one to choose. It works with
Dexcom's CGM sensors."
Does he have any reservations about
using an insulin pump? "Nowadays I
see the pump is an automated form of
DIABETIC Vs PIZZA. Food is
food, and no one can argue
with Grumpy as his numbers
show he has good control.
continued over