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KIT
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making from the person living with
diabetes. Bosano says, "I work in
software IT and I understand what
algorithms are and how they can
take over some of the work. It's even
better when they can help with
diabetes management, especially
when you are not even awake!"
But what sort of impact has this
system had? "The great joy of this
system has been that it works so well,
particularly overnight. Previously,
I would stir and think 'oh, I should
check my blood sugar.' Then I'd
wake, check, and make adjustments
if necessary. I'm finding I do this a
lot less now. Sometimes I stir to just
glance at my glucose levels, and if it's
OK I can just roll back over and go
back to sleep. In fact, there's a fairly
good chance I think I'll stop waking
up even to glance at it and just be
able to sleep the night through."
But it's not just Bosano that this is
having a positive impact on. "Before
when I did wake up overnight and do
a test, if I then had to maybe do an
adjustment on the pump, it was a bit
of fiddling about which would often
wake my wife up, too. So even she's
now getting a better night's sleep!"
Get active!
Bosano runs a lot. He has recently
written an article for a magazine
called Like The Wind. The article is
about running, but less about kit and
targets, and more about why people
are motivated to run. In the piece, he
included that he had Type 1 diabetes
and used an insulin pump.
He says, "On the Omnipod 5
Controller (the separate handheld
device that controls the tubeless Pod)
you can select Activity Feature' which
raises the blood glucose target a little
higher. It means you can still train
and exercise knowing that you are
getting less insulin for the duration
you set it to. This can be anything
from 30 minutes to a couple of
hours, which helps protect you from
going low. For me, I've found that
when I use this in the morning - this
temporary target works really well."
'Looked after'
"I would say that before using
the Omnipod 5 system, my diabetes
was the first and last thing I thought
about every day. Now it's possible to
wake up and see that I'm at 6mmols
and have pretty much had a 'flat
The fact that it
was 'hybrid closed
loop' system was
the main draw,
and the fact
that I wanted to
sleep better.
line' through the night. It's a change
from the 'blood sugar rollercoasters'
that I know many people living with
diabetes often experience.
"Using Omnipod 5 has been so
easy I feel like I got lazy! I don't feel
the need to check my glucose levels
as much as I used to. It's interesting
that I feel so safe using the system,
that something that I was so used
to doing suddenly dropped off my
agenda. Yes, I still need to carb count
and input my carbs for my meal
boluses, but I can spend more time
concentrating on other things now,
as I know my background insulin is
'looked after' by the system."
Managing Type 1 diabetes is a
full-time job, with no days off. But
the advancements of technology
are helping relieve some of the
burden that comes with managing
a condition like diabetes. Overall,
Bosano says, "I have learned to trust
the machine to help me manage my
blood glucose levels. As a result,
I think so much less about my
diabetes, have fewer alarms going
off and my overall wellbeing has
improved dramatically."
www.omnipod.com