For 14.5 years, I was using multiple daily pen injections with Humalog as my fast acting insulin and Lantus as my long term insulin.

Summer of 2017, I switched to the Dexcom G5 and the Omnipod for better insulin control, a1c control and easier management while doing geo field research.

Omnipod

The omnipod is a tubeless insulin pump that only uses fast acting insulin. There are two precepts to this insulin delivery system- bolus and basal. Basal takes the place of long lasting insulin in that each hour is a set amount of insulin that drips into my system. Basal is my baseline insulin delivery and is delivered 24/7. Bolus is the exact same as fast acting insulin. It is delivered for meals or blood glucose level (BG) corrections.

Perks of the Omnipod:

-constant insulin delivery

-pre-programmed insulin ratios and rates

-no more daily injections; pod is changed every 3 days

-no more pulling my pants down to deliver insulin shots while in the field or backpacking

-setting temporary increased or decreased basal rates for spontaneous adventures or stubborn bg days

Cons of the Omnipod:

-pod site can rip off (i.e. getting out of the car or using a towel after a shower or running into things)

-remembering to carry around your PDM (personal diabetic manager- basically the meter that comes with and controls the omnipod)

-not much else..!

i LOVE my omnipod!!

Dexcom G6 

Dexcom is a Continuous Glucose Monitoring system (CGM). This means that the machine is reading my blood glucose levels constantly and transmitting my BG to either my phone or a separate receiver every 5 minutes. Dexcom is a great CGM for someone like me who likes to hike and research and not stop constantly to check my BG manually with a glucose meter. The receiver alerts me when my BG is too low, too high, is dropping rapidly or is rising rapidly. I love this feature, although it does not work for everyone. When I am outside and distracted from my medical needs, I can sometimes forget to look out for these drops in sugar, but with my Dex on my side, I  never have to worry anymore.