#DBW2019 - looping, or rather why I'm not doing it

The theme for Thursday in the #DBW2019 is DIY looping deholygrailed.

Now this is a technical subject, and I would be surprised if anyone reading most of the blog post on the subject, and who aren't living close to diabetes, would understand much of what is being said. Basically with today's technology, in first world countries with good health care systems, you can have access to an insulin pump and a continous glucose meter. Looping is when you combine these two so that the glucose meter senses changes in you glucose level, and the insulin pump reacts accordingly and either gives you more insulin, or stops the insulin for a while. This is called closed loop, when the technology don't need any human input and is probably the closest that you can get to a working pancreas. The thing is today on the market there are no closed loop systems. There are hybrid systems, where the user decides the dosage but the pump can stop or add the insulin if it's needed. DIY looping though is when you hack the hybrid loop system and makes it closed loop.

I'm not doing this, because I don't have a pump. And my costuming hobby is a big reason to why I don't have a pump.

This is an insulin pump. It sends the insulin through an infusion set that you have on you all the time. You need to have the infusion set, and you need to carry the pump with you as well.

Infusion set in my stomach under a pair of stays or a corset? No, I don't think so.

I don't see any space for a belt for the pump or a pocket in this costume either.

I'm sure that closed loop systems are the future of diabetes treatment, but until they are really here I prefer not having to worry about infusion sets or how I need to adjust my costumes to accomodate the pump. So with that I should say I'm not yet willing to work with a pump, but when (not if) I switch I am definitely going to loop but it won't be until there are working closed loop systems so that I don't have to work with DIY looping..