What Diabetes Has Changed

I suppose I should be doing a post about my first three days on the pump, but that will have to come next. (But I'll say, it's going pretty well!) This list is what's been bumping around my brain this morning...

What Diabetes Has Changed:

1. Let's get the biggies out of the way and move on to the more "fun" ones... It's brought my mortality to my attention. Health was never a concern beyond needing to eat less and exercise more, but now it will be a very prominent part of my daily life.
2. I used to be terrified of needles. I'm still nervous about intravenous needles, but too a lesser extent... and I never thought I'd be OK with sticking my stomach or thigh with a needle multiple times a day... Or, as the case is now, sticking a needle into my stomach and leaving behind a cannula. If you'd told me that four months ago, it would have freaked me the hell out.
3. My nutrition label review used to go: calories, ingredients, types of fat, amount of sugar. Now, it's: carbs, fiber, sugar alcohols, ingredients (for types of grains & sugars), amount of fat, types of fat, calories.
4. I carry a much bigger purse, and it's about to get bigger again!
5. When I got distracted by the internet, it was usually over something crafty or geeky. Now, it's usually over something diabetes related.
6. I used to think an insulin pump was a sign of very hard-to-control diabetes. Now I know it's a sign of better diabetes control for that person's lifestyle. (And I think they're pretty cool!)
7. I have better knowledge of how the glycemic index works. I knew that lower-GI foods were better because they caused fewer sugar spikes and drops, but now I'm even developing a feel for how quickly different foods raise my blood sugar.
8. I eat less, but weigh more... both thanks the the ability to use and store carbs again. *sigh*
9. I want to exercise more than I ever wanted before, but I almost never do now. I seem to trend low for a lot of various reasons, which makes me less inclined to go do something that will make me go even lower. (This will be less of an issue once they "approve" me using temporary basals on my pump, and once I have the Dexcom CGMS.)
10. Other than stress symptoms and occasionally feeling low, I feel better. It wasn't one of those night-and-day things where I took my first shot of insulin and felt like a new person, but there's definitely a difference.