Why Don’t You Change it Out?

From the moment I inserted the infusion set, it hurt.  Not a constant throbbing pain, but a soreness that spiked up every time something brushed up against it.

“That site still hurts?” Pete asked.  “Why don’t you change it out?”

I can tell you exactly why I didn’t.  This sore site was working really well.  You know what I mean, that blissfully flat graph on the CGM that can be so difficult to achieve.  There was no way I was wasting a good site just because it hurt when something touched it.

Let’s read that last sentence again.  There was no way I was wasting a good site just because it hurt when something touched it.  The more I think about it, the more I realize how weird the way I think is.  What rational person does not try to relieve something painful?  Why is wasting a site given a higher priority than my own comfort?  Good blood sugars are important, but isn’t being pain free just as important?

Honestly, the answer is no.  I had planned to keep that painful site in until today, when it would be time to change it out.  I did get a bit of a reprieve towards the end of the day yesterday when I started to struggle with unexplained highs that wouldn’t come down.  I decided the painful site was starting to go bad, so I swapped it out 12 hours ahead of schedule.

It’s nice to be back to an infusion site that doesn’t shoot stabs of pain every time it’s touched.  But I can’t help being annoyed with myself because I value a stupid infusion site more than I value my own comfort.