“We no longer have to do everything to the nth degree, and that’s as astonishing as it is gratifying. [...] It’s not a cure but it’s the next best thing.”
“Before DIY closed looping, school mornings were such a cluster @#$%. We had huge basal set from 5am-8am plus an extra (always a guess) bolus when she left the house to help control the school morning nerves. And then, this year, she has PE second period... oh but wait... not always second period because it might be a block day schedule. You parents know what I’m talking about... always having to stay on my toes about what day of the week it is and make sure the bolus/basal program is the right one. We regularly battled 220s in the morning using that system. Plus interrupted her school day with about 5 text messages to try to get things right. Then we got on Loop and OpenAPS... so much better. [...] We were pretty happy with this system because we no longer needed to text her, she wasn’t overdosing, and our basal switching around was no longer necessary. Win-win-win. [...] I don’t interrupt with a text message asking what it was. I don’t intervene.”
“For me, OpenAPS has been a self-correcting system in that it’s given me enough of a feeling of control (not just BG control), that I’ve had the confidence, the breathing space, and finally, the tools, to make further changes to keep my blood sugars in range even more of the time, by adjusting my settings and modifying some of my diabetes behaviors.Before OpenAPS my data looked like a complete scramble. Now I can see patterns. And it is such a relief that finally, it isn’t just up to me”.
“Suddenly my life was more than my own, and I had a responsibility to this new life that I had created. I made the decision to take care of myself. I found a new endocrinologist and switched to a pump and a CGM. I managed to lower my A1c from 10.2% to 7.7%. However, it was tons of work and I was constantly watching the CGM trying to correct highs and figure out how to not have highs, etc. It wasn’t great. I then found OpenAPS, and it changed my life. I didn’t suffer lows much anymore, and even if I screwed up I knew I’d return to normal without having to fight to do so. My A1c’s are now regularly in the 5.7-6.2% range.I still have bad days (weeks...) where sickness or something else causes my blood sugar to be bad and I can’t really control that – but I’ve gotten to a place where I understand that can’t really be helped and you are just going to have a few bad days sometimes.I’m back to not caring about diabetes. Except now I’m not killing myself in the process.I’d never tell anyone that it’s problem free, or that any of the APS tech is perfect, but the minor hassles of the day to day are miniscule compared to all the mental strain of trying to be your own pancreas. It’s 100% worth it, and I’d never go back.”