It’s normal to be scared and apprehensive.
But keep in mind that if pumping turns out to be not for you, you’re not necessarily stuck doing it forever.
I’ve pumped for about 8 years and as long as my insurance holds out, would never, ever, ever go back to MDI.
At first, I was leery of being tethered.
That turned out to be no big deal (can unhook for short periods as needed and I always have insulin with me–well, as long as I have a full cartridge, good infusion site, and batteries ;-)–so I have much more flexibility in meal timing, food choices, exercise timing and duration, etc. Plus it is a big help to be able to program/use temp basal rates (although requires lots of testing and several-times-a-year adjustments) with dawn phenom and adjusting to monthly hormones.
It’s not automatic. I actually test more and adjust more than I ever did on MDI. But that’s not a bad thing in terms of improving control.
It took me about 20 years with diabetes to get sorta kinda skilled at managing it
with MDI. It took me about 5 years to get sorta kinda skilled at managing it with a pump. My next venture: getting a cgm. Diabetes is definitely a journey, not a destination. But I can honestly say that through the years, each new tool, device has helped me improve care without adversely affecting my quality of life or my abilities to do what I want.
I hope you and I (and the rest of the diabetes community) enjoy continued technological and treatment advances over the years and that more and more people have access to those things and training. Oh, and cures would be nice ('cause one cure isn’t going to help all types of diabetes). But I’m so busy with the managing my diabetes, I don’t spare much thought for a cure.
Best wishes as you embark on the pump journey. Let us know how it goes!!