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lubw

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Type 1
Hello. My name is Lu, I thought I would get in touch. I have never used a forum before but thought it would be helpful for me to hear how others deal with their diabetes.

I'm Type 1 and was diagnosed five years ago, at 29. I am on a pump using novarapid.
 
Hi Lu and a warm welcome to the forum , how are you coping being on a pump etc x
 
Hi Lu, welcome to the forum 🙂 Have you been on the pump long? Which pump is it? How have things been for you since you were diagnosed?

We have quite a few pumpers here that you will be able to share your experiences with, plus if there is anything you want to know, or get off your chest, here's the place to do it! 🙂

If you need any help using the forum, let me know (you can use the 'Contact' link at the top of the screen). Have a browse around and don't worry, you can't break anything! 🙂
 
Hi Lu, have just joined the forum myself but am type 2. Dont know very much about type 1 at all.

Sue
 
Hi. Thank you for replying/posting. I wasn't sure what I was doing, or if I had done it right!

I've been on the pump for four years, looking back it's probably taken me this long to accept that I was a diabetic. I found it quite an emotional roller-coaster. I can safely say that the pump changed my life overnight. I was high, tired, ill and to be honest a bit in denial. But things are much better now, still have my off days but these are fewer than they were.

I'm on a Medtronic MiniMed Paradigm Veo, using sensors. I count myself lucky to have this!!

My hba1c is 8 (it was 11 pre-pump), but my healthcare team would like it lower, which I am just struggling with, even though I have such brilliant tools. I'm beating myself up about how to achieve this, I mostly put it down to a complete fear of hypo-ing. Hoping that the forum can help with that, just knowing there's lots of nice people out there just like me?
 
Great to see that you've achieved such a good improvement with the pump. It seems that people go one of two ways when diagnosed - either a fear of hypos or a fear of highs! I am the opposite to you, in that I am more afraid of highs. The lows are rarely really low, usually mid- to upper-3s and I can feel them coming on and deal with them easily with a couple of jelly babies 🙂 With highs, I am usually dismayed to see the reading.

I think it's always important to try and explain any unusual readings so that you can work on ways of avoiding them in the future. We're asked to walk a pretty tricky tightrope with our diabetes, so there are bound to be occasions when we don't always get it right, but the more knowledge and awareness we have, the easier the task is made 🙂

Are there any particular times of day when you get highs? Have you done DAFNE or similar?
 
Hi lubw

Welcome to the forum from a fellow pumper. Jealous of your sensors! Do you self-fund those?

Mike
 
Hypo's for me can go as low as 1.2 and I can be still walking about and not know, to sweating and shaking at 4.8. I have less of an awareness when I am better controlled.

I have quite a demanding job [sometimes] and find when the days are erratic/long, so are my sugars at night with sugars jumping around from 6.0 to 11.0, I have yet to figure out what to do with these.

My biggest struggle is the afternoons, I know I let myself drift to double figures to allow me to do the two hour commute home. Something I need to get out of the habit of. I am so much better at the weekends and when I am at home as I think I have the comfort of knowing I am in my own surroundings.
 
How long is it since you did some basal testing? Those kind of wobbles overnight, if they are happening regularly, might suggest your basal profile(s) need looking at again. Also made me wonder about basal whan you said you let yourself 'drift' high for the commute home. Comes round with frustrating regularity - m,y basals seem to need tweaking every few months!

There's a good write-up by Gary Scheiner as a sticky in the Pumping section here: http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=19060
 
Hi Lu,
Welcome to the forum!

How long have you been running sensors? It took me a few months before I became confident with them. Do you trust the data you're seeing and are you able to download and review? The 2-week plot with sensor overlay is where I would first look.​

~Brian
 
Thank you Brian, I have been on sensors for about 3 years. At first I didn't use them to their full potential and only used them, probably once a month. I now use them every week – although I am allergic to the sticky plaster part :(

I find the data very hit and miss. If I felt ill but the sensor showed I was at 8 I wouldn't trust it and would check with my 'normal' meter. Unfortunatley I only have a mac at home but I have recentley been given an old pc so I can use and download the data, mostly to see what's happening at night...

How do you find it? How often do you use your sensors?
 
I've used them 24/7 for about 1 1/2 years.......first 6 months was love/hate where I eventually abandoned the stomach (too thin), so it's been love handles and bum ever since. Enlite will open more sites.

Aside from first 12 hrs (sometimes less) the data is pretty reliable.......at times surprisingly accurate - my doc even made mention of this at last visit. The key here is calibration only during stable bg's.

About the 2 week plot, it will provide insight into basal assessment......I've also come across study saying that is time frame to use for evaluation.

Maybe you can talk more about problem areas and we can try to help?
 
Hi Brian. Yes I agree with the calibrations! I normally put a sensor in every Sunday, which lasts until at least Friday, I then rest for the weekend and start again.

Interesting you don't like your stomach, I don't either, not even for my pump. Seems to be far more sensitive but have persevered (perhaps wrongly) with the sensors. Do you find them most reliable in a particular place?

My sketchy days are weekdays (work days) I have a massive hang up about hypo-ing, I hate the feeling of loss of control. Until I got hold of the emotional side I would, from lunchtime not give myself enough insulin so I could last the afternoon and my commute home.

I have got a lot better but when I eat lunch, but sometimes something weird does happen. Sugars stays level for about two hours and then spikes and remains high (12.0) for three hours? My healthcare team have said I could do the insulin an hour before eating, but as you can imagine this isn't always possible.

I'm pretty sure I have my basel, ratio and correction reasonably stable, but maybe I'm missing something?
 
Can't say I've noticed a difference between my sides and my backside - both are good. The reason(s) I went away from stomach were 1) pain in first few hrs and 2) readings seemed to be exaggerated and correlated to pain........making me think the interstitial fluid around sensor was being corrupted by fresh blood.....if that makes sense. Now there's little or no no pain and fairly clean readings from startup. One thing worth noting, If I'm running steady and see big delta between BG and SG, say 2 mmol, I'm not opposed to restarting sensor (electronic off/on) to force readings on track.

I'm with you on stomach not being best candidate for pump either......I use it where I can - not my first choice.

I have seen the flat line, of 2hr variety, with sharp rise - but it's rare. I could share my thoughts later......lemme know. Would be interesting to know more details........carbs and type, insulin timing, meal duration, etc.
 
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