How long can i expect to wait for pump approval?

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Bloden said:
Hahaha...you'd think so by now! I'm still rubbish at guesstimating carb when I eat out.
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I agree with you there. travelled in India in 2019 and although the food was lovely, I just couldn't get it right haha, eating out will always be a guesstimate. Unless using Carbs & Cals which has some info available for chain restaurants.
 
olliej96 said:
I agree with you there. travelled in India in 2019 and although the food was lovely, I just couldn't get it right haha, eating out will always be a guesstimate. Unless using Carbs & Cals which has some info available for chain restaurants.
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My philosophy is I don't want diabetes to control my life. Accurate carb calculations takes too much effort and, with everything else that can affect our levels, our blood sugars will decide to do something else anyway.
Like you, I guestimate and, with a pump and CGM, I can tweak as I go along when necessary. This can be a bolus top up or a basal suspension.
This may not be what is recommended (there is a bigger emphasis on carb counting with a pump) but, for me, it takes less brain power albeit a little more time.
 
I don’t think it was long for me - but I guess it will vary greatly from place to place and clinic to clinic. A few months perhaps?

I just went to look for a blog post I was sure I made at some point which included the timing details I can no longer remember off the top of my head (it was a decade ago!), but couldn’t find the post I was looking for.

EDIT: Found it! (way earlier than I half remembered). September I asked in clinic, couple of weeks later I saw the pump nurse to be assessed, and by November I was up and running.

I have read others’ experiences which were far more of an uphill battle, and involved many delays and ‘wait untils’. Sometimes over the course of years not months.

Hope you get some positive news soon.
 
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Got told wait could be up to year, as it happened it was 10 weeks till day started on pump, that was 10 years ago.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I don’t think it was long for me - but I guess it will vary greatly from place to place and clinic to clinic. A few months perhaps?

I just went to look for a blog post I was sure I made at some point which included the timing details I can no longer remember off the top of my head (it was a decade ago!), but couldn’t find the post I was looking for.

EDIT: Found it! (way earlier than I half remembered). September I asked in clinic, couple of weeks later I saw the pump nurse to be assessed, and by November I was up and running.

I have read others’ experiences which were far more of an uphill battle, and involved many delays and ‘wait untils’. Sometimes over the course of years not months.

Hope you get some positive news soon.
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Thank you for your help!

it's pretty crazy how the wait times can differ so much, but I guess they're working as hard as they can. Hopefully I'll hear something soon. I'm in touch with a few people who've had bad experiences on twitter and they're always happy to support me. I'm just wary of how my consultant has referred me, as she was pretty reluctant to so that might not look great, but as I feel I meet the guidlines, i'll definitely be looking at other options if I have to
 
nonethewiser said:
Got told wait could be up to year, as it happened it was 10 weeks till day started on pump, that was 10 years ago.
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That's insane! "could be next week, could be next year." haha - I'm glad your process took way less time. I'm guessing as you're still pumping that you're definitely benefiting from it?
 
I was refused a pump the first time that I asked about it. I asked for a list of their reasons, then gathered data over the following 6 months against each of their reasons, and got agreement at my next appointment 6 months later. I was switched to Levemir to do a split basal in preparation.
Then there was a wait until the next pump start group as the clinic need to have group ready at the same time to justify the expense of the trainer. This may have changed with the advent of zoom training, and may vary with different pumps. I waited about 9 months.

With regard to whether it is worth it. Definitely from my point of view, as I saw the benefits pretty quickly as I was on tiny doses of insulin and the pump allowed me to match my basal to what I needed hour by hour Which wiped out virtually all night hypos on normal days. It took some work to get it to match what I needed and to get used to setting temporary changes, but well worth the effort.

I hope that you have success in getting yours. The NIcE guidelines have changed in favour of pumping so you could fall back in those if necessary, and set Partha Kar on to your CCG if you get no joy.
 
SB2015 said:
I was refused a pump the first time that I asked about it. I asked for a list of their reasons, then gathered data over the following 6 months against each of their reasons, and got agreement at my next appointment 6 months later. I was switched to Levemir to do a split basal in preparation.
Then there was a wait until the next pump start group as the clinic need to have group ready at the same time to justify the expense of the trainer. This may have changed with the advent of zoom training, and may vary with different pumps. I waited about 9 months.

With regard to whether it is worth it. Definitely from my point of view, as I saw the benefits pretty quickly as I was on tiny doses of insulin and the pump allowed me to match my basal to what I needed hour by hour Which wiped out virtually all night hypos on normal days. It took some work to get it to match what I needed and to get used to setting temporary changes, but well worth the effort.

I hope that you have success in getting yours. The NIcE guidelines have changed in favour of pumping so you could fall back in those if necessary, and set Partha Kar on to your CCG if you get no joy.
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Thanks for your advice and experience.. it actually appears we are similar in the sense of dosage. I'm currently already on a split basal (Levemir) once in morning and once before bed. My eatings habbits are never the same nor meal sizes, and i seem to inject 'little and often' if that makes sense.

I've been trying to contact the secretary for my consultant this morning but no luck yet, I think if I'm not successful in getting funding, i'll go further. I follow Partha's work pretty closely and the amazing things he has done for us, so I will copy him in if i'm struggling for sure!
 
olliej96 said:
Thanks for your advice and experience.. it actually appears we are similar in the sense of dosage. I'm currently already on a split basal (Levemir) once in morning and once before bed. My eatings habbits are never the same nor meal sizes, and i seem to inject 'little and often' if that makes sense.

I've been trying to contact the secretary for my consultant this morning but no luck yet, I think if I'm not successful in getting funding, i'll go further. I follow Partha's work pretty closely and the amazing things he has done for us, so I will copy him in if i'm struggling for sure!
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It can be frustrating how many hoops we have to Juno through but if it works and we get what we need then it is worth it. I look forward to hearing what happens next, as I get the feeling you will persist with this and they might as well give in now.
 
SB2015 said:
It can be frustrating how many hoops we have to Juno through but if it works and we get what we need then it is worth it. I look forward to hearing what happens next, as I get the feeling you will persist with this and they might as well give in now.
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I agree, as someone who completely understands just how much pressure our NHS is under, I HATE being 'that guy' who calls constantly, emails constantly etc. I feel like i'm being a massive burden, but in my eyes once I'm pumping, that'll eliminate the badgering.

Been diagnosed type 1 for almost 14 years now and I don't think i've ever tried to contact the clinic so much, I was given MDI and I felt that I just had to get on with it, which is what i've been doing, but when there's a potential opportunity to ease my life, im going for it.
 
It was reading things on here that made me aware of what was available, as well as lots of useful strategies .

Now looping with my 780g and guardian 4 sensors and finding life so much easier.
 
olliej96 said:
I've been trying to contact the secretary for my consultant this morning but no luck yet, I think if I'm not successful in getting funding, i'll go further. I follow Partha's work pretty closely and the amazing things he has done for us, so I will copy him in if i'm struggling for sure!
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You can also go through PALS. I was more than peed off with a hospital situation yesterday and went straight to PALS, who can access your medical records if you give the say so and they can tell you if a referral has been made or they can directly contact the sectary you want to speak too.
 
olliej96 said:
That's insane! "could be next week, could be next year." haha - I'm glad your process took way less time. I'm guessing as you're still pumping that you're definitely benefiting from it?
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Certainly do, so many benefits from using one, especially ability to have multiple basal rates to meet body's demands throughout day.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
You can also go through PALS. I was more than peed off with a hospital situation yesterday and went straight to PALS, who can access your medical records if you give the say so and they can tell you if a referral has been made or they can directly contact the sectary you want to speak too.
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I've heard of PALS, but didn't realise they could do this! thank you! As i've spoken to the secretary yesterday who told me i should hear within 2 weeks, i'll wait the 2 weeks before making contact with them to see what they can do..

thanks again!
 
olliej96 said:
To be fair i am a big fan of the the half units, and even smaller amounts you can deliver with pumps, gives you the chance to really fine tune things.
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Absolutely my friend, plus you can extend that bolus dose over many hours, ideal for difficult meals like those high in protein & fat.
 
nonethewiser said:
Absolutely my friend, plus you can extend that bolus dose over many hours, ideal for difficult meals like those high in protein & fat.
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I LOVE that. I still sometimes can't wrap my head around how far tech has come, it's insane to think that we can actually do this now.


Also, I'm realising how much like my nan i'm sounding haha
 
I look forward to hearing how you get on.
Just had a great holiday where my pump has got on with its job in the background most of the time. As you say tech has come on so far, and for me that is just looking back fourteen years.

Let us know how things progress.
 
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