I hate my pump!

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Hear hear!
I think we (I mean you, Mike) realise their good points but that doesn't, as you say, mean you're obligied to have an instant infatuation. Still, it's great to hear that you seem to be coming out the other side a bit more as it well.
 
Babysaurus said:
Ellie, my DSN, endo doc and the consultant all suggested the pump during pregnancy as it makes the fluctuations in blood sugars easier to manage and tweak if neccessary. This is also written in the info you get for the Accu-Chek Combo before you get it. I'd like to think that their combined experitise all coming to the same conclusion means that going on a pump during pregnancy is, in fact, a good idea. I was initially against the idea as I was fine on with my pens, but things started to get a bit more delicate when I got to the 16 week mark.

I am not sure if any of the reasoning you gave for why people don't like their pumps was meant to include myself but let me assure you, none of them fit. I have been a very well controlled diabetic for most of my life, and injections did not pose a problem to me until now. As I say, it looks to be the pregnancy side of things that makes things tricker and there is less room for error than there would be normally.

As for your cannula suggestion, I was told by both the rep from Roche and the DSN that the one I am using is the only option for the moment as I cannot risk any problems and high blood sugars. I cannot always feel them, but I am aware of them, if that makes sense.

Lastly, as for the 'nothing but moan' about having a pump comment, you will find that this is my first post mentioning anything of the sort.

Everydayupsanddowns I have been diabetic since I was 4 (32 years!) Up until very recently I have more or less self managed (and very sucessfully) on multiple injections a day. I can get my head around the pump side of things okay, how it works etc, but I think it's just the attachment thing. I guess like Suzie said it reminds you that something is wrong. As I have previously been injecting since I was 4 with no issue whatsoever, that seemed my idea of normal and now this is taking some getting used to as an alternative. It was great to hear that you felt similar only a few weeks ago. Its not the understanding and tweaking with me as much as the fact that is it there all the time. Perhaps I am being too hard on it as it's not been long at all since I've had it, and I am comparing it to 32 years of injections, so it will take a bit longer for it to become a non-event.

Phil, I agree that your latest post was certainly nicer! 😉 While nobody is forced to go on a pump, at the moment it is the best thing for me to keep things on a level as they are easier to tweak. My DSN said she has yet to have someone give their's back, and while I can see why I think it is still taking me a while to get used to wearing something all the time. By the time I have this baby I may want to cling onto it for dear life, and I can indeed see the pro's outweigh the cons but as my cons, pre pregnancy, were close to non existent it is taking a while to get into this mindset.
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my cons, pre pregnancy, were close to non existent it is taking a while to get into this mindset.

I find it hard to believe you find sticking a needle into yourself more comfortable and more convenient than pushing a button on a pump or meter.....maybe you are so used to MDI after many years you are reluctant to want to change....surely you must see that a pump is so much more convenient and also better for your control?
 
I'm sorry to say this Austin, but I'm afraid you seem to have absolutely no conception whatsoever of the astoundingly narrow parameters of BG pregnant ladies have to keep their BG in, or the things the fluctuating hourly lady hormones do to BG. (3.5 to 5.8 pre meal, what is it after, 7 something?)

You wanna try testing your BG 2 hourly day and night for 9 months?

Adjusting with either bolus or food every couple of hours constantly?

Whilst simultaneously holding down a full time job - and continuing to do it properly.

Yes it might be possible to do it with a pen - women had to do it. But why the hell should they have to if there's a better way? Isn't pregnancy difficult enough of itself without all those extra jabs?

Whatever they do or have to do - it's because that is best for the baby. End of.

It's not about them!

Hats off to em I say - and I'm blooming thankful (in that respect) I never had the need to do it, frankly.

Babysaurus - I HATED my pump after a few weeks on it too. I could have chucked it straight in the bin. But I was determined I wasn't going to be beaten by a bit of plastic and some wires. And I won that argument!

By the time I'd done that I'd got entirely used to it.

So entirely used to it in fact that after going live on 12 May 2011, one day last July we were going along the M6, 15 or so minutes after leaving home, on our way to catch a train sous la Manche - and I said "We've got to go back home - I've forgotten to put my ?!%&*($$ pump back on!"

I regulary go to sleep or wake up lying on my cannula. It doesn't hurt it or me. I think the Roche tubing is pretty well indestructible, as are the connectors - considering all the things I've done to them ! And the pump could be anywhere - in the bed, under the pillow, on the pillow, dangling halfway beween the top of the bottom sheet and the floor ..... never skipped a beat so far.
 
trophywench said:
I'm sorry to say this Austin, but I'm afraid you seem to have absolutely no conception whatsoever of the astoundingly narrow parameters of BG pregnant ladies have to keep their BG in, or the things the fluctuating hourly lady hormones do to BG. (3.5 to 5.8 pre meal, what is it after, 7 something?) You wanna try testing your BG 2 hourly day and night for 9 months?

Adjusting with either bolus or food every couple of hours constantly?

Whilst simultaneously holding down a full time job - and continuing to do it properly.

Yes it might be possible to do it with a pen - women had to do it. But why the hell should they have to if there's a better way? Isn't pregnancy difficult enough of itself without all those extra jabs?

Whatever they do or have to do - it's because that is best for the baby. End of.

It's not about them!

Hats off to em I say - and I'm blooming thankful (in that respect) I never had the need to do it, frankly.

Babysaurus - I HATED my pump after a few weeks on it too. I could have chucked it straight in the bin. But I was determined I wasn't going to be beaten by a bit of plastic and some wires. And I won that argument!

By the time I'd done that I'd got entirely used to it.

So entirely used to it in fact that after going live on 12 May 2011, one day last July we were going along the M6, 15 or so minutes after leaving home, on our way to catch a train sous la Manche - and I said "We've got to go back home - I've forgotten to put my ?!%&*($$ pump back on!"

I regulary go to sleep or wake up lying on my cannula. It doesn't hurt it or me. I think the Roche tubing is pretty well indestructible, as are the connectors - considering all the things I've done to them ! And the pump could be anywhere - in the bed, under the pillow, on the pillow, dangling halfway beween the top of the bottom sheet and the floor ..... never skipped a beat so far.
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......thank god I couldn't/can't get pregnant! :D
 
Phil as I said before, my pre pump HBA1C was 5.3, and as an injection took all of 3 seconds it is not an issue for me. It also meant that it would then be away in my bag until I needed it next, not strapped to my side with tubing. I think that the pump can be better for control but, as I am bored of saying, it doesn't mean an instant love affair. Reading about others who also took a while to get used to it, and occassionally wondered if they wanted to simply go back to MDI's, is very reassuring as it's nice to know I am not the only one! Can I ask how long you had to wait for your pump? By your feistyness on the subject I get the impression it was quite a while...

Trophy it sounds as if you too weren't sure at first, and looking at how you are now is great to hear. As encouraging as Mike's posts were really. I've re read them several times!

I am wondering if it's all got a bit much for me recently; previously I basically self managed (and very well too!) for the best part of 10 years and recently I feel as if I have had more than my fair share of medical appointments (it was weekly and then fortnightly), along with that GP saga where they refused the insulin and the whole diabetes package is getting a bit too me. Trophy put it brilliantly at the beginning of her last post about the challenge it can be. It is almost like being newly diagnosed with something too as there are so many unexpected variables and with such awful consequences if you **** up. I think I am too used to being completely independent so this is quite a contrast!

Lastly, just for the record, in case I seem like a real doom and gloomer, I'm not! I am actually normally quite chirpy!
 
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BS you seem to think I'm having a go at you, which I assure you I'm not at all, just pointing out that starting pumping when you'll already pregnant isn't an ideal time and why it wasn't a idea time to start pumping even though it's a pretty useful piece of kit to have during pregnancy.

What set are you using?

And what reason did the DSN/Rep give for 'that' particular infusion set is the only one you are allowed to use while you pregnant, because after being around insulin pump therapy for 10 years I have never heard of another pregnant women being told that they have to use one type of set while they were pregnant!

Mike

It's an observation I've made over the years... I can pretty much tell who is going to struggle with pumping and why they are likely to struggle..

If we look at BS, seems as she started the thread... She had good control before she was pregnant so she understood her needs, when and what sort of adjustments to make to her insulin to maintain control for different activities etc... Now if she had been given a pump at this point of time, she would have some sound information to give her a good starting point to work from and probably would have found sorting it out a lot easier.

But she's been given a pump when everything gone out of kilter, she aware that this is all the hormonal changes etc that pregnancy does to the body, but because these are happening quickly then she really doesn't know what is likely to happen with any adjustments she makes, she lost her previous reference points and starting from scratch in the main. And building new reference points is difficult, because they change week by week. So no surprise that she's going to struggle.

If you'll struggling and still working out control then you remain very conscious of the pump. But when you hit the stage you can leave the pump alone this is when it hits the subconscious it's there when you need to use it, not when you happily getting on with things...
 
I felt EXACTLY the same way and was seriously considering giving up my pump - it was such a pain finding somewhere to put it, half the time my infusion sets weren't going in properly (one day I had to change mine FIVE TIMES before it stopped telling me 'no delivery'), wearing a dress was a nightmare (nowhere for pump to go), I felt really conscious of it. But then on on December 23rd it broke and I ended up going 24 hours without a pump. My blood sugar levels rocketed, I felt really really ill without it (obviously switched back to MDI but it wasn't anywhere near as effective) and I had a very miserable Christmas Eve. This is when I remembered why I was on it! It may be a pain in the bum to wear and it does constantly remind me I have Diabetes, but it really is a life-saver. I missed my pump soooo much in those 24 hours before I got my new one and I promised myself I would never, ever take it for granted again.

If you weren't pregnant I would advise going without it for a day, you might be surprised how much you miss it!

Sorry for the essay but just wanted to know that at one time I did feel exactly the same way you do now, I was pretty much thinking non-stop about how irritating my pump was, but I've changed my mind. Hang in there 🙂
 
OTOH I see it slightly differently.

It is always important to have BGs in the 'good' range for as long as possible time every day of one's life. Nobody here disagrees with that statement.

Everybody also knows the possible - nay probable, in fact definte, for many of us! - limits of MDI in that respect.

Babysaurus knows it's a learning curve as do we all - but none of us knows how we will feel about the actual 'medical nature of the umbilical cord and cannula' we are now attached to - UNTIL we are attached to it.

And then we have to get used to it. Just the same as when your parents moved house, you had to find a new friends - we have to find out about our new friends and explore whether any of them merits promotion to Best Friend, don't we?

It's just that Headology thing again!

Perhaps I made the fatal mistake of not christening mine when I picked him up from the adoption centre? I mean Mike has his Artoo, and others have pumps of other names. You can relate to an Artoo; everyone that knows you well will know who he is and what your relationship with him is. You wouldn't dream of getting a dog and calling him 'the dog' for very long, would you? So why have I still got 'a pump' ?

Perhaps I'll call mine 'Compo' (the Combo) or might 'Clegg' suit him better? Or Binky. Rincewind? Nobby Nobbs? Angua? Lady Sybil Vimes? Salander?

You can probably see why I gave up!
 
Babysaurus said:
Phil as I said before, my pre pump HBA1C was 5.3, and as an injection took all of 3 seconds it is not an issue for me. It also meant that it would then be away in my bag until I needed it next, not strapped to my side with tubing. I think that the pump can be better for control but, as I am bored of saying, it doesn't mean an instant love affair. Reading about others who also took a while to get used to it, and occassionally wondered if they wanted to simply go back to MDI's, is very reassuring as it's nice to know I am not the only one! Can I ask how long you had to wait for your pump? By your feistyness on the subject I get the impression it was quite a while...

Trophy it sounds as if you too weren't sure at first, and looking at how you are now is great to hear. As encouraging as Mike's posts were really. I've re read them several times!

I am wondering if it's all got a bit much for me recently; previously I basically self managed (and very well too!) for the best part of 10 years and recently I feel as if I have had more than my fair share of medical appointments (it was weekly and then fortnightly), along with that GP saga where they refused the insulin and the whole diabetes package is getting a bit too me. Trophy put it brilliantly at the beginning of her last post about the challenge it can be. It is almost like being newly diagnosed with something too as there are so many unexpected variables and with such awful consequences if you **** up. I think I am too used to being completely independent so this is quite a contrast!

Lastly, just for the record, in case I seem like a real doom and gloomer, I'm not! I am actually normally quite chirpy!
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Babysaurus, I am not having a dig at you per se, so please don't take my comments on this thread personally. It just irritates me that people moan and groan about having a pump! Those of us that have got one should feel privileged and fortunate to have one, there are many type 1's that would love to have one that can't get one. You need to give a pump a chance, I appreciate it is very different to MDI and it does take a while to adjust, I took to it very quickly, had the odd blip here and there but hey....didn't we all with MDI? I'm sorry that you are finding it tough, I can't imagine how difficult it must be during pregnancy and I am sorry if I have offended you. But.....please be positive about your pump....it is a much more efficient and practical insulin deliverer! The TBR facility is fantastic and you are going to need it when your baby turns into active tot!! 😉 I can't remember the amount of 'child induced' hypos I had with my children whilst on MDI ....but it would have been massively less with a pump. Incidently, it didn't take me long to get a pump, I was on MDI for 15 years (I always had pretty good control) before pushing for a pump....I pushed hard and didn't take 'no' for an answer, from first asking to receiving a pump was about 7 months.....I was lucky.
 
Trophy you put it brilliantly, that, I think, is exactly it! As it's unlike something any of us, I presume (sorry if wrong) has had before the concept of being attached to something 24 hours a day is quite a big deal, even though we wish it wasn't.

Lauren thanks for your post. I agree it would be tempting to switch back to MDI's for a couple of days to see what happens!

Ellie I am on an Accu Chek Combo pump. The reason they gave for the steel cannula was that the teflon one's can kink sometimes and I don't have the room for error, which seems a pretty valid reason to me. Also, apart from pointing out in the original post that I was still 'feeding the insulin' before and / or during exercise I have not stated anywhere else that I was struggling with control. I am out and about for approx 4 hours out of 24, and while I don't like having to stock up on snacks etc to take with me, this is not really the issue. The issue, as I say for the umpteeth time, was more the wearing / being attached thing. Thankfully some of the other's views seem to be similar at first which was nice to hear, especially hearing how they feel about it now.
 
Phil, I suppose put it this way. If someone has a down day about having diabetes, and I am sure everyone has even if a long time ago, you wouldn't go 'pah, you should be grateful - at least it's not cancer?!' would you? Its a bit like that with the pump - just because they are the best option out there, it doesn't mean you are in the wrong to be nothing other than hugely grateful from the second you have it.

That's not having a go back at you, by the way, it's just another way of looking at something (which may, or may not, make sense - its not even lunchtime after all!)
 
Babysaurus said:
The issue, as I say for the umpteeth time, was more the wearing / being attached thing. Thankfully some of the other's views seem to be similar at first which was nice to hear, especially hearing how they feel about it now.
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At a guess, from month 2 my attachment 'niggles' (which were I think probably less pronounced than yours Babysaurus) faded by about 50% every two weeks. In part this was due to a few conspicuous 'pump wins' (situations very difficult on MDI made effortless with Artoo) but actually it was more profound than that. Things that used to grate in the first few months I now barely think about/notice.

If fact it's only thinking about them that I realise how I don't think about them (or that they just don't seem important) any more.

I have no idea what your timeline will be - but if it's anything like mine your attachment niggles could be more or less nil by June.
 
Mike, that's good to hear. Also, if the worst comes to the worst I could give it back after June anyway (baby's due at the beginning) but hopefully I'll have come round by then. I suppose it hasn't been long at at all, only six weeks, which puts it in perspective. Thanks again.
 
Babysaurus said:
Mike, that's good to hear. Also, if the worst comes to the worst I could give it back after June anyway (baby's due at the beginning) but hopefully I'll have come round by then. I suppose it hasn't been long at at all, only six weeks, which puts it in perspective. Thanks again.
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ha,ha.......let's see in June! .....I am sure your MDI days will be in the distant past. 🙂
 
🙂 Guess we'll see. It also might be easier to make the decision come June when I can actually make it, if that makes sense. At the moment changing back over would be an unneccessary risk so perhaps not being able to back out and go back onto MDI's has played a part too.
 
Babysaurus, you're going through massive amounts of change, all at the same time, it sounds to me like you're doing a brilliant job. It took me 3 months to get to the point with my pump where I was as confident with it as I was with MDI, and I didn't have the added complication of growing a baby at the same time which must make things a million times tougher. Hang on in there, and certainly don't feel bad about having a moan about it. The pump isn't the panacea to all of life's ills and certainly shouldn't have protected status from whinging, like some beloved icon. It's just a slightly more precise way of delivering insulin.

I'm a huge pump fan. I liked my pump from the start and was lucky that being attached to it or having other people see it didn't bother me at all. But that didn't stop me wanting to pitch the thing through a window at times. And 5 years on there are days when I could still happily do so.

Keep going, you're doing a great job.
 
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On a pregnancy/pumping note I too have gone onto a pump a few months into pregnancy because your control has to be so tight all the time, and I was tending to have a high 1 hour post meal, followed by a massive low an hour later. You are testing your blood almost every hour throughout the day.

I am liking my pump more than babysaurus is, I have to say, although it is certainly nt a love affair. It has really stabilised things in terms of big highs and big lows.

my HbA1c's have always been good (last 5.3% pre-pump) so it wasn't about tightening overall control but on stabilising the hourly results, which it has.

I thought pregnancy would be a bad time to change and that is why I was reluctant for a while but it has actually turned out to be a great time to make a change because even though it isn't perfect it is working better for me than needles I think.

So, without judgment of how anyone feels, which is not helpful, I hope that you get a bit more used to your pump Babysaurus and fell less conscious of it over time. It does seem strange to yearn for injections, doesn't it, but I wholeheartedly understand!

PS I tried my leg and hated it. I had loads of highs/lows (maybe I have an unknown lypo down there) and it was the day of my scan and I was at the hospital, nipped to the loo and ripped it out. It bled alot. Never again!
 
I think i know how you feel, Babysaurus... I'd had 2 pregs on mdi (having been refused the original planned pump start initially when i found i was preg with baby #2) & had been champing at the bit for a pump as i have dawn phenomenon, which basically can't be dealt with very effectively on injections. When i finally got the pump, i'd been diabetic for 32 years too (i'm nearly a '34yr old diabetic now!) & like you said, injections were normal & certainly being diagnosed as a baby, i knew nothing else. Suddenly, here was all this medical tubing - here was this permanently visible reminder, omg i AM ill?! Suddenly it hit home why they call diabetes a chronic medical condition!! 😱 It really, really rocked my mental frame of refernce for a bit & although i was over the moon that i haf a pump,& that it was improving my control so wonderfully there was this mental subtext of suddenly being so so aware of my diabetes! I honestly don't know how i would have dealt with that on top of the stresses of a diabetic pregnancy, but to me, you sound wonderfully positive. 🙂

I would say the good news is that the initial skock of 'oh crikey, i must be ill, i've got to be attatched to a Medical Device all day!!' did wear off and the pump is now a happy, unobtrusive part of normal life. Irritations over whete to pin/hide it still happen, but one plus side is i don't need to worry about the kids getting hold of or playing with my insulin pen!! 😱

Re the cannnulas, pita though it is at the monent, hopefully post pregnancy they will feel far comfier...not any immediate comfort i know, but worth maybe sticking with the pump a while after birth to see if everything settles.

Anyway, enough rambling from me - just remember diabetic pregnancies (whether mdi or pumping) are bl**** stressful, flipping hard work & there's no time off thinking diabetes- wise, so take everything else as easy as poss - be kind to yourself & don't worry if other people sometimes don't 'get' how tough it is - those of us who've been there know, & we're rooting for you! Xxx
 
Twitchy, that is exactly what it is! A constant reminder of a 'chronic illness.' It sounds like, from many of the posters who have taken the time to write, that this is quite a common thing to get fed up with, but thanfully it looks as if it does wear off in time. I am very glad to hear it as in many ways it is and will be far easier than jabs, but I am looking forward to the day where I don't even notice I am wearing it!

Ruthie and Alison, thank you for your posts too x
 
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