Insulin pump

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Saminoz

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Type 1
Hi all

I'm Sam and am new to this site. I'm just wondering what people's thoughts are about the insulin pumps? I have been diabetic for 20 years, since I was 10 years old and have always managed reasonably well, my HbA1cs are usually 7% or less, although I'm told this is ok I know I could probably do with getting my control a bit tighter. I tried the insulin pump 6 months ago and I hated it! I felt so restricted, was constantly worried that it would malfunction and I'd get a huge dose of insulin, hated being attached to it, hated having to wear particular clothes to hang the pump off and I just saw it as a bit of a pain. Just recently I have met a few diabetics who have a pump who love it and tell me that it fits in great with their life and lifestyle. This has made me start to question the reasons why it didn't agree with me. Looking back I don't think I educated myself enough, I didn't receive adequate support and education from my diabetes educator and I went into the situation not being prepared for set backs so when setbacks happened it made me hate the pump even more. So I'm thinking of giving it another go. I really do hate having diabetes and over the past few months I've became very slack which is very unusual for me so I'm kinda hoping that this will get me back onto the straight and narrow 🙂 Any thoughts will be appreciated, thanks 🙂
 
Hi Sam, welcome to the forum 🙂 I don't have a pump personally, but we have lots of members who do and most of them would fight tooth and nail if you tried to take it off them! If you have a browse of the pumping section you will find a lot of threads from people who were unsure at first. It's only natural, I think, as it is always a very personal thing. We do also have a couple of members who really didn't get on with it and returned their pumps, which of course is always an option. Most people become so used to it that they practically forget it is there, and benefit greatly from the reduction in injections and most importantly from the improvement and flexibility in control.

I'm guessing you are not in the UK, so the support structure where you are may be different to here, but having said that the experiences regarding pump support can be variable here also - some excellent, some not so good. I think that a lot of people get their best support by sharing their experiences and difficulties on forums such as this - perhaps this is something that was lacking the last time you tried?

Hopefully, others will be along to give you their viewpoint 🙂
 
Hi I got my pump a year ago and after 43 years of diabetes it is the best thing ever🙂 With regard to clothes the best thing I did was get a spibelt which I can wear with any clothes that I want. It's attached around the waist and has a pocket for the pump. If you wear it to the side you hardly notice it because it's covered by your arm.
 
Hi, pumps have lots of advantages over multiple injections, the prime example being that you can tailor your basal rates to your differing needs across each 24 hours. The pump delivers up to 240 tiny pulses of basal insulin each day, making it a much closer approximation to a healthy pancreas than any other treatment. Most people find that life is more flexible, and their Hba1c improves. On the flip side, there's no doubt it's harder work - but imo it's a fabulous tool, and you get out of it what you're prepared to put in 🙂 We would NEVER give back my son's pump! (He's had it for 6 years now).

The early weeks with the pump were very tough (we were also badly supported by our clinic team), and there were certainly times when I could cheerfully have chucked it out of the window, but it's worth persevering. The only times when the pump becomes an inconvenience is when he's done activities such as canoeing (not a problem for waterproof pumps like the Animas) or theme parks (the big rides' launching mechanisms have strong electromagnetic fields that can ruin the pump, so it must be detached). These events don't happen often, but cause me a planning headache when they do! Other than that it's all good news. He was 7 when he first went on the pump, and on his MDI regimen he'd needed to go to bed with a BG in the teens in order to avoid a hypo by morning, and his a1c was in the 8's. Now he can go the whole night in the 4-7 range, and his a1c is 6.9-7.1. He can eat what he likes when he likes (within reason), and adjust his basal for sport etc. He wears it in a Spibelt too.

Pumps are the first choice of health professionals who themselves have type 1! I say give it another try 🙂
 
After 47 yrs it was like a new LIFE for me. A couple of button pushes & a lot less fuss. 24hour insulin to what ever suits YOU & not an average diabetic. I would hate to loose my pump. You need to get it set up for yourself. What type/make is yours ? 🙂
 
Hi Sam.

Second time round you will be going into using a pump with your eyes open to the problems,dislikes you faced first time. It does take a while to find a happy way of attaching your pump to you, there's no way of avoiding the fact it lives on you 24 hours a day. Give various belts, loops, clips a go and hopefully one will be fine for you.

For me the pros massively outweigh any negative thoughts I had about a pump. I have used one for 12 years and it has given me really good control over my diabetes and at the end of the day that is what we are all aiming for.
 
Hi Sam, I'm a Spibelt fan too 🙂 wherever the cannula goes into my body, the pump is snug in its Spibelt around my waist to one side, and mostly I forget it's there even during yoga. (Except at night when it's either loose or in a softer holder.) Or you could try the OmniPod maybe, if you have it in Oz? Tubeless...

They never malfunction by giving you a massive dose of insulin, they all have such good inbuilt safety measures. If it's gonna malfunction, it's the opposite - no insulin, and you'd get an alarm to tell you (or you'd be doing regular/frequent blood testing so wouldn't go too long without finding out).

I do think the support you get is really, really important. Do you have access to a different team or educator now?

I couldn't ever go back to MDI! Despite some inconveniences with the whole pumping thing, and the steep and challenging learning curve of the first few months (and still learning), I feel I have such flexibility over my fairly unpredictable lifestyle on my pump.
 
Would not go back to injections my pump it great have had the D for 39 years now and the pump for 2 in Jan. Its been the help I have had on hear that has been the life line to me doing all the things with the pump. Had a lot of ups and down to start with but getting there now don't know what I would do with out it now its great. Hope you get the chance to have another go.🙂
 
I have had my pump since Aug 13, and I can say that it has been the best thing to happen to me since I have been on insulin. For me it really helped with the grind of diabetes, ok, I still have to test 6 times a day, but I'm not having to inject 5 times a day anymore. Just change set/canulla every 3 days.

One thing I have found different is hypos. When I was on MDI I could really feel them coming on, now it's a much more gentle slide in to a hypo. I still have hypo awareness though!

I'm quite a tomboy, so usually have my pump clipped to my jeans belt or when sleeping on the waist of my tracksuit bottoms or pjs. If I'm wearing a dress then I can attach to the middle section of my bra.

What I really like is the square wave and dual wave functions, which allow for better control when eating pasta/pizza or having extended meals such as Christmas.

I wouldn't want to go back to MDI, and I do understand why people are apprehensive about going on to a pump, but as previously said for me it has been a godsend.

Good luck with your decision 🙂
 
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