Insulin pumps

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Inka said:
I believe it is, yes. I’ve never used in in water so I can’t swear 100% it is, but I’m pretty sure I was told it was at my training, and online sites say it is too.

I use the rotating O sets and it’s so easy to click off for a shower (the cannula has a self-seal membrane so you don’t have to worry about putting a cap on it when it’s in your body). When I swim, I just take it off as I don’t need insulin then and often have some carbs.

Because I control it from my phone, I never have to take it out apart from changes so I wear it in a Hid-In soft belt round my waist under my clothes. It’s safe, dry and I don’t even notice it. It weighs 62g with a full 300 units of insulin in so is very light. It’s light but robust, which is something that appealed to me. I’ve had it almost 3 years and it looks the same as the day I had it. A previous pump was more plasticky and looked quite worn by this stage.
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I’d have to find out how much water it could withstand because taking it off for swimming seems very complicated. It would probable become second nature just like injections are on MDI but I’m not sure. I’ll let you know the diabetes teams response from me asking about a pump
 
It’s not complicated at all! It takes seconds 🙂 You just click it off your pump site (cannula). Then to re-connect it you click it on. It’s similar to doing up a press-stud and takes a second or two.
 
Ah, that makes it sound really easy. Are the cannula changes complicated?
 
Lily123 said:
Ah, that makes it sound really easy. Are the cannula changes complicated?
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No, they’re easy. Obviously the first few times you go slowly because you’re getting used to it, but it’s easy. All the cannulas have inserters, but I just do it by hand.

You open the sterile pack, take out the cannula bit, peel off the backing paper, stick it in you, withdraw the little needle bit (like a pen needle) and it leaves behind a tiny little Teflon tube. Then you click the bit on the end of the pump tube in to this.That’s a very basic description but you get the idea.

So to disconnect, you just click off the bit on the end of the pump tube. It’s like clicking two halves of plastic together that are made to fit perfectly when you put it back on. It’s not technical.
 
Inka said:
No, they’re easy. Obviously the first few times you go slowly because you’re getting used to it, but it’s easy. All the cannulas have inserters, but I just do it by hand.

You open the sterile pack, take out the cannula bit, peel off the backing paper, stick it in you, withdraw the little needle bit (like a pen needle) and it leaves behind a tiny little Teflon tube. Then you click the bit on the end of the pump tube in to this.That’s a very basic description but you get the idea.

So to disconnect, you just click off the bit on the end of the pump tube. It’s like clicking two halves of plastic together that are made to fit perfectly when you put it back on. It’s not technical.
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That makes sense! Thanks
 
Hi @Lily123 I use a Medtronic 780G pump. This can be used in manual mode without a sensor, or with their sensors, and in a closed loop system, so there are a variety of options.

As with most pumps there are a variety of options of cannulas, metal or Teflon (I have always gone for Teflon after one week of metal ones) , a choice of lengths (I have the shortest at 6mm) , and different lengths of tubing (I usually use 60 cm tubes which allows me to tuck my pump away in my bra and hook it out when I need to). My pump is waterproof but I still disconnect it for my shower, which is very easy to do as I just separate the tube from the cannula, and plug it in again afterwards. I have not yet swum with this one but I think I would still disconnect.

The main pros for my pump are
  • Slow delivery of bolus insulin Available
    I was getting skanky cannula sites on my old pump and this has overcome that
  • Option of using sensors in a closed loop system (which I have to self fund) with the pump checking my level every 5 min and adjusting my basal insulin
Cons for my pump
  • I have to get my pump out when I want to do a bolus
    I didn’t have to on my old pump
Any questions that you have. Just ask.
 
SB2015 said:
Hi @Lily123 I use a Medtronic 780G pump. This can be used in manual mode without a sensor, or with their sensors, and in a closed loop system, so there are a variety of options.

As with most pumps there are a variety of options of cannulas, metal or Teflon (I have always gone for Teflon after one week of metal ones) , a choice of lengths (I have the shortest at 6mm) , and different lengths of tubing (I usually use 60 cm tubes which allows me to tuck my pump away in my bra and hook it out when I need to). My pump is waterproof but I still disconnect it for my shower, which is very easy to do as I just separate the tube from the cannula, and plug it in again afterwards. I have not yet swum with this one but I think I would still disconnect.

The main pros for my pump are
  • Slow delivery of bolus insulin Available
    I was getting skanky cannula sites on my old pump and this has overcome that
  • Option of using sensors in a closed loop system (which I have to self fund) with the pump checking my level every 5 min and adjusting my basal insulin
Cons for my pump
  • I have to get my pump out when I want to do a bolus
    I didn’t have to on my old pump
Any questions that you have. Just ask.
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This pump does sound ideal. I wouldn’t mind having to get the pump out to bolus because I would want long enough tubing to tuck it in a trouser or skirt or dress pocket.I would definitely want a pump that could loop in case the guidelines for prescribing the guardian sensors or dexcom sensors became more common. I haven’t even asked about a pump yet 😱
 
Sally71 said:
My daughter has the Tandem T-slim. Nice neat little pump, it will link with Dexcom G6 sensors and automatically make basal adjustments to try to keep your blood sugar in range. Doesn’t work perfectly (if you are dropping fast for example it won’t be able to react quickly enough to stop you going hypo) but it definitely helps! Very few people get Dexcom sensors on the NHS though and they aren’t cheap. I personally think the refill procedure is a bit fiddly, although we only have the Accu-Chek Combo to compare with which isn’t even available any more, and daughter seems happy with it. It isn’t remote control though, you have to do everything on the pump itself, nice colour touch screen but you need the pump to be accessible not hidden under your clothes. You can download an emulator for the t-slim software and play with it on your phone to see how it works! It will also work as a standalone pump if you don’t want or can’t get the sensors.
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One thing I want to ask about Dexcom - do the Dexcom sensors get compression lows like Libre? If so how does this work with Basal IQ and Control IQ?
 
Lily123 said:
This pump does sound ideal. I wouldn’t mind having to get the pump out to bolus because I would want long enough tubing to tuck it in a trouser or skirt or dress pocket.I would definitely want a pump that could loop in case the guidelines for prescribing the guardian sensors or dexcom sensors became more common. I haven’t even asked about a pump yet 😱
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The closed loop works very well for me with me getting TIR of around 85%. I also get a lot more sleep.
I don’t seem to get compression lows, and if the pump sense that something isn’t quite right it will alarm and ask you to check. Irritating but understandable.

The Medtronic sensors with the transmitter work out at about the same price as the Dexcom with the transmitter for T- Slim so not much to choose between them.

Any questions fire away.
 
When you do get round to asking about the pumps you will be well prepared.
Sounds like a good plan.

I like @everydayupsanddowns comment ages ago when I was trying to choose. It is only for four years and those pass so quickly And then there are a whole new lots to choose from next time.
 
SB2015 said:
The closed loop works very well for me with me getting TIR of around 85%. I also get a lot more sleep.
I don’t seem to get compression lows, and if the pump sense that something isn’t quite right it will alarm and ask you to check. Irritating but understandable.

The Medtronic sensors with the transmitter work out at about the same price as the Dexcom with the transmitter for T- Slim so not much to choose between them.

Any questions fire away.
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So the Medtronic sensors will pick up on any data it reads as unusual and ask you to double check with a finger prick?
 
Like other pumps it will alert if you go high or low.I find that with the closed loop these are rare as the pump changes my basal before I get to that stage in general. If I snack late I will see a rise and if I have got the carbs out a bit the pump sorts it out whilst I just sleep.

This pump also alerts me if it is giving a maximum basal for an extended period of time, same with minimum, and sometimes I am not sure why. I had a couple sensors fail early so levels did not match and the pump advised me to change sensor (these have always been replaced).

The switch to closed loop has had the same positive impact as when I first started using a Libre. I sleep more,I am in range a lot more and I think about my diabetes a lot less. Just more relaxed. I know that this is not accessible to all because of the cost, but who knows what will happen in the future.
 
SB2015 said:
Like other pumps it will alert if you go high or low.I find that with the closed loop these are rare as the pump changes my basal before I get to that stage in general. If I snack late I will see a rise and if I have got the carbs out a bit the pump sorts it out whilst I just sleep.

This pump also alerts me if it is giving a maximum basal for an extended period of time, same with minimum, and sometimes I am not sure why. I had a couple sensors fail early so levels did not match and the pump advised me to change sensor (these have always been replaced).

The switch to closed loop has had the same positive impact as when I first started using a Libre. I sleep more,I am in range a lot more and I think about my diabetes a lot less. Just more relaxed. I know that this is not accessible to all because of the cost, but who knows what will happen in the future.
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Extremely smart pumps and sensors. If I get approved for a pump I won’t be able to do closed loop but like you say who knows what could happen in the future
 
Lily123 said:
@Inka is the DANA waterproof? I haven’t been able to find out if it is or not
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Hi @Lily123 , I've been following this discussion because I am keen to move onto a pump and your questions have been helpful for me. So thanks.

Regarding NovoEcho pens: I am about to change my Tresiba from disposable pens to cartridges and therefore need a new NovoEcho pen in a different colour. I currently have 2 blue pens for my NovoRapid bolus; these were provided by my GP's prescription automatically requesting 2 pens when I moved from disposable bolus pens to cartridges, one for daily use and one as a reserve in case the first pen failed. I didn't ask for 2 pens (but I did ask for blue). I live in Bucks and I checked with my pharmacy that our CCG approved Tresiba cartridges and then had a simple phone call with our local Surgery nurse who immediately agreed with the principle of making the change from disposable to cartridges and also immediately agreed to prescribe the extra NovoEcho pen - in red, to distinguish it from bolus. So what I thought might be a "struggle" was actually very straightforward. So I think you should have no difficulty in getting a replacement pen for your dodgy one, plus at least one new extra pen in a different colour. Currently my local pharmacy can only see 2 colours in their listings for NovoEcho pens, blue and red - but I don't know of that's because they are part of a chain of pharmacies and have their choices limited by the chain's HQ.

Good luck for Wednesday for your consult and pump request.
 
Proud to be erratic said:
Hi @Lily123 , I've been following this discussion because I am keen to move onto a pump and your questions have been helpful for me. So thanks.

Regarding NovoEcho pens: I am about to change my Tresiba from disposable pens to cartridges and therefore need a new NovoEcho pen in a different colour. I currently have 2 blue pens for my NovoRapid bolus; these were provided by my GP's prescription automatically requesting 2 pens when I moved from disposable bolus pens to cartridges, one for daily use and one as a reserve in case the first pen failed. I didn't ask for 2 pens (but I did ask for blue). I live in Bucks and I checked with my pharmacy that our CCG approved Tresiba cartridges and then had a simple phone call with our local Surgery nurse who immediately agreed with the principle of making the change from disposable to cartridges and also immediately agreed to prescribe the extra NovoEcho pen - in red, to distinguish it from bolus. So what I thought might be a "struggle" was actually very straightforward. So I think you should have no difficulty in getting a replacement pen for your dodgy one, plus at least one new extra pen in a different colour. Currently my local pharmacy can only see 2 colours in their listings for NovoEcho pens, blue and red - but I don't know of that's because they are part of a chain of pharmacies and have their choices limited by the chain's HQ.

Good luck for Wednesday for your consult and pump request.
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I have my appointment on Wednesday so I will be asking about a pump and getting a different colour pen then. The pharmacy I get my prescription from is an independent one so not sure. I have a spare NovoPen Echo which is also blue but will ask about a different colour for basal as I’ve always had blue for bolus.When I was using Lantus I did use disposable pens for a while because I couldn’t press the end in on the Sanofi JuniorStar pen but the disposable pens were even worse!
 
Benny G said:
@Lily123, You can decorate your spare echo pen with stickers, velcro, or paint, or put a bell on it, whatever helps.
For a while I used 2 silver novo 3 pens, with velcro for tactile identification.
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Bolus is in a blue case and basal is in a black case but still I would prefer to be over cautious rather than risk doing 23 units of NovoRapid instead of Tresiba! Good idea I might do that
 
Proud to be erratic said:
Hi @Lily123 , I've been following this discussion because I am keen to move onto a pump and your questions have been helpful for me. So thanks.

Regarding NovoEcho pens: I am about to change my Tresiba from disposable pens to cartridges and therefore need a new NovoEcho pen in a different colour. I currently have 2 blue pens for my NovoRapid bolus; these were provided by my GP's prescription automatically requesting 2 pens when I moved from disposable bolus pens to cartridges, one for daily use and one as a reserve in case the first pen failed. I didn't ask for 2 pens (but I did ask for blue). I live in Bucks and I checked with my pharmacy that our CCG approved Tresiba cartridges and then had a simple phone call with our local Surgery nurse who immediately agreed with the principle of making the change from disposable to cartridges and also immediately agreed to prescribe the extra NovoEcho pen - in red, to distinguish it from bolus. So what I thought might be a "struggle" was actually very straightforward. So I think you should have no difficulty in getting a replacement pen for your dodgy one, plus at least one new extra pen in a different colour. Currently my local pharmacy can only see 2 colours in their listings for NovoEcho pens, blue and red - but I don't know of that's because they are part of a chain of pharmacies and have their choices limited by the chain's HQ.

Good luck for Wednesday for your consult and pump request.
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Oh and should add - I live in Herts but am under Bucks CCG so the GP is in Herts and hospital in Bucks 😱
 
Good news! I had my appointment today and the diabetes team said that I should come to the pump and technology day in April! So it wasn’t a no
 
Excellent news! So pleased for you. A step in the right direction.
 
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