Is pumping worth it? (and various other rubbish)

[Lady Willpower]

I have been on insulin four times a day for a very long time but recently I am having huge trouble keeping my sugars 'normal'. My last but one HbA1c was 5.8 which my consultant was over the moon with and said that it was possibly the best one in the Midlands! and the last one was 7 which my GP said was really good??? I am having huge problems keeping the sugars around any sort of level and I am getting quite sick of it. I am coming up to a time where I won't know what I will be doing from one hour to the next during a very busy week and won't be able to eat if I am hypo and so I was wondering if using a pump would be helpful? I was really put off one a few years ago and don't know if it would be any good for me. I have tried the base acting insulins but they all seem to be the human type that I can't use and the tablets make me vomit, even the slower ones.
And while I am at it, why is it that I only ever have a really bad, no signs hypo when I am around my family who think that I only go hypo like that because I havent eaten or its my fault I have too much insulin??? I only know I am hypo then if I am 1. nothing and then I end up talking gibberish and making faces while I am trying to think. I know it looks funny but why do they think that it's my fault? It's like they think that I know that I am going hypo but just sit there and do nothing until I am almost too far gone to say anything. I am asking as I think that you often cant see the reason but someone else can. I wouldn't mind but I had sat down and eaten lunch when I arrived there and still went really hypo. Am I missing something???
If any of you work in a job where nothing happens at set times how do you cope? I have always had a life where everything was regimented and so diabetes is easier I think.
Last question. Does having diabetes make you cold? I can't remember the last time I was warm and I am almost sitting on my radiator!
Sometimes I am so sick of being diabetic it makes me ditzy!! As I have been diabetic since birth you would think that I would be ok with it but I just hate it sometimes, it has stopped me doing most things in life that I wanted and I hate it at the moment like I did when I was a teenager. Wish I still looked like one as I know I still act like one lol
Sorry about the rant but It might help someone else too. xxx

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hiya,
Did you not realise that you can use midi using pork insulin?
All you need is 2 seperate vials Isophane or what ever you use and your neutral insulin. mdi can still be achieved with 3 injections a day as all you need do is put both in same syringe and then just have neutral at lunch time.


As to going hypo and not treating it just because you are busy at work is 😱 to say the least. Basic rule is s0d everyone else treat the hypo rather than need paramedics
You will still hypo whilst on a pump and will still have to treat the hypo.
As you are on mixed insulin I doubt very much you will be given a pump as have to be able to demonstrate you understand dose adjustment and correction factors. I'm assuming you know the carb values of food and were brough up with it. So carb counting would not be an issue if this is the case.
Oops forgot to add, have you had your thyroid checked? That can make you feel very cold if under active.

 

[Robster65]

What Sue says.

Plus, diabetes does stop you from doing certain things but it's you who stops you from doing the rest (I used it as an excuse for most of my life). If you want to do something, then there are ways of doing it that diabetes won't be a factor in. Within reason of course.

I think it's unfair to blame you for hypos when you have no/little recognition but you still have to take responsibility for controlling your BGs to within a certain band. Unless your home life is hectic too and you can't predict what's happening next to any degree. But the secret is to adapt the situation to suit your needs, if that's the case. As Sue says, the rest can work around your needs, rather than you havign to risk your health for them.🙂

Cold. Circulation can be an issue I think. I would imagine neuropathy would have an effect on circultation and leave you feeling cold. Not sure.

I hope I'm not being too harsh on you. I don't mean to be but sometimes a different approach can change the way you see something. And since D isn't going to go away, it's better to live with it than try and fight it.🙄

Rob

 

[Lady Willpower]

Hey Sue. I used to be on two insulins in one injection but my control got worse and so they started me on quick acting during the day and slow at night and that worked really well until now. I am about to show my total ignorance now but what is MDI? Belive me I would rather prefer the paramedics called than to be caught eating in court, the judge would have me for contempt of court lol I will just have to take lucozade I suppose. I do adjust my doses all the time as I am often feeling a bit off and eat very little and sometimes have days where I need to eat a three or more course meal and so adjusting is part of the course. I just wondered if having a pump would give me that background I needed in a simpler form. I have had my thyroid checked over and over again but it is always within range so I am just going to have to sit on top of the radiator during the winter lol
Hey Rob. The reason why I hated being diabetic was because I wanted to be in the army and got to 9 years and was told that, not only was I prevented being a soldier I also could not be in the police force or in the ambulance service. The rest of my life believe me is spent achieving things that I have been told that I will never achieve and so the fight is there. After having it for over 40 years you will get to a time where you hate it too even if it's just for a short time, I do know what I am talking about here lol My home life is very stable and totally regimented so the troubles lately are unusual and I don't know where it is coming from. I asked my consultant about being cold and he said about my circulation and tested it and he said that there is no problem, whew!! lol

 

[Copepod]

MDI is Multiple Daily Injections - that is one or two long acting insulin injections per day, plus short acting insulin with each meal - that's what you mean by "quick acting during the day and slow at night", I think?

Actually, I couldn't rejoin the army when I was diagnosed - I'd resigned to emigrate, then got type 1 diabetes while working in New Zealand, and couldn't stay as my work permit depended on being able to guide on seal & dolphin swimming tours and boss wanted me to train as SCUBA diving instructor - while diving was permitted, professional diving wasn't - and had to come back to UK.

One of the jobs I do these days involves sitting in tribunals a few days per month - and I've never had to eat (or ask the judge's permission to eat). Mainly by ensuring my levels are OK at beginning of session, higher end of normal, if anything, so I can reasonably expect them to still be OK by end of 2 - 3 hour session.

One thing to investigate with your team is whether you're on the right number of injections of the right long acting insulin - some people find 2 injections per day works better than one, with various ratios of doses and times between.

Hope you find some solutions to your problems.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

So do you actually count carbs and take the right amount of insulin for the carbs you are eating? Do you know your duration of insulin?
Isophane is normally taken in 2 injections a day so perhaps look at that and do some basal testing so you know whats going on.
Not sure what you do for a living but as you have a medical condition then you need to eat at certain times. The judge will sort that s/he has to. Using animal insulins you need to be able to snack mid morning and afternoon.

 

[Robster65]

Hey Rob. The reason why I hated being diabetic was because I wanted to be in the army and got to 9 years and was told that, not only was I prevented being a soldier I also could not be in the police force or in the ambulance service. The rest of my life believe me is spent achieving things that I have been told that I will never achieve and so the fight is there. After having it for over 40 years you will get to a time where you hate it too even if it's just for a short time, I do know what I am talking about here lol My home life is very stable and totally regimented so the troubles lately are unusual and I don't know where it is coming from. I asked my consultant about being cold and he said about my circulation and tested it and he said that there is no problem, whew!! lol

Apologies LadyW. I must have misinterpreted your original post.

It would seem that your career, although it should be feasable to be a diabetic barrister, is causing your health to deteriorate as a cosequence. I wonder if you could find an existing T1 barrister who you could contact for advice/swapping notes ?
It still stands that your welfare has to come first since you may disable yourself in the process and not be able to go forward if you can't find a way to do what you need to do without upsetting court proceedings.

I've had times when I hated it in the past 33 years, so I know how it can get to you, but maybe if you can weave it into your lifestyle a bit more easily, it may not seem so bad. Just thoughts.

As Sue suggests, MDI on porcine insulin is a good thing to try. It's really the only way to lead a varied life and gives you flexibility to eat early or late or even skip meals if needed.

I hope you can find a way of getting your awareness back properly and a way of working with diabetes rather than having to push it to the back.🙂

Rob

 

[HOBIE]

I have been on pump now for over 2 years & would HATE to loose it ! It is a lot less stressfull & have been T1 for over 45yrs. I know some of the feelings that you mentioned when in hypo mode ! Good luck ! 🙂

 

[Caroline]

I hope you get things sorted soon. There are pumpers here who will be able to tell you all the pros and cons (but mainly pros) of using a pump. Can't add tot he suggestions already made.

 

[lizabetic]

Have you been checked for anemia? I was always always cold to wearing 3/4 layers during summer last year! My consultant actually missed that I was... so I went probably around a year with anemia before my GP picked it up! Worth checking? Now i'm often too warm !! 😛

 

[Ellie Jones]

Lady Willpower

I swapped to a pump almost 4 years ago and I've never looked back for me it has been totally worth it..

Personally I didn't find pumping a step learning curve or difficult or required an increase in commitment not sure how unusual that makes me, but I do know the reasons behind it though..

I understood what my problems were with MDI can explain to you exactly why MDI can never work for me, and I also understood pump therapy theory and how pumps worked.

I spent 3 years battling for funding, in that 3 years I built quite a clinical case study both for my actual MDI, showing all the issue's, insulin profile/dose/timing impacts and running alongside this a theoretical insulin pump case study, showing how insulin pump therapy and using the pump could have made differences to the out-come that I had experienced.

So when I finally got my pump, I just had to put theory into practice, which was a lot easier than doing all the work involved in clinical case building..

So if you can work out where your control is going wrong the better the pump is able to help..

I see that you are using animal insulin, you can do MDI (carb counting) and also use it in a pump, but when you're reading material for either of these regimes you need to remember the difference in the insulin profiles..