Joint insulin.

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May Rhymer

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello all,
Does anyone know if you can have an Omnipod pump only for your long lasting insulin, but take insulin injections for your fast acting insulin?
Many thanks.
Msy
 
Hi May

In a pump you just use your quick acting insulin. This is dribbled out throughout the day according to your basal profile which you can adapt to suit your hourly needs. This is why it is more flexible than using background insulin once or twice a day.

Then when you eat carbs you add extra insulin for your the bolus you need.
I found this confusing before starting on my pump.

Any other questions come back to us.
 
SB2015 said:
Hi May

In a pump you just use your quick acting insulin. This is dribbled out throughout the day according to your basal profile which you can adapt to suit your hourly needs. This is why it is more flexible than using background insulin once or twice a day.

Then when you eat carbs you add extra insulin for your the bolus you need.
I found this confusing before starting on my pump.

Any other questions come back to us.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,
Thanks for your response. Yes, we understand how both types of insulin are processed via the pump. My question is, can he just use the pump for his basal, preferring to inject his bolus injections?
 
Oops, sorry, I don't think I was very clear in my second message. Yes, we're aware its actually only one type of insulin being used, but in a different way.
My question remains the same .
Thanks
May
 
@May Rhymer yes, it is possible to inject insulin as well as use an insulin pump.
Why would you want to do this?

There are a few benefits of using a pump for bolus such as
- being able in bolus smaller doses or in smaller increments down to 0.05 units.
- Most pumps will have a bolus calculator so that you just have to input how many carbs you are eating (and your current BG if it is not integrated with a CGM) and the pump will calculate and give the bolus dose. This is really useful when you have different insulin to carb ratios at different times of the day.
- pumps have alternative bolus methods such as spreading the dose over a longer time period which is very useful for traditionally more complex foods such as pizza.
- pumps will keep track of your insulin on board (down to the 0.05 units)
 
May Rhymer said:
Oops, sorry, I don't think I was very clear in my second message. Yes, we're aware its actually only one type of insulin being used, but in a different way.
My question remains the same .
Thanks
May
Click to expand...
I think the question is, why would you want to? If I'm right, you are saying you’re happy to use the bolus insulin to drip in and take the place of a basal. So what would the difference be, in pressing the bolus button on a pump to deliver, say, 4 units of mealtime insulin, or dialling up 4 units on a pen and injecting it? Am I missing something?
 
May Rhymer said:
Oops, sorry, I don't think I was very clear in my second message. Yes, we're aware its actually only one type of insulin being used, but in a different way.
My question remains the same .
Thanks
May
Click to expand...

Yes, you can. You can use the pump only for basal and use a pen for bolus, or you can use the pump for basal, and sometimes do your bolus with the pump, sometimes with a pen. That would make using the pump bolus wizard harder but personally I never use that anyone.

Can I ask why he wants to do this? Is he having any discomfort from pump boluses? Or does he want to use a different bolus insulin in his pen?
 
May Rhymer said:
Hello all,
Does anyone know if you can have an Omnipod pump only for your long lasting insulin, but take insulin injections for your fast acting insulin?
Many thanks.
Msy
Click to expand...

Along with @Inka very curious why he wouldn't want to bolus from a pump, is it because he is on high doses or something?
 
It would be unusual, and would remove some of the bolus benefits @helli suggests, plus would mean carrying a pen at all times, but I don’t see why not.

Probably a question for his pump clinic, so that they can notify the GP to prescribe sufficient pen cartridges and needles - he should have some for emergency back up purposes anyway, but if being used regularly he’d need a slightly different distribution of diabetes gubbins.

I’m also interested in his reasons. Does he not want to have to get his PDM out to activate boluses in some situations?
 
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