Pump start diary?

Would a pump start diary be something people are interested in?

  • Yes that would be interesting

    Votes: 5 100.0%

  • No thanks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    5
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Saoirse

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Dear all

I’m due to start on a pump in a couple of weeks. I know a number of regular posters have pumps and are very generous with their own experience but I wondered if people would find a thread/diary on going from mdi to pump and then hopefully looping useful/interesting?
 
What a great idea. I know that these transitions take a bit of getting used to so sharing your experience would be helpful. What pump will you be using.
 
A fine idea! Would be interesting to see others' reflections on the process.... do different trusts handle introduction of pumps in different ways?
 
A great idea @Saoirse (especially since I start Podding tomorrow, hehe). It’ll be interesting to compare notes.:confused:🙂
 
nonethewiser said:
Once on pump you will wish you changed years ago.
Click to expand...
6 years into pumping and I am glad.
It certainly took me a long time to get used to it : my first pump and I had a love hate relationship for 4 years.
For me things got better with my second pump.
It was certainly wasn't an instant wish that I had changed years ago.

@Saoirse don't take this negatively. I now hate when I had to temporarily go back to MDI but remember we are all different, pumping may take some time to get used to and some people never do. I hope you get want you want from it but be realistic (it is just another way of giving yourself insulin) and don't feel the pressure to love it.
 
helli said:
6 years into pumping and I am glad.
It certainly took me a long time to get used to it : my first pump and I had a love hate relationship for 4 years.
For me things got better with my second pump.
It was certainly wasn't an instant wish that I had changed years ago.

@Saoirse don't take this negatively. I now hate when I had to temporarily go back to MDI but remember we are all different, pumping may take some time to get used to and some people never do. I hope you get want you want from it but be realistic (it is just another way of giving yourself insulin) and don't feel the pressure to love it.
Click to expand...

Thought you might have taken to pump instantly helli, you seem type.

Loved mine from day 1 & just about had basal rates sorted in fortnight, think after so long injecting was determined to make it work no matter what.

Never gone back to injections for so called pump break, not felt need to so far & been lucky with only 1 pump failure which was replaced within 24 hours.
 
helli said:
6 years into pumping and I am glad.
It certainly took me a long time to get used to it : my first pump and I had a love hate relationship for 4 years.
For me things got better with my second pump.
It was certainly wasn't an instant wish that I had changed years ago.

@Saoirse don't take this negatively. I now hate when I had to temporarily go back to MDI but remember we are all different, pumping may take some time to get used to and some people never do. I hope you get want you want from it but be realistic (it is just another way of giving yourself insulin) and don't feel the pressure to love it.
Click to expand...
Thanks @helli its good to be reminded of this. I am trying not to get ahead of myself but I confess am really hoping the pump will help me. having said that I fully expect to want to throw it across the room at some points in the next month
 
nonethewiser said:
Thought you might have taken to pump instantly helli, you seem type.
Click to expand...
I love the technology. I loved the flexibility of it.
My first pump was a tubey pump and, being slim, I never found a way to hide the pump. I could put it under my clothes but there was a bulge which was not great with tailored business dress. I could clip it to my waistband if I was wearing trousers. It would weigh down a skirt and there was nowhere to attach it to a dress. I found it hard to hide my diabetes.
I know some women clip it to their bra but (apologies for TMI) that would make me lopsided.
This put me off the Medtronic as a second pump as it was larger than my first pump.

I think this was a problem with my vanity and my size.
 
Saoirse said:
Thanks @helli its good to be reminded of this. I am trying not to get ahead of myself but I confess am really hoping the pump will help me. having said that I fully expect to want to throw it across the room at some points in the next month
Click to expand...

I think it depends partly on how well it’s been set up. My first pump was many years ago but I took to it in a few days. The reason for this was it worked. My pump trainer was brilliant and the basal rates he started me on were pretty much right, so I needed very little adjustment. I slept better, and I appreciated the lack of injections. The only thing I had to get used to was the cannula site. For the first few days I was paranoid about knocking or rubbing it and felt aware of it a lot. Then I had to do my first cannula change and I was nervous about that. But after that, things became normal very quickly.

My advice is not to over-complicate things. Focus on the basics of the pump - the basal and the bolus. Don’t try to do different types of boluses early on. Keep your meals simple and well carb-counted, and then you can concentrate on getting things right.

I’m very petite and even with my first pump, which was larger than modern pumps, I never found wearing it an issue. I wore it on a clip on my belt or waist or hung it from the side of my bra in a nifty little case, or tucked it into a band on my thigh. Now I generally use my Hid-in belt. This is ideal as it works for most situations and I rarely use anything else. Yes, it would show in a skin-tight dress but I don’t wear those much now and if I did I’d be more worried that my bum looked big in it than about my dinky Dana :rofl: If it was an issue, I’d simply tuck it in a Tubigrip on my thigh. That’s the good thing about tubed pumps - you can move them according to what you’re wearing.
 
helli said:
I love the technology. I loved the flexibility of it.
My first pump was a tubey pump and, being slim, I never found a way to hide the pump. I could put it under my clothes but there was a bulge which was not great with tailored business dress. I could clip it to my waistband if I was wearing trousers. It would weigh down a skirt and there was nowhere to attach it to a dress. I found it hard to hide my diabetes.
I know some women clip it to their bra but (apologies for TMI) that would make me lopsided.
This put me off the Medtronic as a second pump as it was larger than my first pump.

I think this was a problem with my vanity and my size.
Click to expand...

Things you lady's have to put up with, can see it could be issue. Thanks for feedback.
 
Saoirse said:
Thanks @helli its good to be reminded of this. I am trying not to get ahead of myself but I confess am really hoping the pump will help me. having said that I fully expect to want to throw it across the room at some points in the next month
Click to expand...
I think each change in our management can take some of us time to get used to. @Inka ’s advice to get the basics and keep things straightforward at the start is good. There are so many variables to manage day to day so to reduce the number of these can be very helpful. My most recent switch of pump had me tearing my hair out, and I ditched it for a month over the festivities and returned to an old one. Then had another go when I had less variation and now would not want to go back. A brief revisit to MDI when my pump broke whilst away reminded me of why I like pumping sooooo much.

Once you are used to letting the pump do it’s job you can then start to try the different ways of bolusing for different foods, temporary changes to basal insulin, …

It will be great to read how you get on.
 
Look forward to hearing how it goes @Saoirse 🙂
 
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