So many questions about Insulin Pumps

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Ginger_J

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Type 1
I am a Type 1 Diabetic and have been diagnosed for about 24 years. Recently my blood sugars are going up and down all over the place and I cannot seem to sort it out. My latest HBA1c was raised at 8.0. I also run, which puts another spanner in the works.

My doctor is making an urgent referral for me to be assessed for an Insulin Pump but I have so many questions :-(

Can someone please give me some positives about wearing a pump. The thought of having to be attached to a pump 24-7 frightens me slightly.

Apart from being able to adjust insulin doses very small amounts and perhaps getting a better HBA1c. What other positives are there for having an insulin pump??

Also, I always feel so tired. Has anyone on the pump noticed that their fatigue level has decreased??

I hope you can give me some positives about going on an insulin.

Also, if there are any ladies on the forum that could tell how they manage to place their pump on their clothes as my current skirts, trousers and dresses do not have pockets!!

Thank you again everyone and I hope you can help alleviate some of my hesitation.
 
Hello Ginger.

I know there are a couple of pumps new to the market that are very discreet and won't need any pockets. These are OmniPod (click here) and CellNovo (click here). Basically, a small pump unit is attached to the skin, while the control unit operates it wirelessly.

I don't think you need to worry about being attached to something 24/7. The practical freedom it offers outweighs that, I find. The main advantage of the pump is being able to fine-tune things. It does take a lot of input from the user, but you reap what you sow, so to speak.

I have heard of patients going back to MDI, but the majority of pump users stay with it. Either way, I hope you find the right solution for your situation. 🙂
 
My daughter went from MDIs to an omnipod and it has made things so much easier for her. It simply gives her so much more freedom and control. I can't comment on improved hba1c yet as her age make it all a bit challenging at the moment, but I am fairly certain her levels would be far worse if she weren't on the pump. Good luck! 🙂
 
Hi Ginger
I've been on the pump for just over a year now. I know how u feel about being attached to something 24/7. There are days when it still bothers me but those are relatively few and far between.
I still have the odd day where I could just throw the whole lot in the bin - but that's more diabetes in general than my pump! On a normal day, no way are you having it back!!!!
I still use the clip that was provided with the pump to attach it to my trousers etc. At night I leave it loose in bed and just have it in a little phone cover (think soft woolly with winnie the pooh on it). But there are other options eg an attachment that hooks onto your bra but I don't mind being visible. Each to their own! 😉
I'm needle-phobic so this is a much better option for me. I also find it better for being more accurate at how much insulin I need. I know take more insulin than at any other time.
I think getting better control has helped with my fatigue but it depends upon the individual I think.
Feel free to ask more questions but I don't think you'll ever know how you'll feel until you try it. And if you really hate it, you can always give it back.
Good luck
 
After a couple of weeks you wont know you have it attached. HONEST ! The benifits are you are more relaxed, more in control. You dont always get it right but you learn. Example, i have a quite mannuel job & up & down ladders & scaffold a lot. If my bg drops to 4 i just put temp basal on pump & its worked so far ! 😱
 
You could do worse than contact the lovely people at Runsweet - they are ace with diabetes and exercise anyway, it's their raison d'etre - and they love pumps.

The overall benefit of a pump over MDI, is that you can have a better BG for a lot more of the time, with the minute adjustments. For 39 years my A1c was in the 7's and 8's, no matter HOW hard I tried and how exact I was for how ever long - 7.2 was the absolutely lowest I ever got. Once. After I had a nervous breakdown and virtually stopped eating everything for nearly 12 months ......

Got the pump, 6 months later - 6.6, 6 months later 6.4, 3 months later 6.6 .....

And obviously all the daily blood tests were commensurately lower.

I don't care who sees mine either, the Roche clips are quite bulky but good if like today when I'm wearing jogging bottoms with a fat elasticated waistband and no pockets. On all normal clothes I use a skin which has a much neater flatter clip. Under certain tops and most dresses, I use the bra attachment do depneding on style of bodice it hanks from the front or under my armpit. There is also a soft fabric belt, a couple of lanyard thingies, some women wear them inside their bra cup! - my pump is nearly as big as one of my boobs so I couldn't do that.

BUT .... I have seen the Cellnovo pump. It's tiny! and I could certainly get it in my 36B cup NP - the woman on their exhbition stand was very slender but 32C - and she said she could too and had.

It's actually due for release into the wild about Sept/Oct I think? - and will turn a lot of heads. Not for everyone as the reservoir capacity is only 150cc (or did she say 180?) anyway, I currently only use 20u a day, which is more than a third less than I did on MDI.

I know exactly what Suzie means, but it is just diabetic frustration, you would also have to prise mine off me with a crowbar !

And by the way, being a naturist I wear mine with NO clothes (in suitable places) - just lanyard it and don't worry about it!
 
So many questions about Pumping

Thank you very much everyone who has replied to my post so far. I don't feel quite as anxious as I was before. You ladies seem to cope brilliantly with accommodating the pump on/in your clothes!!

The question is now whether I am accepted for a pump
 
Ginger_J said:
Thank you very much everyone who has replied to my post so far. I don't feel quite as anxious as I was before. You ladies seem to cope brilliantly with accommodating the pump on/in your clothes!!

The question is now whether I am accepted for a pump
Click to expand...

Good luck - please keep us updated.
 
Good luck with your funding application.

I think many people take a while to get their heads around the idea of pumping. It certainly took me several years to move from definitely *not* wanting one to wanting to try one to see if they lived up to the hype.

I started on a pump last November and as others have said while it's not all brilliant marvellousness all the time, when it works well it's *very* hard to beat for precision, flexibility and ease of use.

I wrote a compare-and-contrast after a few months here: Face off - pump vs MDI
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Good luck with your funding application.

I think many people take a while to get their heads around the idea of pumping. It certainly took me several years to move from definitely *not* wanting one to wanting to try one to see if they lived up to the hype.

I started on a pump last November and as others have said while it's not all brilliant marvellousness all the time, when it works well it's *very* hard to beat for precision, flexibility and ease of use.

I wrote a compare-and-contrast after a few months here: Face off - pump vs MDI
Click to expand...

Same for me: when my consultant first mentioned a pump to me, I had never heard of them and was immediately averse. Over the years I read on more and more forums that lots of people have them and get on well with them. In fact on one forum I was in the minority for not having one! In between times though I moved house, and had to reestablish my need for a pump with the new healthcare team. This took quite a while - I had to try all the different types of insulin, do DAFNE, and still demonstrate that despite complying with everything I was not achieving good enough control. My HbA1c was fine - actually managed to get it under 6% three times in a row, but at the expense of some horrible hypos!

I have had very few horrible hypos since (mainly due to experimentation!). My HbA1c is higher (typically in the 6's) but I'd never managed below 7 on MDI without serious hypos.
 
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