Some Questions On Pumping

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satch76

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Type 1
I due for a check up with my GP and Diabetic Nurse and expect my HBa1C to be higher (well higher than they want it)

I've been struggling with get the balance right with my blood sugar for a while, some are low and some are really high, 1'm talking 20+

I had it for over 30 years and have been a blasie with it to be honest and although I have had no real problems (four major hypos requiring hospitalisation and 1 DKA episode) and everything is working how it should (Apart from my pancreas) but I have started to worry about the future if my bloods are as erractic as they are.

I may get the option of a pump as it has been mentioned before but have been adament that i will not be connected to a machine for the following reasons:

1) I have two young boys (7 and 4) who love to jump all over me and have the usual bundles on the trampoline in the back garden. I'm worried that I will be a bit more reserved if I have a pump, or tworried about he cannular getting knocked out/snapping or tearing itself away from my skin

2) I play a lot of sport, golf, swimming, cycling and wondering the pump will get in the way.

I have been on the DAFNE course and losely follow it but have the habit of eating snacks inbetween meals, the odd bisuit here, chocolate bar there and although I do try to inject for these I usually forget.

I'm pretty healthy, not fat, don't drink or smoke so the only concern I have health wise is diabetic complications and although I don't want to live for ever I want to be around for a few years yet, with everyting working as best as it can.

Any males (or females) in the same situtaion (young family, full time work, active) got any advice experience.

I would love to sit down and speak with a pumper so if anyone is in the Harlow area of Essex or near by and open to a frank discussion I would be grateful.
 
Hi Satch, i love my pump. There is nothing perfect but it is the best so far. I am at work at least 5 days a week with a quite manual job rewiring houses, shops & alarms (electrian). After 47yrs of being T1. Have worked in harlow & bishop stortford. If you get the chance grab it with both mits. You can allways give it back but i will put money on it you will not. If you feel like having a bicky or a bag of chrisps its not a carry on with needles etc. A couple of pushes of buttons 😉
 
I have been pumping since January and have an active job, on building sites, and have a young family, 4 and 1 year old......

So far there have been no instances of the tubing getting caught or snapping as its tucked away between my waist band.

The cannula is stuck down with a plaster type material. The pump has sometimes been knocked out of its belt clip when going through the baby gate, however it just swings there. The cannula doesn't move. I understand different models use different fixing materials but they are all pretty much the same...


The pump would need to come off for swimming however. My pump tubing can be disconnected for activities like this and a wee cap put on to protect the vacuum. You would obviously not be receiving your basal at this time but you can correct after the swimming.

Snacking in between meals will give any diabetic added variables to their insulin delivery but the pump can accommodate for them with its on board calculators, this has been especially useful for me, although I do try to keep mid meal snacking to a minimum.

Whats your most recent HbA1c........?
 
Can't remember exactly but 93 springs to mind although that is in the new system they are using.

It is usually between 11 and 13 (old school)

Having HbA1C tomorrow and find out the results in two weeks.

I know they sound really high but having had Diabetes for 30 years and no complication so far I have wondered in the past if an average 6 or 7 would cause be issue with low problems.

Still, looking forward to my usually rollocking from my GP. Funnt thing is he always says when was the last time I saw him and it is always the last diabetic check up, I don't think I have been to see him for anything else.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum 🙂

I'm surprised you're seeing your GP for diabetes care rather than a consultant in a hospital clinic - and by the sounds of it, if he always gives you a rollicking then he's not much use! You know yourself that Hba1c's in double figures are going to spell trouble for you if you don't start taking a fresh approach, but getting a telling-off from the doc is not exactly helpful imo! Re the pump, my son has had one for nearly 6 years now, before that he was on twice daily mixes, then multiple injections. The pump is by far the best treatment - it is the closest approximation to a working pancreas that is currently available, and my son's a1c went down from 8.7 to low 7's and the occasional high 6. BUT you do have to be prepared to put the work in to get the results out. Which means testing your BG level frequently (they say a minimum of 4 times a day, but most pumpers test at least twice as often as that), and taking action on your BGs, ie. giving correction boluses of insulin when high, always bolusing for food (and always carb counting).

Most people agree that within 24 hours of wearing a pump, you no longer worry about having a machine permanently attached to you - they change your life very much for the better! My son's pump has been through all the rough and tumble of boys aged 7 to nearly 13, with no significant problems. Go for it if you're offered one, and make a resolution to turn around your diabetes management - you owe it to your kids to stay fit and healthy! 🙂
 
Hi Satch,
unfortunately the pump only does what you tell it. So if you are as blas? with using the pump as you are on MDI then you would be a lot worse off.

You basically have to show the commitment to use the pump properly.
Which means blood tests of up to 10 times a day and counting every bit of food that goes down the hatch. You need to have the commitment to basal test, which means testing on the hour over a 6 hour period with no food eaten (day and night)
Before anyone would even consider giving you a pump you have to show that you have tried everything in your power to bring your A1c down, which includes keeping detailed records of adjustments made, why you made them food eaten, carb ratios, exercise taken and what you did re insulin with exercise.
Good luck.
 
Hi Satch

One thing a pump often does offer is to reduce the variability of BGs. As Sue says, there is work involved in getting the very best out of them, but 'proper' basal coverage and the accuracy and flexibility of doses do offer genuine advantages over MDI.

One of the things that you might find it very helpful for is exercise. The ability to reduce basal (and/or bolus) can really help take the hypo-high nonsense out of sports - well... after you've worked out the right settings/approach of course!
 
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