Switching to a pump

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Viki

Viki

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Can anyone who has been through this process let me know whether they had time off work over the transition?

Im a bit confused as to what to do for the best.

Thanks :D
 
Hi Viki,

I went over to a pump last January and wasn't advised to have time off work. The hard part was that the DN wanted me to monitor my blood sugar every two hours (including throughout the night) which let me tired during the day. Appointment wise we made changes over the phone so that actual visits were kept to a minimum until she was happy that everything was stable and then the phone calls stopped and I attend pumpclinic appointments between once a month and every three months depending on whether I have been behaving or not!!

Hope it all goes well for you,

Andy
 
Crikey - clinic appointments every 1 to 3 months sounds like another good reason why I wouldn't suit a pump or vice versa.
 
Copepod said:
Crikey - clinic appointments every 1 to 3 months sounds like another good reason why I wouldn't suit a pump or vice versa.
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Lol that's only for the 1st 3 mths. I have never had any pump clinics and I have been pumping for 9 mths.
In all honesty if you have to keep running back and fore to a clinic every few weeks then you shouldn't be on a pump.
The idea of a pump (pocket pancreas)is that you are capable of adjusting your insulin so you lead a normal life. Suport is always available at the end of the phone in case of problems though.

Unless your job involves driving Viki, then I can see no reason to take time off work.
 
Hi Sue,

You are right, the visits should drop off. However, in my area the hospital put us on the pumps but didn't give an awful lot of support at the start. I had my first review at a pump clinic in November so 10 months after I went on the pump! The monthly pump clinics have been to give information that the staff have learnt (I wasn't told at the start that if I was ill I needed to increase my basal until I was hospitalised with DKA!) and also to fine tune my control.

I have now been told to attend in March and June so hopefully the appointments will dwindle down again.
 
Viki said:
Can anyone who has been through this process let me know whether they had time off work over the transition?

Im a bit confused as to what to do for the best.

Thanks :D
Click to expand...

i think you should do whats right for you, good luck with it all, im sure things will be much better for you soon. If you dont mind me asking you, I would like to know your reasons for going on the pump. I understand you need better control, but can you tell me the kind of problems you have had. Just something I might like to consider myself given the opportunity. I understand if you dont want to post this info. good luck again!
 
No problems. I have very erratic blood sugars with frequent hypos and hypers (often 2s then 28s!) and i seem to be quite sensitive to changes in my insulin, particularly my lantus. Even altering it 1 unit will guarantee a hypo. Also my food ratio (1.5:1) is very infexible, particularly at lunch. This is now affecting me at work as im either very high at this ratio and falling asleep at my desk, low concentration etc or i hypo if i increase it.
The hospital gave me the option of splitting my lantus, but as i find it very restrictive and extremely painful i wasnt happy with this. So the pump was mentioned.

I seem to have very clear parts of the day when my lantus is not enough (ie. dawn phenomenon happens to me at about 10am!) and then the post lunch highs. So the flexible basal rates should go a long way to combat these. and as for the hypos, i currently get to the point where i cant move or speak (during the night) and need assistance from a member of my family to get out of it. Although luckily my hypo awareness is pretty good when im awake!! so get better control should make a huge difference to my life.

Thats a very brief overview!!
 
Viki said:
No problems. I have very erratic blood sugars with frequent hypos and hypers (often 2s then 28s!) and i seem to be quite sensitive to changes in my insulin, particularly my lantus. Even altering it 1 unit will guarantee a hypo. Also my food ratio (1.5:1) is very infexible, particularly at lunch. This is now affecting me at work as im either very high at this ratio and falling asleep at my desk, low concentration etc or i hypo if i increase it.
The hospital gave me the option of splitting my lantus, but as i find it very restrictive and extremely painful i wasnt happy with this. So the pump was mentioned.

I seem to have very clear parts of the day when my lantus is not enough (ie. dawn phenomenon happens to me at about 10am!) and then the post lunch highs. So the flexible basal rates should go a long way to combat these. and as for the hypos, i currently get to the point where i cant move or speak (during the night) and need assistance from a member of my family to get out of it. Although luckily my hypo awareness is pretty good when im awake!! so get better control should make a huge difference to my life.

Thats a very brief overview!!
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thank you for that insight, must be really difficult for you. being diabetic we can all understand how yo feel, although admittedly things arnt nearly that bad for me. am struggling with control but not to the same extent as you are. At work is particularly difficult as you feel awful and just want to go home but have to try to concentrate and get on with it. I find I feel really tearful when high at work, like today for instance! My bs seem to fluctate quite a bit with no warning, dropping around 10 in an hour and this wreaks havoc with your emotions doesnt it? I do like the idea of a pump if it can bring back good control, but have no idea how to go about it. I know it will be a lot of work for you, (but it seems a lot of work now to be honest with what you are going through), but will be so worth it.
🙂
 
Thats exactly how i feel so fingers crossed!

I get very grumpy and snappy when my bloods fly up - which is not appreciated at home or work!!
 
i find i have the same problems with my sugars viki and also when mine are high i can get a little aggressive with other people. i also find if i go low i get tired and once the hypo is over i always seem to need to have a sleep (which isnt so good when working) which my partner hates me doing as she is scared about me having a second hypo while sleeping. so i have asked to put on a pump to and i hope to have this all sorted and my appointment for it scheduled tomorrow when i go to the clinic to see my dn.
 
Good Luck Mike!! Highs and lows knock me out for a few hours too. I sometimes wish there was a way for "normal" people to experience the extremes so they could know what its like. (and why you bite their heads off when you dont mean too :()
 
Viki said:
Good Luck Mike!! Highs and lows knock me out for a few hours too. I sometimes wish there was a way for "normal" people to experience the extremes so they could know what its like. (and why you bite their heads off when you dont mean too :()
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I am always saying this to my partner, seems a bit mean I know, but then they would know exactly how you feel! I was soo annoyed in the supermarket today (was high after eating cake, my own fault I know), lady walked by and knocked my arm and didnt say sorry. I was stood there by myself ranting to thin air how rude she was to not even look back or say sorry, how ridiculous I must of looked. but you just cant help it can you? got to laugh eh?

Anyway how are you doing with the pump?🙂
 
i always found that when i had bad control i was a right grump and could go from 0 to utter rant in 0.02 sec's!!! lol even now if i have a high level im a little narky. hate the fact that cos im struggling with my levels that i cant control my moods as well as i would like to. i also wish some "normal" folks could see what it is like and how much energy your body uses to just keep you alive in hypo mode and why you feel so tired after one.
 
As a 'normal' mum of a diabetic, i have often wondered what my blood sugars are like - i am sometimes tempted to test myself ( i wouldnt because of the costs of the strips) just to see what my levels are when i am shouting at everyone! I also feel very sorry for Alex when he gets grumpy, which mostly happens when he is rushing to test and do his injection and he is hungry- i dont speak to him as this would make him worse! Bev
 
lol i know when i was first diagnosed i still lived at home and my mum was great but dad would tell me to stop being a narky little thing. usually just after id been hypo and needed to sleep. lucky for me he soon realised it wasnt me just being narky and was my levels causing me to be so.
 
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