The Pumpers Thread!

[bev]

Thanks Tracey!

I must say - your set looks a lot flatter than the quicksets A uses. Also the tubing is really short. I suppose for you its a good idea as your probably more careful than an 11 year old boy! I think A would have that pulled out in no time. You dont have many marks on your tummy so thats good.

It is a relief that the levels have settled a bit. I was up 4 or 5 times in the night last night as the alarm kept going off for one reason or another. I eventually put him into my bed as i was sick of waking - not good for an 11 ear old boy! But it went off twice saying he was 16 and when i checked he was 12 - so had to calibrate etc.. I am hoping for a good nights sleep tonight.Just waiting up for the 12midnight test and then sleeeeep!!!!🙂Bev x

 

[Adrienne]

Thanks Tracey!

I must say - your set looks a lot flatter than the quicksets A uses. Also the tubing is really short. I suppose for you its a good idea as your probably more careful than an 11 year old boy! I think A would have that pulled out in no time. You dont have many marks on your tummy so thats good.

It is a relief that the levels have settled a bit. I was up 4 or 5 times in the night last night as the alarm kept going off for one reason or another. I eventually put him into my bed as i was sick of waking - not good for an 11 ear old boy! But it went off twice saying he was 16 and when i checked he was 12 - so had to calibrate etc.. I am hoping for a good nights sleep tonight.Just waiting up for the 12midnight test and then sleeeeep!!!!🙂Bev x

They are a lot flatter Bev. For a girl wearing tight clothes I think that is important as depending on where you put the site you can see the quick sets through but not the silhouettes. You will be able to see at Hoburne.

Did you have a good day on Sunday?

 

[Freddie99]

I am really excited to hear Toms news, well done! I feel very responsible for making people worry and I dont want you to worry about the Veo (when it is back out again in the new year), an excellent pump. I dont (personally) feel they dealt with this situation very well, but we are all human. What you are making is a choice of quality for how you choose to manage your diabetes and I think what they offer in the evolution of insulin pumps is really very good. But there is SO much out there. You seem to be developing a rep for well balanced decisions 😉 and Im sure you are doing your research already! I very, very nearly went with the animas, and I didnt know about the accucheck spirit that Tracey pumps with until she got it and I think that one is very exciting too. There is a lot out there and a lot to think about. Good luck with it and anything I can offer to help please ask.

Thanks Louisa, I've been doing a little reading. The Veo is the first one that I've found that I can use a CGM with. I might not like CGM's but it'd be agood thing to have the option to use it. To me Minimed seem the most established and experienced pump manufacturers. For the most part I've heard good things about their customer service. I've had a look at the Accu Chek Spirit as it's waterproof but it just doesn't seem to be able to give as much fine control as the Veo does. As for the Animas, I haven't really looked at that. I don't know much about that one at all. I like the idea of the bolus calculator that the Veo has. That'd make my life much easier.

As for me being a rep for well balanced decisions, well, I have my moments when I don't weigh things up as much as I should. I just stick with whatever I can do and ride out the storm should there be one.

Tom

 

[tracey w]

Thanks Tracey!

I must say - your set looks a lot flatter than the quicksets A uses. Also the tubing is really short. I suppose for you its a good idea as your probably more careful than an 11 year old boy! I think A would have that pulled out in no time. You dont have many marks on your tummy so thats good.

It is a relief that the levels have settled a bit. I was up 4 or 5 times in the night last night as the alarm kept going off for one reason or another. I eventually put him into my bed as i was sick of waking - not good for an 11 ear old boy! But it went off twice saying he was 16 and when i checked he was 12 - so had to calibrate etc.. I am hoping for a good nights sleep tonight.Just waiting up for the 12midnight test and then sleeeeep!!!!🙂Bev x

heres hoping for a peaceful night for you and all the mums! yes the tubing is short but as mentioned to Lou there are different lenghts too. If A is suffering from bruising etc,(dont know if he is), he may be better with this type, Adrienne calls them sils, mine are the same but called tenderlink, they are especially good if the other type hurt, good for slim or athletic types as they go in at 45 degrees and not 90 degrees. (not saying im slim or athletic but they dont hurt too much and i dont bruise either).

 

[Viki]

Thanks Louisa, I've been doing a little reading. The Veo is the first one that I've found that I can use a CGM with. I might not like CGM's but it'd be agood thing to have the option to use it. To me Minimed seem the most established and experienced pump manufacturers. For the most part I've heard good things about their customer service. I've had a look at the Accu Chek Spirit as it's waterproof but it just doesn't seem to be able to give as much fine control as the Veo does. As for the Animas, I haven't really looked at that. I don't know much about that one at all. I like the idea of the bolus calculator that the Veo has. That'd make my life much easier.

As for me being a rep for well balanced decisions, well, I have my moments when I don't weigh things up as much as I should. I just stick with whatever I can do and ride out the storm should there be one.

Tom

Hopefully you'll have the advantage of seeing a few different ones before you have to decide when we all meet up! 🙂

 

[Freddie99]

Hopefully you'll have the advantage of seeing a few different ones before you have to decide when we all meet up! 🙂

Hopefully. I should be seeing a few pumps at this pump clinic I'll be attending in December.

Tom

 

[bev]

Yes we had a great time thanks! Just didnt get round to talking to everyone as all the children went off in different directions and age groups etc.. But lovely chatting to Jackie and Sandra etc.. We are thinking of having a christmas meet up aswell.🙂 Do you meet with any off the list in your area? I think there are quite a few in the south west. Are you anywhere near Brighton uni? My Hannah wants me to take her there for a visit as she has to choose soon - but cant remember exactly where you are? pm me if you prefer.🙂Bev x

 

[tracey w]

Thanks Louisa, I've been doing a little reading. The Veo is the first one that I've found that I can use a CGM with. I might not like CGM's but it'd be agood thing to have the option to use it. To me Minimed seem the most established and experienced pump manufacturers. For the most part I've heard good things about their customer service. I've had a look at the Accu Chek Spirit as it's waterproof but it just doesn't seem to be able to give as much fine control as the Veo does. As for the Animas, I haven't really looked at that. I don't know much about that one at all. I like the idea of the bolus calculator that the Veo has. That'd make my life much easier.

As for me being a rep for well balanced decisions, well, I have my moments when I don't weigh things up as much as I should. I just stick with whatever I can do and ride out the storm should there be one.

Tom

Hi Tom, Make sure you get the right pump for you, not sure i agree with not getting the fine control, have you looked at the spirit combo, not the spirit, this is the older version.?

It is not waterproof though so that may be important for you. I personally dedided on the combo as, my pct would not supply sensors, so that was the only reason i wanted the veo, so that was out.,

As the combo gives very small increments of insulin, has a bolus calculator where you can pre program for health events, such as stress, excercise etc. has 5 basal rate settings, i think the others dont have as many, but i stand to be corrected, has a large reservoir, which is good for adults. And you can change your basal rate in hourly blocks and i believe some pumps are only two hourly/four hourly, has a wireless handset that is also your meter, no other provides this as yet on nhs. Im not by any means saying you should get this one, just research them all thoroughly first. I think the spirit previously had bad press but the new combo is brilliant, in my opinion.

 

[katie]

Hopefully you'll have the advantage of seeing a few different ones before you have to decide when we all meet up! 🙂

it's going to be funny when everyone is comparing pumps and insulin pens

 

[Adrienne]

Yes we had a great time thanks! Just didnt get round to talking to everyone as all the children went off in different directions and age groups etc.. But lovely chatting to Jackie and Sandra etc.. We are thinking of having a christmas meet up aswell.🙂 Do you meet with any off the list in your area? I think there are quite a few in the south west. Are you anywhere near Brighton uni? My Hannah wants me to take her there for a visit as she has to choose soon - but cant remember exactly where you are? pm me if you prefer.🙂Bev x

Oo how lovely Brighton, I don't blame her. Yes I'm about 55 minutes from Brighton so could meet you if you have a spare few minutes.

 

[SilentAssassin1642]

hmmm, me and dad had a bit on an msn argument last night over whether i would manage to get funding for a pump or not. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my control is utterly awful and i cant get any form of normality right now. He thinks i'm the perfect diabetic. Nevermind.

Anyway, After last weeks fiasco of waking to the highs, i'm now waking to lows. Hmmm. It seems as though no matter what I can't get my evening lantus right. Which I'm guessing after a bit of work and working out, the ole pump would be able to do without much issue? I'd love to see some decent levels at some stage today. That would be lovely.

 

[Patricia]

Hi again all

A night's sleep later and I'm a little more human, though I still have no real idea what time it is...never mind. It'll improve. I'm just a bit...spacey.

Things sound like they are settling here a tiny bit. Lordy.

Our end E is suddenly riding low last few days. Really it looks like he's been on and off low for days, and basals have been reduced daily and STILL there are problems. So last night while I slept on, OH was up three times dealing with tracking his levels. One 4mmols, one 3.6mmols despite treatment, etc.

What's weird is that he seems to be having trouble 'coming up' from some of these lows.

Today he sprung rugby for an hour followed by cross country for an hour on us. Cripes. We sent him to school on 60% and lots of snacks. After rugby he could not get higher than 5mmols, and was slightly panicky. He was under instruction not to run if he couldn't get higher.

So: he couldn't get higher. He hasn't run. Plus his phone ran out of credit so we had to sort that too for him.

We are going to go to 75% across the board and see what happens. Just can't figure out why his TDD would suddenly go down a bit? Doesn't make sense? Maybe he's not growing as much all the sudden? Any thoughts? Does it matter?

I so WISH he didn't have to do all this. All this faffing and planning and having to take account of SO much his classmates have no idea about... And we have no contact at the school yet, so are feeling a bit out on a limb. After his initial call, we didn't hear from him, so were worried. But had no one named to speak to.

This will all be tackled. It's lagging because of my trip.

I hate to think of him just dealing *alone* at school, just lasting through it all, time and again. Yet would he want someone with him? Possibly not.

Argh!

***


Okay bye. Like the pic Tracey!

xxoo

 

[tracey w]

hmmm, me and dad had a bit on an msn argument last night over whether i would manage to get funding for a pump or not. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my control is utterly awful and i cant get any form of normality right now. He thinks i'm the perfect diabetic. Nevermind.

Anyway, After last weeks fiasco of waking to the highs, i'm now waking to lows. Hmmm. It seems as though no matter what I can't get my evening lantus right. Which I'm guessing after a bit of work and working out, the ole pump would be able to do without much issue? I'd love to see some decent levels at some stage today. That would be lovely.

Sam i know you have been having a rough time lately, i know how awful it can be swinging from hi to low time and time again, just exhausting and emotionally draining. Yes pumping is great, but as im sure you can see from this thread its not always easy.

Just wondering how often you have been changing your lantus dose hun? I understand that the effects dont kick in for around 3 days unlike levemir which is quicker. Not telling what to do, just wondering how you have been coping with this and woul love to try and help even a little.

Are you seeing your team re a pump?, i think you sound like a perfect candidate.

 

[Freddie99]

Hello all,

I must admit now that I've got an appointment with the pump clinic in Eastbourne I'm now getting more and more desperate to get there and talk it over. Things have now settled down as I've recovered from the lurgi. I know my skills for MDI are good but I still don't think that MDI will give me enough flexibility. Take for example how I get to and from campus. Some days I walk others I get the bus. On MDI I should, strictly speaking reduce my pre meal bolus if I decide to walk. I'm getting more and more spontaneous and I don't want to think that far ahead if I'm honest. I'd like to be able to adapt to the situation as and when it arises. MDI isn't exactly flexible for that. I think I've pretty much made up my mind now. I do want to pump. My life isn't as routine as it was a month ago and I suspect that it'll get less and less regular as I start my work placements next semester. I know that I will forget meals, say for a lab practical or something but on MDI I'd just get caught out by the basal which I can't change. When I give my levemir I can't predict if I'm going to miss a meal if I've woken up late or just simply haven't got the time for it.

I'm now pretty much counting down the days until I get to this pump clinic, that's on the second of December. If I do start on one that would be in January of next year.

Fingers crossed I don't change my mind!
Tom

 

[tracey w]

Hello all,

I must admit now that I've got an appointment with the pump clinic in Eastbourne I'm now getting more and more desperate to get there and talk it over. Things have now settled down as I've recovered from the lurgi. I know my skills for MDI are good but I still don't think that MDI will give me enough flexibility. Take for example how I get to and from campus. Some days I walk others I get the bus. On MDI I should, strictly speaking reduce my pre meal bolus if I decide to walk. I'm getting more and more spontaneous and I don't want to think that far ahead if I'm honest. I'd like to be able to adapt to the situation as and when it arises. MDI isn't exactly flexible for that. I think I've pretty much made up my mind now. I do want to pump. My life isn't as routine as it was a month ago and I suspect that it'll get less and less regular as I start my work placements next semester. I know that I will forget meals, say for a lab practical or something but on MDI I'd just get caught out by the basal which I can't change. When I give my levemir I can't predict if I'm going to miss a meal if I've woken up late or just simply haven't got the time for it.

I'm now pretty much counting down the days until I get to this pump clinic, that's on the second of December. If I do start on one that would be in January of next year.

Fingers crossed I don't change my mind!
Tom

Tom it sounds like your pretty sure to me, it sounds a while off but xmas will be here before you know it!

 

[SilentAssassin1642]

Sam i know you have been having a rough time lately, i know how awful it can be swinging from hi to low time and time again, just exhausting and emotionally draining. Yes pumping is great, but as im sure you can see from this thread its not always easy.

Just wondering how often you have been changing your lantus dose hun? I understand that the effects dont kick in for around 3 days unlike levemir which is quicker. Not telling what to do, just wondering how you have been coping with this and woul love to try and help even a little.

Are you seeing your team re a pump?, i think you sound like a perfect candidate.

lantus dose was changed to 16 about erm...a month or 2 ago. Was brill for a a few days then boom, waking up to highs. Changed back to 18 a couple of days ago and straight away waking to lows. GAH!!! I;m gunna ask nursey on thursday for a 1 increment pen to try 16 units. Because serious, this is just silly. 18 used to be perfect as well, i was on that for aggggggggggges before last nursey changed me to 16 but after uni the waking to lows started. If you have any ideas at all over this, i'd be soooooooooo grateful.

Yeah, i can see it aint gunna be an easy ride especially to start with. It just seems as though the pros definitely outweigh the cons and i really think that it would suit me.

I'm gunna be asking nursey on thursday how to start on it. I've not properly been referred to the team at the hospital yet, but when i see my doctor next (after hba1c i'm gunna say its 'a matter of urgency'). Problem being that come february, we may be moving again so i'm wondering how that would affect it. I don't want to start going through getting a pump from this team only to have to go back to the strat with a new team.

 

[tracey w]

lantus dose was changed to 16 about erm...a month or 2 ago. Was brill for a a few days then boom, waking up to highs. Changed back to 18 a couple of days ago and straight away waking to lows. GAH!!! I;m gunna ask nursey on thursday for a 1 increment pen to try 16 units. Because serious, this is just silly. 18 used to be perfect as well, i was on that for aggggggggggges before last nursey changed me to 16 but after uni the waking to lows started. If you have any ideas at all over this, i'd be soooooooooo grateful.

Yeah, i can see it aint gunna be an easy ride especially to start with. It just seems as though the pros definitely outweigh the cons and i really think that it would suit me.

I'm gunna be asking nursey on thursday how to start on it. I've not properly been referred to the team at the hospital yet, but when i see my doctor next (after hba1c i'm gunna say its 'a matter of urgency'). Problem being that come february, we may be moving again so i'm wondering how that would affect it. I don't want to start going through getting a pump from this team only to have to go back to the strat with a new team.

Well I would say you definately need a 1 increment pen, the solostar is a disposble lantus pen and has the 1 increments. You also need to do the overnight testing im afraid! Its the only way to see what your numbers are doing overnight. If you have a overnight hypo or wake up to one then you must decrease immediately the next night. But any increase/decrease must be followed with testing, sorry its the only way. I found 1 unit made a huge difference to me. Dafne advise increasing/decreasing by around 10%


If you have a pattern of highs, (2 times), then increase but test overnight. These are the dafne principles im quoting to you and i hope they can give you some food for thought. As always, discuss with your team first, this is just what i would do on basal/bolus.

I still think you should go for the pump regardless of moving, im sure you can be reffered on if you move again, xx

 

[SilentAssassin1642]

Well I would say you definately need a 1 increment pen, the solostar is a disposble lantus pen and has the 1 increments. You also need to do the overnight testing im afraid! Its the only way to see what your numbers are doing overnight. If you have a overnight hypo or wake up to one then you must decrease immediately the next night. But any increase/decrease must be followed with testing, sorry its the only way. I found 1 unit made a huge difference to me. Dafne advise increasing/decreasing by around 10%


If you have a pattern of highs, (2 times), then increase but test overnight. These are the dafne principles im quoting to you and i hope they can give you some food for thought. As always, discuss with your team first, this is just what i would do on basal/bolus.

I still think you should go for the pump regardless of moving, im sure you can be reffered on if you move again, xx

noooooooooo, not overnight testing i could never do it i like sleep too much and couldn't wake myself up 3am wise

well, not right now anyway. Too much of a bad mood to even consider waking myself up to test

thanks for the advice, i'll have a word with nursey!

 

[tracey w]

noooooooooo, not overnight testing i could never do it i like sleep too much and couldn't wake myself up 3am wise

well, not right now anyway. Too much of a bad mood to even consider waking myself up to test

thanks for the advice, i'll have a word with nursey!

no problem, but remember you will need to do this on a pump every so often, last night i tested at 1am, 3am, and 5am, consequently have altered my basal from the results. Hope you get sorted soon hun, xxx

 

[lesley1978]

thanks Northener, scary picture now you can see all the crap on my coffe table too 😱

Hiya Trace,

Hope you had a good holiday!

Love the picture but I am getting rather nervous! I pick mine up on Tuesday for my week getting used to it and then go live on the 27th Oct. I know all the pumps were about the same size but seeing it it looks quite big! I think it is all physcological (spelling). How are you getting on with it? Have you got a pibelt yet? I got 2 if you are interested in trying one I can meet up with you in Warrington and let you have one! I am excited but really cacking myself if you know what I mean! Where do you hide yours?

Lesley x