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To go on a pump or not!

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astbury1

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
So then Ive been allowed to go on a pump after I attend DAFNE. Some questions I would like to ask anyone that has done MDI and then to pump
1) What are the benefits of the pump? My morning blood sugars are always around 7-10 so would this help this
2) Am I likely to have more hypos? Or are they better at preventing them?
3) Am I going to need a degree to use it? ha ha
4) Am concerned about having something attached to me at all times???
5) Any ideas which are the better ones? I would prefer small with as little amount of wires!
6) I have a problem with high peaks after food but then the ratio will bring me down to the right level with in 5 hours..... is there something on pumps that can help with this?
7) If for some reason I decide that one day a week I do not want to wear the pump and just do MDI for the day will they allow me to do this?
8) Is it painful to wear?
9) Am I going to have to re learn everything again? Am a creature of habit and like to be able to have peace of mind that the pump will give me less anxeity and predictablitly in my blood sugar results? Or am I thinking the impossible?

I dont expect one person to answer all questions (unless you would like to of course :D)

Any help with this would be good. Am not an active person at all and my job is very seditary but if I do anything slightly out of the ordinary I drop which is irritating.
 
astbury1 said:
So then Ive been allowed to go on a pump after I attend DAFNE. Some questions I would like to ask anyone that has done MDI and then to pump
1) What are the benefits of the pump? My morning blood sugars are always around 7-10 so would this help this
2) Am I likely to have more hypos? Or are they better at preventing them?
3) Am I going to need a degree to use it? ha ha
4) Am concerned about having something attached to me at all times???
5) Any ideas which are the better ones? I would prefer small with as little amount of wires!
6) I have a problem with high peaks after food but then the ratio will bring me down to the right level with in 5 hours..... is there something on pumps that can help with this?
7) If for some reason I decide that one day a week I do not want to wear the pump and just do MDI for the day will they allow me to do this?
8) Is it painful to wear?
9) Am I going to have to re learn everything again? Am a creature of habit and like to be able to have peace of mind that the pump will give me less anxeity and predictablitly in my blood sugar results? Or am I thinking the impossible?

I dont expect one person to answer all questions (unless you would like to of course :D)

Any help with this would be good. Am not an active person at all and my job is very seditary but if I do anything slightly out of the ordinary I drop which is irritating.
Click to expand...

Here's one I wrote earlier... (which will give you some thoughts from my first 6 months) http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2012/05/face-off-mdi-vs-pump.html
 
oooo thankyou. I shall take a look and am sure this will be very helpful🙂
 
astbury1 said:
So then Ive been allowed to go on a pump after I attend DAFNE. Some questions I would like to ask anyone that has done MDI and then to pump
1) What are the benefits of the pump? My morning blood sugars are always around 7-10 so would this help this. Definitely. You can programme different basal rates for each hour of the day and night if you wish, to tailor your basal profile exactly to your own requirements.
2) Am I likely to have more hypos? Or are they better at preventing them? my son doesn't have any more hypos on the pump than he did on MDI, and if he's running low for some reason we can reduce the basal straight away, which you can't do with injections
3) Am I going to need a degree to use it? ha ha. no! Just patience and a willingness to do plenty of BG tests initially
4) Am concerned about having something attached to me at all times??? You'll hardly notice after a few days 🙂
5) Any ideas which are the better ones? I would prefer small with as little amount of wires! They are all better than MDI, as pumps are the closest imitation of a healthy pancreas. The omnipod is a tubeless patch pump, though it doesn't sit very flat on the skin, and not all hospitals will prescribe it. My son loves his Veo. The Animas is the only one that's waterproof, you have to detach the others for swimming, showering etc.
6) I have a problem with high peaks after food but then the ratio will bring me down to the right level with in 5 hours..... is there something on pumps that can help with this? A pump is a fabulous tool and can help with most problems. My son used to get spikes like you describe after breakfast, but now he has a larger bolus before breakfast, then a greatly reduced basal rate for the rest of the morning. This means he doesn't spike up so high, but doesn't go hypo late morning either (most days!).
7) If for some reason I decide that one day a week I do not want to wear the pump and just do MDI for the day will they allow me to do this? You won't lol! It would be a pain to revert to levemir or Lantus for one day only. My son left his pump at home a couple of years ago so he could safely go round a theme park without worrying about detaching the pump for certain rides. He had no basal insulin so had to test hourly and top up with novorapid injections throughout the day. Doable.
8) Is it painful to wear? No, according to my son. I have tried the cannulas on myself and they are comfortable after the slight stinging sensation of putting one in. In fact if a cannula is feeling sore or uncomfortable it needs removing and a fresh one putting in.
9) Am I going to have to re learn everything again? Am a creature of habit and like to be able to have peace of mind that the pump will give me less anxeity and predictablitly in my blood sugar results? Or am I thinking the impossible? no, you'll be using all your knowledge built up over the years, plus carb counting etc., it's just that you'll have a much better tool. My son has a far narrower range of BGs (highest to lowest) on a pump than he ever did on MDI, he can go all night in the 5's and 6's, and his Hba1c is 6.9-7.4, when it was always 8.7+ on MDI. Much better quality of life too, but it does require the user to put some thought into it to really get the best out of it 🙂

I dont expect one person to answer all questions (unless you would like to of course :D)

Any help with this would be good. Am not an active person at all and my job is very seditary but if I do anything slightly out of the ordinary I drop which is irritating.
Click to expand...
.

Hope this helps!
 
Thankyou soooo much for taking the time to answer all the questions. This has made me less nervous about it! Sounds like I would like the pump. I llike the idea of all the different settings. 🙂 if I could sort the mornings and pesos out I will b happy.🙂
 
Hope you getthe on you want and it works well for you
 
......go for it! I will be surprised if you are disappointed!
 
Hi there. Great news that you might be starting on a pump soon! I started about a year and a half ago and I think I posted almost identical questions! Here we go with the answers:

1) What are the benefits of the pump? My morning blood sugars are always around 7-10 so would this help this
As already mentioned you have a different rate of every hour of the day so it can be made to fit with your body's requirements and you lifestyle. I had a big problem in the mornings - blood sugars of anything from 7 to 19 (usually 10 - 15) now they are 4-7. So yes it should deal with the mornings.Also my bloods were very unpredictable they are now much easier to manage. It has made exercise and new, non-routine activities possible. Basicaly it changed my life!

2) Am I likely to have more hypos? Or are they better at preventing them?
You should have less hypos. The nurses and doctors will start you with a slightly lower dose than you are on at the moment (mine turned out almost right anyway) so you might be a bit higher than normal for a couple of days but nothing awful. Once on he pump you will be seen regularly and have help to adjust the dose until it works for you. Because the dose can be different every hour of the day it gives you more control and this should mean that you have a lot less hypos 🙂

3) Am I going to need a degree to use it? ha ha

Nope! The nurses and the specialist from the pump company will give you plenty of support. I was seen every few days at first then every 2 weeks, now every 3-6 months. They are very patient and only teach you the basics at first, then adding new things as you get to grips with it. I found it much easier than on pens. However you need to have the motivation to test regularly ( 4 - 10 times a day). The meter that comes with the pump is great and is set up to do all the dose calculations for you.

4) Am concerned about having something attached to me at all times??? It is a bit odd at first but the excitement of such quick improvements to blood sugar and flexibility out-ways this. You very soon get used to it and I usually forget it's there. It just floats around with me in bed and sits on my belt during the day.

5) Any ideas which are the better ones? I would prefer small with as little amount of wires! I didn't get a choice! As far as I know they are all very similar and there is only one tube connecting the pump to the canula

6) I have a problem with high peaks after food but then the ratio will bring me down to the right level with in 5 hours..... is there something on pumps that can help with this?
I had this problem too. It's now sorted. To be honest I didn't need to do anything clever, it just went away on the pump - don't ask me why, its a mystery!

7) If for some reason I decide that one day a week I do not want to wear the pump and just do MDI for the day will they allow me to do this?

It is possible, so I have been told, but so far I haven't wanted to. The only time I can think of is if you were doing a beach holiday or a whole day of swimming. Mine has managed theme parks, cycling trips and camping holidays so far with no problems.

8) Is it painful to wear?

This was my biggest worry. The answer is no. When I used the first cannula it did hurt a bit - like doing your insulin with a pen but soon went away. Now I don't even notice it when I put it in. Once in I forget about it. Several times I have put a new cannula in and forgotten to take out the old one because I can't feel it!
There are lots of options and types of cannula - if you find one uncomfortable, don't be afraid to try another. I started on flexible plastic-like ones but found them fiddly to put in and itchy after about one day. I switched to steel ones (not painful - I was very surprised) and now am much happier.

9) Am I going to have to re learn everything again? Am a creature of habit and like to be able to have peace of mind that the pump will give me less anxeity and predictablitly in my blood sugar results? Or am I thinking the impossible? You are not thinking the impossible. My blood sugars are much more predictable now. Before the pump I wouldn't be able to guess my levels, now they are easy to predict and often the same every day.
 
Thankyou very much all. Your help in answering the questions and advice has been invaluable! Sounds like I would much prefer the pump! Eager to get started!:D
 
Sorry that I haven't posted before but just wanted to say that after 42 years of diabetes going on the pump was the best thing that I ever did. I hope that you get your pump soon.
 
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