I feel lost.

Type1jobo

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi all, type 1 for 17 years.
I started on the pump 3 months ago and I’m loving not injecting anymore. The problem I’m having is that I’m struggling to get my ratios right throughout the day to prevent going low or high. My nurse is really good but as I’m in a young adults clinic she hasn’t came across someone with a pump yet so she’s not 100% how to do it. I’ve recently started on metformin to help with my weight and cholesterol which is making me have up to 8 hypos a day which is really impacting me daily but I feel as though I need to take the metformin as I have struggled for a while to lose the weight. I have tried changing my ratios to prevent me from going low but I can’t seem to manage it. I don’t know any other diabetic who can talk me through the ratios when on a pump so I feel lost. I have also had my diabetes eye scan done recently and been diagnosed with maculopathy which has absolutely terrified me my eyesight is getting worse I’m struggling to see at night which is so scary. I have another eye scan on the 12th November but I’m dreading to see if it has progressed any as I will need laser eye surgery and I physically feel sick with worry because it takes 20 minutes just to have eye drops in my eyes as I’m very sensitive near my eyes. I just wanted to write this to ask if anyone has gone through the same situation regarding pump, ratios, hypos and eyesight as I could really do with some help please
Thank you
 

EllieM

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My nurse is really good but as I’m in a young adults clinic she hasn’t came across someone with a pump yet so she’s not 100% how to do it.

I thought pumps were encouraged for children and young people? (Though I guess that's country/clinic dependent).

Sorry I don't know the answer to your pump query (not a pump user) but there are a lot here so hopefully you'll get some help soon, there is also a dedicated pump subforum on this site.

Can you phone your nurse to ask about hypos? 8 a day is way way too many and must be making your life very difficult. My first instinct is to say you need to reduce your insulin but I don't have any pump experience. Also, a continuous glucose monitor with alarms would make hypos much easier to manage, as you could reduce your insulin dose before you go hypo, rather than after. They are expensive, so hard to self fund, but with 8 hypos a day you'd be in a good position to ask the NHS to fund one (assuming you're in UK, other countries have different rules for funding them). The main ones are the libre (can be converted into one with alarms if you add a miaomiao) or the dexcom (comes with alarms but is slightly pricier).

Have you tried going lower carb to control your weight and/or blood sugar swings ? (I know that's difficult to do when you're knocking back sugar to counteract hypos, though theoretically the pump should make hypos much easier to manage). I'm not saying you have to do this, but it is one option.

You may have to wait a while to get many replies given the majority of the members are in the UK and it's now night there.

Good luck.

ps Tagging @tim2000s , @LooperCat @Juicyj @himtoo who all pump .....

pps I know eye stuff is scary but eye specialists are now very good at helping diabetics keep their eyesight, and acting in time before sight loss occurs. Lots of virtual hugs.
 
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Type1jobo

Newbie
Messages
3
I thought pumps were encouraged for children and young people? (Though I guess that's country/clinic dependent).

Sorry I don't know the answer to your pump query (not a pump user) but there are a lot here so hopefully you'll get some help soon, there is also a dedicated pump subforum on this site.

Can you phone your nurse to ask about hypos? 8 a day is way way too many and must be making your life very difficult. My first instinct is to say you need to reduce your insulin but I don't have any pump experience. Also, a continuous glucose monitor with alarms would make hypos much easier to manage, as you could reduce your insulin dose before you go hypo, rather than after. They are expensive, so hard to self fund, but with 8 hypos a day you'd be in a good position to ask the NHS to fund one (assuming you're in UK, other countries have different rules for funding them). The main ones are the libre (can be converted into one with alarms if you add a miaomiao) or the dexcom (comes with alarms but is slightly pricier).

Have you tried going lower carb to control your weight and/or blood sugar swings ? (I know that's difficult to do when you're knocking back sugar to counteract hypos, though theoretically the pump should make hypos much easier to manage). I'm not saying you have to do this, but it is one option.

You may have to wait a while to get many replies given the majority of the members are in the UK and it's now night there.

Good luck.

ps Tagging @tim2000s , @LooperCat @Juicyj @himtoo who all pump .....

pps I know eye stuff is scary but eye specialists are now very good at helping diabetics keep their eyesight, and acting in time before sight loss occurs. Lots of virtual hugs.


Hi thank you for your reply I’m currently on libre but it doesn’t have alarms for when I’m going low. Also I want to do the low carb but I have no clue what sorts of foods I can have that do have low carbs I try and google it but I don’t get a lot of feedback. I am in the uk and it was me who begged and begged for a pump as I just couldn’t do injections anymore as before I was put onto pump therapy I was injecting up to 8 times a day which was too much for me. Thank you so so much for your reply I really do appreciate it x
 

MarkMunday

Well-Known Member
Messages
421
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all, type 1 for 17 years.
... The problem I’m having is that I’m struggling to get my ratios right throughout the day to prevent going low or high. ... have up to 8 hypos a ... I have tried changing my ratios to prevent me from going low but I can’t seem to manage it. ....
Sounds like your basal rates are not what they need to be. When they are right, you should never go hypo. You can test your basal rates by skipping a meal and monitoring blood glucose until the next meal. If blood glucose goes low, the basal infusion rate for that time of day is too high. If your nurse can't help, ask your pump trainer for advice.
 

EllieM

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I’m currently on libre but it doesn’t have alarms for when I’m going low.

My understanding is that you can buy a miaomiao to transmit your libre info to your phone and hence enable alarms with the right software but as I no longer use the libre (became allergic) I can't help more than that. Hopefully some others will comment on this.
 
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himtoo

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why can't everyone get on........
I thought pumps were encouraged for children and young people? (Though I guess that's country/clinic dependent).

Sorry I don't know the answer to your pump query (not a pump user) but there are a lot here so hopefully you'll get some help soon, there is also a dedicated pump subforum on this site.

Can you phone your nurse to ask about hypos? 8 a day is way way too many and must be making your life very difficult. My first instinct is to say you need to reduce your insulin but I don't have any pump experience. Also, a continuous glucose monitor with alarms would make hypos much easier to manage, as you could reduce your insulin dose before you go hypo, rather than after. They are expensive, so hard to self fund, but with 8 hypos a day you'd be in a good position to ask the NHS to fund one (assuming you're in UK, other countries have different rules for funding them). The main ones are the libre (can be converted into one with alarms if you add a miaomiao) or the dexcom (comes with alarms but is slightly pricier).

Have you tried going lower carb to control your weight and/or blood sugar swings ? (I know that's difficult to do when you're knocking back sugar to counteract hypos, though theoretically the pump should make hypos much easier to manage). I'm not saying you have to do this, but it is one option.

You may have to wait a while to get many replies given the majority of the members are in the UK and it's now night there.

Good luck.

ps Tagging @tim2000s , @LooperCat @Juicyj @himtoo who all pump .....

pps I know eye stuff is scary but eye specialists are now very good at helping diabetics keep their eyesight, and acting in time before sight loss occurs. Lots of virtual hugs.
Hi there @Type1jobo

with that many hypos it does sound as though your basal rates are not correct for you.
Here is a link to a good site to read about how to do basal testing
https://www.mysugr.com/en/blog/basal-rate-testing/
 
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Amalia012

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all, type 1 for 17 years.
I started on the pump 3 months ago and I’m loving not injecting anymore. The problem I’m having is that I’m struggling to get my ratios right throughout the day to prevent going low or high. My nurse is really good but as I’m in a young adults clinic she hasn’t came across someone with a pump yet so she’s not 100% how to do it. I’ve recently started on metformin to help with my weight and cholesterol which is making me have up to 8 hypos a day which is really impacting me daily but I feel as though I need to take the metformin as I have struggled for a while to lose the weight. I have tried changing my ratios to prevent me from going low but I can’t seem to manage it. I don’t know any other diabetic who can talk me through the ratios when on a pump so I feel lost. I have also had my diabetes eye scan done recently and been diagnosed with maculopathy which has absolutely terrified me my eyesight is getting worse I’m struggling to see at night which is so scary. I have another eye scan on the 12th November but I’m dreading to see if it has progressed any as I will need laser eye surgery and I physically feel sick with worry because it takes 20 minutes just to have eye drops in my eyes as I’m very sensitive near my eyes. I just wanted to write this to ask if anyone has gone through the same situation regarding pump, ratios, hypos and eyesight as I could really do with some help please
Thank you
Hi....any updates...how are you doing..how was your eye test results..have you managed to get better blood glucose control....
 

Sarah69

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1,441
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Can’t help with the pump but not sure metformin helps with weight or cholesterol.
 

Rokaab

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Messages
2,159
Type of diabetes
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Do note that this post is now quite old (ie a year and a half or so) and the OP doesn't look to have been logged on since then