Adults only please!! 16+

[Jems7]

Hey guys!
A slightly adult topic but I just wanted to see what people's different thoughts were!
I've been on the insulin pump for about 4 months now and have pretty much adapted it into my daily life! The only instance I cannot make up my mind with is when me and my partner are having some "alone time"!
I've tried taking it off and just end up with slightly knocked BG's and have tried keeping it on but it then means it needs to be constantly thought about where it's placed so it's not in the way or being pulled!
It kind of ruins the moment if moving from one place to another it's like having to remember to pick your handbag up or risk the dreaded dangle of the wire as the pump heads for the ground whilst still attached to you!!
I can't seem to workout a comfortable natural way... Open to suggestions!
Thanks guys

 

[dancer]

We have a king size bed and don't have any problems!

 

[fozzie84]

Personally i take mine off. I too have only had my pump for a few months so am still working out how that "alone time" will affect my blood sugars, obviously it varies! I would say either persevere with taking it off and finding the best way to deal with any effects, or try and find some way of wearing it that doesn't cause you a nuisance. For example just day to day I've worn on my arm before with a phone holder arm band thing, or you can get something from www.hid-in.com which allows you to wear it a number of ways and would save you worrying about it as it would be secure somewhere. Hope you find what works for you ☺

 

[azure]

It varies depending on my mood (and laziness!) but I have a soft Velcro sealed belt that I often wear at night anyway. It goes round your waist and has a soft case on for the pump. Obviously it's not invisible, but it doesn't look medical and a previous partner said it 'looked a bit Lara Croft' : D

Mainly I find detaching my pump and remembering to put it back on a bit of a nuisance and I also feel it kind of puts the focus on it.

 

[Omnipod]

its for that reason I stopped the pump. While I fully support pump therapy, it is harder for young single or dating adults. You may want to discuss this with your diabetic nurse. I did and was given the option of going on a new background insulin called Tressiba which gave me similar results as when I was on the pump.
Perhaps ask if you can get funding for a Dexcom and perhaps try MDI again. (just another option)

 

[Louise M]

I started on pump on 1 dec , and tbh that was one of the questions i was bothered about before starting. But so far , I take it off and put it back on after. Tbh i have found my bg go down after some fun ( 2 morning hypos ) so now i just have some carbs after or use temp basal for hour before and after. Usually do the carbs tho its easier and 9/10 you cant plan in advance

 

[tim2000s]

I take mine off. I've not found it affecting my blood glucose levels particularly, but then a bit of exercise tends to keep them lower

 

[irrationalJohn]

I've tried taking it off and just end up with slightly knocked BG's

If you BG is pretty much in the normal range and you don't have "a lot" of active insulin pending which might unexpectedly drag you low, then why not just "Super Bolus" the next hour or so of basal before disconnecting? That should help avoid an elevated BG from the suspended basal delivery.

Of course, the hard thing to predict, as always, is how much the extra activity/exercise is going to affect your BG. But this is also something which is going to be a factor even for those not using a pump, of course, since they may still go low due the combination of their basal insulin & the added activity. Just depends on how your individual physiology works, I guess.

I expect it gets to be even more of a problem if you happen to have active insulin already on board and exercise makes you much more sensitive to insulin. Anyone gone low while "being busy"? Definitely a mood killer if there ever was one, I suspect.

 

[Riri]

I just detach. For the length of time it's off I've not gone high and neither have I hypoed with the extra exertions! Must have got the timing and balance spot on after all these years

 

[Chas C]

Like when going for a swim, bolus in advance if needed and take it off. Then check every hour or so ;-)

 

[Kevin1987]

This is something I have thought about recently as I am possibly going into a pump but I feel I will have to wait to see what feels more natural

 

[1Sarah1]

I personally take mine off and cap it (don't want hubby scratched!). Just like going for a swim or in the bath etc when you detach. As long as I don't have it off for hours it doesn't seem to cause any major changes. Test after just to make sure you don't need a quick bolus x

 

[AmandaD]

sometimes take it off sometimes leave it on, I don't attach it to anything it roams free in the bed. Never had any probs with highs after if I've removed it.

 

[lely]

6 weeks with my pump and the first time or two was awkward. Then, as I don't have any official accessories, I used a strapless book tube style top to store it underneath, wasn't bad but I just kept thinking about the pump. Now I just take it off and attach it after. it's the one thing that's gotta be a priority over diabetes for me.

 

[Spicey245]

I take mine off too! ;-)

 

[novorapidboi26]

the majority of time it comes off and is thrown under a pillow............but it has stayed on too from time to time.......

I'm married with 2 young kids so 'alone time' can only really happen within a small window of time, after 8pm.....lol, so unfortunately suprise attacks in weird and wonderful locations doesn't present problems either.....

its definitely one of these worries that just dissolves away once your underway with the pump, definitely not a deal breaker, although the pump for me was a last resort, I didn't go chasing it because it looked cool.......

 

[irrationalJohn]

its definitely one of these worries that just dissolves away once your underway with the pump

While I never, ever had any reservations about hooking myself up to a pump ... well, at least none that I remember 19 years after starting ... I am often puzzled by some of the concerns which people new to pumping seem to have. It's as though, for them, pumps are very fragile things, constructed primarily from gossamer and candy floss. God forbid one should ever drop one in the toilet ... which I have done, of course, and lived to tell the actually rather boring tale.

My actual experience is more along the lines of when the occasional stuff does happen, then you fix it and move on. It tends to make no noticeable diff in the longer scheme of things.

A week ago I accidentally ripped out the infusion set I had inserted less than 24 hours earlier! The terrible consequence which ensued was that I primed and inserted another set. Oh, well.

the pump for me was a last resort, I didn't go chasing it because it looked cool.......

Another aspect of the pump which I can't seem to empathize with ... though not surprisingly so because I am a man ... is this entire "body image" thing. I can say, speaking as a man interested in women, that if a man is considering sex but is thrown off track because he notices you're wearing a pump then something a hell of a lot more fundamentally concerning is going on which has really nothing to do with the pump.

For me the "body image" concern is as puzzling as the "It reminds me that I'm diabetic" distress some people apparently feel. I'm not sure why I have never felt anything along those lines, but I haven't ... within "recent" memory. Somewhere along the line dealing with the diabetes somehow merged with having to wear glasses as one of those things I did to get on with life.