Sick of my pump already!!!!

[LauraR88]

I can't believe it, I was so looking forward to today to eventually have my pump and insulin - no more MDI
- happy days right??? WRONG!!

Every two hours I've hypo'd! I'm mentally and physically so tired, not to mention gutted. I'm starting to hate the pump for making me feel so ****.

My rates have already been altered and had 25% taken off them yet I'm still hypo'ing

 

[Juicyj]

Hey @LauraR88 with any change comes adjustment, so try and be patient, once your adjustments have been made and your hypos reduced this will ease off, trust me it's just a blip, hope you have some glucose in stock and your DSN is keeping an eye on you ?

 

[Lorraine1973]

Keep at it. It is ssssooooo worth it once you get your insulin right.

 

[Claire007]

Oh no, sorry to hear things aren't working. Have you been able to work out if it's basal or bolus? You must be exhausted
Do you use a cgm/libre?
If not see if your DSN will give you a libre sensor for the next two weeks, I've found it invaluable.
As I'm new to it myself I'm reluctant to advise you, but personally in your situation I'd eat 20g of slow release carb (I'm honeymooning so this might be too much for you and send you the other way ) so I could get some sleep and set an alarm to check in the night.

You'll get there

 

[himtoo]

hi there --- JUST BIG GIANT HUGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was the opposite to you

i was in the teens ( BG's) for about 2 weeks solid as we ( My DSN and Me )
got my rates sorted out

do take a huge deep breath and stick with it for a few weeks

xxxxxxxxxxxx all the best
himtoo ( paul )

 

[Gaz-M]

its takes time so be patient, still hypoing then do a 50% reduction for a few hours see if that helps.

I went through the same when I first started on a pump but after a short period I got it sorted, pumps take time and effort to get right but the end results are fab

 

[Medusa41]

Sorry to hear that @LauraR88. Hope things improve - so stuck with it as it'll be sooooo worth it. Which pump r u on? Do u have plenty of support from DSN this week?

 

[azure]

I can't believe it, I was so looking forward to today to eventually have my pump and insulin - no more MDI
- happy days right??? WRONG!!

Every two hours I've hypo'd! I'm mentally and physically so tired, not to mention gutted. I'm starting to hate the pump for making me feel so ****.

My rates have already been altered and had 25% taken off them yet I'm still hypo'ing

It's not the pump, it's the insulin. Something needs changing if you're hypo'ing like that.

Was your basal reduced when your pump,was set up? When I had my pump, my insulin amounts were reduced by 25-30%.

You'll be ok - you just need to get the doses sorted. X

 

[tim2000s]

Hi @LauraR88 , it's likely that you had onboard Basal and your pump rates were set to replicate your basal, which has resulted in the Hypo. As the basal wears off and the pump fully takes over, you should get back to something approaching normality. As @azure says, you'll get there!

 

[slip]

Can I have first refusal on your pump if you give it up?!?!?!??

keep at it, you'll get your levels sorted and then you'll love it I'm sure.

 

[noblehead]

Every two hours I've hypo'd! I'm mentally and physically so tired, not to mention gutted. I'm starting to hate the pump for making me feel so ****.

Don't despair @LauraR88 as its far too early to despise your pump, once you nail your basal rates down all will be well, just keep in close contact with your pump DSN and seek their advise on adjusting your pump settings. Good luck.

 

[novorapidboi26]

My basal actually halved when I went on to the pump.....but it took about three weeks to get there....

stick with it...

 

[Medusa41]

As others have said the basal needs adjusting. Mine went from 24 units on MDI to 16 now on the pump. Do hope your DSN can help you ASAP. Stick with it

 

[Snapsy]

Hi @LauraR88 please don't despair!

It took me a while to get sorted - but after 29 years of MDI it was worth the teething problems.

I started on HALF my previous basal, and that was nothing LIKE enough, sadly. It was a complete nightmare and I was in the teens for the first couple of weeks. Tiny changes every day made me so frustrated and very impatient.

It's a huge learning curve. But it's so worth it! It's not in the least bit surprising that you're frustrated - please give yourself permission to be cross! - but this is just the very very start, and very soon you will be reaping the rewards that supported and gentle tweaking (gosh, I sound like a bra fitter! ) will offer.

Hang on in there! Keep testing, keep glucose to hand, get advice from your pump team as often as you need it - heck, I was ringing mine every hour for the first week, pretty much - and remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and things WILL get better.

Sending a big ol' Snapsy hug - you can do this! It's just early days, that's all.

 

[Julian_Hands]

Really sorry to hear this.

I reduced my basal rate by 20% for the first 48 hours as Lantus is a sticky insulin and still carries on acting after the 24 hours, I had a couple of spikes which corrected with boluses, but you need to test every hour to start with and correct the trends immediately as I found that I'm allot more responsive to the pump basal and boluses than what I ever had with the MDI regime.
I always have lucozade or Dextrose tablets with me and as soon as I'm down to 4.7 then I'll immediately take 3 tablets of Dextrose or drink a 1/4 (380ml)bottle of lucozade. to get me back on track, then work out why the drop occurred which may then need to look at bolus ratios.
The best way to check if your Basal settings are okay is to put yourself through the pain of getting up every 2 hours overnight and taking a BG test to ensure that the Basal rates are okay.
I found the Basal wasn't to bad for me but I needed to reduce the bolus ratio significantly as I could see that the Bolus was dropping me drastically over the 4 hour lifecycle of that active insulin.
The pump doesn't take away the need to control your diabetes and it is still allot of work, but once the settings are tweaked you can keep the control so much easier and just keep checking every hour to learn the trends in order to align the logic of what is going on.
Carb counting is essential on the pump and just watch the fatty and low GI foods (chips, pasta, rice) as the initial standard bolus will drop you in minutes then your climb for a couple of hours afterwards, these carbs need extended boluses to smooth out BG over time.

It is frustrating but like anything new its worth persevering with it, as I definitely think this is a far more flexible solution than MDI and I feel so much healthier using this method of control.

Keep going as it really will pay off and its so rewarding when it does.

 

[Peppergirl]

Have to agree that the issue is not the pump as I'm having similar issues adjusting my basal on an MDI regime. Stick with it.

 

[paulpapa]

Hi Laura,

Sorry to hear that you're having a rough time. I think during the early stages it's tempting to blame the pump when things were better on MDI. Like many others have said: just do your best and try to let it demoralise you. It'll be worth it in the long run.

It's possible that the amount of insulin you are on is excessive because of your frequent lows. Only your DSN can advise you on your next steps, so liaise with them often and give them your results and the amount of carbs you're needing for your hypos.

I just started on a pump and I was extremely worried that it'd all go wrong, after having achieve a semblance of control of late so you are not the only person hoping for things to be better straight away. It's natural.

Just so you don't feel too alone, people at my pump start - myself included had sugars in the 20s initially. But by bolusing I was able to get them down much quicker via the pump than MDI (although I was shocked as to that fact). It's a gradual process and it'll normalise with the help of your DSNs, testing and for you, sadly, having quick carbs more often than you'd like at present.

Best of luck,

Paul

 

[shazho]

Stick with it. I got my pump back in November last year, having hassled my DSN for over12 months. We're still making adjustments, as I'm still having problems with hypos. Just hang in there, it will be worth it in the end. I would never go back to MDI.

 

[rockape37]

I can't believe it, I was so looking forward to today to eventually have my pump and insulin - no more MDI
- happy days right??? WRONG!!

Every two hours I've hypo'd! I'm mentally and physically so tired, not to mention gutted. I'm starting to hate the pump for making me feel so ****.

My rates have already been altered and had 25% taken off them yet I'm still hypo'ing

Haven't read the whole thread but please dont give up!
When i started the pump last july i had 4 hypo's that afternoon, the thing that didnt help was that as i was working the previous night and i fell asleep in the chair that afternoon waking up as if i had just got out of the shower, very wet with sweat.

My Basal was set very very high, too high nearly 100% more than when on MDI. What i did was set a temp basal rate taking note of the settings and went with that, if there was some improvement i would make those figures pernament then do another temp basal rate till i got to a near workable situation. After that i then run proper basal tests till i got it right for me.

Diabetes can be a right pain at times rebardless on how your treatment method is, we just have to deal with it as best we can and try not to stress about it.......easier said than done for most I know.

Regards

Martin

 

[rockape37]

Haven't read the whole thread but please dont give up!
When i started the pump last july i had 4 hypo's that afternoon, the thing that didnt help was that as i was working the previous night and i fell asleep in the chair that afternoon waking up as if i had just got out of the shower, very wet with sweat.

My Basal was set very very high, too high nearly 100% more than when on MDI. What i did was set a temp basal rate taking note of the settings and went with that, if there was some improvement i would make those figures pernament then do another temp basal rate till i got to a near workable situation. After that i then run proper basal tests till i got it right for me.

Diabetes can be a right pain at times rebardless on how your treatment method is, we just have to deal with it as best we can and try not to stress about it.......easier said than done for most I know.

Regards

Martin

Should have said, I'm now taking 50% less basal than when on MDI.

That was quite a ride i can tell you.

Regards

Martin