Getting a pump? mental health issues

CosmicOwl

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,
I was sent to A&E yesterday due to complex circumstances regarding my mental health in relation to my diabetes, and long story short the mental health team at the hospital and the GP today have both suggested an insulin pump to make my quality of life much better, but that the final decision is up to the endocrinologist.

My questions are how long does the process usually take to get an insulin pump if they consider your circumstances pretty urgent?

And if the GP, mental health team, and diabetes nurse are all backing me up for pump therapy, is it likely I’ll get one? I basically have trauma I can’t overcome when it comes to injecting multiple times daily, and have been fighting for a pump for a long time. Finally found a team that are listening to me!

Happy to answer more questions if needed, and if anyone has tips it’d be much appreciated, thanks!
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I have no clue, as I'm not on a pump and not in the same country as you are, but I'll keep my fingers crossed you'll get one soon and it will make your diabetes management a lot smoother!
 

MeiChanski

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,992
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,
I was sent to A&E yesterday due to complex circumstances regarding my mental health in relation to my diabetes, and long story short the mental health team at the hospital and the GP today have both suggested an insulin pump to make my quality of life much better, but that the final decision is up to the endocrinologist.

My questions are how long does the process usually take to get an insulin pump if they consider your circumstances pretty urgent?

And if the GP, mental health team, and diabetes nurse are all backing me up for pump therapy, is it likely I’ll get one? I basically have trauma I can’t overcome when it comes to injecting multiple times daily, and have been fighting for a pump for a long time. Finally found a team that are listening to me!

Happy to answer more questions if needed, and if anyone has tips it’d be much appreciated, thanks!
Hello welcome!

I am embarking on this journey as well. There are a few things that your consultant/endo might ask or ask you about: there is a NICE criteria and a separate criteria if you don't fit the NICE criteria for an insulin pump. First one would be have you done a carb counting course? such as DAFNE, this is a prerequisite to getting yourself on the insulin pump journey, because you need to know how to carb count correctly and make good judgments and adjustments.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta151/resources/insulin-pump-therapy-for-diabetes-pdf-374892589
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
I suspect my circumstances aren’t typical, because I got my pump nine days after asking for it.

It’s important to add that they’re not a magic bullet. You have to be super accurate in your carb (and often protein) counting, and spend a lot of time experimenting getting your basal rates right throughout the day. It’s not a case of “fit it and forget it”, and can be very mentally demanding. And you do still have to change your cannula every three days, so there can be ongoing issues with making holes in yourself.

Having said all that... when you get it right, the level of control you can achieve is nothing short of amazing. I’d got my HbA1c down to 40 from 50 in just three months. I especially like the fact I can just turn it down if I’m busy or running a bit low, and can adjust it to pretty much anything I want to do. I’d never go back to injecting.
 
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CosmicOwl

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @MeiChanski, I did do a carb counting course so I’m glad it will help towards my case! My original A1c’s were around 5.3 before my mental health went down the toilet! Although my obsessiveness on having a low A1c was also not exactly healthy. I burnt out! This was about 10 years ago.

@Mel dCP Thank you for your input, I appreciate it! I have discussed the pros/cons of a pump with a few different teams now, who all agreed that it would benefit my mental health despite being a new set of challenges, simply because I’d basically have to change the set every 2-3 days rather than injecting 4+ times a day which is the problem I have.

I’m an ex self harmer with borderline personality (which I had therapy for and it helped) and I know the pump sadly isn’t a magic wand, but it would definitely take away some of pain, repetition, and issues with food I have developed (food=numbers=injection=pain). I just hope the endocrinologist will also be in favour of the pump. I have a letter from the psych team at the hospital, and from my GP and diabetic nurse saying they support it.

I just thought explaining my circumstances a bit better might help people understand the boat I’m in, currently I can’t do my multiple daily injections due to a total breakdown in my mental health in relation to it, hence the A&E visit.

I’m so happy to hear the pump improved your A1c though, that is what I hope for, I want to be as well as I can be physically and mentally, if they can support me getting a pump as fast as they did for you, i’d be thrilled! Soz about the long post! X
 
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Deleted Account

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I have a pump but it was not urgent so, unfortunately, I can’t answer your question on timing.
In addition to the points MeldCP made above about a pump not being a silver bullet, I believe one of the unwritten criteria was the perceived ability to cope with pump failure. Whilst this is rare, with a pump you need to be able to quickly switch to injecting. This has happened once for me in three and a half years. As there is no slow acting insulin with a pump, if the pump stops working your BG can raise quickly.
I am not telling you this to scare you but if injecting is a problem, a pump will remove the need to inject multiple times a day but you still need to be aware you could have to revert to injecting at short notice.

I hope you find the right solution for you. If this is an insulin pump, I hope you get it very soon.
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
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Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hi @CosmicOwl

It is very much down to your CCG in how quickly they can turn it around as each CCG get will vary greatly. Talk to your DSN and see if they can give you any indication ? From a mental point of view I've found using a pump has lessened my anxiety greatly vs multiple injections, it took a few months to adjust ratios and still tweak regularly now, but it's given me flexibility and a sense of normality in so much as I can easily tweak my pump to suit my lifestyle.

Get a copy of 'pumping insulin' by John Walsh, ideal for getting clued up in the art of pumping.