Should I or not

hazey276

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Hi all, been asked by consultant to go on a pump as he thinks that it would help me a lot.

Scared, uneducated, concerned. I'm looking around best I can but would like help from people who have been in same situation (basically all of you). I do want to and I don't want to. What the hell am I talking about, I really don't know, got to see pump nurses before I go back to see consultant in October.

Enough said don't know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hazey
 

irishrichard

Well-Known Member
Messages
61
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Hazey,

All I can say is ince I"ve gone on a pump about 5 months ago, I feeling 100% better in myself, i'm starting to get warning signs of hypos which I had lost and my Hab1c has fallen from 8.7 to 6.9!

You need to weight up why your Consultant suggested it to you? What were your Hab1c like?, where you getting hypos or was your diabetes affecting your life in some way?

The pump takes effort and time to get used to and its not a cure as some people think but for me, its made ahuge difference and I"m delighted with it

Go and speak with the Pump Nurses, they'll answer any queries you have or ask someone on here?

Take care

Richard
 

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
Missed you, Hazey - hope that you do manage to get better control with a pump.
 

LittleSue

Well-Known Member
Messages
647
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi Hazey

My consultant suggested a pump about 5 years ago and I wasn't keen. Meantime I did DAFNE and decided if I ran into trouble despite DAFNE, a pump would be worth a trial.
Ran into problems. Decided to go for a pump in November. Frustrating 6 month wait.....

I've been on my pump for a month now and wouldn't want to go back to MDI. Not a magic wand, its a steep learning curve and you have to put the work in to get the best from it. Despite reading a lot and asking questions beforehand, it's taken all my attention for the first month and been very tiring, some times I've been "away with the fairies". I have to do many things differently, but after 4 weeks now I can step back a bit and get my life back, with knobs on. Its so much more flexible. For me, the tiny dose adjustments are a big advantage, but also I find corrections work faster, BG rises less after meals and hypos usually only need Lucozade (no starchy carbs). Plus the flexibility of sleeping in, going to bed early (no need to wake for a long-acting injection), bolusing discreetly for food anywhere, anytime (restaurant, work, public transport) and the square or dual wave boluses are very handy. I never had an issue with injections, but its lovely to not be doing them! Despite being attached to a gadget 24/7, I feel so free!

Lots of it is trial and error, eg how to wear it, and you have to accept that what works for you may not be what you expect. Worst case scenario, you find it isn't for you and go back to injections.
 

hazey276

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Thanks so much for the replies. Basically speaking my levels were at one point very high and no matter what i did or my consultant i couldn't get them down. Now they're up and down all the time and i have very little hypo awareness until i hit the deck so that's why i think he's suggested a pump. After all considerations and at present values i do fancy going on one and yes from what i've read i know they're hard work but with what i've had to put up with recently it would be worth it.

Hope this helps!!!!!!!
 

iHs

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,595
Hello Hazey

Nice to see you post to the forum again :D

A pump can be many things to many people. You can if you want, just use it for its basic functions as a standard bolus to deliver insulin. The different waves can be used to tackle different foods but using those usually is trial and error experimenting with the amounts that a pump delivers insulin. I tend to use the standard bolus most of the time.

The learning curve for you will be testing your bg levels very frequently and making sure that your carb calculation is correct before you enter the value into your pump's bolus wizard. According to what your bg levels turn out to be, you then have to figure out whether to alter some of the basal rates or alter an insulin to carb ratio. This is fairly easy to do though and your bg results will be your guide.

If your consultant thinks a pump will help you, then give it a try. Even though people may moan about some problems that they have, once they've got over the problem and sorted it, a pump is a very nice insulin delivering device which should give you more even bg levels with better awareness of when you might be going a bit low.
 

hazey276

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Hi ihs, thanks or the info and the welcome back to the forum :) . As i said i do fancy trying a pump. The bit in the middle you said about the learning curve was all chinese to me but thanks anyway. As you state it really is a big decision but it will help speaking to the DSN's as i have a thousand questions to ask :shock: , it's mind blowing but a decision i will have to make!!!!!!!
 

Riri

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,174
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
The conservative party, people who are cruel to animals and aggressive people
Hia Hazey - I'm in exactly the same position as you ... loss of awareness, BSs all over the place ...so I am now ready to go on to a pump in October, which has been approved. The way I look at it is that it's worth a go and certainly the people who have them don't want to give them back. I too have loads of questions but I'm glad to hear that there are so many people of the forum offering support and advice - it helps a lot. Good luck and I'll keep you posted as to how I get on.
 

Cheryl

Well-Known Member
Messages
180
I really didn't want to go on a pump. It's been hard & has not been the panacea my consultant had me believe that it would be. However, my hba1c is down & I do like the flexibility, despite being attached to a machine 24/7. I have managed to work round most scenarios with it & wouldn't give it back.

So from a previously "anti-pump"person, I say go for it, the worst that can happen is that you give it back after a few months.
 

hazey276

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Thanks again to you all. Riri when you say things like "approved" what approved :? :? , see i'm a numpty :oops: :oops: . I've got an appointment on the 15th Sept with a DSN who actually is on a pump herself so she should be a mine of info, not that the other DSN's don't know their stuff but i'm just so excited to be seeing a person using one as i don't know anyone who is. Yes i'm actually very scared about it all. My appointment to see her is for an hour which i hope will be enough, got the jitters now :oops: :oops: .

Ok i'll shut up now and stop boring you all, sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Riri

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,174
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
The conservative party, people who are cruel to animals and aggressive people
Hia Hazey - in my area, as I would imagine it is anywhere else, a pump has to be approved by the local health board, reommended by my diabetes team inc. my consultant and also meet the criteria of NICE guidelines - lots of hoops before I actual got the green light and approval.
 

josie38

Well-Known Member
Messages
281
Hi,

I had the same as riri. I had to jump through hoops as well.

I had to do a DAFNE course and then show for 3 months that i knew how to put it into practise. I had to do food diarys and show that i knew how to carb count - had to reduce my HBA1c - explain why i thought that going on a pump would be good for me. This process (with appointments) took about a year before i got my pump.

It was nerve wracking waiting for the go ahead from the PCT who have to fund these things which is why is some areas you do have to get approval. You may think that you deserve one but a "man in a suit" goes by what the consultant has to say :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Josie
 

amandana

Newbie
Messages
2
I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago and I am on a pump, I am still learning about diabetes management and how to work my pump but I can say that I can't imagine myself managing without it. I got a Paradigm Veo pump with a CGM, its very complicated though because my pump is considered advanced insulin delivery it tells me everything, I've never seen anything like it its just amazes me but I am still learning how to use it even after education and instruction in the hospital it still alot to remember to make sure I always put in my settings after I eat, it gives me 3 bolus delivery options which match my eating pattern. I like mine because its got continuous glucose montoring which I can keep track of my levels up to six days. I would recommend getting it if you haven't already i am new to all this but I can gurantee its so much better then any other methods.
 

hazey276

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Hi, saw the DSN yesterday and after lots of thinking and consultation i've decided to go for a pump. I was given 3 pumps to pick from, they are: "Animas 2020" "Paradigm Veo" and "Accu Chek Combo." :? :? Although she wasn't biased she didn't seem too keen on the Combo because it had what looked like a mobile phone to set it. :? :? Obviously I know nothing about any of them so i'm looking for some guidance. the only other things i need to consider is that i do some sports like running and Aikido.

Any help would be extremely grateful!!!! :) :)

Hazey
 

Marmite-lover

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Dislikes
Snakes and pomegranates!
Hi Hazey!

I can really relate to how you've been feeling!

When an insulin pump was first suggested to me I ran completely in the other direction! It's taken me over a year to come around to the idea. I think since doing a BERTIE course (carb counting/equivalent DAFNE) and also being given an Accu-chek meter that can help calculate correction doses has made me realise that putting a bit of work in can really pay off as my hypo awareness has started to improve.

I think I just needed a bit of time to get my head around things. Hearing about how pump therapy has really improved peoples' diabetic control and just made diabetics feel a lot better in general began to spark my curiosity...

I think when I met a young woman with an insulin pump at one of my clinic visits I finally realised that this was something that I wanted to do. She worked in the department, so I had seen her around before, but never realised that she had an insulin pump! I don't know what I expected-that people connected to pumps had big flashing signs above their heads or turned into robots or something!! :lol:

So on Monday I was connected to my pump! We were all connected to the Accu-chek combo. I think it must depend on where your diabetes care is as to if you get a choice of pump etc. To be honest I think it made it a bit easier for me not having to choose-I am very indecisive!! Also, because I already have an Accu-chek meter it made the transition feel a bit easier. So the Accu-chek blood test meter connects to the pump via bluetooth (very high-tech!) so the pump can remain discretely tucked away and any boluses etc are delivered by using the meter handset. If there was ever a connection problem, you can also operate the pump manually. I've been connected to my pump for less thaan a week, but I already like using this system. Beacsue the pump and the meter 'talk' to each other it means that from your blood tests, any corrections needed are calculated and delivered with ease.

As I said, it's been less than a week that I've been connected and I have found it difficult trying to work out my basal rates etc. But it's still early days and I think it'll be worth the hard work to begin with from what other people have said. I have received a lot of support from this forum!

Best of luck choosing your pump and keep in touch :)