Getting onto a pump?

[Theiriginalmarkw]

Good morning everyone,

New member here, although I’ve read the forum on and off for years!

I’ve had diabetes for 19 years now during which I’ve been entirely on MDI. My HbA1c isn’t great, typically in the 9 to 10 percent range. I’ll admit I haven’t engaged hugely with my local diabetes centre over the years, although that’s not to say I don’t take my diabetes seriously - I attend every appointment, have completed DAFNE and actively count carbs, and so on. I also self-fund Dexcom which has been life changing.

As I’ve been getting older (approaching the big five oh soon) I’ve reflected on how diabetes makes me feel and am now making a concerted effort to do better. My basal has been changed to Levemir and I’m working proactively with my DSN to get better control specifically around the fact that I constantly go between high and low. I’m doing what I feel is everything I can yet I’m still not managing wonderfully. Woke up at 15 this morning for instance and feel bleurgh!

So for the last couple of years when I’ve had my checkups I’ve asked the consultants about the potential for getting a pump. And every time I’m told that I might be considered for one BUT let’s just try this one more thing beforehand. It’s almost like they didn’t want to talk about it! So I wondered if anyone else has experienced this? And if so how have you lobbied your diabetes centre to actually take you seriously and help you get into a pump?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and help!

 

[Rokaab]

I had a complete fight getting a pump, took me a few years at least, I was having a hefty liver dump at about 3am which meant I was waking up in hefty numbers as well but kept getting the 'well lets see if this works' (it never did) and the 'well we can only fund a few and there are other people we need to fund as well' (well gee that makes me feel like I'm not worth it).

The only reason I eventually got one was because my consultant retired so I got a new one who when he looked at my libre graphs (that the previous one had also seen) he said 'oh yes you need one to deal with that', well duh, what do you think I'd been trying to say for the last few years.

It then took 8 months for me to actually get it (due to incompetance in the dept and then covid turning up in the world)

 

[Theiriginalmarkw]

That’s exactly my experience! I once had a consultant who was all for it however the rest have been ‘yeah, let’s try this first”. Unfortunately I rarely see the same people each time I go but I guess it will be on my medical records. Maybe I need to have a look at them and leverage just how long it’s been a discussion point!

 

[Maco]

I decided last November that I wanted to go back onto a pump after a 10 year break, I was last on one when I was a teenager & didn’t take well to it. I rang my DSN directly and had a quick chat, at first I got fobbed off as usual. She give me the usual chat about how about we give you the Libre sensor and we see what your control was like, so I counter offered and said how about you give me Libre I’ll show you how good my control can be then give me a pump. She sort of agreed. Anyway to cut a long story short, I rang her every week after that & also emailed. Did an online Bertie course which is basically Dafne, sent her the certificate for that so that she had proof. I actually told her on the phone “I’m going to ring you every week because I know if I don’t I’ll be forgotten about”. 6 weeks later I got a phone call saying I would start training on the 7th of January and my pump was being dispatched to me.

A lot of people on here won’t agree with what I did & will probably say they have enough on there plates without me hassling them. But unfortunately it’s the only way to get things done these days.