Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pump?

[de130770]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

i tadlked about it 8 years ago but was turned down by the local hospital
i resen given
as i have sight inpearment the pump is like a chemical factory.
my hba1c is around 12 to 15
not under the local hospital any more not been there for 6 years now due to bad haspital diagonis
it is the gp who maniges my diabetic treatment now

 

[Barrie Smith]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

A pump would be OK but with qualifications , how reliable are the continuous blood sugar monitoring units , sleeping into Coma`s
could be Terminal , I hear the delivery tubes are no longer metal , so bending playing bowls should be easier , how often do delivery tubes need changing , how bulky are the pumps , to play sports ?

 

[smifffy40]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I dont like the thought of going on hols and having to take off the pump everytime I go in the pool ..which I do very often.. My jab in morning and before evening meal makes me feel more normal than tied to it like a colostomy bag.
Im glad it works for many folk but not for me!!!
Easier for people who cant control themselves properly with syringes/pens!!

 

[SimonClifford]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

FINALLY got mine! (5 years searching for a PCT & consultant who'll do 'em - GOOD FOR STAFFORD!) Had it a couple of months now, I remember what my brother's colleague said to me all that time ago, "go for it, you certainly won't regret it, best thing I ever did - I'm also reversing some of the problems". (He was a chap over in Florence, South Carolina - I'd like to thank him for his enthusiasm!)

So my list of PCTs & hospitals are:
Worcester - nope
Birmingham - nope ("we'd love to give every type-1 a pump, but we just can't afford it")
Rugby - nope ("we have such good control with MDI, we find we never need pumps" - yeah, right!)
Kidderminster - nope

I've heard that Milford Haven in Dyfed has pumps too. Despite the "it's not a postcode lottery". It is. Maybe if we share our experiences we can find the PCTs that'll help us?

 

[Lucypieee]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

There is a list of pro-active pump clinics on the Input Diabetes website:

http://www.inputdiabetes.org.uk/alt-insulin-pumps/pump-clinics/

 

[jentp188]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Ive been asking for a pump for 2 yrs with having a 3yr old im finding it very difficult to keep my sugars stable they keep telling me once im level I will be put forward for one I have the glucose meter that dose all the corrections and stuff but only because I pushed ive had diabetes 19 yrs and suffer from chrons under active thyroid and fatty liver im 25 and would love a pump because i think it would benefit me from further damage that diabetes has caused

 

[SimonClifford]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Look at the list Lucypiee put up in the previous post to yours. It IS a postcode-lottery (despite what the "experts" say). However, your local PCT WILL NOT tell you that you can choose where to get your care. Pick one from the list, all diabetic departments are VERY keen to see new patients, so you'll be welcomed. Make it clear you're after a pump. They'll advise on what boxes you need to tick & how you prove it. Take their advice (basically carb-counting, >5 blood tests a day, & happy with dose adjustments & corrections).
With the help of a "pro-pump" group, those skills & a bit of intelligence, you'll be on a pump in a years time.
Let us know how you get on!


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[ChristineStone1974]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Well, I've had injections for 30years and while I know they keep me alive, I am sick to the back teeth of them!! Five a day is too many to count over time. I kept being nagged to go on a pump and was/am scared to death so I kept saying no. Then after retinopathy caused by rubbish control despite 30 years of trying I said yes. I get my pump on Aug 13th and am still petrified of it - what if I can't do it or don't get it?? It's a massive change. I do high intensity work outs three times a week and still have a belly so am hoping that's inflated due to insulin :wink: but it may be food. I don't think our lives should stop just because we are diabetic, yes I do try to look after myself and yes, sometimes I overindulge but I am hoping that by going on the pump once I get over my fear i will be ok and feel a lot better. I spoke to the nurse and being scared is natural but she made me realise my injections are not working for me, whacking 10 units of lantus twice a day is not the same as having a slow trickly drip fed to prevent me spiking. I have spoken to people who explained once they went on the pump they felt normal - in a way they did not realise they did not feel it before. So I am excited and nervous but think you can only say which you prefer once you have tried both!!! Wish me luck :?

 

[SimonClifford]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

You're lucky to have a pump, well done there! After 39 years of injections, my feelings were pretty well exactly the same as yours! (Recall Marvin, the paranoid android, "the first 30,000 injections were the worst. The next 30,000 injections weren't much better.")
I haven't had any "hallelujah" moments of sudden, blissful well-being since using a pump for the last 6 weeks. Being able to tweak basal rates is good, coming down with a cold & shifting up a basal rate is good, but best of all is not having to keep stabbing myself. Gosh Lantus DID sting (morning & evening).
DSN was a bit reluctant to let me at the more advanced software suite. (Isn't it amazing what the Russians put into torrents these days? I must say though, having been involved with a number of software/firmware projects as a design engineer, the Roche packages really are exceptionally slick. The way they've decided to run most of it locally without OS support is very imaginative!
I will probably appear jolly proficient at the advanced pump software training :-D
Keep it up! Love to hear more about how you're doing.


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[SaintDavid]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I'm a T1 and have been for 35 years and whilst I like the idea of a pump, to me, they don't actually do anything any different to what injections and testing achieve. I have no fear whatsoever of injections and test plenty of times a day to keep good control. So I suppose they are more benificial to people who have real issues with injections and finger pricking.

As a footnote to this I still cannot see why a pump hasn't been divised that can effectively mimic what the pancreas does, i.e. supply insulin or glucose depending on what your measured blood sugar level is. I have a feeling there are such devices out there but presumably they can't be made commercially viable yet. When these arrive no doubt we would all want them.

 

[SimonClifford]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

There are some very good reasons to the couple of points you mention.
A pump can provide exceptionally flexible basal insulin which can be tailored to the circadian rhythms. I found that Lantus (whilst better than ultratard of the 1980s) didn't really last for the advertised "24hr flat dose". (It also stings like anything as it needs to be acidic to make the microcrystals on injection). That said, I did use it successfully since its introduction.
Now, for "closing the loop", my electronics chums ALWAYS ask about this. We have a bit of a problem compared to a pancreas. The glucose monitoring MUST come through the fat layer under the skin. The insulin MUST diffuse through the same fat layer the other way. It takes about 20-30 minutes. ANY "closed loop" system going via the skin automatically has a 40-60 min delay in it. THIS is the reason we're not going to see any advance there. By the time you've got part way through digesting your sticky-bun your automatic pump system may be able to respond. So we have to rely on a manual "I'm gonna eat that in a bit, so I'll pre-empt the delay & deliver some insulin now" (even so, we still have to cope with 30mins insulin-delay).
There is some work being done on a below-the-skin, straight-into-the-liver which will, of course work around the fat-layer problem, but call me squeamish, but the idea of a permanent hose deep inside me doesn't sound appealing. (Mind you, neither did a pump, 20 years ago!)
If we could just work out how to stop the body from keeping killing off the peefectly good islets of Langharan all type-1s keep making, we'd have a cure (but for the last 35 years "the cure" will "only be 10 years away". So I think I'll stick with my new pump!)



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[Lady_luce_x]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I have been on my pump since November 5th 2012. I can honestly hand on my heart say going on the insulin pump, for me, has been the best thing to ever happen for my diabetes.

My hba1c before going on the pump was 11.6%. I felt ill a lot of the time, and had no energy. After 4 weeks of being on the pump my hba1c plummeted down to 8.4%.

The range of foods I can now eat is much wider, on injections despite carb counting, I found that my insulin was not always absorbed at the same rate, and amounts that were one day perfect for a certain food would be completely wrong another day for that same food.

At the time I was a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. We worked 14 hour shifts, and often double shifts including a sleep in at the home. We did not get breaks ( we were expected to have meals alongside the service users). This made injecting very hard as the service users were volatile and therefore sometimes I could not leave the room to go and take an injection, particularly if we were needing to restrain a service user or calm an esculating situation. This lead to erratic blood sugars at work as many injections were very late or compeltely missed.

I feel I have far more freedom with my diabetes now, after 16 years I feel I've finally come to grips with it since being on the pump. I work with my diabetes now rather than constantly fighting it

 

[amberzak]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I'm desperate to get on the pump


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[Sabantha]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I'm getting my pump in November and cannot wait!! Hope it changes my life as it has done all yours!


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[ElyDave]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

David,

they are out there, but to my knoweledge not yet able to react quick enough and to mimic the real life attributes of the pancreas. They've been tried steady state, but how would it know for example that I'm about to run 10k and it needs to reduce its insulin delivery to allow the counter regulatory hormones to put a bit more sugar into my blood stream before I need to down a gel or something.

I think some of the issues are time lag of the sensors to allow the feedback loops to work effectively and cost of the sensors at about £250 for 6 and they last about a week. Not sure how that compares to test strips, but they wouldn't be eliminated entirely as the sensors i've looked at still need periodic calibration.

 

[sw11bloke]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Definately a pump but its a post code lottery as to wether you get approved for funding.

 

[debz48]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

Hi to all, I have been on a pump for nearly six years and now onto my second pump. For those of you who are worried about who pays for the pump and consumables, the NHS does. However, you can only get the pump if you have tried everything with in your power to regulate your blood glucose levels, and nothing helps.

I must admit I love the sheer freedom the pump gives me, as you know you are always receiving insulin 24/7 due to the basal dose. This is so many units given over an hour. You can set different amount through out the day to help when you are known to be low or high with your BG. Then when you have a meal you check your BG, this is done on the Contour Link machine. This is because the pump and link can be set up so the blood machine automatically sends your BG reading to the pump. Then you use the Bolus Wizard to set up how many units of insulin you need for the amount of carbohydrates you going to have most likely 7.7 units. An example could be BG is 7.4, you are having 77 carbs in your meal, the pump then works out how much insulin is needed, as the carbs are over 50 grams , the bolus wizard sets this up as a Dual Wave Bolus. This is where you are given so many of the units before you eat, then the rest are spread out over and hour to hour and a half. when the insulin has finished the pump will remind you to take the two hour check of your BG. I really hope this brief explanation helps every one who has querries about the pump. If not PM me and I will try to help further

 

[mopsy21]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I'm happy to stay with injections, as I'm achieving reasonable control on MDI. Carb counting started two weeks after diagnosis (October 2012) and so far there's been minimal weight gain. It would be nice not to have to wave a bright orange pen around in situations such as lunchtime meetings at work or formal dinners, but these don't happen often enough to justify moving to a pump (in my opinion). I'm 57 so if I live for another 30 years on MDI, that will be a shorter timespan than for Type 1s diagnosed at an earlier age. If NHS funds are tight, I would prefer that pumps are offered to children and long-term diabetics.

 

[RichardJ]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

5 days in to having a pump and im not missing injecting!!
Just need to start setting up all the basal and bolus tests to get the correct amount when needed then start exercising again.
So far i will not be handing it back and im very gratfull to my PCT for the funding.

 

[jbeer1972]

Re: Would you prefer to be on insulin injections or on a pum

I have been on an insulin pump for 7 years and won't go back. My HB used to be around the 9-10 mark but latest was 7.2.
The control I have is so much better. If I decide to go for a run or cycle I can do easier as can do on fly, before I used to have to plan quite a few hours in advance.
I would personally recommend, it puts you in driving seat.

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