Insulin pump procedure

[jenko]

Hi Guys and Dolls,

Just had my 3 monthly diabetes check with the Diabetes specialist.Iam type 1 and have had diabetes for 34 years, got the complications that come with long term diabetes- Had right eye removed left eye laser treated but has impairment with retonopothy and glycomia, i am on the kidney transplant waiting list and have peripheral artery desease in my legs but i have no heart desease Hurrray, i have alway struggled with my blood glucose levels spiking and dropping, dr changed my long acting background insulin from Insulatard to Lantus and my quick acting is Novorapid, been on the new insukin has helped especially first thing sugars, i used to wake up and my readings would be 20+ most days but i am able to get single figures with the new background insulin but my dr wants tighter control so i had to do 8 weeks solid of blood glucose tests for 8 weeks, i attended my appointment and with discussion with my consultant he has looked at my results and has said he is supporting my application and request and refering me for insulin pump therepy, can anyone advise me what the next step is, i have agreed to attend a Dafne course but have always counted my cards and meals.
My hb1ac on the old insulin was 12 on the new one i have got down to 10.

Now i have the support of my diabetes specialist do i have to pass any more criterias?

I am well up with technology i am a sound and light engineer and disc jockey and work with many computerised technologies but i am always eager to learn new skills.

Personally i think the criteria on insulin pumps sucks i believe if a person is comfortable with new techs then they should qualify, thats the trouble these days its all about the Route of Evil ( MONEY) AND NOT THE HEALTH OF A PERSON.

 

[hanadr]

If you are still not getting good control and understand carb counting, have you tried reducing the carbs?
And yes Money is the bottom line.I'm T2 and am only allowed 100 test strips per year. I fund my own.
It's a very tough decision to make. I have an acquaintance who costs tens of thousands of pounds per month in kidney cancer medication.. Should he have less of a chance at life to provide me with strips?
I moan about it, but I can see the difficulty.
What makes me very angry is that most diabetics would do better on restricted carbs( which costs the NHs nothing), but the medical profession is so blinkered to the research which shows that their low fat high carb regimen simply doesn't work.
How many carbs per meal/per day do you eat?

 

[jenko]

Hi
Thanks for the reply,

I have lowered my carbs a daily and my results are much better, just for instance todays readings have been as follows BB 9.1 BL 8.4 BD 9.3 yesturday was 8.8 - 9.4 - 8.2 - 7.8

The results have never been better but my Dr wants my recommended HB1ac to be between 7-8% and has said i will never atchieve the recommended 6.5% on injections, so has refered me for pump therepy.
I work on the scale of 8grams per 1 unit of insulin but did have 15g for every 1 unit.Has helped.
I am seeking a Dafne course to refresh my knowledge on carbs etc.
Looks like my diabetes specialist is Pump Pro, but i am not sure what happens onse my referal goes through?

Many thanks

Shaun

 

[candi-girl]

low carbs are not good for everone you know :evil: i for one am very weak and feel **** on low carb, i need them and so i eat them!!!

i was written to about would i like to go on a waiting list for a pump and then i saw the diabetes team at my hospital and basicaly that's it. they said as i got lots of hypos and didn't realise all the time i could have one.

still get hypos now though and still have hypo unawarness :roll:

i am pleased you're more in control on the other insulins.

 

[candi-girl]

i also don't know HOW you can say high carb DOESN'T work?! I have a fair about of carbs on a daily basis. I've had Hba1cs as of 4.6% 5.0% 5.2% & 5.6% i'd say it CAN work if you do it right, so you don't have to starve to get normal sugars! which i for one think is good news :mrgreen:

 

[kegstore]

Sounds like you're half way there on the pump criteria, at least! I would say the support of your specialist is key in the decision making process. Unfortunately pumps are quite expensive to supply and maintain, so often it can be down to whoever shouts loudest. The control opportunities offered are superb.

I have one question: if you are on the waiting list for a kidney, have you been offered a pancreas too? The quality of organs is apparently much higher than for kidney alone, and the waiting list much shorter. "Doing the double" is a huge op though, and not to be taken lightly, but there are good figures on success rates.

I think any conversation about lowcarbing should probably stay in the subsection of this forum specifically designed for that purpose, yes?

 

[timo2]

Hi candi-girl,

Not sure where you got the idea that low-carbers starve. Another myth busted I guess!

Well done with those HbA1C figures. A 4.6% must give a pretty incredible average mmol/l.

You'll have to fill us all in on some of the details of how you're doing it.

Regards,
timo.

 

[candi-girl]

hi timo.
i starved. lol, but prehaps cuz i like my food so much. i was so hungry!
anyways, how i got it that low i don't know. it was about 2 years ago. i was being very good and on the whole just doing lots of exercising and just testing every hour all the time even about twice through the night.

ps. but i was hypo alot.

 

[bonerp]

I agree Low Carb does not suit everyone but unfortunately I've been beaten up on this forum by stating this fact. Apparantly because it works well for some (and good for those that it does work well for) and Bernstein says it (who is so often referred to :roll: ) means all us others that it doesn't suit are wrong, is the way it is. Its not.

Poor control unfortunately afflicts some of us. I can do BGs every 2 hours (and often do at my drs disgust) to keep control on poor days.

My pump has helped get better control but its nowhere near perfect. For the last 2 weeks I've been basal testing through the night and still not got a consistent result. Swings and lows for no reason.

With T1 there is no simple answer. The pump is a good tool for achieving better control. I especially use some of the reporting tools to check swings and its good at spotting problems across long average periods.

Personally I find the accu-chek spirit a nice compact pump thats no too complex. For getting the right information I also use the accu-chek meters and their smart pix which is superb.

Good luck with pumping.

Paul

 

[djjenko]

Hi Sorry i have taken a long while to reply but i have been told that once i need the kidney tranplant i will be given a pancrease as well.
Had my kidney appointment last week and my kidney function has declined in the last 2 years but has dropped slowly so they are monitoring me, no op needed yet but will have to in time.

I have been Funded for my pump by the PCT, been told i will be on the pump Accu Chek spirit within 4 weeks.

All the best

Shaun