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1st meeting towards getting a pump

S

Special_K

Member
Well, had my first meeting today for a pump and is looking promising but need to get used to carb counting (to be expected).

When talking about the choices of pumps my local PCT only does the Accu-Chek Spirit. I was told that this was the case due th the fact that the Animas only infuses once very hour as opposed to the Spirit which infuses every 3 mins.

Can anyone confirm if this is correct as I find it a little hard to believe and like the look and features of the Animas
 
Hi special_K

Yes this is right about the delivery in the pumps, but in truth you would have to pretty sensitive to insulin for this to make much differnce to control...

I use the Accu-Chec spirit pump myself so I'm able to tell you more about it, it wasn't my first pump of choice but like you it was the only one that my clinic offered!

But with saying that, I haven't been dissapointed with it all, any niggles that I've had and this has been based on not quite having the basal incredment of a 0.025 that animas has, which I could do with so be able to set a better basal rate for certain activities, but I get around this by setting a tenperoy basal rate for this period as I can achieve this via this..

The menu is pretty easy to use and navigate around, sometimes seeing some of the text can be hard going though on the main screen...

There customer services have been spot on, I've never had a problem with ordering, I phone in the morning and order arrives next day... I had a querry about my pump, and when the customer services couldn't answer, they said that they would get my rep/trainer to phone me, did warn me because of the time (early evening) that she might not phone until the next day, but she did with in 10 minutes...
 
the Animas only infuses once very hour as opposed to the Spirit which infuses every 3 mins.
Click to expand...

I don't think thats correct,
basal delivery for Animas 2020 and 1250, every 3 minutes
Animas ping (the new model) varies, 0.2 u/hr every 3 min
basal delivery Spirit every 3 minutes

There is a comparison of the different pumps here you need to look at the older model list for the older Animas models.
http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_technology/insulin_pump_models.php

Having said that people I read of in the UK are quite happy with their Spirits, it is a different matter for those who have to self finance (as in other countries) since there are some concerns about its longevity.
My pump is a medtronic, and I'm quite happy with it
 
Thanks for the information all (especially the PM's)

I'm just in the process of learning how to effectively carb count and have a meeting with the DSN who specialises in pumps in 2 weeks.

What puts me off is I use SiDiary to log my BM's (I can do it on my PC at home or my Pocket PC or even online) which allows me to monitor my trends easier. I would have half expected my DSN to know about software like this (especially versions built by the manufacturers of blood glucose monitors).

I was told you need to count carbs and record them (well if you checked the printouts I fetched you would see that I am) and that the DSN would get me a carb counting book but he didn't have any in stock.

Bit of a rant but kind of how I feel (kind of puts me off transferring my Diabetes care away from my GP to the hospital).
 
wow that suprises me, GP's are usually much worse on diabetes than the hospital.

Do you have a specialist diabetes clinic at your hospital?

Have you tried using an Ultrasmart meter to log your readings? you can obviously log your BG on there, plus all sorts of extras like carbs, fats, protein, excersise, medication and health.

You can download all of that to your computer and get graphs and logs.

I too am having to go on a course for carb counting before they will let me go on a pump. i started it last week.
 
Hi Stu,

Yup we do have a diabetic clinic at the hospital. I wasn't majorly unimpressed with them, just one or two comments he made and expectaions I had were different to what happened.

He wants me to go back this week but I think I'll go next week (it's a drop-in) so I'll have more results to show (plus stops work nagging about taking time off all the time).

Yeah just switched to the Ultra Smart a few months ago, at first I didn't really use all the extra functions but now I'm using them and downloading the info to SiDiary. Makes life a lot easier than having to write my meals down.
 
it certainly does!

I think the clinic at my hospital is excellent. Although i do find it odd when they offer sugar your your tea :? :?:

I've also found that most "specialists" i've met ALL say that the targets most of us want to acheive (between 4 and 7) is too tight, i just dont beleive it, i think it's totally possible. But i have found that the staff in a specialist Diabetes clinic do listen to you more than a GP or a local surgery nurse will. The Clinic seems to understand that it's you that has to live with it and not them, but GP's... power mad i tell you!

They do like to know that you can carb count and that you understand what affects your BG and how insulin works, and for my PCT, it's one of the requirements that the patient attends a course like that in order to get funding for a pump.
 
Had my second meeting on Wednesday towards a pump.

Again very disappointed.

Had to wait nearly 2 hours to see the DSN (was a drop in and appreciate waits - but 90% of the people there looked like they don't work (apologies for the generalisation there)). I missed two meetings for work.

Finally saw the DSN, who couldn't even remember that he had seen me 3 weeks earlier (bit put off by this).

Thankfully I've arranged for my care to be moved to the hospital (I may live to regret this) and have an appointment with the doctor towards the end of Feb.

Going to use my BM Meter all the time and hopefully get some sense from the doctor.
 
I have been put on the list for a pump, our pct is getting funding in April for a new pump clinic so i have to weight till then. it's so funstrating i just want to get on with my life and get my diabetes sorted. I was told i could have what ever punp suited me so i've been looking into it. I hope my pct don't decide we can only have a sprit as i didn't like the look of that and i need a very low basal rate.
 
Can someone please tell me how to get on the list for a pump.I have had type 1 diabetes for 39 years in april this year and when i mentioned it to nurse in diabetes clinic at my local hospital she said only certain people are suitable.Well i dont think its fair that some people who have only been on isulin for so long have a choice so does anyone know how you be chosen for one.
 
you need to read over the NICE guidelines for pumps.

Because Pump therapy is so expensive, they only give them to people who can't get good control on MDI.

If you have a lot of hypo's, or you cant get your HbA1c down below 8.5% on MDI then you should have a good chance of at least trying a pump. They can't refuse based on funding, but you do need to meet the requirements for funding.

NICE Guidelines here

It will also pay to do some research on how the pump can be better for you, they will probably ask you what you're goals on the pump will be. You will need to have detailed logs of your BG and also be able to carb count and have a good understanding of how insulin works and your insulin to carb ratio's.
 
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