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40 year old contemplating situation so far...

robg

robg

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Hi all. Just turned 40, was diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus at 26. Quite well managed using Novorapid and lantus. Minor other health issues but liver function, blood pressure, cholesterol , sight, feet pulses etc ok.

Should I push in your opinion for more newer therapies such as a pump or the implant type therapies I keep reading or hearing about. Everything in hand but wondered if I could improve overall quality of life.

Anyone in a similar kind of position care to comment?

Regards

Rob G


Type 1, diagnosed unexpectedly aged 26. Treated by Novorapid and Lantus. Metered by Bayer Contour USB. Other implications include gut neuropathy, sleep issues and slight depression. Positive outlook on life though! Bring it on!
 
What's your HBa1c, and is it controlled year to year? I'm a bit older than you and roughly as long since diagnosis. I was put on the pump because I was no longer hacking it with MDI, my HBa1c was drifting up year on year. If you are doing ok on MDI they will not prioritise you for a pump. The studies on pumps say that they will give you fewer hypos and better quality of life, for the same HBa1c. My experience so far is that pumps take somewhat more effort (initially anyway) but provide greater control, they allow you to fine tune much better, if you are into that. I have to say there is also a learning curve and there are challenges.

If I was still on MDI I would be looking at degludec as an alternative to Lantus. It is amazingly flat in action profile. However, the bulge created by my staggered doses of Lantus was helpful in flattening the Dawn Phenomenon. Not sure how you would do that with degludec.

If you can afford it, I would look at a CGM. It's compatible with MDI and a very useful adjunct to MDI. I got one before I went on the pump but I can't afford to run it all the time. It is incredibly useful for understanding causes and effects and improving control. Oddly, the cheapest way to get a CGM is to qualify for a pump and select one of the CGM-compatible pumps.
 
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