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after some helpful advice ...

Cloe-1992

Well-Known Member
Messages
674
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hey ,
as the title says I'm just after some friendly advice .

I'll try to explain my situation , I have not that long ago had a baby boy , his just over 10 months during pregnancy I experienced a lot of hypo ending up in him arriving a month early , since then the hypos have not stopped and have started to worry me as a few times I've hypoed during the night and only noticed as baby has woken me up which panics me , I've been working with my team trying to tweak and change my insulin and nothing seems to be stopping them there so random and have no pattern to them , they have now put me forward to go onto the pump to try and cut down on the hypos , as they have explained I can fine tune on the pump , on Wednesday I am going to clinic and having a cgm fitted for the week to see if there's one last hope of stopping the hypos on injections .

The advice I'm after is , once this has been done and they still think I'd benefit from a pump which dsn has said is pretty likely , because it's the unknown to me how does everyone feel being on the pump those who have been offered one do you feel it has been life changing and was beneficial to do so ? I've also been asked to look at two pumps too see what I feel would work best for me , one being the animas vibe and the second the Medtronic 640g has anyone got any information on either of these and why they chose the pump they did .
Sorry for the long post suppose I'm just a bit nervous .

Thank you cloe
 
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I've been on my pump for two years and felt similar to you before I went on it.
I wasn't sure how I felt being attached to a machine all of the time and leaving my life in the hands of it (me and technology don't mix!) however, my pump has changed my life and I'm annoyed at myself for not taking it when I was offered it 10 years ago.

I can't advise you on either of those pumps as I'm on a different one but I would definitely recommend giving it a try.
If they do what they did to me you will trial it for a week first with just saline solution in it so you can get used to the look and feel of it before you commit.
If you don't like it you can always say no

All the best Claire x
 
@Cloe-1992, no experience of the two pumps which may be available to you, however I can honestly say that changing from MDI to a pump last year was life-changing for me in so many ways.

Not having to inject insulin is the obvious one, but also not having to inject 2-3 times for tricky meals like those that are high in fat has been a big bonus too, the bolusing options on a pump to extend the dose or do a dual-wave bolus does make life so much easier, also having the ability to have multiple basal rates so that your bg remains smooth throughout a 24 hour period is a big plus too.

I'd imagine everyone is anxious prior to moving over but after a few weeks of pumping insulin everything falls into place, I think it's a good idea to read up on pumps before the move so you have a good knowledge of how they work, this way the change over is pretty straight forward and your aware on how to adjust basal rates and such. A good book for you to read is Pumping Insulin by John Walsh & Ruth Roberts, I read this prior to changing over and still go back to it when I'm unsure of anything.
 
Hey Cloe, can you talk to your DSN about trying Tresiba, it is supposed to help people with night time hypos as its a flatter profile to other background insulins, it's only 1 injection a day too and lasts about 36 hours. Obviously using a CGM will help greatly to see what is happening just make sure you complete the food and insulin diary. A pump isn't necessarily a magic wand, it does require a lot of work to adjust, so won't cure your night time hypo issue quickly. See how responsive your team is to Tresiba as having night time hypos is not good , good luck lovely
 
Hi Cloe
pretty much everything has been said
will just add that i am thrilled with the flat readings i get overall
last night at bed 5.6 - woke up his morning on a 4.7

getting basals right on the pump takes some time at first but gives much more peace of mind going to bed at night
 
Hello everyone ,

Thank you for your replies regarding the pump it's nice to hear from people who have actually been through it all and have the experience of being on one , I really do like the sound of how you can change the basal rates at different times of the day rather than just having one dose ( or in my case two as I'm on split doses )and that is it for the day , by the sounds of it what your all saying it will be worth a go to see if it would be for me and to at least try it as it sounds that everyone is really happy with their pumps and the control being achieved on them so thank you all for answering . I also understand that the pump isn't the easy answer nor is it a way out I understand that it will be a lot of work and will take time to learn and get used to ( if that's what the Dsn decides on ) but I'm willing to put the work in , I like to have good control of my diabetes so the hard work isn't a problem but I'm also open to all options to stop the hypos so I will also bring up the insulin tresiba as you mentioned to see what they advise on that too . I will also look that book up too as sounds very helpful .

Thank you again for all your kind replies. x
 
@Cloe-1992 I love my pump! It's an Animas Vibe. I chose it because it's simple and intuitive to use, waterproof and robust (useful with a baby!), has a good variety of Luer sets (more universal), has a strong clip (again, useful when you're a busy mum) and if I have the money I can use the Dexcom CGM with it.

I got my pump because of horrible nocturnal hypos. It got rid of them because I can fine tune my basal and avoid them. That's the main reason I'd never go back to MDI.

I'd also point out that a pump is great if you're a busy parent as you can have temporary basal rates for things like exercise.

I don't know if you're breastfeeding, but I am and still need my Lucozade and extra carbs (my son's just a few weeks younger than yours).
 
Hey azure .
thankyou for your reply , i can definitely see the pros in having the pump being a busy mum not having to worry about trying to inject and keep an eye on busy baby .
Ive finished my weeks trial tomorrow on the cgm and as they mentioned at clinic not to tweak or change any insulin for the week so they can get a good idea as to whats going on and causing the hypos . feeling quiet anxious to see what they are going to say once they have had time to review the data .
I have been given the animas vibe pump whilst having the cgm so i could see what it would be like to carry the pump around on a day to day basis and i can see why you like this pump , and can see what you mean with the strong clip which has been a bonus this week .
so a little bit more of a wait and finally can see what the next step is to stop the hypos and start feeling a bit better again .
Hypos and an active baby are not fun lol.

Thank you all
 
Hello everyone.


Just thought I would give you all an update ,
After quiet a few months of trying and tweaking and seeing Dsn and consultants the decision was made today to be put forward for funding for the pump . I'm quiet shocked actually as didn't see them coming to this agreement nether the less I'm also very excited to start the journey of the pump . I know I've got a lot of work coming my way and will be a new way of everything to what I'm used to , but I'm excited for the change I'm hopefully going to see and get a bit more of a normal life back and enjoy spending time with my little boy and not treating hypos . Very thankful to my team .
I've put a canula in today and will have that in for three days to make sure I'm not allergic to the sticky bit lol and I was so shocked at how it didn't hurt wasn't what I expected and I'm so shocked how your not really aware of it being there it doesn't get in the way and can still easily chase after my little boy , I know it's not going to be the same with the pump attached but first experience of having the canula I'm quiet surprised . Just waiting now to hear back from my team hehe .

Ramble over
 
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