• Guest, the forum is undergoing some upgrades and so the usual themes will be unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, you can use the forum like normal. We'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Any Substitute Of Insulin Pen!?

ziawattoo54

ziawattoo54

Active Member
I have been T1 diabetic for around 18 years, during this course of time I've been advised different insulins and tablets.

Being T1 diabetic injecting insulin has become a routine matter. Currently I'm using "Lantus" and "Humalog", which I inject 4 times a day.

I'm a university student and sometimes it's hard for me to manage the timings of meals and injections, So what I need to know is: "is there any automated insulin intake device available in the market?"
Or any other machine that can assist my diabetes management routines.

Due to this unbalanced routine during my university period of last 3 years, I've disturbed my HBA1c a lot. From 5.9 (2015) it has gradually reached 8.9 (last month).

As, I had read about some automatic insulin injector online long ago, now it's making me think of knowing the reality.

Expecting positive responses.
 
Maybe you should look into an insulin pump? I don't have one myself, so can't really comment further, but it sounds like what you want.
But if you're on a basal (lantus)/bolus (humalog) regime, it should be relatively straightforward to manage meal timings. The basal is supposed to carry you for 24 hours if you eat nothing, the bolus you take whenever you eat, which allows you to alter meal times, skip/add meals as necessary and alter food amounts by changing the amount of insulin. So I'm wondering whether the issue is that you haven't got the right amount of basal and/or you find it difficult to test often enough....

Good luck
 
EllieM said:
Maybe you should look into an insulin pump? I don't have one myself, so can't really comment further, but it sounds like what you want.
But if you're on a basal (lantus)/bolus (humalog) regime, it should be relatively straightforward to manage meal timings. The basal is supposed to carry you for 24 hours if you eat nothing, the bolus you take whenever you eat, which allows you to alter meal times, skip/add meals as necessary and alter food amounts by changing the amount of insulin. So I'm wondering whether the issue is that you haven't got the right amount of basal and/or you find it difficult to test often enough....

Good luck
Click to expand...
Testing it time to time is a real issue for me, injecting 4 times and after that pinching my fingers again for tests, sometimes this annoys me.
Moreover, I've made sugar consumption a part of my routine. I'm trying to control and avoid that. But, the sugar craving is really hard to beat.

Thanks for informing about pump. I'll discuss it with my doctor on that, on my next visit.
 
ziawattoo54 said:
Testing it time to time is a real issue for me, injecting 4 times and after that pinching my fingers again for tests, sometimes this annoys me.
Moreover, I've made sugar consumption a part of my routine. I'm trying to control and avoid that. But, the sugar craving is really hard to beat.

Thanks for informing about pump. I'll discuss it with my doctor on that, on my next visit.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't think having a pump will decrease the amount you test.... (Hopefully some pump users will comment.)
Maybe you should ask your doctor about a continuous glucose monitor, instead.
I understand your comment about sugar cravings, I've had my issues with them in the past. Personally, I've found that it takes about 2 weeks for sugar cravings to go away when I've cut it out in the past. If you're going to indulge, then I'd suggest being quite careful about counting the carbohydrates in what you're having, and then take extra insulin to compensate... I'm also on lantus/humalog and I personally find that most/many of my blood sugar issues are caused by poor carb counting.
 
EllieM said:
Hmm, I don't think having a pump will decrease the amount you test.... (Hopefully some pump users will comment.)
Maybe you should ask your doctor about a continuous glucose monitor, instead.
I understand your comment about sugar cravings, I've had my issues with them in the past. Personally, I've found that it takes about 2 weeks for sugar cravings to go away when I've cut it out in the past. If you're going to indulge, then I'd suggest being quite careful about counting the carbohydrates in what you're having, and then take extra insulin to compensate... I'm also on lantus/humalog and I personally find that most/many of my blood sugar issues are caused by poor carb counting.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your advice. I'm planning to start monitoring my carb intake sooner. Hopefully it will make a difference.
 
Hello @ziawattoo54 unfortunately a pump requires a lot more effort than 4 tests a day, I test up to 8 times particularly with exercising so it’s not a good solution for you. Good control requires testing and managing your insulin doses carefully.

Are you using the sides of your fingers for blood tests ? Also avoid the thumb and forefingers.

Get yourself a copy if ‘Think like a pancreas’ as this is a great resource too.
 
Juicyj said:
Hello @ziawattoo54 unfortunately a pump requires a lot more effort than 4 tests a day, I test up to 8 times particularly with exercising so it’s not a good solution for you. Good control requires testing and managing your insulin doses carefully.

Are you using the sides of your fingers for blood tests ? Also avoid the thumb and forefingers.

Get yourself a copy if ‘Think like a pancreas’ as this is a great resource too.
Click to expand...
Hi @Juicyj

I don't use thumbs for testing, instead I take blood from my forefingers not from the sides!!!

And is "Think like a pancreas" available online?
 
Hi @ziawattoo54, I went to university way back when I was on soluble and NPH twice daily. I would eat in lectures etc and learn where the food shops were if necessary. I had challenges with carbs but probably mainly as a comfort thing plus trying to avoid hypos. I exercised a lot and that may have levelled things out a bit.
When working I was on basal/bolus and the beauty of it, as others have said, is that I could delay a meal, like lunch or dinner because I knew my basal was supporting my blood sugar control. Of course I would from time to time fast for 12 hours and see whether my BSLs stayed in range as a check on my basal insulin doses.
Testing was always a drag but by delaying my meal, or occasionally skipping it I could wait til just before the meal to test and then give a bolus dose. I would avoid skipping breakfast because I found that if I went beyond 16 hours fasting ketones started to form and that made insulin less effective.
My work was as a doctor so I was dealing with night calls, night duty, disrupted lunch and dinner times etc.
In the last few years before retirement I moved to an insulin pump and would never go back to mdi! Yes, the blood testing is a bit more intense except if one is also on CGM where a finger prick test each 12 hours is supposed to keep things calibrated. I have not used CGM without a pump or used the Libre (see threads for CGM, mainly but not exclusively, on Insulin Pump forum and threads for Libre on various forums.
Best wishes for your Uni course !!
 
kitedoc said:
Hi @ziawattoo54, I went to university way back when I was on soluble and NPH twice daily. I would eat in lectures etc and learn where the food shops were if necessary. I had challenges with carbs but probably mainly as a comfort thing plus trying to avoid hypos. I exercised a lot and that may have levelled things out a bit.
When working I was on basal/bolus and the beauty of it, as others have said, is that I could delay a meal, like lunch or dinner because I knew my basal was supporting my blood sugar control. Of course I would from time to time fast for 12 hours and see whether my BSLs stayed in range as a check on my basal insulin doses.
Testing was always a drag but by delaying my meal, or occasionally skipping it I could wait til just before the meal to test and then give a bolus dose. I would avoid skipping breakfast because I found that if I went beyond 16 hours fasting ketones started to form and that made insulin less effective.
My work was as a doctor so I was dealing with night calls, night duty, disrupted lunch and dinner times etc.
In the last few years before retirement I moved to an insulin pump and would never go back to mdi! Yes, the blood testing is a bit more intense except if one is also on CGM where a finger prick test each 12 hours is supposed to keep things calibrated. I have not used CGM without a pump or used the Libre (see threads for CGM, mainly but not exclusively, on Insulin Pump forum and threads for Libre on various forums.
Best wishes for your Uni course !!
Click to expand...
Aaah! Well thanks for your good wishes. Such a detailed note on the matter with information based on your prior experience and the above mentioned suggestions have made me realize that this combination of long acting and short acting insulin is not a bad thing if I can manage my carbs and sugar intake accordingly.
I guess pump won't provide any remittance, rather it may amplify the trouble (I'll clarify it further with my doctor).
The conclusion which I've made from the discussion is that I should be focusing on my diet plan and testing.
Thank you once again for your informative response.
Stay blessed.
 
Back
Top